Frisco,
Thanks for the suggestion.  My "local" hobby shop is a 60-mile roundtrip.  The owner is more interested in RC planes & cars.  Most items I want his train person would have to order specially.  Consequently, if I am not satisfied with the product, he can't just return it to his shelf & doesn't want to bother with me.
  The nearest model train club is just as far away, & they did not respond to my e-mail asking about hobbyists in my home town.  With a population of 15,000, there must be other hobbyists, but I haven't figured out how to find any yet.

Yampa Bob,
  I stuck with dial-up for 14 years, mostly because we got it free through the university, but last year, I got AT&T Basic DSL for $10 a month for the first 12 months; after that it will cost $15.  I get up 768 Kbps downstream speeds.  All you need is a phone line & a DSL modem, & AT&T gave me a $50 rebate to pay for the modem.  I find downloading files is about 15 times faster than with my 56k modem, which never got faster than a 42k connection. 
  I am among those who would miss your contributions.

 I see that Walters http://www.walthers.com/exec/page/20th_century is taking orders for this famous train circa 1949.  It's not the model I saw in the classic 1934 film, "The Twentieth Century," but it probably resembles the one in the 1959 classic, "North by Northwest."
  Does anyone here model the 20th Century Limited?  I haven't noticed any models for sale until now.

 modeltrainstuff.com has just gotten back in stock McHenry 52 couplers that will replace the horn & hook couplers on my IHC passenger cars!  So far, my passenger train is running well with the horn & hook couplers wired together, so the MHC52s should be even better.

 I have on my wish list the Intermountain FB unit that is made for my Intermountain FA.  I just don't understand the need for sound in a B unit, which jacks up the price from just DCC without sound.

Jim Banner,
  I am using the E-Z Command Control & expect that I could re-program a B unit to the same address my F7A uses.  Since DCC without sound is much cheaper than DCC with sound, I think it makes sense just to have DCC & sound in the A unit & DCC without sound in the B.  However, I don't see this option for the Intermountain F7A DCC with sound I have or for any other F7A-F7B combination.  This means paying as much for the B unit as I did for the A locomotive.  I'm surprised at how much I've already spent getting started during the last two months. 
Thanks for explaining the amount of power a powered B unit would add.  My F7A pulls 8 passenger cars at a top speed of 69 scale mph.  That's a longer train than the 12 freight cars my Spectrum EMD SD-45 pulls at a top speed of 85 mph.

 Thanks Guilford Guy, KCS 1, & SteamGene.  I'll look for Kadee 5#s.

 I would like to replace a Kadee compatible E-Z Mate coupler on my Spectrum EMD SD-45, but I don't know what the size number is.
  HO Scale Model Railroading suggests using a hobby knife stuck between coils to insert the coupler spring.  I can't see if I have it in correctly; I can see that the coupler is not closing properly with the spring in it.

GlennW,
Thanks.  I don't know how a 10% increase in power equals pulling twice as many cars, but I can understand if both units have equal power, they can pull twice as many cars.
  I want to know what B unit would work with my DCC FA.  I don't see how a DC B unit would work with a DCC A locomotive.  I see some B units with DCC & sound, but it makes no sense to me to pay for sound in a B unitl  I find few details of specifications on manufacturers' or sellers websites.

 After reading about making consists of 2 or more locomotives, I wonder what a powered F7B unit would add to my F7A.  Is it more realistic to run FA with FB?  Would a powered B unit add more speed & more pulling power?  Does it use about as much electricity as the locomotive?  Would I have to re-program it to run at the same address as the F7A?  I have an Intermountain EMD F7A Great Northern locomotive.  I realize that for appearances only, an unpowered B unit is a cheaper alternative.

KCS1,
  Maybe the manual was  printed in China. 
Someone wrote that 2 DCC locomotives with sound would not run with his E-Z Command, so I thought one would need the 5 amp booster.  Do you run DCC locos with sound on E-Z Commands's 1 amp?  I am running one DCC loco without sound & one DCC loco with sound.

  Len, I glad to learn that 72' passenger cars can still be valid for the 1940s or '50s.
Thanks for the info about the spring tool & leashing those ornery springs with thread.  It is difficult to see whether or not I have the spring exactly in place to make the coupler close.
  I don't know what size number my couplers are, so I'm not sure which size number to get.

 I solved my problem but not by following the manual!  I bought my E-Z Command "Like New" from eBay.  The instructional DVD was missing, however, so I e-mailed the seller.   The DVD arrived Friday.  It is very helpful, because it shows someone programming the control.  The instructions are different from those in the manual! 
  While the manual says to press & release address 3 & Stop simultaneously, the DVD says to press 3, hold it down, press & release Stop & then release 3.  The the LED blinked faster than I'd ever seen it.  Then, I clicked Address 1, the locomotive moved slightly, & the LED blinked slower.  Finally, I pressed Stop, & my F7A locomotive was programmed for Address!

  Pacific Northern,
  I did find that trivia interesting.
  Don't anybody get a hernia laughing, but while I wait to get McHenry52 couplers to replace the horn & hook ones on my IHC passenger cars, I got some fine, very flexible wire & wired the couplers together, except the Athearn passenger car, which I coupled to my F7A.  This is working on my layout with 22"r curves.
  The Kadee-Compatible E-Z Mate knuckle coupler on the back of my Spectrum EMD SD-45 was not holding onto the knuckle coupler on the car, so I tried to adjust it.  The tiny spring sprung out.  I lost it for about 15 minutes.  I had a devil of a time getting it back to about how it was before & not closing.  I think I'd rather replace a coupler than struggle with those tiny springs.  Too bad Bachmann didn't include a spare coupler.    My Walthers train set includes 2 spare couplers.  I guess I'll have to get some spare knuckle couplers.

 I solved my problem but not by following the manual!  I bought my E-Z Command "Like New" from eBay.  The instructional DVD was missing, however, so I e-mailed the seller.   The DVD arrived Friday.  It is very helpful, because it shows someone programming the control.  The instructions are different from those in the manual! 
  While the manual says to press & release address 3 & Stop simultaneously, the DVD says to press 3, hold it down, press & release Stop & then release 3.  The the LED blinked faster than I'd ever seen it.  Then, I clicked Address 1, the locomotive moved slightly, & the LED blinked slower.  Finally, I pressed Stop, & my F7A locomotive was programmed for Address!