Thor I'm really impressed at all of the thought you put into this. In order to demonstrate the benefits and show people why this is an important breakthrough, I suggest a comparative series of videos:
Stock MTH Protosounds 1 large steam loco, running in conventional. 45 scale mph track speed with a typical train on tangent track. How far does it coast into a "dead block?" (Obviously locos with pick-up roller(s) on the tender will proceed further into the block. You'll have to measure how far the rear-most roller is from the front of the loco to calcuate the actual coasting distance.) My guess: minimal coasting, abrupt stop. Fail.
Stock PS2 steam loco, running in conventional. 45 scale mph track speed with a typical train on tangent track. How far does it coast into a "dead block?" My guess: about a foot of coasting. Good. Since there were no mechanical changes, this showcases what thoughtfully-designed electronics can do.
Stock PS3 steam loco, same conditions as above. Coasting distance? My guess: minimal coasting, abrupt stop. Fail. A step backwards from PS2 in this important regard.
PS3 steam loco with keep-alive added, same conditions as above. Coasting distance?
Note: All MTH steam locos have self-locking gears, so momentum must be maintained through capacitors and/or flywheel action. In my experience, low RPMs limit energy stored in the flywheel, so the electronics have to do most of the work.
Legacy steam loco without back-drivable gears (examples: Atlantics, 0-8-0 switchers, B6 switchers.) Same conditions as above. My guess: 6"-12" of coasting. Acceptable. The conservative gearing of these locos and resulting higher RPM, stored energy in the flywheel, and perhaps less magnetic drag from the small motor keep things within acceptable bounds.
Legacy steam loco WITH back-drivable gears (examples: any "premium" large loco; Ten-wheeler; H10 Consolidation.) Same conditions as above. My guess: perhaps 18" of coasting. Very good.
I think you stated above that you don't own a TIU (i.e., DCS command base), and I'm going to guess that you don't own a Legacy comand base either. But it would be instructive to repeat these tests in the respective command environments. In this case, instead of cutting track power, the test might consist of pushing the DIR control on the hand-held remote and making a note of the loco's behavior.
Did I guess correctly? C'mon folks, post up some videos and show why Thor's circuit is a long-awaited boon to PS3 owners everywhere!
