As a total newbie, I recently asked a couple of beginner questions; the replies were helpful, and most of all didn't make me feel like an idiot for asking them. Thank you! This welcoming, friendly tone really helped encourage me to continue.

btw, yesterday I had a chance to visit Hartmann, the excellent Marklin dealer in northern NH, where I was able to obtain a copy of the Marklin Service Manual, which hopefully will elevate future questions from the hopelessly obvious to at least slightly challenging. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying.

Again, thanks for those who made time to kindly help me along.