Quote from: Mulfred100 on April 20, 2024, 02:48:18 AMAn 8 year old today would have been born around season 21 and look at the difference.

Thanks for making me feel old today.

Quote from: thomasj219 on April 20, 2024, 08:52:40 AMYouTube makes that mandate irrelevant. Especially because the classics always do better. AEG was the final nail in the coffin for defending that mandate imo.

How exactly? Mattel culled most of the episodes that were uploaded to different channels. If anything it's the polar opposite now. It's harder for people to find model series stuff.

YouTube makes that mandate irrelevant. Especially because the classics always do better. AEG was the final nail in the coffin for defending that mandate imo.

If what we see happening continues, more model stuff being found like from the pilot, if the 80th anniversary leans into the models, then I think that mandate will be a thing of the past.

So did I but we grew up in different times where there was no CGI mandates on merchandise and other merchandise wasn't afraid to tackle that. Just because we recognised something as an 8 year old doesn't mean 8 year olds today will. We take it for granted just how much Thomas was everywhere growing up, toy sections were full, there was always DVDs and VHS tapes available with older and newer episodes, there was always RWS books available to buy and pretty much every episode was available on YouTube. An 8 year old today would have been born around season 21 and look at the difference. I agree that the CGI mandate is silly but I also get it from a business prospective.

Personally I think the CGI mandate has been irrelevant since the day all engine go came out . I think it's about time Bachmann looked into making characters like Stepney or BoCo while still making CGI characters like Hiro or Sidney . I do think he changes needed in the contract, especially since I don't think  any parent is spending over $100 on Rebecca  for there 5 year old son  . While I do think some kids get the starter set . This line has clearly been for us fans being marked 8+ which at that age probably have a clue who characters like Stepney and BoCo are . By the time I was eight I knew the likes of Wilbert and Culdee .

I'm doing a shell swap and was wondering about the wiring to the sparking pole. Are there any polarity issues, as it does appear one wire is longer than the other. Has anyone done this before? I ended up with a cheap duplicate car and purchased a replacement shell and pole, so I'm just changing out to a different city. My apologies if this is posted elsewhere. TIA

A long time ago I had to redo a yard to allow for a short straight section between the yard throat switch and where the curve started on the main line. I lost two cars of capacity in the yard but operation became so much better.

I have to comment:

the length of a layout does not DIRECTLY dictate the amps needed in a power supply.

It's the electrical losses between the power supply and the locomotive that are important. This is why there is often controversy, where someone states the 1 amp power supply is not enough, and the next guy says his same size layout is fine.

The losses from from resistance, normally between sections of rails (but can also be poor wire feeder gauge, or poor connections)

So, brass track, 2 feet points, rail clamps, no problem in your "60 foot" layout.

rusted steel track, stock corroded joiners, light gauge wire, no good and perhaps even a much larger (volts and/or amps) transformer may not solve your issue.

So, gauge (pun intended) what you need by the quality of your layout connections, joiners, feed(s) quality.

Greg

I recently purchased a Bachmann N scale GP 40 EMD Diesel Locomotive Penn Central & Matching Dummy.
I need to replace all four trucks and couplers for four modern sets. I have tried to figure it out but I can't and I need some help.

Len and Jeffrey, thank you very much for your replies. Much appreciated!