thank you so much.  That helped me a lot.  Sad part is the train I am considering buying is not listed as just a locomotive, only as part of a set.  It comes with 22 radius track so I am assuming that is what i prefers.
However the Spectrum Pacific Locomotive that I just sent for repair is listed.  Hope they get it back to me soon enough to be a part of my set up this year.  If not there is always next year.

Thank you again for your help.

Where would I look to find out what the minimum radius track a loco or cars needs in order to operate correctly?

From reading previous posts I see that some cars do not like 18" vs 22" curves.  When designing my track I want to be sure all my cars and the new loco I am about to buy will run smoothly.

Thanks.

Thanks for the info.  That does help me make a decision.

I currently have Pennsylvania 2-6-0 #3233.  It had a hard time pulling more than 8 cars.  Also have a Hogwarts Express 4-6-0 but really want to save it for collectability reasons.

Guess I see a new loco in my future.  Now I know which way to lean.  Guess if I want to climb I better get a diesel dual loco unit to be on the safe side.

Thanks again.

I have a rather large village and want to run a rather large train up to 12 cars.  Is there any suggestions about where I can find information about how much HP a train has?  Is a diesel loco better than a steam version?  The current units I have seem to drag when I put that much behind them.  Also want to perhaps climb an incline up to 3 inches over 12 feet, so I know I would have a problem with my current units.
Thanks in advance for your knowledge.