soo300-

Sorry for preaching to the choir.  No offense intended.

I think that big Aristo power source is for large scale.  They are so much heavier that they need plenty of oomph.

     --D

PD-

It's about 50/50 for me, too.  Plus, I enjoy building models, whether from hard or simple kits, kitbashing, or make it up as you go.

Jonathon-

If you connect your four loops judiciously, ideally with some extra trackage for an adjacent yard or at least an interchange track, you could have your loops (trains) hand cars off to the next loop, just like on 1:1 railroads.  It could make for some interesting operations.

     --D

ebtnut-

Not too far from being runnable again?  Sounds like a Bachmann Connie to me!

     --D

I wish I had a dollar for every time I've over-reacted.  So does my wife.  Seriously, I'm glad you're back.

     --D

WGL-

The microwave was a BIG mistake.  Unlike the regular oven which kills the bugs slowly so they stay in the logs, nuking them makes them blow up and they'll drip innards in your food the next time you use the mic oven.  Thanks for the dinner invite but I'm sorry, I can't make it.  I have a subsequent engagement.

     --D

It's an easy build.

     --D

I see no indication of an assumption that the lokie will be replaced.  I do see "replace/repair" which doesn't seem to indicate one to the exclusion of the other.  Besides, most, but admittedly not all, posters on this site mention receiving replacements for troubled engines so it is reasonable to advise a new poster of that possibility.

Bruce - Why not send Bachmann the Connie and let them  fix it?  It won't hurt you and maybe they need to be more aware when they are producing shoddy merchandise.  While most of their stuff is very good in my experience, a few duds can really hurt a business, so give them a chance to do the right thing.

     --D

I'm not sure the acela will actually go 150 smph but I am also pretty sure you don't want it to.  Say you have a 60' mainline, not unusual for a moderate, in-home layout.  That works out to almost exactly a scale mile.  Your 150 smph acela will cover that distance in 24 seconds, assuming it doesn't fly off on the curves.  Ridiculous?  I think so but that's just me. 

There seems to be something of an obsession with acela speeds.  I suggest that you see if the train will go a speed which your son can live with and which looks halfway decent.  Yes, I know he'd prefer that it reach escape velocity but that's not what trains are all about.  The real acela doesn't even go 150 mph because the track isn't in good enough condition.

The other thing is that the acela is not intended to be braeny
so I wouldn't look for much pulling power.  It's a special purpose passenger train, not a drag freight engine.

     --D

I'm sorry to see you go away, especially angry.  Try to remember that there are always a few bad eggs; that doesn't mean everybody here is a jerk.  And I'd rather not see you leave to go out in the back yard to eat worms.  It's better to tell the people who have been offensive how you've felt and try to get it straightened out.  All of us have been a little rude at times and have been treated not exactly the right way on occassion.  It's not a good reason to run off.  So I hope you'll reconsider, but if you don't, happy model railroading.
     --D

Once you identify the decoders you want, check ebay.  They sometimes have just what you want at an attractive price.
     --D

Jonathon has a good idea about looking for heavier engines and ones with more wheels and lots of detail.  If this person was a collector the chances are his/her locos are better than average; that is to say, they are more likely to be brass and higer end items.  You can often identify brass by the weight and details, but you should also look for unpainted patches on the bottoms and up inside.  Take a flashlight along to help you look.  Also, a thin metal cab roof (look at the back edge) will indicate brass.  Too, you can be pretty sure a loco is brass if it is with abrass  tender as seen on the bottom or if there are scratches.  Another thing to look for is just general condition.  An expensive beat up brass engine won't be worth so much compared to another in fine shape, all things being equal.  So I'd suggest going by condition, too.  That doesn't mean a brand new, cheap plastic loco will be worth more than any brass loco, but condition is part of the equation.  If you go heavily by weight (no pun intended), be careful of cast Zamac or lead engines.  These can be very heavy but usually give themselves away by the relattively low quality and low relief of the cast on details.  Last, I suggest that you err in the direction of buying too much rather than too little.  At $50 each, it's going to be hard to go too far wrong as long as you stay away from wrecks and obviously cheap platic diesels.  Good luck with your acquisitions.  I'm looking forward to hearing about them.  Heck, I might just want to buy some!
--D
 

Thanks, Ron.  I'll try the Testors as I have some Delrin handrails I need to paint, some yellow and some red. 
-D

You can also use an old power pack or wall wart.  Your DC cab controls will almost certainly work at no additional cost to you.  There's a good chance you have something which will work, given the way wall warts seem to multiply.  Or get a used power pack from your LHS and use it for your turnouts and accessories. 

I probably wouldn't build a non-DCC layout again.  Too much, most even, of the currently for sale merchandise is DCC already.  Plus, there are some very real and desirable operational advantages to DCC.  Too, you might find that it's easier for a youngster to operate the trains in DCC because they don't have to be continually throwing switches to make sure the right cab has control of the block they are using.

However, you have a lot of DC models.  That makes the decision harder.  But, some of them probably aren't the best runers anyway, and it's really not that hard to convert most locos as long as you can isolate the motor from both rails.  Sometimes that means a new motor, sometimes not.  Actually, the new motor may be the easiest and cheapest at times. 

As for running DC locos on DCC, I wouldn't do that very often.  There are many reports of damage, but not everyone has trouble.  I would never leave a DC model sitting on an operating DCC track.  That's just asking for a failure. 

Cheap wire?  You might find it anywhere.  I suggest going through a current model railroading magazine and checking several of the advertisers' on-line prices.

I know you'll enjoy model railroading with the little ones.  I consider myself so lucky to be ble to do that with one of my grandsons.

Yes, the combination wouold be anachronistic.  But it's your railroad; you can do whatever you like.  If you like steamers AND modern rolling stock, I say, "Go for it!"