I work mostly in N-Scale, but have subscribed to "Model Railroader" magazine for several years now and have seen several brands of magnetic couplers.

Just as an example, I use "Micro-Trains" Magne-Matic couplers: http://www.micro-trains.com

I use a mix of solid-magnets and electromagnets on my layout.

Here's a link to the NMRA, they might have more info: http://www.nmra.org/#railway

Guide to Couplers for Model Railroad Trains Toys

Couplers are used to connect various model railroad train cars together. Couplers are typically either hook or knuckle type. Couplers have three distinct criteria. First, they must join the cars when the cars are pushed against each other. Second, the coupler needs to be able to be uncoupled. Third, from the manufacturer’s perspective, the coupler must be inexpensive to produce. Additionally, model railroad train enthusiasts prefer a coupler that looks realistic.

Horn hook couplers are the “standard” couplers usually included with a purchased model railroad train set. Horn hooks are typically included on trains toys. The horn-hook looks like a hook or the handle end of a cane, which joins the cars together. As the model railroad train cars are pushed together, the spring-action of the hooks connects them. The couplers rely on side-to-side pressure to hold the cars together. This can create problems when backing up the train as the pressure is loosened, possibly causing derailment. To uncouple a car, you can either lift it off the track and release the hook or use a device (such as a toothpick) to pop the train cars apart. For the casual model railroad train fan, horn hook couplers are usually sufficient.

Knuckle couplers resemble a person’s knuckles and look more realistic when compared to real-life trains. The knuckle couplers join together much as two hands are joined together fingers-to-fingers. This creates a fairly tight fit that will hold the train cars together around curves and in reverse. To uncouple the train cars, you can install magnetic un-couplers. They work by separating train cars as they pass over a magnet mounted under the track. The couplers contain one or two magnetized pins that sit just above track level. When the train is stopped over the magnet and then reversed, the cars become uncoupled. Alternatively, you can disconnect the cars by using a disconnect tool such as the “Switchman.” This tool is inserted in the knuckle couplers and rotated to pop the train cars apart. With this tool, you can uncouple train cars from anywhere on the track.

A model train railroad enthusiast might consider converting from a hook-style to a knuckle-style coupler to provide a more realistic and easier-to-operate system. The conversion could be costly as you might need to build shims to keep the pins and couplers at the correct train-to-track height. This is especially important when lining up knuckle-style couplers with magnetic de-couplers. If you have an extra train car, you might consider leaving it with one hook-style end and one knuckle-style end for ease of moving train cars around your track.

For a trains toy, the standard coupler is usually the best choice as children are often not as careful with their toys as a true model railroad fan. However, if your child’s interest in his trains toy is growing, you might consider upgrading him to a railroad train model set and teach him how to convert the couplers.

Visiting your local hobby shop will provide you with a large amount of model railroad train sets, couplers, tracks, and all accessories to create your own railroad world. Additionally, the staff will be able to assist you by answering questions or concerns.

About the Author

Joe Kanooga is a father of two kids, a successful business owner and the author of numerous articles about trains toys. Click here to download a free model railroad guidebook filled with hobby tips, ideas and information.

I really don't find anything disrespectful about it (unless the original artist somehow took offence to it). Another question is are covers any good? It depends. For example Kean's cover of U2 'With or without you' was pretty bad. I don't know what Tom Chaplin was thinking about. On the other hand there're so many good covers:
Deftones - No ordinary love (Sade cover)
Muse - Feeling good (Nina simone cover)
Cardigans - Iron man (Ozzy cover)
and many many more.

Norman Lindsay - Australia's Most Controversial Artist

Norman Alfred William Lindsay was born in Creswick, Victoria on February 22, 1879. He was a prolific artist, sculptor, writer, editorial cartoonist and scale modeller. His father was surgeon Robert Charles William Alexander Lindsay and mother, Jane Elizabeth Lindsay. He was one of ten children

Norman Lindsay is widely regarded as one of Australia's greatest artists, producing a vast number of works in different media, including pen drawing, etching, watercolour, oil and sculptures in concrete and bronze. His sumptuous nudes were highly controversial. In 1939, several were burned by irate wowsers in the United States who discovered them when the train in which they travelled caught fire. His original artworks are keenly sort after amongst auction houses and range from the rare but affordable etchings through to the elusive and expensive oils and watercolours.   Lindsay was associated with a number of poets, such as Kenneth Slessor, Francis Webb and Hugh McCrae, influencing them in part through a philosophical system outlined in his book Creative Effort. He also illustrated the cover for the seminal Henry Lawson book, While the Billy Boils. Lindsay's son, Jack Lindsay, emigrated to England, where he set up Fanfrolico Press, which issued works illustrated by Lindsay.   Lindsay also worked as an editorial cartoonist, notably for The Bulletin. Despite his enthusiasm for erotica, he shared the racist and right-wing political leanings that dominated The Bulletin at that time; the "Red Menace" and "Yellow Peril" were popular themes in his cartoons. These views occasionally spilled over into his other work, and modern editions of The Magic Pudding often omit one couplet in which "you unmitigated Jew" is used as an insult.   Lindsay's creative output was enormous. Several accounts tell of his working practices in the 1920's. He would wake early and produce a watercolour before breakfast, then by mid-morning he would be in his etching studio where he would work until late afternoon. He would work on a concrete sculpture in the garden during the afternoon and in the evening write a new chapter for whatever novel he was working on at the time. As a break, he would work on a model ship some days.   He married twice with his second wife, Rose Soady being his most recognised model. His first wife was Catherine Parkinson with whom he had three sons, Jack Raymond and Phillip. With Rose he had two children, Jane and Helen.   Norman Lindsay died on November 21, 1969 aged ninety, His works are today held in private and public collections with a large number in the care of Australia's National Galleries. His popular facsimile etchings and the occassional original work can be found on the Norman Lindsay website

About the Author

Jamie Horne is a passionate Norman Lindsay fan and is the webmaster for www.bendigo.ws and other regional Victorian websites

Yes, you can use smoke fluid(Lionel or any of the other popular brands).

Don't use more than 2-3 drops at a time, as the postwar smoke units don't really have a mechanism to retain the fluid. More than 2-3 drops, and you'll end up leaking fluid all over the track.

I'm curious as to your comment about the pellets taking a long time to melt. In my experience, normally it takes about 20-30 seconds for a new pellet to melt. Once it's melted, it only takes a few seconds for it to start working on each subsequent power up.

After 50+ years of use, pellets tend to get into places that they shouldn't, and hamper performance. I strongly suspect that this is what's wrong with yours. It's easy enough to do yourself(feel free to e-mail me for details) or any Lionel service station should be able to take care of it inexpensively. Whatever you do, don't let a service station talk you into doing a liquid conversion, though-they're not nearly as durable as the old pellet units, nor do they work as well. They're also pointless, as you can use liquid smoke in a pellet unit without harm anyway.

eBay is your best bet - just do a search using the Model number (underneath the train). Depending on the condition and scarcity of the trains, you'll either be pleased or disappointed, but either way, eBay is the most accurate model of what you can get for the trains. Good luck.

All about Lionel Model Trains

During their nadir, Lionel model trains were legendary internationally for their focus on detail and the standard of manufacture. They continue to are : from Hogwart's Express for Harry Potter fans to the Polar Express or merely the straightforward Pennsylvania steam freight train, Lionel offers a large range of trains that are true to the originals, real or hypothetical.
In reality, a Lionel electrical train was one of the first two electric toys to be inducted into the national Toy Hall-Of-Fame ( the other was the straightforward Bake Oven ). It was his marketing expertise that gave rise to the phenomenon of model train collecting at the start of the 20th century.
His idea commenced when he devised moving promoting gondolas employing a tiny electric motor he had developed, and when he revealed that folk were more inquisitive about the gondolas than in the products they were lugging around he got the idea of using his electric motor in toy trains. By means of fantastic dept displays at xmas time Cowen gave rise to a public interest in toy trains, and shortly they were among the state's most well liked toys.

Cowen's arrival of the two 1/8' gauge 3 rail track became the standard, and signaled his dominance of the toy train market. A curious innovation of the O-scale track was the O27. The standard O makes a circle 31 inches in diameter when the curved rails are put together, while the O27 was only 27'. The O27 could run OK on O gauge track, but not vice versa, as the 27' curve was too sharp for standard O scale trains. After Lionel's golden decade covering 1946 - 56, the company dropped as a rising number of folks switched to the smaller HO scale ( that Lionel ultimately sticked to ) and kids's interests went from toy trains to toy vehicles. This was only to be expected since the age of the car had arrived, and although vehicles had been in existence for many decades, it was only now that the number of models had expanded to the limit that toy manufacturers considered it worth manufacturing them. Toy cars were less costly to folks than trains that required rolling stock and tracks to go with them. The company was at last sold to a business known as General Mills who ran it from 1969, even though it never hit the heights of earlier years. Then in 1986 it passed on to Lionel collector Richard Kughn, and became known as Lionel Trains. Quality quickly rose again but in 1995 the company was sold to a consortium known as Wellspring Associates LLC. The company now trades using the nom-de-plume Lionel LLC, but will always be known to fans as Lionel Toy Trains.

Real vintage Lionel model trains can be identified from the couplings. Prior to the Second World War, Lionel couplings looked like hooks, while after the war there were two types of coupling : the Scout series couplers and the more modern peg couplers. The Scout series were the entry-level series with G shaped couplings that don't open. The more complicated couplings have pegs that may be pulled on the bottom to open them.

Post-war also saw the arrival of electrical couplers. This was better than the 1st version as there were no contact shoes to get snagged with switch points.
The Lionel model trains are normally stamped with four numbers, identifying each item. These can be found either underneath or on the side of each vehicle and locomotive.

The company now operates from Ohio, and the new 2009 catalog offers many new items including the New York Transit tube set, and the Dewitt Clinton Heritage Steam Passenger set, and there is also a large number of new rolling stock. Lionel model trains are still live and kicking, and the new catalog proves that it has not lost its gusto for innovation.

Click here for more information on Lionel Model Trains
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About the Author

Avery Kane writes on varies subjects however loves to write on the subject of Lionel Model Trains.

EBay is your best bet to sell them and you can watch the vintage collectors fight tooth and nail over the items you wish to sell. Who knows, you might walk away with over 5K in your pockets rather than just going to an auction house where the crowds there may not be the right type to fight over your old gaming systems. Just put them up for sale, and watch the bids just roll on in and how high they'll go! If they're willing to pay it, they'll shell out thousands for your systems! Good luck in selling them! (One thing: DON'T PUT A BUY NOW OPTION! YOU'LL LOSE THE MONEY MAKING BY DOING THAT!!

Model Trains for Serious Collectors

The first thing to point out is that serious collectors can spend a lot of money on model trains, so you might not be able to buy that special loco they've had their eye on, unless you are a very generous present-giver indeed!

One other consideration to bear in mind is the gauge of the model railway - buying an avid collector of N gauge an O gauge train will not be so warmly received as if you can buy someone the model they love, in the gauge they collect. So check out which gauge you should be looking for if you are buying a present for someone else.

If you want to collect the best, then a couple of manufacturers offer an amazing range. There are some great special editions being manufactured, for example, and it is also possible to buy vintage/second-hand models either on-line or by going to a collectors' fair. E bay is a wonderful source of model trains and accessories, for example. The collecting of vintage models can put a serious dent in your pocket but bring you much joy, especially if you are old enough to remember the vintage models from your own childhood!

For most American model railway enthusiasts, Lionel Trains will be a well-known name. A popular manufacturer in the 1940s and 1950s, the company started in the 20s and antique Lionel trains dating from those early years are certainly sought after. Any collector lucky enough to get his hands on the Liberty Lines 600E 2-6-4 will consider himself fortunate indeed and the Lionel Super 381E is most likely to be seen in a museum than a private collection, since only a hundred were ever made. So whilst these particular trains may be impossible to afford as a gift even if you could source them, Lionel Trains do make new models still and it is also possible to pick up a great vintage item that many a collector will love. To find something in your price range, try using TM's Lionel Price & Rarity Guide (which comes in two volumes) or Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide to Lionel Trains to assist you in your search - both books detail the prices you can expect to pay for Lionel trains. As the cost varies enormously according to the condition of the train, they are clear about how much you can expect to pay for a mint condition train, say, rather than something in fair or poor condition. If the person you are buying for is a real model railway enthusiast, they may well be delighted with a rare model in poor condition that they can restore, rather than a run-of-the-mill model in excellent condition that doesn't have any excitement value. It sounds odd to recommend buying someone a beat up old train for a present, but if you buy the right one, you could make someone very happy!

Bassett-Lowke was an English toy company founded around the turn of the twentieth century, which is well known for its O gauge locomotives made with great attention to detail. Superb production quality and careful construction meant that every model was excellent but the company could not survive financially in competition with the more mass-produced and cheaper models which flooded the market in the late 1950s and early 60s, and ceased trading some forty years ago. In the high-end vintage train market today though, Bassett-Lowke is a name to conjure with, and pristine condition vintage models might set you back two or three thousand pounds sterling ($4000-$6000). Fortunately for most collectors, in the last ten years Corgi have started producing brand new high end collectibles with the Bassett-Lowke name. These are proving popular once again, and Corgi have stuck to the original O gauge scale, producing beautifully crafted limited edition pieces, some of which even have a miniature smoke generator so they can produce real steam. This is top quality, but it comes at a premium price, with many models costing GBP500-800 ($1000-$1600). For the serious collector they are a must though. If you can put any of these on your present buying list, you will be likely to find yourself with a very pleased collector on the receiving end of the gift.

Bachmann is another manufacturer that produces a good range of collectibles, and theirs are often in HO gauge, which is perhaps advantageous to many collectors as it is such a popular scale. They also do the Graham Farish range in N gauge, and both of these are much more affordable, being in the hundreds, rather than the thousands of pounds sterling. Many have digital control and a range of features which make it worth putting the loco on the tracks and using it, whereas some collectors of other top end models prefer to keep them pristine in the original packaging. To be honest, if they paid three thousand pounds/ $6000 for one rare vintage locomotive, who can blame them! Like Lionel, Bachmann trains can be sourced on the internet as well as at fairs. Do be careful with Bachmann though as some of the older models are not top quality, but anything from the "Plus" or especially the "Spectrum" range is likely to be much better than from the standard range.

On thing to consider in a top quality model train is whether it supports DCC or Digital Command Control. This is a means of powering each individual loco by means of a decoder fitted to the train which responds to commands from a DCC controller. Many top quality locos can now be bought with a decoder already installed and the ability to operate the train independently of the power in the track in a great step forward in railway modelling. If the train is not DCC ready it is worth asking if it can be converted - i.e. can you fit a DCC chip yourself? In a top end loco it is a real advantage - it allows the modeller to include on-board sound and lighting effects, for example.

Though it is impossible to recommend particular models as the top ones to have, as that will depend on the special interests of the collector, my personal favourites include Hornby's OO gauge R2610 Caledonian or the Flying Scotsman LNER Class A1 4-6-2 loco (R1072).

For more information visit Diecast Trains

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About the Author

Oh No has "I want you to want me" in the lyrics
but I didn't see the "i'm in the mood for love"
......

EURO FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR : LIONEL MESSI

As you’ve probably heard by now, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has won the 2009 Ballon d’Or for being the European Footballer of the Year. Not only is he the first Argentinean to win the prestigious award (up until 1995 only European footballers playing for European clubs were eligible, thus explaining why Diego Maradona never won in his day), but he also won it by a record margin — scoring a near perfect 473 out of 480 possible points in the voting, 240 more than 2008 Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.
So for those of you wondering just what the diminutive maestro did to deserve such an honor, or anyone craving another taste of the magic, here’s a video that gives a small sample of why this was such an easy decision.

As you’ve probably heard by now, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has won the 2009 Ballon d’Or for being the European Footballer of the Year. Not only is he the first Argentinean to win the prestigious award (up until 1995 only European footballers playing for European clubs were eligible, thus explaining why Diego Maradona never won in his day), but he also won it by a record margin — scoring a near perfect 473 out of 480 possible points in the voting, 240 more than 2008 Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.
So for those of you wondering just what the diminutive maestro did to deserve such an honor, or anyone craving another taste of the magic, here’s a video that gives a small sample of why this was such an easy decision.

Source Article : http://sportprovider.byethost3.com/euro-footballer-of-the-year-lionel-messi

About the Author

http://sportprovider.byethost3.com/euro-footballer-of-the-year-lionel-messi

Here you go:
http://www.hobbysurplus.com/lionelparts.asp

Model railroading lasts a lifetimes.