I was babbling on about battery powered radio control above, and had literally got to the point of ordering stuff when I spotted a show-stopper flaw, well 1.5/2 ish flaws. I'd found all the bits to set up 11.1V battery power, r/c controller, r/c receiver board and a way to charge from the track (using a 'special' powered section on an otherwise dead-track layout, at the fueling point) for about £120. Not only that but the bits were actually in stock (a very rare event in r/c land it seems)! Just about to press 'order' the little grey cells forming the Radio Control Sub-Committee finally realised that say, should I finish the Warship (very solid pewter body), finish the old 08 (brass) or buy any metal bodied engine Mr. Faraday would be laughing at me. Dammit. The other concern is the lack of a Big Red Button. As far as I can tell, only one system supports a 'panic' broadcast on all channels, and that through just one of the buttons on the controller, not a Big Red One - the lack of which may result in making things worse rather than better. This might not be too much of a concern on a circular layout, but on an end-to-end a collision with the wall, floor, or both, is a distinct possibility. In addition, a derailment of an engine wouldn't cut the power or short-circuit thus stopping the engine, it would simply plough on into the exciting world of off-road training, ripping off buffer beam detail and probably sanding pipes etc. So I'm wiring for DC, but will keep an eye out on the r/c world.

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