TrainLarry,
Thanks very much for this information. Throughout my entire life, I have always suggested "McGiver remedies" that upset traditionalists.
As I understand it, the problem with running an AC powered locomotive with a whistle tender on a DC track is that the DC current would make the whistle blow non-stop. So, why couldn't I just disable the whistle inside the AC tender (or buy one without a working whistle), then buy a junky AC tender with a working whistle, mount it underneath the layout board, or inside a small building, and run a separate DC wire to it with a push button switch in the circuit. When I want a train whistle to blow, I just press down on the button switch on my control panel, and the AC tender whistle goes off.
Wouldn't this work?
I don't think, for a very basic layout, that anyone is really going to know whether the whistle being blown is from the tender car in tow on the track, or in the center of the layout from a fixed position.
Thanks for all replies and critiques.
Mannyrock
