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Getting back to the initial inquiry, one thing I don't see mentioned is the wire leads can harder or otherwise deteriorate over time and this could cause them to become less flexible. Additionally, a PO could have found the disintegrated wiring and performed a repair with incorrect wire not designed to stand up to the flexing and/or could have applied solder such that it had flowed further up the wire than expected again reducing flexibility. Ensuring superflex wire (sometimes listed as SW-22 and SW-24) is utilized and properly soldered will likely alleviate all but the more extreme cases.

Good modern locomotives for pulling Postwar operating cars with sliding shoes are not limited to those with speed control like Proto 2 and 3 and Lionel LC+, Legacy, etc.

There are K Line and Williams engines without speed control that are also slow smooth runners, especially pulling a heavy load. I had my K Line GP38 Chessie System diesel pulling 11 Postwar coal dump cars and caboose this morning at a snail's pace without risk of snagging any sliding shoes. Will post a video showing this later. Arnold

If you are like me and love both Postwar and Modern, there are advantages to combining them.

I have a lot of Postwar, which includes a moderate size  tubular track layout with sharp curves that are mostly 031, and with O22 remote control switches. I also have a lot of Postwar operating cars with sliding shoes that are part of the operating mechanism.

Over the last 25 years, I have had somewhere between 10 and 20 operating cars with sliding shoes that have gotten snagged in the 022 switches. This is largely due to the fact that my track work is far from perfect. I hire someone local to repair these cars when the sliding shoes get snagged.

Recently, a sliding shoe on a Postwar Lionel GG1 got snagged (the sliding shoe triggers the operating electro-coupler) so I brought it to a local train repair guy to fix it.

I also have a lot of Modern locomotives, at least 10 of which have speed control.

Lately, having a sliding shoe get snagged on a switch happens very rarely. That is because I only run my operating cars with a modern locomotive with speed control. The shoes hardly ever get snagged because I run my Postwar operating cars with a modern MTH Proto 2 and 3 locomotive using DCS, or a modern LC+ or Legacy locomotive using a handheld remote unit, at very slow and even speed.

I could be wrong, but I believe such slow and smooth speed virtually eliminates the occurence of sliding shoes getting snagged.

I will post a video or two later, to show how well Modern slow and smooth running locomotives pull Postwar operating cars with sliding shoes. Arnold

IMO, a Pennsy locomotive is ideal for a coal drag.

During my summer vacations visiting my aunt and uncle in Pennington, NJ, we would hang out at the swimming pool at Hopewell Country Club while my dad and uncle played golf. At the pool, my mother, aunt, cousins and I  would watch endless Pennsy coal cars roll by as they were pulled by powerful roaring Pennsy locomotives that made the ground tremble and took my breath away.

I think the love that some of us have for our model trains stems from such experiences we had as kids.

Here is an MTH Proto 2 Pennsy diesel running slow and smooth on DCS hauling Lionel operating coal dump cars:

Arnold

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