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See if you can add some turnouts to make the layout bigger. That way you can easily expand when you move to a bigger place. :D You have no indutries. Are you going for mountain scenery? Otherwise, you may want a few industries, so you can have a local. You also have a reversing loop, which is a...

They also double articlulate Big Boy and Challenger, so that they can get around 18" curves. They look bad, but run well on these sharp curves. The prototypes were single articulated, and scaled down to HO, the Big Boy would need a 40" radius MINIMUM if it were made prototypically.

Digitrax does twelve on the DT400 or UT4 throttles, which can be added to the Zephyr. Not that I can figure out how to use more than 9 but you really don't need more than 8. I can only figure out what about 4 of them are anyways. :D

Tanker. Those new Athearn 30K gallon Ethanol tanks are sweet..... :D

He can get the stuff for cheaper than in a starter set. The starter sets usually use sectional roadbed included track, which is expensive and unreliable. If he gets some flex, a few turnouts, some cork, and a basic DCC system, or a used DC powerpack for now, he can get started for little $$$...

Thanks guys! Guess I can run some stacks in a mixed freight! Awesome!!! :D:D:D

I used to love the Bachman DCC on board locos, now I hate them. They are impossible to program. Hope the Atlas ones are not the same way. For modern stuff, you can't beat Athearn RTR, as it is DCC ready, with a 9-pin JST socket, for a 5 minute DCC install. The Springfield show on Jan 27 and 28...

Is it prototypical to run stacks in a mixed freight? It looks weird, but it would be great if I could do that, as I don't really want to put the $$$ down for a 35 car stack train. :D Somehwere there are paper containers you can print out and fold up. They are almost free. :D

DCC decoders should be compatible with any system. The Digitrax Zephyr is an awesome system from someone who wants 4 or less operators, and works equally well in HO or N. It is very expandable, unlike other systems, and is the only system with a true peer-to-peer network architecture for adding...

If I were you, I would avoid them, and get a DCC ready loco from Athearn, a Digitrax Zephyr, and some flextrack/ cork, or KATO unitrack.

In the Ntrak world, some clubs are starting to use KATO expander tracks. They are sooo cool. My HO club can set up in about an hour, sometimes less. We usually have about 2 hours to set up, and after we get the layout up and working, we work on blocking the 3rd line, putting cars and buildings...

I love flatcars, especially Athearn's new RTR John Deere carrying flat! Some N scale guys have a full train of them!

I can run an Athearn Genesis Challenger and an Athearn RTR AC4400 on 19.5" curves. Ugly, but it works. I have had the AC4400 on the club modular layout with like 40" cruves. It looks MUCH better.

Tonys had it on sale for $150, not sure if that is still the case. I buy from Tony's, as the support is good, and if something isn't working, I just call them up, and they usually know the answer.

Good start. Might want to add some more turnouts and siding and whatnot if the budget allows, as that would add more switching/ operational interest.

You will have a lot of frustration later wiht EZ-Track. Although it may be slightly faster now, it will take a lot of time to troubleshoot later, and layout flextrack and cork is not hard, and does not take too long. Unitrack is the best of the snap together types of roadbed, but it is still not...

If you are using DCC friendly turnouts (ones that do not route power), then you will not have a problem with feeding power. If you use power routing turouts, you will need to quadruple gap, and feed each section of track. EDIT: Fat fingers.

On a layout that size, you should only need one connection to the Zephyr. I am running a Zephyr on a partially completed layout that is twice that size with only one pair of wires going to it. Just do the quarter test. This is assuming you solder your joints, as joiners are not a very good way...

I would recommend skipping the DC, as you are limiting the flexibility of your operation by having two separate layouts that cannot interchange anything. Decoders are cheap. ($15)

DO NOT mix DC and DCC, as if a loco goes over the gap, then you can fry decoders. If you want to run an older loco without DCC, just throw a decoder in it, and you should be good to go.