Most of us have some theme to our trains. It may be logging or a specific era. I have a friend who has a fairy theme to her train. She has a ball going to graden centers looking for fairy themed ornaments and buildings. Another has a Japanese grden to which she has added a train. She had customed bpainted cars with Japanese writing on them. Pagoda and gold fish pond. Trains are a hobby. Hobbies are to be fun and creative. go for it. Local clubs and internet forums will assist. GARDEN RAILWAYS MAG. has two writers each month who articles are dedicated to the gardening aspect of which most are theme oriented. Love Nancies articles!

Yardmaster,
With the suspension to the Spectrum rolling stock, What about the future of the Spectrum Engines? I know they are currently in stock. But, what when the current inventory runs out?

I keep reading here comments of "either" "or" in scales. Bechmann has been very successful in the 1:20 scale. Thus, if anything it would "and". Hopefully they will include 1/29 in their catalog. Especially steam.

I expect(hope!!) to see Bachmann enter the 1:29 full bore in the next few years. There is a real need for consistant  supply of affordable 1:29. It is essentially down to one major supplier with protype American cars and almost no availability of steam engines, Yes there are vendors, but the pricing or availability are out the price range for most of us. This creates a market need that Bachmann could easily fill.

caution about using minimum wire gauge. I had the other guys Mallet catch fire because a sound board malfunctioned and the pickup wires could not handle the increased amperage needs. The take up wires and harness between the engine and tender overheaded and caught fire. Any wire used should be able to handle up to 10-12 amps.

May not need a Dcc decoder. Both Phoenix P11 and Dallee(aristro craft) can be configured to use track magnets to trigger bell and whistle. No experience with other sound boards.