I got a Thoroughbred train set this weekend and I found the caboose bogies can spin 360 degrees which makes it the most difficult car to get on rail as they can literally sideways if you are not holding both in place with your fingers. None of the other cars in the set or the other rolling stock I bought from either Bachmann, or another brand has bogies that spin they are usually stopped by the coupler housing. So is that normal for the caboose bogies to spin like that?

I just got the left and right turnout switches added to my track today and seems like the right one is not working properly. They both have power, and the remote switch makes the transfer section move for both, but almost every car I have derails from the right turnout. I tried all kinds of configurations but only one car consistently makes the transfer. Any other car pulled behind the locomotive, or behind the one tank car I have that has no issues, immediately derails as the front wheels fail to catch the turnout. If I try to roll to cars across the turnout by hand they seem to make the transfer, but when they are pulled, they go off track.

So, after an hour or more of frustration I decided to turn the train around and started testing the left turnout. And surprisingly I had no issues at all. Every car in any configuration, makes the transfer on the left turnout without issue.

So that leads me to believe the right turnout is faulty but would love to hear some opinions before I try to exchange it.

I am just getting into model trains, and I am finding one of the more interactive things my kids love is loading and unloading cargo from flat cars, gravel cars, etc. So far, I have created some real logs using a ~1/4" stick I cut and dried. I also got some 1/4" PVC pipe painted it flat white to hide the print that was oversized and wrapped 3 with jewelry chain adding a clasp at the top to allow a crane to pick it up (If I get a crane lol). And I have some 1/4" copper pipe I am going to paint aluminum and do the same thing as the PVC. Anyone have other suggestions on cargo for my kids to play with?
 

I am setting up my first track this weekend and one of the first parts to I received is the 9" straight terminal rerailer. It says I need to connect it to a power pack, but I do not know if that a separate unit or if that the same thing as the power pack with speed controller the train set comes with. Can anyone help me out here as I also purchased the left and right remote turnouts which I believe also say they need a power pack. So if I need to get another powerpack for these track pieces I want to order it asap.

I have always wanted to get into model trains and with my son now 6 y/o this Christmas seemed like a great time to jump in, so I did a little searching and found the Thoroughbred RTR set that looked like a nice starting point, especially at the price. But I wanted to know if i ever wanted to upgrade is this loco something that is DCC compatible and with sound? If not is that something that can be added or is that where you need to step up to the more expensive locomotives that have the DCC, and sound advertised? Any help is appreciated.