I live in England and would like to purchase some railroad video tapes from The U.S.A. The tapes are VHS. My question is: Would I be able to watch the American Video tapes on my (english) video player? Are they compatable?
No there is a different video system in the US and most video recorders in the UK will only play a PAL system tape. With DVDs they are regional and a US DVD will not work in most UK dvd players
maybe - US-compatible videotape players have been available in the UK for years, and yours may be one. I've had one for 10 years or more. It plays fine, except the time-remaining counter is out of whack. Try googling the name of your model.
It's also possible to adjust UK DVD players to play US discs - again, google the name of your model + "hack" and see if anything comes up. It may invalidate your guarantees, though.
Good chance. Most modern video (and bear in mind they don't really make them now, so I'm talking within the last ten years) played PAL and NSTC (or whatever it;s called) American tapes. The quality is a bit different - so I am told - and to find out if yours does, just try googling the make and model number.
As JNO says, it may also be possible to hack your DVD, or your DVD could be region free - there's a lot of them about now.