Years ago they had a consolidation which suffered a firebox explosion in 1995.  I thought I read somewhere, they obtained a replica 4-4-0 just last year.

I just used an old one to hold a model I was painting.  Stuffed one end in a cardboard tube and pushed the model shell on it.   Maybe use it for a load in a hopper (pinch off pieces to shape it).  It might be used to clean track or wheels, but that might shred it.

Blackstone made a limited run K27 in 2012.  Since the real ones were 3' gauge, the models are HOn3.

Contrary to popular belief, IHC still exists.  According to their web site they still sell the pacific for around $150.  It might be better to replace the old one than fix it.  I am not vouching for the quality of IHC locos and am not connected with the company.

You might try joining the 'Early Rail' group at Yahoo.com if you are interested in this sort of info

At the time the company closed, the owner stated on their website that she had not sold the line, she was just shutting down.  Minot, ND was flooded several years ago;  I dont know if anything still exists.  I wish I had stocked up on more of their decals when I had the chance.

Sounds like a DCC problem.  Contact Bachmann's repair department

I read a thread on the Atlas HO forum,that RailFlyer Models has operating HO traction motors.  Could be just the thing for critter builders.

I own 50 of the old ones, without the DCC.  They are the best locomotives I ever owned.  Be careful when yuou seperate the loco from the tender; the wires pull out of the plugs easily.

The images of rail equipment are computer generated wannabes.  They were generated by a person who almost, but not quite, knew what a train looked like.  Look at the pilot of the locomotive; the lower end of the coupling link does not exist.  It just ends in a blob.  The locomotive has an air compressor.  It looks like a 55 gallon drum sitting on the walkway, with plumbing.  There were no airbrakes in the 1860s so it does not belong there. 
The railroad's 'end of track' changed by the hour.  "Hell on Wheels" was the name for the portable den of iniquity that followed the railroad's construction camp.
The clerestory on the passenger car was not unusual for the time.

I would doubt it.
There was no such thing as standard gauge before the Civil War.  There were some as small as 18",there were 2'. 3' and the Erie was 5', with every imaginable gauge in between.
Narrow gauge modelim\ng is a minority interest.  Pre-Civil War railroads are in the minority.  On30 is in the minority.  Add them all together and the chances are slim.

Use the Microscale decals.  Railroads used specific fonts on their rolling stock.  I think PRR used 'Clarendon Heavy Serif Bold' or something. 

Get an NMRA standards gauge.  You can buy one from their website.

I take an old AHM wheel set and pull the metal axle out.   Glue the half axle into the kingpin hole with the wheel flat on the floor and the shaft out the kingpinn hole.  Then I saw the shaft off flush with the bolster bottom, tap the hole 2-56 and mount the truck.

Fergot about the Virginian...Thanks!