I had a hard time resisting when Bowser produced SD40-2s with accurate Canadian details. My favorite loco but no way it would fit on a small switching layout. (Please, don't convince me otherwise, I have a small budget lol) Now the Red Barns are out and more lamenting is happening. LARGE MLW Alcos? Oh my, more resisting. Rapido announces Icons of Steam? Thank goodness I'm in the 70s! GMD-1? I'm no fan of the wet noodle so I'm safe! 

Having watched the John Cathcart interview (Car Department Foreman at The La Mesa Club) and followed the immensely practical and sound advice given on tuning rolling stock for reliable operation,  I am now a very strong advocate of the process John has developed. The video can be seen on this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brSGhEbQBmM

I am also keenly awaiting the release of Joe Fugate's 2nd book (Rolling Stock) in the "Make it Run Like a Dream" series.

There is a large clutch of US-outline N items available in Cash Converters in Townsville. The items are apparently all diesel era, from multiple decades; a few locomotives, some for $30 and a Spectrum for $110, a few coaches and a lot of freight stock down to around $5. Anyone want me to look out for any particular items? (One of the items is a van in the colours of the North Pole and Southern, designated for fruit cake traffic...)

I just bought a model power pacific on eBay broken. I got it running, but now I have a few questions. This model comes with puff-a-smoke, their name for the smoke unit. How do I use it? It is visible in the top of the stack, but I want to make sure I'm using it right. Also, I generally don't use smoke fluid, so I want to disconnect it so the stack doesn't overheat and become deformed. How can I do this without disabling the headlight? Thanks for any help.