Meeting the challenges of pulling such a long train was interesting.
I didn't like the loud music accompanying the hyperactive narrator.  His cameraman must have been short, because he kept bending down to talk to the camera.  It almost made me feel very short.
I wondered why they didn't say what the next installment of Extreme Trains would be.  Maybe I'll look up the History Channel's website.
  I haven't watched the program on bullet trains yet.

 After Extreme Trains, I noticed that the Modern Marvels program was featuring high-speed trains, so I recorded that, too.  Our DVD recorder has a hard drive, so I can edit out commercial breaks after recording the program.  With a VCR, I tried to be quick on the trigger to hit Pause when a commercial interruption began.  However, many of the breaks were so long that Pause turned to Stop.

 I just got a copy of Historic Rail catalog.  They offer the 1934 Pioneer Zephyr "Silver Streak," a modernistic design for its time.  Included is a DVD of the 1934 movie, "Silver Streak," which the ad says is "based on the record-setting 'Dawn to Dusk' dash of the Pioneer Zephyr on May 26, 1934."  The catalog also has a page of train movies available on DVDs.

  My longest run is 40.5' in a 7.5 x 15' layout; the inside track is 39'.  If I added a third track, it would have to go inside the 39' track.

Eryalen,
  I'm glad you asked, because I recently got my first steamer, & I'm glad you answered, Bob.

 For Maine railroaders, there is the comedy, "It Happened to Jane," in which Doris Day & Jack Lemmon commandeer an old steamer to get her lobsters to market & foil the nasty owner of the railroad, Ernie Kovacs, who re-routes them all over the state.

 I don't understand why our local Wal-Mart & Kmart have HO semi truck cabs but not trailers for them.  I asked clerks, & they said there is no label on the shelf for them to be ordered.
  I don't know why, when the price is about $18, HO semis marketed for model railroaders have trailers with back doors that don't open.  I found a Maisto Fresh Metal Highway Haulers semi with trailer & back doors that open at Walgreen's for $2.50.  It doesn't say HO but is very close, with a 40 HO' trailer.
  The Christmas toy department just opened at our local Fleet Farm, but I found no HO vehicles, just 3 different HO train sets by Walthers.

Quote from: Rangerover on October 07, 2008, 10:27:00 AM
I run 6 trains at one time and it can get quite confusing at times. I normally run no more than 3 trains, that's enough for me to take care of.

Rangerover,
  How many tracks do you have for running 3-6 trains?  I have 2 concentric ovals connected by switches so that I can run 2 trains separately from my EZ Command Control.  I have tried running 3 trains, with 2 on the same track, but they require constant attention.  I may add a third oval to run 3 trains without worrying about collisions.

 Does anyone have some favorite movies, either classics with train scenes or films notable for good train scenes?

  My favorite European train movie is Hitchcock's 1938 classic "The Lady Vanishes."  "The 39 Steps,"  "Shanghai Express," "Night Train to Munich," "North by Northwest," "From Russia, With Love," & "Murder on the Orient Express" have good train scenes.  "The Narrow Margin" (1952) is a gem of a "B" movie, & its re-make, "Narrow Margin," shows a lot of the Empire Builder, inside & out.  "Silver Streak" shows a lot of its train.  There's a Michael Shayne mystery, "Sleepers West."  Agatha Christie's Miss Marple witnesses a murder on a train in "Murder, She Said," as does Canadian star Deanna Durbin in "Lady on a Train."

    Westerns with trains include "Union Pacific" (1939) about the building of the railroad, "Jesse James," (1939), "Whispering Smith" (1948), "Night Passage" (1957), & the classics "3:10 to Yuma" (1957) & "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid."  Hobos during the Great Depression ride the rails in the classic "Sullivan's Travels" (1941).

"The General," "Go West," "Twentieth Century," "Palm Beach Story," & "Some Like It Hot" have funny train scenes.

"The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1934), "Four's a Crowd," (1938), "Holiday Affair" (1949), People Will Talk" (1951) & "Throw Momma From the Train" feature model trains.

  Thanks for the confirmation that others have the problem & for the advice, SteamGene & Jhanecker2.

 I have had cars uncouple or derail, because the metal (hose) on the knuckle coupler rides low enough to strike a rail when crossing a switch.  Does anyone else have these problems?  I am trying to bend these hoses up away from the track.  Did somebody write that he snips off these hoses to prevent problems?

Dear Joe,

  You are right: our dog's feet were wet from the grass at noon.  I didn't get on the computer to see your message before we left at 1 for the train show.  I asked someone if you were there, & he said you weren't.  I took some pictures.  A man asked me to photograph his Challenger & e-mail him a copy.  I agreed, & he left to get it.  I was there for another 15-20 minutes but did not see him return.  Back home, I found a picture of the Challenger for the first time & realized why he thought I'd enjoy seeing it; it is big & impressive.

  I was hoping to meet a hobbyist from Menomonie but didn't get to talk with many people.

  I'd brought my GN Spectrum DS45 DCC in hope that someone might be selling sound decoders & could install one, but there seemed to be nobody selling them.

  I did get an ad for the next "Happy Grandparents" show in Menomonie; it is next April 18th & 19th.

 I didn't see your notice until now, 1 a.m., Sunday.  Would I rather see your train show or mow the lawn?     I'll see what the wife says.  I am hoping to learn about the next train show here in Menomonie in time to attend.  I heard that there was one last April. 

  A few months ago, I bought 3 Bachmann Premium HO Silver Series DM&IR 26' iron ore cars with "blackened, machined-metal wheels with RP25 contours; body-mounted couplers; non-magnetic, blackened-brass axles with needlepoint bearings; Celcon trucks; & added weight for optimum tracking.  They were $13 each.  I think I bought them at MBKlein modeltrainstuff.com.  I like them.  I bought a bag of "iron ore" at a hobby shop for them.  Since I'm from the Mesabi Iron Range, & my dad worked in open pit mines for 35 years, I wanted utmost realism--except that I should have 100 or 200 of them in a train.   

 Thanks for the info & link, Pacific Northern.  I began to think I'd wasted my money on the E-Z Command 5 amp booster, because it seems to add nothing to the performance of my F7A-B DCC with sound units & my Spectrum SD45 with DCC running simultaneously.  Maybe the Mikado DC with sound will make use of the booster.
  I need to look up what Jim Banner wrote about the various ways how DC sound is run.
  Thanks for the link, RichG.
pdlethbridge,
  I agree:  each of us is the boss of his railroad, deciding what proportions of realism & imagination we want.  Presently, I'm using a lot of imagination for my scenery.