Hi and thank you for the info!
Dan: So far I do not have any tinplate that give me problems with the wheel flanges. However, I may acquire something in the future and want to plan ahead. Thanks for the heads up and I will put some regular O gauge curves and track in also.
Ron: I am the one who tested those engines and replied on your post. So far everything I have tried has worked. I have not tired modern tinplate steam or large electrics. They are boxed up, and I plan to do more testing on spring break. I'll keep you posted.
Dave: I have been dismantling my old layout for over a year. Life's challenges have been numerous, and progress is very slow. I agree that fastrack is great and I have a lot. But, I was trying to stay with the a tinplate theme. What does the O27 do to the 263/260 steam engines exactly? I have one and I was going to test it a few weeks ( after I locate it).
I appreciate all the feedback, and if you guys can think of anything else, let me know. This will likely be my last layout build and I'm trying to plan for all contingencies. However ludicrous that may be. 
Thanks,
Bob
