while i was reading through the latest issue of MR i stumbled on an article i found very interesting it was an article about what a few people think about what will happen to this hobby by 2017 there were some very interesting theories like how one person thought that the most modeled era will be the 1980's or how model steamers will be able to emitt scents so that they can sound, look and smell like the real thing. Seeing as this article was made sing people's opinions i fighured it would be a good idea for a chat topic and so i will start us off!

i think that in 2017 the smoke systems in model steamers will look a lot more realistic with the added option of opening and closing the cyilinder cocks so that when they are open smoke emitts from the sides of the loco making it look a lot more believeable!!

does anybody have any info on the proto 2000 0-8-0 switcher? like how it runs, sounds and pulls? im thinking of getting one for my on-the-carpet version or the CNR
all help is appreciated
tyvm! (thank you very much)

i may get a spectrum n&w j kitbashed into a CNR U4-a class northern but the u class had 77 inch white-walled drivers and the j class had 70 inch drivers. does anybody know if i could replace the stock wheels and if yes where might i be able to get a set of 77 inch white-walled wheels

thanks for all the help and support.
Andy fekete

i am overjoyed that i have just purchased a tsunami heavy steam deacoder along with a 1' speaker and my lhs is installing it in my spectrum 2-10-2 for me! Yay!!!  but i forgot to ask and they forgot to mention approximately how long this installation would take. i figured that many of you on this board have experience with things like this and you might be able to provide me with an ETA for my engine.

i will post pictures as ASAP

i was just wondering how i could have fun with my current setup i have stopped playing with my trains for the time being because watching two trains going around an oval just does'nt appeal to me anymore this is what i have:
2 trains:
1.) a string of 5 steamlined coaches pulled by my BLI CNR hudson (my dcc system does'nt have enough power to run it faster than half speed)
2.) a 15 car freight train pulled by a B-MAN CNR 2-10-2
layout:
i have a large double-tracked oval with 2 crossovers to allow trains to switch tracks.
the layout is made out of e-z track and there is no backdrop for scene separation.
any help is greatly appreciated and i would also like to hear how YOU have fun with you trains when doing the same thing over and oer again gets boring.

Andy Fekete

does anybody know if it's easy to get a spectrum sound equipped engine in ontario? im planning on getting a j class northern kitbashed into a u4-a northern.
and does anybody know of a suitable deacoder speaker combination for my CNR 2-10-2 that i plan to make prototypical.

ps: here's the real 2-10-2 u can see the abundance of missing parts.

I just got an idea for a exiting game here's how it goes. if you could design a loco using traits from other locos on your what would you use for example i would use the styling of a CNR 6400 class northern

the wheel arangement of a UP 9000 class


and the massive 80 inch wheels of a santa fe northern

im tring to convince my dad into getting a Bachmann j class 4-8-4 with sound converted into a CNR U4-a class Northern by the folks at esn model trains in Barrie, Ontario.
(www.esnmodeltrains.com)
he thinks it's not worth it to get a engine that works fine already converted inot something that might not work as well.
to the best of my understanding after the conversion the models are tested and all problems worked out. this is my favourite loco and I don't want to pay $3000+ for a brass model of it
if you have anything to say that could help me in my quest please feel free to say it!

i forgot when is the n&w j class coming out with sound?

thanks

I've seen tons of requests on the new board (which i love!) and I can't help but notice the fact that bachmann has only 2 Canadain loco's that i know of both of wich are not exactly very prototypical. They are both CNR and i honestly think that bachmann should have a few more than 2. I'm not trying to critisize bachmann as this is my opinion but does anybody agree?
I know i would definatly love to see a CNR U4-a class 4-8-4 as i only know of one company that makes it. it's a brass model that costs over $3000 (cnd), CNR S1-f MIkado or a CPR 4-6-4 royal hudson, 4-4-4 Jubilee or a massive CPR 2-10-4 selkirk

Does anybody agree or have any other recomendations?