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Tom
during the summer months; as such, I like my locos to have BRIGHT 
headlights! (The Bachmann 45-ton diesel came factory-equipped with them & is similarly bright). 
; & I can tell you from my own experiences maintaining CNC machine tools 20 years ago that optical encoders do NOT like dirt of any sort! In a model steam loco with the motor in a more "conventional" location (such as the firebox), external to the gearing, this isn't a problem. ; I'd suggest you ask Raymond4449 in the DCC forum of mylargescale.com what he'd suggest for a DCS decoder in the Shay, he's pretty much considered the "resident DCS guru" there. Tom
They run at prototypically slow speeds (unless you crank the track voltage up to something ridiculous) , so there isn't much momentum to worry about. With the motors actually down inside the trucks, there isn't room for Bachmann to stick a flywheel in there anyway. Tom
Seen plenty of them on eBay for certain, just be sure not to get over-enthusiastic in bidding. for their P5). I have one of the factory DCC-&-Sound equipped 3 truck Shays myself, & although it's volume is not what the Phoenix boards are capable of, I find the volume level acceptable. (I live in a densely-populated neighborhood, so I try not to get too "over-enthusiastic" with sound system volume levels.) I have one of the Spectrum "Centennial" Moguls equipped with a Phoenix P5 board; if I crank the volume up, I can actually hear the exhaust echo off the neighboring houses! (Some of the times I've "cranked it up" has been at the request of the neighbors 
- the garden railroad's a "big hit" locally!). Tom
or clobber someone at a grade crossing. 
- I think that might be a good idea! Tom
for a Shay; if you're running DCC, it's easy to correct by changing the chuff rate CV to it's maximum value. with an Accucraft live-steam Shay! Tom
(Unfortunately, 1 PA is down with stripped gears. ). I'll have a name tag on me if I run across any of you guys there; definetly plan to stop by the Bachmann display! Tom
of them! (Also couldn't think of a loco that would be a bigger hit if offered in a Christmas set! ). might consider adding a Thomas set to the roster just to entertain younger visitors! Tom
Love your scratchbuilt coaling tower! Tom
Mr. B., can I look forward to seeing you at the Bachmann booth? (Want to give the new "Malley" a good look-over). Who else is going 
: "Malley!" Tom
The prototype solution was to use a bent link; I've often seen this done as well on many model logging layouts. I may eventually pick up some of the AMS disconnects myself (would have already if I didn't already own some of the LGB ones ). The AMS ones are definetely better detailed. Also, in my own case, I use Kadees on my locomotives, just convert the end trucks on a string of disconnects to Kadees, retain the link-&-pins within a disconnect set (in my case, typically 6 disconnect trucks, or 3 "cars"). Tom
... , independently radio controlled (this was true doubleheading - I had a visiting uncle of mine controlling the second engine - we had to coordinate speed & direction on both locos, which was the reason for all the "Go-ahead-&-back-up!" instructions! ). ...