re: Electric train voltage question

There are a bunch of books put out by Lionel with FasTrack designs and dimensions that will spell out exactly what pieces of track you will need to achieve the desired track plan.

Electric Train Depot in Hammond carries the books. Jeff Fowler is the owner and is a great guy. His real business is in the back--he plates and anodizes parts for manufacture. He opened the shop about 5 years ago because he got tired of dealing with Mike at Mikes hobby shop in Kenner--it's that bad.

Take the kids to the shop--they will love it--he has 4 operating layouts in the store and more trains than you would imagine for a place in Pontchatoula.

I have been in the train hobby for about 15 years and my layout incorporates all the latest and greatest controls from Lionel. I am happy to help you get started out with any info I can offer. I enjoy it.

I also repair and rebuild vintage Lionel trains--it's actually quite easy once you do a few. The new ones, however, are a bitch. They are full of PC boards and electronics and are so tightly packed that I usually send them back to Lionel to be repaired--it takes the patience of Job to work on the new engines.