My 2 yo grandson is staying with us this week. Decided to build a layout to entertain him and allow me to test the feasibility of some switching puzzle operations during his naps. As much as I like the more realistic look of Atlas track, I can't argue with the Fast in Fastrack. I put this up during his nap today -- took about 20 minutes. Had plenty of time left over to check out my recent purchases.
I purchased some scale freight and Lionchief+ NW2. What a jump from the stuff I got from Christmases in the early 60's.
The electro-couplers worked extremely well. The speed control was great. The rolling stock... rolled. Very smooth. I had power cord under one end, so one end was about 1/8 to 1/4" higher than the far end and they'd roll downhill from the slope. Very happy with it all.
Now I have some questions. I'm running it all with one "wall-wart" power supply provided with a Polar Express set. Seems to be getting plenty of power throughout the layout (just a 4x8 oval, 4 remote turnouts, 2 manual). I also have one of Lionel's electromagnetic uncouplers and I plan on getting 3 or 4 more. The instructions say it will run on track power. Since I won't be using more than one at a time, am I okay just using track power?
More than anything it was just fun to operate.
