Afternoon Gentlemen:
Been a while since I was on here, hope all is well with everyone!
My son has been running the DCC GP 40 Santa Fe loco today. Suddenly stopped working. Now works in reverse, but as soon as you switch direction it shuts down altogether. Haven't looked at it closely yet, but any advice on potential troubleshooting would be great
Thanks

So, let me tell you something you already know...trains are a lot of fun

Been lurking and posting on here for a couple of months. Finally got a around to setting up my table and starter set last night.

Digital Commander set was easy to set up and performed beautifully out of the box, really impressed by the overall quality and the DCC set up.

But, that wasn't the best part of last night...my 12 year old son and I spent at least four hours together running the trains and having a great time together. The only time we took a break was to get online and order some more track!

Don't usually like the phrase "quality time", but that is what my son and I spent together yesterday - we talked a lot, not just about trains and really enjoyed hanging out together. If this is a by-product of getting back into trains then I am really excited about the possibility of spending time with my kids as we get into trains together.

Thanks to all for your advice getting me up and running, made a great start to the hobby so far.

What do you recommend for fixing EZ track to plywood board? Dont want to glue as I want to experiment a little, assuming nailing is best, but wanted to see what you all thought
Thanks

So, after reading a lot of information on this board and asking a few questions I have decided which starter set to go for. I just ordered the DCC Digital Commander set at a very nice price on Amazon.
Also purchased a "bulk" lot of brand new NS track off ebay and I will be able to set up a double oval to start.
This is not the way I was thinking of going initially so I appreciate your input and expertise in steering me to this decision.
It's been over 30 years since I ran my last train as a kid...can't wait to get started again.

Considering building a train table to lay on top of the ping pong table in my basement. 9 x 5 would be a good size for me to start with, just concerned about the weight.

It's a cheap folding ping pong table, wondering if would take the weight of a plywood train table on top without compromising either the ping pong or train tables.

Anyone tried this?

Good Afternoon All:
First post on this forum. Found some excellent information so far.

As a little background, I grew up with HO trains and have been itching to get back into it for a while. I am looking to start small, see if I can get the kids interested in the hobby. Don't want to spend a ton of money off the bat, but also don't want to waste my money on something that doesn't last, or will need to be replaced in the future.

My intial plan was to get a cheap "starter set" and a track expansion pack. A few questions...

Is that the best way to start?
I was leaning towards steel track, but most of you seem to think the nickel is worth the extra expense...is that correct?
Am I correct in saying that the cars in the cheaper starter sets have plastic wheels? That's a concern if true, right?
Is there a starter set that comes with the better track, loco, cars?

I'm sure I'll have more questions, but that will work for now.

Any input and opinions would be greatly appreciated