there are diesels out there with sound already installed within your price range.
Which one?  that is your call!  here are some examples to get you started with

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/HO-Scale-Diesel-s/1460.htm?searching=Y&sort=1&cat=1460&search=sound&show=40&page=1

Steam, like their real counterparts, tend to be more pricey and fussy, however these Bachmann steam locos might be within reach.
Use at least 22inch radius curves

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/HO-Scale-Steam-s/1461.htm?searching=Y&sort=1&cat=1461&search=sound&show=16&page=1

a clip  for all that have not seen the movie yet,,this clip features 777

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSZqY69Xua0

Some people LIKE the smoke feature.

http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_68_91&products_id=1705


Use a precision screwdriver set, it should be the only tools needed for this.

Quote from: RLS on November 14, 2010, 09:46:36 AM
how long does it take for bachman to fix and send back a locomotive

i sent in a 2-8-0....it took about two weeks,,,as stated earlier it might take longer the closer we get to the Big Holiday season. 
If you have other locos,by all means enjoy them while the other is absent,,,time flies when having fun.

They are out there,,quite possibly the most handy track pack you can have for EZ for those odd fits

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=3230

http://www.trainsetsonly.com/page/TSO/PROD/160-44592

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/product-p/bac-44592.htm

2x  0.75 inch
2x  1.00 inch
2x  1.25 inch
2x  1.50 inch
2x  2.00 inch

You should not have any problems if stored for a short time.
jdmike offers some good ideas for short term storage, in your case about two months.
I have enough locos that i can't run all off them all of the time and sometimes they sit for several months before the mood strikes me to run certain locos and they run just fine despite having not been used for a spell.


I have two HO locos that were in storage for over 20 YEARS,,,just a drop of oil here and there, cleaned the wheels and they ran like new after running for a few minutes.
I even have a Lionel 2-4-2 O scale that was in storage for close to at least 25 years that runs good as new,,,again after a drop of oil here and there.

542 and 543,,,,,Code 83 Atlas snap track switches?

The Nickel-Silver alloy
This
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=194
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=195

there are the Steel alloy versions too
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=240
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=241


Just a friendly reminder,,,Bachmann EZ track is Code 100

I would go with Lionels'  Polar Express.
I have the Polar Express,,that Loco weighs about a ton, it is cast metal.
Not the G scale battery powered set,, THIS set , the traditional O scale

http://www.trainsetsonly.com/page/TSO/PROD/434-31960

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Lionel-O-631960-Polar-Express-Train-Set-p/lio-631960.htm

lots of extras to go with it as well
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=Polar+Express

The track that comes with the set will give you a basic oval , 40"x60"

With good care the loco will probably outlast you!

Shinohara is another manufacturer that makes curved switches

here is a link, again look around they are there

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/category-s/1538.htm?searching=Y&sort=2&cat=1538&brand=Shinohara&show=16&page=1

a Geezer Gate!,,,kind of hard to hear him over the music track but still worth viewing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Acm7J1fd4JQ

PECO makes curved switches.

Try this link to see for yourself, look around they are there.

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/category-s/1538.htm?searching=Y&sort=13&cat=1538&show=16&page=1&brand=Peco

Quote from: simkon on November 06, 2010, 06:31:05 PM
The loco can't be brand new and purchased a few years ago, because the 4-8-4 Niagara has not been made with smoke for quite a while. Does the box say Bachmann Plus, if so your loco is not brand new and is at least 10 years old. That may be part of the problem, and the smoke units were never very reliable in the first place, they are just a novelty effect for the non-serious model railroader or for show for the kids. The smoke actually will make you need to clean your track and locomotive much more often because it will form a film on the rails and wheels and cause poor conductivity. As long as the loco runs fine otherwise there is no reason to do anything nor is there anything you can do anyways because the loco is no longer available with smoke. For items more than one year old, there is a nominal service charge for repair or replacement , for your loco it would be $25 plus an additional $50 DCC upgrade fee plus $12 to ship the locomotive and you are looking at $87 for a new DCC loco without smoke, which accomplishes nothing in the end if you want smoke.

OBVIOUSLY this guy did not even bother reading the question and just went off on an Anti-Smoke Crusader answer.


"Just answer the question"  = Sam Donaldson, ABC newsreporter.   


A locomotive can still be considered new if purchased along time ago but never used.
In the Model RR world among others this is called  "New Old Stock".

Did you run the loco at 75% to 100% throttle? The smoke units usually won't work at lower speeds.
Even at 100% it will NOT fly off the the track.
Sometimes they won't work if Over-filled with fluid.
Could just be a defective smoke unit.

If you choose too, you could always try a new replacement smoke unit.

http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_68_91&products_id=1705

OR

You could choose to try a new smoke unit.

http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_68_155&products_id=1706

None that I am aware of.
I imagine it would have been done by now if practicable.
Chemical properties would have something to do with it,,like making the kind fumes that are ,shall we say are not good for ones health. Even more so than the traditional smoke we know now. but that is pure speculation.

There Are scented smoke fluids out there however, including one that is coal scented.

looks like i misinterpreted the 2nd Q

Joe S is probably right about bringing the turn out back to run parallel .

back to Q1,,,the smallest locos i  currently have are 2-6-2s and they can handle going through the unpowered frog without any problems. 

Not sure about even smaller locos like 4 axle switchers.