First, what you seem to have there is only one block, because you have not indicated any insulated rail joints (or gaps) that make one section of the railroad electrically isolated from other part(s).  That is OK for a small layout.  If you want to make the inner loop and outer loop separate "blocks", you would do that with a separate bus to feed each loop and put "gaps" in the two crossovers to electrically separate the rails in the inner loop from the rails in the outer loop.

Typically, for DCC layouts, people do that only so that they can put separate circuit breakers on each block, so that a short in one block only stops the train(s) in that block, while the trains in other blocks continue to run.  But, with a low-power command station, the circuit breaker for the command station is usually set lower than the lowest separate DCC circuit breaker on the market, so that would be kind of a waste for your consideration, right now.

As for the ends of the bus(es), it really doesn't matter on a small layout.  For large layouts, the longer wiring on the buses can start to distort the DCC signals and mess-up train control (all over the layout, not just at the ends of the buses).  So, there are "snubbers" that are really just a capacitor and a resistor (of the proper values) connected in series across the wires for the two tracks, which basically absorb the DCC commands so that they don't reflect back along the wires from the ends. 

But, what you have drawn will work fine as one block that can control multiple trains running on any loop(s), using one command station.  If you want to have 2 or more people independently controlling 2 or more trains at the same time, you need to use a command station that can connect with multiple throttles, but you don't need multiple blocks (like you would need if it was a DC layout instead of a DCC layout).

What you are asking seems to be a little different than what you really mean.  So, let's be careful to be clear so that you don't make an expensive mistake.  

Obviously two people could set up two entirely separate loops with two Easy Commands and run a train on each one totally independent of the other.  That is true even if the two loops are set up with one totally inside the other.

But, it sounds like you really want the two loops to be connected somewhere, so that the train on one can go to the other loop.  That is where you would cause trouble.  One problem is that the electrical pickups on the locomotive wheels would be picking up power from both command stations at the same time as it crosses the gap from one loop to the other.  A problem like a short at that point might be able to double the voltage through your loco because the two power systems are not bonded electrically.  And, they might feed double the current through the short.

Another potential problem is that the control signals to the train would be coming from one command station, then both, then the other, as the locomotive changes loops.  Unless the two command stations were sending the same signals to that loco's address, the loco may get "confused".  I am not sure what the Bachmann DCC command station logic is like, but command stations that comply with NMRA standards will also "get confused" when two are connected together on the same rails, which is what the loco will do when changing loops if each loop is on a different command station.

You probably already realize that the Easy Command can run more than one train at a time, so that you could power both loops with one Easy Command and run two trains independently at the same time. Except that the Easy Command can only send signals to change speed, direction, lights, etc. to one loco address at a time.  I did that for years under a Christmas tree - running two locos with one Easy Command.  When I had only one loop, both locos were on the same loop, and I just kept switching the Easy Command between addresses to control the speeds so they became matched and neither train caught up to the other.  That can be difficult, because there is a problem unless you keep track of where the speed dial is set for both trains and switch to a vacant address between switching to the other locomotive so that you can reset the speed dial to where you left it for the other train without affecting the one you are switching from.

And, of course, with 2 loops, it does not matter if the trains are running at different speeds or the same speed, so you could even use the same loco address for both with one Easy Command, so that they would both start and stop, etc. together.

But, what it sounds like you really want is two throttles that can drive two locos independently anywhere on the whole layout.  To do that, you need a different DCC system that has a single command station that can use multiple throttles.  You can only have one command station hooked to the layout, but command stations like those made by NCE and Digitrax (and others) can take inputs from multiple throttles and send them out to multiple locos in a coordinated manner at the same time.  

If you are serious about the hobby, getting one of the main-stream command stations is a good next step.  It would give you much more control of your locos, both in where they can run and how independently you can control them, plus, you would have better control of functions like sounds, lighting and grouping multiple locos to run together in single trains with one controller (called "consisting" or "MUing").

Yardmaster, I see that you deleted my post when you finally replied to Inkaneer.  That deleted my instructions to him (and others) on how to sign-up for notification if and when the parts he needs become available.  You should provide those instructions in a follow-up post if you must delete my posts.

The fact is that Bachmann's parts are highly sought after, both the detail parts and the mechanical parts like all-wheel, low-friction, electrical-pickup trucks.  When they are offered on the parts catalog website, they tend to sell out fast because they are not being bought just by people who want them to repair Bachmann locomotives, but also by people who want to use them to either "kit-bash" Bachmann products into models that Bachmann does not sell, or to use them with non-Bachmann products to improve those other things.

I think that Bachmann should take this as a compliment, and try to actually support that parts market.  It would not only increase Bachmann's sales, it would expand the whole hobby and put Bachmann in a leadership position, plus provide for more reliable application of Bachmann's "lifetime warranty" to actually repair damaged locos instead of just replacing them with current locos of a different type that the owner may not really want.

They even make fishplates for N scale.  But, they can't be sale thickness. So, putting them on the insides of the rails may cause derailments.  (Putting them anywhere may cause mental issues in this scale.)

If it had been named in more recent times, when acronyms were in-vogue, maybe it would have been called a TOAD, for Train On Another Direction.  A doubt very many of the acronym guys ever saw the bottom of a horse's foot.

I assume you are using Woodland Scenic ballast, which is really walnut shells that have been ground-up and painted.  So, they float on water.  That tends to make the glue application change the shape of the loose ballast that you carefully created with a brush.  Using a mister to wet the ballast might help avoid floating the ballast, if you can figure out now much misting is enough and how much will cause float.

Another possibility is to use heavier ballast materia, such as Arizona Rock and Mineral, which is actually rock that has been ground-up.  However, loose particles of that are much more detrimental to locomotive gears if they get picked-up.  And, some of those particles are magnetic, so it is easier to pick them up with steel parts on the locos.  If you do use the rock ballast, you still need to use "wet" water, because just the surface tension on those small rock particles is enough to float them on regular water.

Many of the previous replys are making more confusion than clarity.

"N gauge" is 9 mm, and track all over the world is all 9 mm for N gauge.  But, real railroads in different parts of the world have different track gauges.  So, when somebody scales-down their trains, buildings, people figures, etc. by the ratio of real track gauge to 9mm, they get slightly different numbers.  That means that "N scale" is different between different countries that have different real railroad track gauges.

But none of that applies to the OP's question.  What he wants to know is whether he can use a U.S. version of a Bachmann electrical power supply to run a train made in Germany, and use Bachmann track.

For the track, the answer is probably "yes".  The gauge of the track and wheels should be the same 9mm.  But, I said "probably" because there are some differences in wheel flange size and the spacing between running rails and guard rails on switches that differ between manufacturers in the various countries, and those sometimes cause problems with trains derailing.  The best way to know the answer is to ask a very specific question that provides the actual foreign N scale engine to see if anybody here has tried that combination, already.

As for the power pack, basically, 12 volts DC is 12 volts DC, but not all Bachmann controllers are actually set at 12 volts.  (For example, I have a basic Bachmann DCC unit that really provides 18 volts, but I use it to run N scale equipment that is supposed to see no more than 14 volts.  My Bachmann DCC engines have survived my early use of that controller.  But, I also have some other manufacturers' locomotives that are not supposed to be exposed to more than 16 volts, so I ended-up getting a better controller from NCE.)  That is more a problem with Digital Command Control (DCC) units with internal electronincs than it is with simple direct current (DC) units, where the motors just see the voltage on the rails, and that is varied from 0 volts to whatever makes the train go fast enough.  However, now that many locomotives are "dual mode" (that is, able to run on DC or DCC), it might still be an issue if the locomotive is dual mode and is used on a DC controller that goes over the voltage rating of its internal electronics.  So, if the OP's foreign locomtive is purely DC, with no internal electronics, he is probably safe using any Bachmann controller.  But, if it is a "dual  mode" locomotive, then he probably should actually measure the output of the controller he wants to use to be sure that it is not too high.

Well, I see these are listed in the Micro Mark "Winter 2018" catalog.  But, nowhere else, yet, so probably still not available. 

It would be nice if the Bachmann folks would at least tell us here on their own forum what the current schedule looks like. 

The "half-speed" in the newer loco is compared to "full speed" in an old 1970s loco, which typically has an unrealistically high maximum speed.  So, perhaps a lot of what you are seeing as "slowness" is really a change in how the newer  locomotives are being manufactured to run at more realistic speeds.

To put matters into an objective framework, can you measure (or calculate) the length of the loop you are running the locomotive on and time it for a lap using a stopwatch (or smart phone app)?  And tell us what scale the locomotive is.  That way, we can calculate the scale miles per hour, and see if there is a real problem.

I suspect that this thread could easily get too political for this forum.

Before it does, I just want to say that this is clearly a case of "crying wolf" to the point that no informed consumer pays any attention to such warnings because everything has a warning and (almost?) none of them are really inportant to personal health or safety.  It has simply become a way for lawyers to make a system that is for the benefit of lawyers to exploit.

I believe that there is actually NO product available anywhere in the world that does not contain at least some miniscule quantity of some substance that is associated with cancer or reproductive issues.  That even includes pure water, which naturally contains tiny traces of Tritium, the radioactive form of hydrogen.  And, ionizing radiation has been proven to cause both cancer and reproductive mutation.

So, without regulations that specify allowable minimums and allowable containment measures that do not invoke warnings, these requirements are absolutely useless to anybody but the predatory lawyers who prey on legitimate business people for "bounty" fines.

Perhaps you can get a more definitive answer from somebody on the manufacturing side, BUT, if that label is one "requried" by the "State of California", then it is pretty much meaningless.  To sell things in California, a label must be added if the product contains anything that California has decided a person should not eat nor inhale, even if the product contains that material in some manner that makes it all but impossible to be either eaten or inhaled.

On the other hand, I have not noticed any of those labels saying anything about generating dust that may contain lead, so maybe this is not one of those silly California warnings?  Or, did they just get sillier?

Does anybody have a real answer?

The way the Bachmann locomotive control mechanisms have ended-up after a lot of developmental changes over time, Bachmann could now make a DC locomotive that could be changed to DCC or DCC with sound simply by changing the tender.  But, they do not do that. 

The locos they sell with the beginners sets are mostly their old DC designs, and are not intended for easy upgrade.  Even their newest offerings are supplied with tenders that have electronics intended to run on both DC and DCC without changing tenders, even though Bachmann could make a better system by making interchangeable tenders for converting from DC to DCC to DCC with sound, or back the other way.  (Some people like DC, some people do not like sound, etc.)

Mark (Spookshow) has a website with great info on the various designs of each locomotive (Bachmann and pretty much all the others, too).  If you want to upgrade to DCC, the easiest way is to buy another locomotive.  But, there are instructions on how to convert juat about anything, if you want to make the effort to learn and execute some intricate model work.

The first memory that I can reliably date is of my first Christmas train.  ("Experts" say memories from this young are very rarely retained in adulthood.)

I was 19 months old, and got a Lionel Prairie type engine with a box car, gondola and caboose.  My parents had to feed me at the platform, because I wasnot leaving it for lunch or dinner.  With very little fine muscle control at that age, I had a very hard time actually running the train myself with one of those old Lionel power packs with the relatively small single speed control knob.  My grandfather would set the train on the track, and I would try to start it slowly.  But, mostly I got it going too fast and it left the track at the first curve.  For my grandfather, it was repeat - repeat -repeat, for I don't know how long, before I could actually run the train by myself.  The next year, he got me one of those power packs with the two large levers for controlling speed (on two tracks, because he also got me another loop of track and an A-A set of F7s with 3 passenger cars).  With another year of growth and the new throttles, I had no trouble running those two trains.

But, that first Christmas train made an indelible memory.  Many years later, after growing to near-adult size, I found the old power pack in a closet.  I recognized it immediately, but marvelled at the small size of the speed control knob.  By then, I could easily twist it with the fingers of one hand.  But, that first Christmas, it took both of my tiny hands, and I still remember how much larger and hard to twist that knob was in my memory.  Even today, I can close my eyes, smell the smoke, and see that train running in my grandparents living room, ... and feel that knob.

Remember I am asking about a LIGHT Mountain shell on a Light 2-10-2 mechanism.

That said, I agree that it seems strange that Bachmann sometimes produces a winner like the Heavy Mountain and then doesn't do any more runs of it.  I will buy one if they ever make another.

The question for both swaps is how well or poorly they fit the other mechanism.  Anybody with some actual experience?