If I had to start fresh I'd give battery power a closer look but my layout is already wired and runs great. With battery power all the wiring is done on the workbench. When I was pulling wire under the layout years ago I remember thinking I couldn't wait for it to be done.
Joe, I run two steam engines up front and one pushing on the end of 30-40 car trains with no problems in DCC. My engines of different configurations from different importers are programed to run at the same speed. This includes up and down 3 percent grades.
One thing that would concern me about DCS is slipping on the grades. To me it seems like the stripes would move very fast if slipping occurred on the grade and the reader would interpret that as the engine is moving faster? Then wouldn't the engine adjust for that increased speed of the slipping wheels and slow the engine down? That interpretation and response would not be a desirable one as far as I can see.
