I also would love to see the coaches available for separate sale, especially lettered for New York Central.

I have on of these and it's a good runner. The pilot truck occasionally derailed though. I turned the pilot truck over as skipgear described and it derails no more. Thanks skip.

I have a truly local hobby shop, about 15 minutes away, but it specializes in RC. They have some trains, very little N scale. I can't talk trains with them because they know nothing about trains.

I do frequent a hobby shop that's a little over an hour away. They are train people and know their product. I get a decent discount and they will take orders over the phone. They call me when my trains arrive. I shop there when I can. They also will call manufacturers to find out specifics before I order.

I also shop at Trainland, which is owned by the same family as Trainworld, a couple of times a year. It's a long drive through New York City (I live about 70 miles north of NYC). This is not a fun drive, so I don't go too often. But they have a well stocked shop and give a good discount, so it's worth the trip.

I had a train hobby shop that was close, but it closed. The owner was into HO and didn't know much about N. He was also reluctant to order anything.

Even with a LHS it's important to know what you are buying. I love Bachmann's trains, but the product descriptions are very, very poor. Even with a LHS the hobby has moved to pre-orders, so you have to know what you are ordering.

It's easy to tell people what they should or shouldn't do. In truth, each person decides how to spend their precious hobby dollars. Whether you shop at a LHS or online is up to you.

With the Digitrax Zephyr you can use two power packs as throttles. I don't know how easy or convenient it is, but I know it can be done. I looked into the Zephyr before I decided that Lenz was the best choice for me.

Digitrax will work fine for N scale. In fact, any DCC system that works for HO will work for N. Decoders can be scale and even engine specific. The Digitrax Zephyr is a very good starter set, as is the NCE Power Cab. The best advice is to try each system at a club, shop or train show. It's more a matter of what you like and how easy you find each one to use. Many guys like Digitrax. I don't. I find it difficult to use. I have a Lenz Set 100 which I love. If you try them you may like Digitrax better.

The new Spectrum 2-8-0 with DCC lettered for New York Central. And the 4-8-2 with DCC in NYC livery as well. In fact, any NYC engine with DCC on board, but the Consolidation and Mohawk would be my first choices.