Thank you, Larry and Steve!
Larry, I liked the chuffing of all three engines as well. In my teenage years, I always played the radio with the Pittsburgh Top 40 AM station playing while running my HO train or working on the layout. Of course, the engines had no sound, and we couldn't pick up the FM station. With engine sounds, I never play music but listen to the music of those nice sound systems MTH and Lionel have produced.
As all of us know, the builder of anything knows where every flaw is, but the viewer doesn't see them. I did spend a lot of time on the track. Memories of early 1980's N scale steam engines' poor running on the slightest flaw in track may have inspired me to putting in the effort now. I am unhappy with a few places. The grade on the K-Line plastic trestle bents is one area. However, that is still considered temporary, so I quit fooling with it since every engine and car negotiates that area fine. The lower lift up bridge is the major offender. I tore that apart several times trying to shim everything to get a smoother transition from the table to the bridge on both ends. Nothing derails anymore, so I quit fooling with it. The cars make the still familiar clickety clack sound as they go over the joints, which brings back old memories. The upper bridge hides the trains enough from the camera angle in the videos, so that wasn't so noticeable to the viewer.
How timely you both mention the track. Last evening, I was running the B&O Mike and had trouble with both the pilot and trailing wheels derailing as I backed it out of the siding over switches. It tracks fine going forward. I haven't had that trouble with the Consolidations or the Decapod. Maybe it is something with that engine, since I bought it pretty well used from a Forum member at a really generous discount, but have hardly run it. I'll look into it some more.
