Well, one last lenghty post...
I paid a visit to the hobby shop so I could pick up some lube and also to check out the state of things. Sad to say, I don't think I've been to this particular shop in almost 30 years. It's a small shop in Irving,Tx called Wild Bills. It was a very worthwhile trip.
The gentleman I spoke with set me straight on the post war F3 portholes all being the same. They didn't have the Labelle lube...only a brand called "XL" or "Excelle", so I got a couple bottles of that (he recommended light for axles and medium for gears). I also got a chance to see some Lionel Fastrack, cars and insundries up close, and picked up some JT's Megasteam (unscented…not really, at least not for my nose but more on that in a bit). It was the only bottle of JT's he had on hand. I forget which brand he carried, but don't recall seeing the Lionel Premier (some searches here turned up that recommendation)...I'll be going back soon I'm sure.
So this was also in preparation for the maiden run with the new MTH Norfolk Southern SD70ACe from the r-t-r set with PS3. Maybe it was because I didn’t get a chance to see a PS3 or Legacy put through its paces at the show, but I am officially ‘Blown Away’!
The sounds, the smoke (boy did it smoke), the lighting and the smooth, smooooth running was a sensory overload firsthand. I believe I am hooked! I was very impressed with the PFA talk as well versus all the recorded sound bits I had heard on the web. May be the fact those recordings were mostly PS3 steamer recordings, but the dialogue was really natural on the diesel, not choppy or too rehearsed. The quality of the detailing on the MTH engine was super impressive for an entry level set.
I am thoroughly impressed with the quality of MTH equipment/cars as well. The level of detail did not remind me of any train I had as a kid, even though I don’t have much to compare it against (other than the newer Williams AB and the old Lionel F-3 engines). Still hard to believe my expectations were so exceeded on this basic starter set...even given my limited experience being brand new to the hobby. I’ll be picking up the DCS Companion book as mentioned, but afraid it’s will end up costing me a premium of ~$300 = going full DCS, then I’ll have to fight the siren call for a good steamer to boot.
I’m chalking up the Williams sparking to over oiling. I read here where folks recommend prepping the center rail more than I have, and I’ll run it some more to confirm it. I just hope I’m not missing anything critical or defective on the engine, but the SD70Ace never arced or sparked once. Wonder if it could be a difference in the internals and/or the power source (z750 vs the DCSRC). Although the diesel does run on O31, I did confirm I won’t be content with that for a mainline in a permanent layout, as many of you suggested. Thanks again for all of you guys help and advice, and I will definitely try to keep my future post length down...just way too excited 
Thanks again,
Robert
