I guess I'd consider myself as 3RS also but I'm still in the very basic learning stage! Have so far removed the huge couplers and mounted Kadees on one engine but haven't taken the plunge to cut off the pilots and mount them to the frame. I'm actually thinking about constructing new pilots to make adding additional details much easier (not so much grinding necessary when working with styrene!).
Mounting Kadees on the freight equipment has been a piece of cake (I spent quite a few years in HO) and will eventually have everything running with scale wheels on Atlas track. I also intend to have as much prototypical operation as possible in my limited 14 X 16 foot area (shelf-based switching layout). And so as not to sound like a stuffed shirt rivet counter, sometimes I'll be creating my own prototype. It's all about having fun and escaping the real world for awhile!
It took me a little while to get used to the size of O scale but now it doesn't seem nearly as big as I once thought, and I hardly notice the 3rd rail.
Enough of my ramblings.
Joe
