Re: Guess I'm still a fossil in... uh... train-ing

Russ (and anyone else still following this ever-lengthening thread!),
Plenty of time for your trip to NZ - I'm just coming up on 53 this summer.
Nice to know that your daughter has a bit of railfan in her. We need to do all we can to hook the next generation. My son was a good companion on many of my chasing/riding trips in the mid '90s when he was in his early-mid teens, and still has interest and makes an occasional trip down to Chama to ride and introduce his own friends to the RR. I feel pretty good about that.
As to scanners, I'm glad to hear that you're pleased with the Canon 9950F and its associated software. Since the vast majority of what I have to deal with is 35mm, I use a 35mm Nikon film scanner (LS-50 - 4000 dpi, 14-bit) and couldn't be happier with it. If I had medium format stuff to scan, the decision would become a bit more difficult. Add in a need for large format and it gets tougher still. Dedicated film scanners for medium and large format get pricey quickly.
I sure agree about the expen$e of drum scanning. As to the quality, there's no question that a good drum scan CAN get into the shadows just a touch more than even the best CCD technology scanner can, but good drum scans require a good operator. In practice, just as you've discovered with your Canon, I usually get better shadow details and superior overall quality from the Nikon. If it's in the original slide, I can dig it out with the scanner.
Scott