K4

Remember when I said I wished Bachmann would do a 4-6-2? Well, they did, and not only did they do a 4-6-2, they did a Pennsylvania RR K4 in several different varieties.

Bachmann stock photo, pre-war K4 in Brunswick Green with red and gold striping

It's a bit pricy with an MSRP of $399.00, but most of the retail outlets I've seen have them for $299 or less. It comes equipped with DCC and sound, two things that I really don't need that undoubtedly run up the cost, but that's the wave of the future and one day I'm sure I will upgrade to DCC myself.

Bachmann stock photo, post-war K4 with modern pilot

These look to be very nice locomotives, and I certainly hope Bachmann takes this opportunity to put the chassis under other road names as well. There is, after all, a large hole in the market to be filled with a decent running Pacific in N scale.

I'm saving my nickels and dimes for one now.

SCARM

SCARM is the acronym for Simple Computer Aided Railroad Modeling, free track planning software that encompasses most every scale (including TT and FastTracks turnouts). I use it because it is simple and easy to learn, and best of all, FREE.

I'm happy to announce there is a new version available here. I've also added a link to the SCARM blog where you can learn more about the software and find some tips and tricks for using it. All of the layouts that you see here were created in SCARM. I highly recommend it for anyone who is looking for track planning software.

(I was not compensated in any way for this article, I am just a satisfied user.)