I noticed that the reversing gear on the left side of my Decapod moves up and down whenever i run it despite the fact that the rod is meant to be static, this is not happening on the right reverser which stays in place like it's supposed to. Both rods are between a pair of brackets that i think are meant to hold them in place but something is causing the left rod to move independently. Other than that i have no problems with the locomotive, can somebody give me some advice?

I have come up with an awesome way for people with smaller layouts with no staging or engine facilities to put locomotives on their layout with a minimum of actual handling. if you store them near the floor on a shelf, simply have some track running beside where the locos are stored, then if the layout doesn't take up the whole wall use the remaining space and build a wooden frame with a movable turntable at the bottom that can be moved up and down. have the track go to this turntable on the floor. then put a loco on the track and run it to the turntable. raise the turntable to track level on your layout and turn the turntable so the loco faces the layout, then turn on the power and move your loco from the turntable onto the layout, voila! then instead of picking up a locomotive and carrying it at a dangerous height you just pick it up and move it 2 feet, and the risk of dropping it is almost nonexistent

the benchwork is nearly complete. http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo210/i10dtowinthebrantfordrailfan/SAM_3151_zpscaa2q4ba.jpg  i have also modified the trackplan a bit. it now has a mainline at the bottom that connects to the yard. this allows for a proper arrival and departure track and allows trains of up to 8 cars.  it can handle 16 cars in total. it will also have operating wig wags with sound. i have replaced the grain elevator with a coal yard. i can't show a picture of it because of techical issues but you probably get the idea

I just got a new DCC baldwin 2-8-0 yesterday, i love it! but can i run it with my alco 2-6-0 which is plain DC? i use a DC power pack. also what about doubleheading 2 DCC locomotives on DC track? will they get damaged?

I decided to update my 2 x 8 trackplan, i want to add a mainline at the bottom where trains can enter or leave the layout, the problem is that i can't figure out what pieces of track i'd need, the mainline needs to stretch from the beginning to the end of the layout, but nothing i come up with works, i can't figure out the track arrangement needed to have the turnout where i want AND at the same time have the mainline going all the way from start to end. here it is http://i1382.photobucket.com/albums/ah278/picklemonkey1234567890/LAYOUT%20UPDATE_zpsooipxahx.png . also can someone list all the specific pieces of atlas track i need to build this layout? i changed a few industries too, some building designs haven't been figured out yet so they are just represented with the name of the industry

i will be building a 2x8 switching layout soon, the ad&sc railway, it will serve it's namesake towns name  i already have a track plan for the yard, someday i will extend it when i have the space, for now it's just a yard. it takes place in the early 60's, it is one of the last steam strongholds in north america. there is diesel paint scheme i designed myself, however, i have a few variants, which one do you think is the best?  http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo210/i10dtowinthebrantfordrailfan/new%20schemes_zpsckafkiep.png~original. my track plan, http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo210/i10dtowinthebrantfordrailfan/8x2%20track%20plan_zpssvvi9g7j.png  the upper left industry is a natural gas plant, the one on the top right corner is a lumber yard, the bottom left hand corner is the flour mill, the lower middle is the plastics plant, and the lower right is a slaughter house ( a little bit dark but i need to do something with my stock cars!) The grey lines surrounding the track at the bottom is street running.  cars will be brought in from the street trackage, switched, and sent to their industries, afterwards the empties will be sorted back into a train, the loco will run around it and "depart". updates will be provided as it progresses

i found out the 4-6-0 will be brought back, i am so happy! i wanted one so badly! i do have one worry though, it is pretty much guaranteed the other modellers will get to them, will it be a fight to the death or will there be plenty to go around? the price is a bit out of my range, any stores you think might discount em to the mid to low 200's? my f9 is fixed too, i ran it for a while and it started running properly

my 4-4-0 was not working properly so i  unpluged the dcc thing out (which has worked when this kinda thing happens) and and one of the wires came out of the two pin plug, it was soldered back in yet still does not work, it is less than a year old, can i send it to bachmann? how much will it cost?

i just got my 2-8-4 and i love it, the next engine i will acquire is the bachmann 2-8-0. are there any flaws with this locomotive? is it a "must have"?

is it possible any of these engines will return in a future run?    1. spectrum 4-6-0    2. spectrum 2-10-0     3. spectrum 2-10-2     4. specrum 4-8-2,    these are all engines i would like to get,   are there any sites that ship to canada that have these locomotives still in stock at a decent price? are any of these engines going to come back?                                                                                                                     

like i said before i have an f9 from the red rock express and it has a simplified warbonnet scheme, i want to repaint it to the full warbonnet scheme, how would i do this?

i have heard the 2-8-4 is kinda well, weak! is there any way to fix this because i just ordered one and it's on the way! is this a very good locomotive? in terms of mechanical stuff and pulling power?. i did my research but can't find any really good information about it.

The modern 4-4-0 seems to come with extra more domes and a different leading truck, I like the other domes because they are more ornate, how exactly does one take off the current domes and put on the older looking ones?

I have an F9 from the red rock express set that has always worked fine until recently, 2 weeks ago it lost contact on random parts of the track, then last week it just ran slow, it only runs slow now even when the speed controller is turned all the way to the right. my dad took it apart and checked everything, no electrical pickup problems, not dust or hairs. no anything. but it still doesn't work the way i want it. please help! i live in canada so how much money would it cost to send it in to bachmann and get it fixed or replaced? also i have another question, if you buy a train set that has an f7 is it the same quality as the individual ones? like if you buy the royal gorge set with the f7 then buy a separate f7 will they both work just as good? or is the train set stuff always worse?

I have the desert flyer train set and the locomotive has been reliable ever since I got it, but I noticed on the box the locomotive has a red number plate, my locomotive does not, instead it is just black in place of the number plate. Did it fall off? Also the engine does not have full valve gear like it shows on the box. Is this normal?

What is better in terms of detail and performance? There is a 2-10-0 still my local hobby shop for 270 dollars including tax, should I buy the 2-10-0 or 2-8-0? I cannot make up my mind!  I want them both! I currently am making money by mowing lawns for 17 bucks a week (I can't get a job yet) which one would better fit my budget? also the 2-10-0 is discontinued so should I get that one first? Also I heard the 2-10-0 has a bell that is made of actual brass, is this the same case on the 2-8-0? I also want to make enough money over the summer to buy an alco 2-6-0, which is on modeltrainstuff for 130ish dollars. Please help!!!!!!!!!!

how long will my locomotives last? i have a spectrum 4-4-0, a usra 0-6-0 from the desert flyer set, an f9 from the red rock express, and a 4-8-4 from the overland limited set. they all run fine except for the f9 sometimes. it loses power at random parts of the track. this locomotive is very picky about dust and hairs. if i get it cleaned out it works fine. i saw a picture of a overland 4-8-4 from 2007, and it was falling apart, it's valve gear was a twisted wreck and the wheels were falling out. is my beloved 4-8-4 due for the same fate in 7 years? should i get extra locomotives as spare parts sources in case this happens? can someone tell me how i can prevent locos from falling apart?

there are several locomotives i want, but i am worried about how much time i have to buy them. how many years after a product is introduced does it get discontinued? i want the alco 2-6-0, 2-8-0, 2-8-4, RS-3, and the DT&I gp40, and the CNJ heritage unit. do you think these engines will be discontinued in a few years? or does it depend on popularity?

I plan on building a layout, I want it to have a turntable and a yard next to it and a track from the yard to a mainline. But I mainly use dc and I have only one dcc loco. In order to have a layout like this do I need to spend a fortune on dcc decoders to convert to dcc? Keep in mind I am too young to get a job, and most dcc decoders I see are over a hundred bucks. What should I do?

I really want the 2-10-0 and there is one at my hobby shop but it may be bought before I have enough to buy it, the guy there said that bachmann after a while brings back certain products, they must spend a fortune on molds and keep can't see why they would just completely discontinue it, if it can't be brought back does anyone know of any sites that still have it?