All of my proto 2000 are transition to early desiel, all of which run much quieter than my athearns. i would expect BLI to be more quiet. Adding a sound system will drown out gear sounds with engine sounds. Try ebay or train shows. All of my protos were purchased relitively cheap, much cheaper than a brand new bli.

Yoy will have to develop a new type of track for that arrangement.

My vote is for light steam. Four or six coupled drivers that doesn't follow a USRA design and is a spectrum quality model. I need a small steamer to pull light mixed freights. I have a 2-8-2, a 4-6-2, and a 2-8-0, but I am looking for a 2-6-0, 2-6-2, or even a modern 4-4-2 like ATSF's. Making a model that isn't already made (pdlethbridge's point )would mean a one of a kind for bachmann and more sales instead of another bigboy or northern. Bigboys and northerns are made often because there is proven sales because of their popularity, but a small modeler needs a smaller branch line engine or even something to move cars around in a yard. USRA types are chosen because many roads used the type and that model can apeal to a larger group of modelers. Unfortunatley, many of us don't model a line that uses many USRA types. Maybe a generic type from a specific manufacturer would work.

I have one of the old ones from six years ago. it was decent until it broke. If it is in a hobyy shop it should be one of the newer releases. I am not sure of the cut-off-date for the generations but the newer one have been out for some time.

If you have high speed internet try http://youtube.com

The 4-8-0 was a rare breed, except on the N&W. I think it would be fine on 22" raduis curves. The real deal is #475 at strausburg pennsylvania. I guess your purchase depends on what you wish to pull. The 4-8-0 was a jack of all trades type but shays didn't have much mainline use, lots of logging and branches. It all depends on 1. how much money 2. your layout and how you want to use it 3. rarity (how often can you buy this at this price)

There are many beautiful spectrum models that are small (4-4-0, 4-6-0, 2-8-0) that come DCC equiped with sound. There are the standard (0-6-0, 2-6-0, 2-6-2) that run decent that come DCC equiped but don't have sound. I would highly disregard smoke as it is a pain to clean up after (dirty rails and thus poor operation), unrealistic, and can overheat and melt and bend the plastic. The sound is a nice feature that is controllable by your DCC controller. Smoke isn't wise for these smaller engines and isn't probably good for an unsupervized child (not that he would be). I would maybe recomend some more cars as well because the starter set only comes with a few.

I watch A Christmas Story every chrsitmas and love the opening scene of the Lionel trains in the window of the department store. Although those are the only trains in the movie besides the faint background whistle, I enjoy the movie and can almost recite it i have watched it so many times.

I watched both episodes and do argee, horseshoe cure is great, but not so great you have to scream it. the engineer had a look on his face like, "buddy, it is just a  curve, so what..." The BNSF track laying part was nice. It was interesting to see them completely remove a tunnel instead of building another one next to it. The host also seemed happy to go 70mph in a train. I wanted to say, it is no different than a car really, except to 7,000ft of cars behind you. Overall it wasn't bad, and I hope they go back to steamtown and other places to show the glory days of railroading.

my old one does 18' just fine but if you want to see if it will do 15", take it to a local hobby shop and set up a half circle of bulk 15"radius track with the engine, tender and a car to see if the gaps are large enough to run.

the spectrum 2-8-0 and 4-4-0 come is southern and look nice. I would buy them if i didn't already model another part of the country. Also (although not spectrum) there is a southern green 2-6-2 that is decent and a small engine. The light mountain was a nice loco, and was also is the southern paint, but only now to be found on ebay or swap meets. The N&W and the C&O had alot of larger motive power so they might be harder to model on 22" curves (possible but not beautiful). The c&o mountain, the n&w J class, and the southern santa fe class will run but may have more overhang than desired, but will still run. Remember as well the planned rolling stock for these engines as longer coaches are not good and super long freights aren't need on a small layout. Several short consists are what you should look for.

All of the locos you listed will run on 22' radius. The larger ones, (2-10-2, 4-8-2, 2-6-6-2) will rn fine but won't look as well as a 2-8-0 or 4-6-0. If you have 22" radius track, you probably don't have a lot of long straights to run long trains, so smaller ones will look better. I have a 2-8-0 and love it. Have fun with your new purchase.

when does it coes out and how often do the episodes debue

I thought this wheel arangement was mostly a narrow guage engine. Im sure they are modeled in HOn2 1/2 or HOn3 but not a standard scale guage.

These engines were rare in the real world as they are in the modling world. The only models that I have seen or heard of for these arrangements are imported brass. These models might have been limited run as well, so there are limited amounts of them if any. I suggest ebay and great american train shows because they have more than local places and have more modelers with rare items.

The SD40-2 was the most used and purchased locomotive by american rail lines until just recently. Most of them are still in use as they were well known for long lasting reliabilaty and power. GM EMD designated deisel electric locomotives with GP (General Purpose) and SD(Special Duty). The SD had six wheel trucks to distribute the weight of the loco over a more axels and thus allowed it to be used on lesser quality rails. GPs were used as road power, yard... as they were the same powerplant as the older brother, but a shorter wheelbase. The GP40 and SD40 were realeased earlier on. The -2 locos were equipped with updated electronics and in some cases more power.