Doug,

    The EZ DCC alone will run about 3 locomotives on a average size layout. I can run my Climax, 2-6-6-2 with sound, and my 2-8-0 all at the same time using only the DCC EZ controller. My layout is not real big, about 12'x7' and is 2'wide. Depending on your planned layout size, I would not recommend buying the expensive power booster until you see if you need it.
If the Christmas locomotive is DCC ready, all you have to do is buy a Bachmann DCC decoder and plug it into the tender socket inside the shell. If it is not DCC ready, I have no idea how to put DCC in, sorry!
Hope this helps somewhat.

Happy New Year,

Jack

Thanks for the info on where to get these locomotives. I'll start my own Christmas shopping tomorrow!

 Tomcat,

  Where did you get your MMI's at? They seem hard to get or I'm not looking in the right place.

Merry Christmas to all.
Jack

Count me in for at least 2! Hope they decide to produce one.

Merry Christmas,

Jack

James,

  The 2-6-6-2's are available in the different road names. I got my Midwest Mining 2-6-6-2 two weeks ago. The Favorite Spot Store on Ebay has them all. They are gone for the holidays but will be back on January 4th. I think their sound equipped 2-6-6-2's are $305 plus $12 shipping. Hope this helps.

Jack

Mike,

  I know, I had to have one and it was worth the wait! Have fun.

Jack

Mike,

  The 2-6-6-2 does not dwarf the other Bachmann ON30 engines. It is, of course, longer, but the 2-8-0, Climax, and 2-6-0's are taller both the locomotive and tenders. It does run great, sounds fantastic, and does, indeed, run on 18" radius curves. Bachmann did a very nice job on this locomotive.

Jack Johnson

Heave,

  Height is 2 3/4" from rail head to top of the standard stack. Length from coupler to coupler is 13 1/2" and width is 1 3/4". Hope this helps.

Jack

Just picked up my new 2-6-6-2 with sound. It's fantastic. Runs great and the sound is excellent. Flawless over switches and is quite quiet when the sound is off. Very smooth operation. I think this is going to be my favorite locomotive!

Tim,

  Thanks, I'll contact them right away.

Best regards,

Jack

Dear Mr. Bach Man,

  I am new to ON30 after being out of trains for about 8 years. I have 6 pieces of motive power, all Bachman and they all run fine with the exception on the outside frame 2-8-0. Minimum radius on the layout is 22" but most larger than that. The locomotive clicks going thru turns and after checking the drivers, I found the blind drivers do not match. On the left side, driver 2 is not blind while #3 is and on the right side, both #2 & #3 are blind. Is this the correct setup or did I get one that is incorrect? Any help would be appreciated. By the way, the 2-8-0 is an exceptional looking locomotive. Thanks.

Jack