I have run both AC and DC power to the track in my layout. Each has its own plusses and minuses. Early universal motors coupled with mechanical Eunits will run on either AC or DC, but won't change direction when the DC polarity is reversed. The fix for this is to replace the mechanical Eunit with a bridge rectifier which is wired to direct the DC current to the stator and armature differently depending on the polarity of the applied DC power. Electronic Eunits will also work on DC. The first action most electronic circuits which are fed AC power take is to convert it to DC. So, electronic Eunits will work on DC. You will have the normal speed and direction control, but you will sometimes lose the bell/horn functions you have with AC. Also, locos tend to run a bit slower on DC. I wrote an article on this subject in 2006.
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