Tom, you stated: "SO YOU ARE SAYING THE TWO PICKUP DESIGN IS GOING TO FRY MY MOTORS?" Now I am assuming you are referring to the two wires from each truck chassis. If that's what you are saying, then the answer is NO!!! Both wires from the truck chassis go to the same electrical connection; the wire from the pickup shoe is just added to provide a more stable connection--and to keep the pickup spring from carrying the electrical load; this sometimes happened with the ACG design, and then the spring heats up and looses it's tension. What I was also saying is that the ACG design, picking up electrical power through the wheels, which then travels to the axle, and from the axle to the truck body causes electrical arcing in the axle bearing area, resulting in premature wear of the axle holes in the truck body. I have thought of adding a phosphor bronze wire rubbing against the back of the pickup wheel to reduce/eliminate this electrical load on the axle "bearings." However, I've not yet done this, it just seems very plausible to me. This wear has nothing to do with the Dallee unit, nor even the DC can motors.
Yes, the pickup shoe is there to assist in going over switches and crossovers, notice the pullmore wheel is always installed closest to the pickup shoe, so the other wheel, farther from the pickup shoe is the power pickup wheel; the spacing is close to the two-axle freight truck used under the smaller steamer tenders (and even then ACG sometimes added a wiper between the tender truck wheels! The axle wiper spring used on the steamers prevented early wear on the tender trucks.
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