Yes.

Steamie-

Model locomotives don't get manufactured because a group of modelers has voted for them. And I suppose that's good from your perspective because steam and diesel fans far outnumber electric rail fans. No, model locomotives get built because there is a sufficient demand by people who want a articular model in sufficient numbers and who will express their desire by putting cash on the counter to purchase the model. I'm afraid this makes future electric locomotives long shots. In a more positive vein, many electrics were fairly boxy which should make them excellent scratch building projects. Building your favorite electric loco would teach you new skills of which you can be proud, make you the envied owner of a genuinely unique model and give the piece you want on your layout.
                                                                                                                                 -- D

Jim-

You realize, don't you, that Nissan modeled the original Z car, the 240 Z, after the e-type? They knew the E (more commonly known west of the Atlantic as the XKE), design was revolutionary and exceedingly well liked, and saw an opportunity to entice the market with a less spendy and much more available vehicle than the E. I liked the 240Z, too, but its sound and acceleration never outshone my old 12-cylinder Jag.
                                                                                                                                                                                                   -- D

Jersey-

When you mentioned that one side of your rerailer track seemed to be "elevated" I couldn't help wondering if one of your rails is correctly fitted but the high one has the foot of the high rail on top of the rail joiner rather than inside of it. It's very difficult to notice this visually unless you get right down to track level and inspect carefully. Check this out. 0-6-0s are pretty difficult to derail on properly laid track.
                                                                                                                                                                                    -- D

RAM-

You can use a conventional power pack as a throttle with the EZCommand. Connect your power pack to its power supply and then
connect the power pack to the EZC via the receptacle on the back of the EZC marked for a DC controller. This has been discussed
on this board from time to time (do a search) and I think it's in the EZC instructions.
                                                                                                                               -- D

Quote from: dferet on December 17, 2014, 09:55:25 PM
Sure do, I have a stock 1968 Mustang and that get used a lot more than the few times this train has been out the box.  But thanks, I'll find a local hoppy shop to fix it.

df-

Well, that beats the age of my '74 E-type Jag but I'd be happy to take 'em head to head!

                                                                                                                          -- D

pew-

A new in the box J will operate fine on either DC or DCC. The decoder identifies which control system is in the rails and runs
the loco accordingly. If you are looking at a used loco on eBay or somewhere, be aware that a former user may have modified
the loco to run on DCC only. If it's a used loco, I strongly urge you to find out if the loco will run on DC before you purchase it.

                                                                                                                        -- D

chappy-

Congratulations on recovering your childhood train. That's Cool?

You have a mismatch between the track current and your bulb. I suggest getting a higher voltage bulb or installing a resistor
which will keep the right voltage bulb from instantly burning out. It's not possible to give the size of the resistor without knowing
the voltage on your track and the voltage of the bulb you wish to use.
                                                                                                          -- D

df-

In my experience, the B'man rarely tells anyone to give up on an old locomotive unless they know that restoring it to health would be hopeless and/or so expensive for what you'd have after repairs that the work is completely unjustifiable. I strongly urge you to follow his advice and spend your money on a recent, quality locomotive. The new 2-8-0s are very nice and will give you years of good service (as opposed to a fixed oldie that might well fall apart in a different way tomorrow, if not sooner).

If this loco holds some emotional value for you, cosmetically do it up as you please -- right out of the backshop and a rebuild
or decrepit old timer -- and park it in a roundhouse stall or a little-used yard track. It can be a place of honor for a valued old friend.

                                                                                                                                        -- D

P.S. Do you have anything else around the house which is 35 years old and still in service?

smife-

You will need to stick to the smallest locomotives and rolling stock if you build a layout with
the tightest curves possible. I strongly urge you to give yourself more space for your layout
if you possibly can.
                                 -- D

F1-

1.) Yes, dirty rails and/or wheels can foul things up as you describe, especially the spotty operation of your locos after reprogramming.
That part sounds decidedly like dirty track to me.

2.) The idea that you can run one wire from a DCC system to a layout and have happy days is not even remotely realistic. It might
work okay for a while if the modeler starts with all new components, but the rail joints will oxidize sooner or later and operational
problems will erupt and multiply. Soldering rail joints and running many feeders from a power buss to the tracks are two effective
methods of coping with these conductivity problems.
                                                                                -- D

Mr M-

You can wire your EZC directly to the power buss and then run feeders up to the rails. I find the best way to do the feeders is to solder them to the undersides of your rail joiners. I don't like to count on rail joiners to carry current through more than one joint which means a powered rail joiner every four track sections unless I solder rail joiners which I typically do. This can make for a lot of feeders but I use flex track so it's more like a feeder every 12 feet.
                                           -- D

Mr M-

That looks like a solid base for your layout. I endorse your plan to add insulation board. That makes for a versatile
ground level and it permits you to model below your tracks -- culverts, water features and the like. The one thing I'd add
to your structure is some diagonal bracing. That will help keep most of your cars on the tracks when someone bumps into the
table. An 18" or so piece of thin plywood would work fine for the ends with 1x2s or 1x3s on the sides.
                                                                                                                                                       -- D

Quote from: electrical whiz kid on December 15, 2014, 01:23:27 PM
Doneldon;
Actually, it isn't all that daunting; the prices of kadee equipment have dropped dramatically.  You can find deals right through them on line.  Other than that, as I see it, the daunting part will be the mechanics of the conversion process itself.  To me (and this again, is just my opinion) the process of conversion should be both challenging and interesting, as one can see one's abilities grow as this is done.  Mistakes?  Heck, we all make them; so that is nothing to get worried over.  This is part of the learning process of this hobby.  To me, anyone who has not even attempted a kit-say-of the old Intermountain variety should at least, give it a bit of a go.  Likes, preferences aside; a lot of hobbyists like this part of the hobby.  
Rich C.

Rich-

By daunting I meant the prospect of converting 30 or 40 or more "heritage" pieces of rolling stock to Kadees. That can look
like, and be, a big, time-consuming job. I'm at a point in my life that costs don't matter much but I can certainly understand
that a new modeler with a bunch of cars to convert, children and a mortgage might look at 20 or 30 pairs of couplers as
a significant expense. I enjoy installing Kadees myself. It feels like the right thing to do and there are a few challenges now
and then to keep things interesting.
                                                        -- D

FX-

Welcome to the fraternity of model rails. (Yes, women are welcome, too!)

Your son will grow to like pushing his trains more than just watching them. I've built Thomas set-ups for several grandsons. All of them enjoyed running the trains with their battery motors but they really got into pushing them around even more when thy were about three to six years old. Then they started gravitating to more realistic trains and the Thomas sets were sold as they moved into actual HO trains on electrified track.

I urge you to hit a couple of model shops, model railroad clubs and/or train shows to get a feel for what the different scales offer and what you prefer. This will help you learn about space needs and costs, important matters for most of us. It will also help you to decide if you want to watch trains run or operate your layout like an actual railroad with customers and schedules. And, you'll find yourself spending more time watching certain kinds of trains. Perhaps the early, quirky trains will catch your fancy. Or maybe you'll most enjoy today's huge diesels, or the prime years of steam, or the transition from steam to diesel, or narrow gauge trains or Of course, there are also places to model -- a more complex issue than urban, rural or mountain railroading.

You'll soon identify your likes and like mores. Then you can begin exploring things like space needs, costs and the availability of the equipment you want in the scale you wish to model.

I've been an HO modeler for over 50 years. There are three main reasons for this: the widest selection of products, familiarity and, for me, a reasonable compromise between space needs and availability. My brother and I had Lionel trains before the HO, and I've dabbled in large scale a bit. I have no O-scale anymore and the only large scale I have is a Christmas tree set-up.

Oh, yes, there is one more factor to consider: How well do the various scales match the strength of your eyes and the fatness of your fingers. I have noticed in recent years that HO parts are smaller than they used to be, and my fingers have grown chubbier.

Welcome to model railroading and this board. Please keep us up to date with your progress.
                                                                                                                                         -- D