All other factors being equal (probably impossible to accomplish) a decoder-equipped loco will require marginally more power than a non-decoder loco due to the "overhead" of the decoder itself.  As a practical matter, the difference should be so small as to be nearly inconsequential.

          --D

I can't think of any reason why loco speed should significantly affect smoke output.  That should be a function of voltage delivered to the smoker and only that.  Aaaannnndd, I still say, "Down with smoke."  It looks phoney, is phoney and causes headaches which, IMHO, just aren't worth looking at the puny, fake smoke column. 

          --D

ebt-

The O-scale (loosely speaking) layout at the Rosenwald Museum in Chicago was removed about seven years ago and replaced with a very impressive HO one which actually models the Big New Santa Fe from Chicago to Seattle.  The old Lionel ATSF layout had solid rail track, unlike the tubular track we always associate with Lionel, but so many miles had been run on it that the railheads were gone.  The trains were running on the webs of the rails.

          --D

The whole story of the first transcon RR is told in Stephen Ambrose' Nothing Like It in the World.  Definitely worth a read if you want the whole story, much of which went on everywhere but the construction site.  There were huge personalities (read "egos"), financial troubles and bitter competition between the Central Pacific, building east from Sacramento, and the Union Pacific, building west from Omaha.

          --D

What ABC said.  Amen.

          --D

LD-

Joe's post explains the way to insulate at the crossovers which I mentioned in my earlier post.  Also, ABC is correct in saying that the EZCom will only run three (maybe four if they're small) locos at a time.  It's hard to imagine needing simultaneous running of more than that on a smal layout.   The ten locos I mentioned refers to the EZCom's ability to remember the addresses for ten locos.

I'm glad to hear that you do have DCC.  Not only will it serve you well, it also offers the possibility of building a reverse loop into your 4x9 without having to turn yourself inside out with the wiring.

          --D

See if you can find a pair of black hose or panty hose.  That might have the draping qualities you need and ought to be sufficiently opaque since it won't be stretched and there will be no light behind it.

           --D

Law Dog-

Your question has more than one answer, depending on a few other considerations.  How into model railroading are you?  How many trains do you want to run at a time?  What power sources and equipment, if any, do you already have?  What is your budget?  How large will your layout be?  Do you just want to run trains in loops or do you plan to do some switching and operations?  How handy are you?  Do you like features such as sound and lighting effects?  And others.  But for simplicity's sake I'll try to offer just two responses.

If you have only a casual interest and will only operate one train at a time, don't bother with the gapped tracks.  Just connect one power pack to the layout, maybe at more then one place depending on the size of your railroad.  You will still be able to enjoy limited light and sound features if you purchase the right locomotives, and you will be able to do limited operations.  If you wish more elaborate operations, wire the loops separately from one another, probably separating the loops in the crossovers, and use either two powerpacks or a power pack and a second throttle.  With double-throw switches (electrical switches, not turnouts) it will be possible to run two locos on the separated tracks (blocks) simultaneously.

If your layout is larger and your interest is more than a passing one, you may wish to go with a DCC system.  This will allow you to operate more than one locomotive at a time, at different speeds, in different directions, on the same track.  You will be able to take advantage of the full array of sound and light effects.  Be aware that this will cost more than a simple DCC layout.  How much more depends on you.  You can pick up the most elementary DCC system (Bachmann EZ Command) for $75-90 on ebay, but you will be limited to 10 locos and minimal access to sound and light effects.  Complexity, operational opportunity and cost go up from there, to many hundreds of dollars.  If this is to still be a relatively casual hobby and you don't want to sink a lot of money in there are many price points between $75 and $lots of.  Bachmann offers its Dynamis system which yo can get for much less than $200, maybe as little as $125 on ebay.  It will give you several orders of magnitude in additional versatility versus the  EZ System.  And so it goes, with ever more sophisticated systems available at ever more sophisticated prices.  If I may add a personal opinion, it seems as though there is a point, maybe around $250, beyond which the cost increases are comparatively large while the sophistication increases are more modest.  This is the (in?)-famous law of diminishing returns.  Only you can decide how fancy you want to go and how deep you are willing to dig to get there.

A few other personal observations:  Watching trains go around in circles gets boring pretty fast.  Despite the complexity which DCC offers, it is just as easy, if not easier, to wire than a DC layout.  You might want to spend some time at a model railroad club, or at least reading model railroading magazines, to help you decide how deeply you want to go in the activity, what kind of model railroading (contemporary, vintage, steam, diesel, electric, operations, scenic runs. etc.) you want to do, and how much space you can devote to the hobby which will affect the gauge (size - N, HO, O) you want to model in.  Another consideration might be how close you live to a real hobby shop where you can purchase supples and, more important, get good advice. 

So you have homework to do before you make some very important decisions.  I have tried to paint the ends of the continuum in operating systems: a simple out of the box DC system (AC in O-scale) and a more elaborate, complex DCC system.  Good luck with your research and decision making, and welcome to the hobby!

          --D

I'm not sure what you're asking.  This photo is of a Dash8-40CW and an SD70M-2 crossing a plate girder bridge in an urban area someplace.  This is not a trestle (mispelled in the caption as "trussle"). 

bachor-

"Challenge?"  In my lexicon that equals "expensive, time consuming, frustrating and still doesn't run all that well.  If I dood it I be a fool.  I dood it!"

          --D

That Bachmann booster is terribly expensive, even considering no one pays the MSRP.  You can buy a more versitile and more powerful whole new DCC system for less than yopu'd pay for the five amp booster.  You might also be able to use someone else's booster but I don't want to mention any "enemy" names on this board.

          --D

Make sure you collect power from the same rail on each truck if you have eight-wheel pick-up.  If you cross the pick ups you will have a dead short.  Pay special attention to this if you must take a truck apart.  Be sure that you maintain the polarity both within a truck and between trucks.

          --D

No, the Railpower is a regular power pack which puts electricity on the track but cannot run locomotives independently.  All locos on a section (block) of track will go the same direction and at more or less the same speed, depending on how closely matched the locos are.  I would expect that several units of the same type coupled together would work quite well.

          --D

I've had great results with an uncoupler made by, I think, Rix.  It is lowercase h shaped, with a very tall left side.  It has a small magnet on the inside of each leg.  You put the tool between the cars you wish to uncouple, with the legs straddling the couplers, which open and voila! you're separated.

          --D

You can also flatten one end of a code 100 rail joiner and solder the bottom of your code 83 track to that, using the unflattened end for the code 100 rail.  This is the easiest and cheapest way to join the two, in my opinion.  Just make sure the railheads line up.

          --D