After a couple of months of dithering I took the plunge and ordered the MS2 start set 29000 - came to the UK delivered for almost exactly 100 quid.

So fairly straightforward - I have ten digital loks from the oldest MM2's through to Mfx - a very convenient number for the MS2!

Now I am a K track man through and through so my oval of C track was a novelty and very useful on the dining room table as a test and set up track for the MS2. But a very clever piece of marketing by Marklin - I am quite enchanted for the moment with C track its quiet, it joins well and looks Ok to good (I am not a purist).

I was quietly impressed with the instruction book only a few germanisms in the text. Now having read on here the volumes of queries and issues I would feel inadequate if I didn't have one so mine is simple. My mains socket is well under the layout so the power pack goes there - so how do you switch the MS2 off or perhaps leave it on standby without mountaineering under the layout and pulling the plug out?

OK I was being slightly tongue in cheek - that's what I do - it just seems to me to be slightly odd to have a device without its own Power on/off control - or am I being old fashioned?

I use an extension cord with switched sockets. It's the only solution really when using those wall mounted power packs.

Wise advice - that is what I would recommend doing as well.

I am beginning to feel embarrassed now that I ever light heartedly raised this simple issue. I know of all the solutions, what I was really querying was the base issue. As I sit typing this at my desk I have in front of me a tablet in a docking station, a dell monitor, a printer a Wi-Fi router, a mobile on charge and a TV and DVD player. With the exception of the Wi-Fi everything else has an on/off switch and a sleep/standby mode. I hate to admit it for fear of a torrent of abuse but I never bend down under the desk to switch anything off at the 6 gang switched extension lead and I often just leave things to go to sleep in standby. Shock horror how can I afford all that wasted electricity and the fire insurance. Now I thought one of the reasons things with a screen went into standby was to stop the same image "burning" into the screen and leaving a shadow. I do have a habit in my life of doing one thing and being distracted by another (that's why she is called SWMBO after all) and maybe not returning to the first. Now these days you can buy one hell of a chunk of electronics for under a hundred quid - my phone is not an apple but an HTC - £80 or less complete with on/off switch and standby and quite a few other thing as well!. Someone will now embarrass me and tell me my MS2 goes into sleep mode after so many minutes of inaction ( but I haven't seen it yet or read about it) and maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea any way.