HI; been looking at these here and other places. Would somebody explain to me how they function?? What activates them as train approaches ?? Infrared beam, photo cell, magnetic reed switch by track?? Curiosity has got this cat

HI:was in hobby lobby yesterday looking. was in the modelers area if you will, and was showing wife the grnd cover scenery stuff, you know small packages, stiff price. She said follow me?? took me over to floral dept, lo and behold there in bulk packs same stuff at half the price!! Maybe every one else knew that i didn't. Just because it says model supply on pack in different dept,it cost more!! Just thought i would mention that!! every body have a great day!!

Thanks Jerry and narrow minded for your responses,its nice to have mentors like you guys here   My main concern was how do you know if some accesory is 6 volt,12 volt, or ac, dc ?? Examplei  have 3 toys all made by lionel, 2 are ho, one is 0 scale. all have miniature motors. all came in original box, with full instructions. no where was it stated ac or dc, after many e-mails to lionel it was finally determind by them the ho was 6 volts dc, and the 0 was 12 volts ac!! go figure!! basically im finding with model railroad stuff its a turkey shoot!! No consistency!! I just dont want to burn stuff up. I am curently operating under the assumption if before the mid 70's its dc, after its ac??

HI: have been looking at the miniature street lamps andother accesories i have an airport beacon with light also, no where does it state on any of these as to whether the voltage rating is in ac or dc?? some say 6 volt some at 12 volt?? Any body got a clue?? I sure dont, whatis the norm??

Thank you jward,this has been bothering me somewhat, I want to do it right the first time and withlest amount of problems!! I have been reading posts on the subject here andother forums, and went to kadees web site and came away confused. So thanks for the help!!

By the wayhappy new year everyone!!

Educate me please!! I have purchased 4 bachman sets from last christmas to the present 2011. All of them have thecouplers with springs,and i am not pleased with them Hate to say it but cheap, cheap.So advise please what best replacement inKadee?? Ihave loked at their lineup and being one eyed hard to  decipher. should i get the #5 or the #148?? I want to replace on all my equipment over time so some one tellme the bestfor my buck, already looked at the  sergents brand, nice, but i am no donald trump

 I was thinking which mywife says is dangerous has any one used indoor out door carpet remnants?? it can be vacumed i can get it in many colors pretty close to oklahoma grass which is not exactly green any timeof the year, i can add other landscaping on top of it, and maybe keep it looking good and maintenance to minimum?? Any thoughts on this are welcome, as am in learning !!!

One of my dont know questions I want to put grass on my lay out. which is the best to use?? the rollout grass as sold by bachman, or the stuff in a shaker you have to put glue down for?? I saw a set up in hobby  shop that used the shake and bake stuff it was only couple yrs old and looked "NASTY". so any help appreciated.

I have an airporton my set, Ipurchased a hangar an 2 1:87 piper cubs with some accesories to include a windsock. I have plans on installig a ready made runway with fiberoptic lighta availabele.My further plans are to build my own planes either from rigid foam, or possiblyout od a very soft wood.Being raised in the ag aircraft industry i hope to model some 1:87 scale crop dusters and looking at a stagger wing beech, my favorite bird as a young man. So yes you can have an airport,mine only takes up an area of 24 inches in lenth and 12 inches in depth where hangar sits.

I first saw this in oklahoma city at the fair grounds in the railroad building, I assume they had a large group of hobbyist from around the state and were holding an event, never in my life saw so many trains, was like a kid in a candy store!!
Any way have been readingonline, and j m r i  is one outfit severalothers out there now have software, one place 99.00 for starter kit, but reading further the catch is hardware!! The brainbox that goes between the pc and the control box 400.00 to 500.00 then the other peripheral hardware, relays sensor modules ect, i could take every body here out for a steak and desrt So at tis time needless to say, i will keep it simple But had to ask the question, as have many ideas new to me on setting up and operating my railroad with a lot of action devices. Thanks  for every body responding i love the discussion.

Okay i'm going to ask. any one here running their set ups with a laptop?? If so is it good? also is it exspensive?? being a former computer engineer I am pc poor But really interested in this and have been reading off site. Would maybe like to try it and figure best to build it as ambuilding my sytem as I go.Any advice, expertise is welcomed.

Thank YOU JERRY: Glad you see i am in learning stage and will take your advice!! MERRY CRISTMAS TO YOU!!

First: Merry christmas to all and their families, And may many blessings be bestowed upon you!!
I got into this new and exciting hobby basically because of my grandson who is 3 and "TRAIN CRAZY" plus now being retired, time on my hands need something to keep my 61 yr old mind active and alive, and I am learning from get go this hobby will do that I am also really getting into building my own track accesories from scratch, even though the old eyes aint what they used to be, got me a "BIG" magnifying glass with light so good to go!! I love a challenge, and this hobbyis allthat!!
I hope I dont ask to many stupid questions along the way,and will try not to be a nuisance, I spend hrs each night reading all the pages of this board to learn as much as can so dont have to ask a lot of questions of the pro's who are here!! I thoroughly enjoy the reading and all the valuble knowledge I can gather from all of you. THANKS!!

That was what i was wondering, In essence my concept is one controller supplying power to 2 or possibly more tracks, then using dcc programming and operating several locos independently. I have an electronics background and understand the concept of using digital to control the locos. Looking at the controler/power pack, it doesnt seem tobe able to supply much power output?? That was my main concern.
Many thanks to all responding to a NEWBIE!!!!

HI ALL: My set up is L shaped, mounted on 2 pieces of 5/8 inch mdf well supported. I have 2 dcc locos, and enough track to make 2 complete loops for that set. I was trying to figure out how the one controller could supply power to the 2 seperate trcks and still be able to program the locos to run independantly. i dont know what cables i will need to come out of the controlbox to go to the seperate sets of tracks?? does bachman make a "Y" or split cable to go to the rerailers?? Or do i have to splice and make my own "Y"?? The dc rig will be run separately on its own track on one end of the L. My main concern was, does the e-z controler supply enogh power to run 2 seperate tracks?? Or do I need a "power booster" somewhere?? I am just getting started into this so call me a really "DUMB NEWBIE" I have recently become medically disabled(retired) as the3 yr old grandson says (retarded) So need something to keep me and him off the streets and outof trouble with grand maw