Hi Tom: here is a good site showing how to ballast and paint track [http://www.trmodels.com/scenics.html] you will find great books on the sublect at any Model train shop.

Dave

Hi Chris: check to see if the side rods are bent this will cause binding. If they are just bend them out.

Just checking that you cleaned the track and wheels with alcohol and or
a track cleaning fluid like ACT 6006 as anything else will leave residue behind that interfers with electrical contact.

Dave

You need 2 Terminal strips to provide power to your layout. Just cut the red
feeder wires, strip the ends and attach to the Terminal blocks and attach all the new feeders to the block, easy. You can get Terminal blocks at Radio Shack. http://www.allelectronics.com/matrix/Dual_Row_Strips.html

Dave

But I would have to figure out how to get that spliced into the wires I am running from my power pack. Just run the wires to your powerpack, its that easy.

Dave

You can save yoursself a lot of trouble by using Atlas terminal rail joiners. See the web site:
http://www.atlasrr.com/Images/Track/Trackphotos/842.gif

Dave

Hi Walter: just cut them off, they serve no purpose.

Dave

I have found that the smoke generators easily burn out if you run the Engine for any amount of time without oil in the reservoir and you only get any noticeable amount of oil if you run it at a unrealistic unprototypical high speed. Its best to do without smoke generators at HO scale on indoor layouts.

Dave

Hi Ray: I am a Civil War reenactor with the 10th Loisianna and our group yearly makes a donation to the Civil War Preservation Trust. Just recently one of our members asked me about that the Hawthorne Village 2-6-0 and I told him what I told you. The Ad can be misleading.

David

Hi Ray: the Hawthorne Village 2-6-0 with a Confederate theme is not a Civil war era engine nor is the rolling stock. Hawthornes Ad which has been in magazines for years does not claim it is a Civil era locomotive nor does it claim Robert E. Lee used it. It is abviousely a turn of the Century Mogul with a electic head light, which by the way did not exist in 1861 to 65. The ANV battle flag on the cars is even incorrectly proportioned and is not the Confederate national flag.

David

You left out Canada you filthy Colonial swine! God save the Queen!

David

QSI does not sell there sound system seperatly but you can get and MRC HO steam sound modul and wireless controller. They list it at $84.98. They claim if your Engine is DCC ready it plugs right in.

David

You should not use 3n1 oil to clean anything on a plastic model train or even lubricate it. You must now use Isopropyl alcohol to properly clean the drive wheels of your engine and to remove the oil residue. Use the alcohol to clean the tracks also.

Dave

There is no historical doubt that the worlds most the Historic Railroad is the CPR. Historians call it the worlds greatest engineering achievement. The imposible railroad built from coast to coast throught the worlds worst
terrain and in record time. It created a Nation, perserved it (54-40 or fight), moulded it and today maintains it. It was the ribbon of steel that bound the provinces together. There is no nation in History that is so connected to a railroad as Canada and the CPR were.

David

Hi Martin; you do not have to return your Athearn engine and your "enthusiast " friend does not know of what he speaks. All HO scale DC engines sold in North America will run on any modern DC power pack. Peak DC voltage may vary but it will not damage your Engine. For sound equiped engine you will want to use a newer MRC Tech4 pack or my power pack of choice the MRC 9500 which puts out 2.5 amps.

David