Last year's issue was ordered in early March and arrived at the beginning of October, so two weeks sounds absolutely fantastic. Looking forward to it.

BTW, Ken, if you don't get the rocket sled from "The Great Race" you can always try for the one from "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr." 

Dave, my memory is a bit rusty since its been a while since I used my coupler height gauge. Yes, the two raised areas on the gauge are meant to go between the rails and they are a tight fit, as in you need to put one side  in and then exert a little sideways pressure to seat the other side. They are definitely not a drop-in fit; they are supposed to be snug. One thing you might try is to mount the gauge to different pieces of track - some are looser than others due to normal manufacturing tolerances. Hope this helps.

Well, I just placed my order. Curious to see how long it will take to get here.

Dave, I used to model in N scale and still have my Micro-Trains N-gauge coupler height gauge.  My son has all of my N scale trains plus the track but I still have a piece of N scale EZ track that I use as a programming track when he visits here ("Dad, can you look at this locomotive while I'm here ......"). The Micro-Trains coupler height gauge fits very nicely on top of the track on my EZ track and works very well. Remember, the gauge is designed to fit on the track (rails) itself, not on the roadbed. The rails are supposed to fit into the grooves in the bottom of the gauge and the "shelf" on the lower edge of the gauge is for setting the clearance for the uncoupling lever (looks like a bent hose). Hope this helps.

Ken, thank you for the post. To tell the truth, it had kind of slipped my mind that its about that time of the year. I hope to place my order shortly.

Dave, unfortunately, the answer to your question as which coupler is: It Depends. Different cars, even from the same manufacturer, can take different couplers, so it depends on which cars you have and who made them. Fortunately, Micro-Trains has a coupler conversion guide on their website that attempts to list which coupler model fits what. Note that I said "attempts" because there is always an exception to the rule. I would look at this guide first, before you buy anything, to give you an idea of what is available. Couplers are usually available in short, medium or long shanks, with overset, underset or centerset heads, as well as some more unusual styles for specialty situations. Looking at the guide should at least give you an idea as to what is applicable for your situation. Hope this helps.

I used to model in N scale and used Micro Trains and Bachmann couplers interchangeably. Never had a compatibility problem. As with any product, sometimes you get a balky coupler in either brand and you have to change it out. The Micro Trains coupler height gauge worked on both brands. Hope this helps.

I don't know if this holds true for the Prodigy Express system or not, but in order to program my Bachmann locomotives on my Digitrax Zephyr system, per Digitrax support, I have to add a 1K-ohm resistor across the rails on the programming track in order for the Digitrax system to recognize the Bachmann decoders. According to Digitrax support, some of the Bachmann decoders do not generate enough of a "load" for the Digitrax system to recognize them. Once I added the resistor, all of my programming problems disappeared. Digitrax also recommends removing the resistor when programming other (non-Bachmann) decoders. Again, the above may not hold true for your system. Hope this helps.

Scottmac, I don't know if this will help you or not. I also don't know how to get at the wipers on the back of the wheels either. However, I own several Porters, both 0-4-0 and 0-4-2, which are notoriously finicky when it comes to power pickup. What I do is lay the locomotive upside-down in a foam cradle and apply power to the wheels using a 9-volt battery, This is enough to turn the wheels slowly. Then I take a cotton swab with isopropyl alcohol and hold it onto the back of each wheel as it is turning. I do this several times to each wheel. You would be amazed at the amount of gunk that comes off each wheel. The above procedure usually solves my electrical pickup problems. Just so you know, I generally only have to do this approximately once or twice a year. FYI, I also own a Whitcomb diesel but have not had any problems with it so far. Hope this helps.

I've used the new parts interface at least a half-dozen times, have placed two orders and have not had any problems. I didn't know about the "hovering" feature until it was mentioned by Bachmann Industries above, but have since used it, and find it to be a real timesaver. Good job, Bachmann.

That looks great, Terry! Thanks for sharing the pictures.

I agree with Terry. Unfortunately, older engines, like what you have, are not as easy to convert to DCC as it may seem. First, you would have to know whether or not the motor is electrically insulated from the frame in order for the DCC decoder to function. Next, you would have to find space for the decoder and the speaker. In many of the older DC locomotives, the frame (read weight) occupied most, if not all, of the space in the locomotive and many refits required milling of said frame to make enough room. It is possible to install the decoder and speaker in the tender but then you would have to install a wiring harness between the locomotive (for the power pickup, motor and lights) and the tender. BTW, since you mention that the loco is Dept. 56, I've been going with the assumption that it is HO scale. If its N scale, the work will be a lot more difficult due to size issues.

Purchasing a locomotive, such as Terry suggested, and swapping the bodies on the loco and tender might be a much better, and probably cheaper, way to go. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info, Terry.

That looks sharp, Terry! Are you using a 9V battery or something smaller?
Great looking car. You're giving me ideas and that's dangerous  .

Well, it seems that in order to view the pictures, one must have Facebook account and, since I don't have one, I can't view them. Thanks for trying.