The Bachmann track -- ""EZ Track''--- has molded on roadbed, black or gray in color and it is interchangeable,  there are other brands like Life-LIke that won't work with Bachmann,  just stick with Bachmann track and you'll be fine. Brass or nickle steel are compatiable.

I agree Lanny, not a pleasant thought about anyone who may have been in the caboose.
I don't have the book here with me, but when I get a chance I'll post the title at least and see if I can scan the pic.  It's a very interesting pic to be sure.

You gotta love swapmeets and auctions.....never know what might be waiting there for you to add to your empire.
  Last year I went to an auction at a local VFD, they advertised ''HO scale trains'' in the paper and I was curious about what it might be,  I was pleasantly surprised to find an entire layout had been disassembled and boxed, there were some very nice locos and cars, well kept and in perfect shape, some Bachmann Spectrum diesels and Rivarossi steamers. The auctioneer started with the locos first, the high bid was $8 for choice, the bidder took two steamers and that was all, I got a PRR diesel [Spectrum-older model] and a Rivarossi steamer that needed a bit of work {someone had dropped it and broken off the pilot and coupler], I wasn't looking for locos I was more interested in rolling stock and when the rolling stock  came up the high bid was $10 for choice, so I passed on them, but, the best was yet to come..........
  The boxes of scenery, buildings and accessories came up, and the high bid was $6 for choice, the bidder only took one box of the 12 or so that were there, so when they brought them back up I was the only bidder and got them for $2 a box  for choice....so I took them all,[almost copuldn't fit them in the extended cab of my truck] when I got them home I was so surprised, buildings, accessories,figures,landscaping stuff from all sorts of manufacturers, Bachmann,Life-Like,Woodland Scenics,Model Power, I did a rough estimate and figured it was in the $700-$800 range retail, there were working accessories like a Bachmann bascule bridge,lighted freight station,several old TYCO operating loaders and trackside accessories.
   The buidling kit parts were all there, and included several detail kits and ''out-of-production'' kits, some built kits, some still in the plastic wrap,a whole flat of really nice die-cast vehicles, bundles of new track,switches and bridges. It took me two evenings to sort it all, I was in 7th heaven!!  lol   the lanscaping stuff alone was amazing, unopened packages of ballast,turf,road making dry mix,trees and shrubs.......I won't need landscaping materials for a while!!   I spent about $40 that nite, and ended up with so much stuff I had to buy new organizer bins and storage boxes to hold it all!!   So keep an eye out for adverts about swapmeets,auctions,even yard\garage sales.....you might end up getting an early Christmas present!!!!!!

I thought the WalMart offerings were different than the Walthers listed products and those at my LHS....but they aren't....same molded on tracks on the dozers...same  operating features on the graders and earth movers and the same paint jobs all around......if Norscot makes a line of more detailed HO scale equipment....it isn't at my LHS.

Ummmm...didn't that happen like years ago???

Feb.16 2003, when did you first hear of this??

In one of my books on the early days of railroading in the US, i saw a picture of a 2-4-0 that rear-ended a stopped freight, blew through the caboose and ended up sitting atop an empty flat car, apparently the loco was so well balanced and firmly wedged on the flat car, and the flat was still able to be pulled....they left it on and took it to the yard...which I'm guessing wasn't too far away. Makes an interesting model subject.

Although an 18" radius doesn't make for prototypical looking operation of heavy weight passenger cars, they will negotiate an 18" radius, are you palnning to run a circle of track under the tree?  if so, 18" is best....any bigger and it will certainly be sticking out so far that it will inevitably get stepped on.

Every railroad that ever existed  [and some that didn't]   has probably been in at least one movie, UP,SF,B&O,PENNSY,D&RGW,Durango&Silverton........we should get the railroad movies thread going again.

   OOOOOOPS!!!!   Looks like UP is gonna be doing some repair work!   I wonder if they took the loco off the well car and moved it or just left it on?

Some HO scale equipment has increased in value, but it is the exception rather than the rule...any mass produced set like the one you are asking about will never be worth a fortune....it might become a collectors item some day.....[the old TYCO stuff can fetch a very good price on EBAY and it was never even worth what it cost originally].....but I doubt a Chef Boyardee set would be much of a ''collectable.
   MY two cents...let'em have it to play with,could spark an interest in the worlds greatest hobby.

Ahhhh yes Stephen, you have discovered the ''secret'' that the manufacturers keep....sell to giant retailers like WalMart for pennies on the dollar....then change the package and sell to LHS for a huge mark-up...when I first saw the Norscot stuff at WalMart I had to do a  double take, I knew Walthers listed them at $20 each and these were $4-$6???  I thought they might be a cheaper version till I checked.....and I was pleased to find out that they were,in fact, the exact same ones that were listed at $20......needless to say I went right back and picked up several.
  A few years ago I got some sets of Athearn tractors in the WalMart clearance aisle, and sold them for a nice profit on EBAY, I kept two sets for myself, since they were discountinued by Athearn  I thought I'd hold onto them for a while and see if they re-issue them,since they were bought out by Horizon Hobby, who knows, that small investment might turn into something of value later.
   Always be on the lookout for those little jewels and deals,  and don't forget to check your local dollar everything store....all sorts of diecast goodies lurk in those places.

I'm not sure what ''round off the edge of the cork  with sandpaper'' means, Midwest brand cork roadbed is cut down the middle so you can seperate it easily...once it's apart you'll see that the edges are beveled, no need to sand anything, and the two seperate pieces allow you to make fluid curves without kinking.  I don't know what type of cork dave is using that doesn't come pre-cut and beveled.

Well....it's not a Thomas set for sure....Thomas doesn't have any B&O cars...if it's battery powered I'd say it's definitely an older Bachmann set and it might have some collector value. A pic or three would really be useful for identification.

Getting back on topic....IHC has a pretty good selection of all those buildings you asked about...as well as some that can be easily kitbashed....Model Power had a huge St.Mary's Hospital kit [I don't know if it's still in production, but it turns up on EBAY from time to time], that could easily be used as a school, hospital, apartment building or even an office building.
Walthers catalogs a huge selection of plastic scratchbuilding parts...everything from wall sections to windows\doors to final details, and the prices are really reasonable, so if you're a builder the oppurtunities are almost limitless.
Since most of the kits now are plastic there's no reason several kits from several manufacturers couldn't be cut apart and put together to make a truly one-of-a-kind structure.

Thats a good one Paul!!!  LoL
    I like old plastic too, the detail on some of that older stuff rivals the modern Walthers offerings, I remember looking at the backs of the Tyco kit boxes and dreaming of having all the kits and what a great layout I'd have.......kind of hard to do that on a $2 a week allowance.
   But lately I've been buying those old kits when I find them...EBAY or those little out-of-the-way hobby stores you happen on from time to time. { a side note....there's a little place near here that has a lot of old athearn blue box kits....from $4 to $12....and a pretty good selection of old plastic building kits.....seems like I've been stopping there more lately...Hmmmmmmm   LoL]
   I expect my ''railroad empire'' will have grow a bit if I'm to use all those kits.....oh well, off to Lowes!!!