OK to Park a DC Loco on DCC Powered Track?

[JoeinPA]

Rich:

I do what you do except that I use a wheel roller setup that I got from MicroMark. I run the engine forward for a while and in reverse for a while. That way I can loosen it up and detect any problems that develop on running. I also watch the amp draw to see if the motor is performing OK.

Joe

[richhotrain]

Whenever I acquire a DC loco, before installing the decoder, I test run the DC loco on a length of track powered by a DC  power pack.  Does the loco run forward and backward?  Do the lights work?  If so, then I am ready to install the decoder, but first I test the decoder on my NCE DTK decoder tester.

I never put a DC loco on any DCC powered track.

Rich

[retsignalmtr]

I have a pair of N scale Atlas GP7's that I occasionally run on DCC. I like the sound the loco's make when run on DCC. It sounds like an EMD accelerating and decelerating. I left one of them on powered track for about 1 1/2 hour and when trying to run it again it wouldn't run at all. the motor was very warm and I couldn't turn it by rotating ther worm gears. Later when the motor cooled down it ran fine and continues to do so today.

Do not leave a DC loco on powered track. They may creap along on their own and may overheat.

[rrinker]

 Funny how the responses every time this topic comes up are SO predictable.

Those with systems that can use zero stretching say "ok, just be careful, don't leave the loco standing still"

Those with system that can't do this seem to be of tha attitude that it will instantly destroy your loco and should never have been allowed.

 NCE originally supported it, but you had to make your own throttle to run address 00 that plugged in to the serial port ont he Powerhouse Pro command station. The feature was removed some years ago in a firmware update.

 I find it very handy for test runnign new locos before adding a decoder. Haven't burned one up yet, but I don;t leave a non-decoder loco parked on the track just sitting there. Some motors make more noise than others - Athearn with their loosely assembled motors sing quite loudly, Kato and Atlas motors are not so noisy. I've used the strong pulse effect to free up a built up but never run Bowser PRR T1, all it did on my DC power pack was short out, managed to get it to turn over on the DCC track and after a few trips around the layout in each direction it started to work itself out and run like it should.

                --Randy

 

[peahrens]

Thanks, folks (glad I asked!).  I will not fry it by parking it on hot track.

IF I decide to make this a DCC & sound loco (so far I have no DCC w/o sound) I'd likely have my LHS do it, after understanding how the speaker arrangement and sound quality were likely to turn out.  Ideally, all my locos would have sound. 

But, if I decide to have some DCC w/o sound locos that creates lots more options.  I'd likely try that myself (if plug-in like this one) but would the decoder also handle the lighting via the plug-in or would I need to swap the light and/or wire it specially?  (Guess I need to dive into the book I bought!)

  

[richhotrain]

peahrens

HI. I received a DC (DCC ready) Kato Alco RS-2 (used) today and will in the future convert it to DCC.  Can I park it on my DCC (NCE) powered layout to look at, or can that be bad for the loco or the DCC system?

Park it on an isolated (gapped) unpowered siding if you want to just look at it.

Rich

[stilson4283]

Nope, the AC like signals of DCC can ruin your motor, you can here the humming when you place the locomotive on the tracks.  

Chris

[cacole]

As Jacktal said, never put a DC powered locomotive on a DCC track and leave it for any extended period of time, because this will cause the motor to overheat and be destroyed.

NCE does NOT allow a non-DCC motor to run on DCC on address 00, and the NMRA should never had allowed this in their DCC Standards and Recommended Practices due to motor overheating issues.

Decoders are down in price to $12 each in bulk lots of 10 if you know where to shop online.  When the NMRA adopted their DCC Standards and Recommended Practices decoders cost nearly $75 each, and they thought they were doing modelers a favor with the zero-stretching gimmick.

[jrbernier]

  Depending on the motor, severe damage can be done to it.  I ran a DC powered Bachmann trolley on a Christmas Tree loop with no problems, but it does make a strange 'singing' sound as the it runs.  I would not do this with a new model.  Your NCE system does not support 'zero stretching' and I have heard of at least a couple of guys who fried the motor in non-DCC models.

Jim

[Jacktal]

Definitely not.Non decoder equipped locos should NEVER be left on DCC powered tracks.The motor does get continuous power and this will destroy it.

DC powered locos can be run on DCC with some systems on adress 00 (don't know about NCE) but still,they have to be removed from the track after use.

[peahrens]

HI. I received a DC (DCC ready) Kato Alco RS-2 (used) today and will in the future convert it to DCC.  Can I park it on my DCC (NCE) powered layout to look at, or can that be bad for the loco or the DCC system?

Thanks.

Paul