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Reply to "Can running a heavy train harm motors?"

Volphin is right, MUing is the way to go.  Heck, its what made steam go away!

You're right, to an extent, about pairings; you don't want to MU a tortoise to a hare.  However, unless there is a considerable difference in speed at the same CAB setting, go for it.  A train that warrants multiple units will provide sufficient drag to have all engines pulling together, not one engine pulling or pushing another.

The best way to test for compatibility is to program the units as a "train" but operate them uncoupled.  Each will react to the identical speed setting from the CAB and you'll be able to see any difference in response.  Setting "stall" on all your units will ensure simultaneous, smooth starting. 

In the Bad Ol' Days, I would test by put two Lionel locomotives on the same track and then apply the juice to compare speed.  However, that test is inadequate, today, because the units are responding to a signal from the CAB and their internal circuitry, not juice fed directly to each.  The Bad Ol' Days account for why "non-powered units" are still supplied by the manufacturers.  Trying to get two old powered units to synchronize their efforts was nigh unto impossible.  One would hit a momentary gap and the two or more units would be out of sync immediately.  The only problem with "non-powered units" is that they're non-powered.

When you've got your "lash-up" travelling the road, sharing the load, tip your hat to Frank J. Sprague.  He was the inventor of the Multiple Unit Electric (MUE/MU) technology that powers today's space age rapid transit and freight trains.  Sprague's invention was first implemented commercially at the 1893 World Columbian Exposition on the "Intramural Railway" where the first MUEs carried over six million passengers without mishap.

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