many newbie questions

[matt]

Please bear with me if this seems random, Im a newbie and I have a few questions and Im just going to type them as they come to me but first let me start by telling you what Ive started with. I bought a Bachmann Redrock Santa Fe starter set. Then I bought 13 more pieces of 18' radius track and 25 pieces of nine inch straight for a total of 25 each. Its all of the black variety. My first question is this; Will I gain any advantage by purchasing the NS grey? Or better yet is there a brand that will increase performance? Next I bought an Athearn six axle SD40-2 loco. My next question is; Is there a loco for around $100 that will out perform the SD40-2? More specificly, go faster and pull more cars? MY next purchase was a MRC Railpower 1370. I paid $30 dollars for this. Again i was yearning for more power. Is there something that I could buy for under $100 that will quench my thirst for power? I also bought two turnouts and when my Athearn loco goes past them it sparks. Sometimes it even derails. Are the sparks bad news? Neither of those problems occur with the loco included in my set. I do have more questions but its 5:30 A.M. and I need some sleep. Ive been tinkering for about 17.5 hours.

Thankyou for any responses.

[shaygetz]

Welcome..

Your track is OK, just know that each brand is incompatible with the others so decide early on which one you're going to stick with.

Athearns are a very reliable unit...them, Atlas and Kato should fit the bill for you. Your track problem is that the Athearn deisel, while made to fit 18" radius curves, would be much more comfortable on 22"+...hence the derailments and the momentary shorts that create the sparking.

As for power, I am very partial to older MRC and AutoPulse throttles, anything with 2 or more amps of output. I find them on Ebay, just take care to buy them from a reputable seller who can test them for you.

Hope this helps.

[matt]

Thankyou for your swift response shaygetz. Are you familiar with American Flyer transformers? More specificly theAF 18B 190watt duel? I find that shopping for a transformer difficult because companys dont advertise the same measurements...ie watts, volts, amps. Anyway is this transformer going to give me more power to the track than the one I already have? Again thankyou for your knowlege.

[shaygetz]

You're welcome...

If I'm not mistaken AF uses AC power and a higher voltage (http://www.rfgco.com/tips.html?trans.html)...you'd smoke HO with it.

I would stick with those who've been at it for HO for years. I'm very partial to the older MRC Throttlepacks. What ever you get, make sure they are rated for HO equipment.

[Reckers]

That AF transformer is definitely an ac output: as Shaygetz says, you'll be pushing your cars by hand if you use it!

[matt]

thankyou for the A F info... potentially loco saving!