You can run any command controlled loco in conventional mode. Merely remove the TIU or command base and run the loco with the transformer.
The motors all have brushes in them and the minute sparking of the brushes creates a certain amount of Radio Frequency noise. In the case of the brushes, the RF noise is spread across all frequencies.
Certain breeds of pigeons (homing pigeons?) have receptors in their heads so they can sense the earth's magnet field like a compass and can then extrapolate the direction they are heading.
Maybe some years in the future medical science will discover that you have similar receptors in your brain allowing you to sense RF fields. Maybe even further in the future science will discover a purpose/reason for this unique ability. Until then I wish you the best of luck.
One problem with a rare condition is that no one is working on a cure. Only the most widely occurring conditions get the research.
