Here's a real rookie question....

I do it it all the time with my Williams, MTH PS2 and PS3 locomotives.  If the get of sync, you may have to lock them in forward.  I don't have that issue with my FasTrack track and switches.

I give up.....

What is the answer.  

Yes. I have done just that with my two MTH C&O 2-6-6-6 models hauling my 60 car coal train, in conventionl (on our Independent Hi-Railers, Mudwest Division huge modular layout).

I do that frequently with my conventional Lionel equipment. All you need to do is make sure the reverse units are in sync so they both run in the same direction. It's easier to do this with mechanical E-units than most electronic ones.

I've been doing it for 50 years.

I even wired two diesels on to one reverse unit to keep them in sync.

Tried it this morning with 2 PS2 engines. It DID NOT work. the train went around the loop a few times then buckled with some freight cars pushing ahead and out of line.

This usually does not work in conventional mode because the mechanical gear ratios and the motors response to a given input voltage varies. The engines work against each other.

It absolutely DOES work under MTH DCS control. Each PS2 or PS3 has RPM counting flywheels on their motors and the speed input from the remote (a number) is guaranteed by the DCS system. You first link them with commands from the remote so that both engines get the same speed command then you have to decide which is the lead engine, middle engine and end engine. Once set up It appears on the controller as one engine with the lead engine's horn the horn for the new engine set. The headlights even act as one unit for forward and reverse. The engines never buck each other. i have two engine on my layout right now operating like this pulling a bunch of freight cars. It works perfectly.

LDBennett

Mike, you have to have both engines at the front of the train, one behind the other.   With one on each end you will find that the line of freight cars will buckle and derail.  With the two together any small difference in pulling power or speed will not be a problem.  If the difference become too great it won't work at all.

Sounds like you had one engine on the front while the other was on the rear.

If the engines are PS2 and PS3 no matter what model they are (GP's, F, or whatever) if you run them under DCS they pair and even triple perfectly. The feature of DCS that makes this possible is the one that allows them to run at scale MPH. When you set a speed in increments of one MPH the engine responds by giving that speed to an accuracy of near 1%. It has been measured to be very near that. In this case the two or three engine become one new engine with one control. Since they all are able to achieve scale MPH within a few percentage points the is no pushing and pulling between them. I have hours and hours on my two engines pulling a long train of freight cars with absolutely no problems. It is not unusual for motors, given the same input voltage, to turn at different speeds and that is why it is rarely successful to attempt this in the conventional mode.

If this is what you want to do DCS is the answer for PS2 and PS3 engines. DCS is such a great control system with all kinds of useful features that are relatively easy to use. MTH is supposed to release (this year!) the module that will allow smart phone and tablet to run an application that makes each and every smart phone or tablet with WiFi a DCS controller. I can't wait as I have a Samsung tablet that will do the job. The pictures of the app running on a smart phone show a very nice big bright color display, easy to read, and much better than the DCS hand controller screen. I'm impatiently waiting and I hope their scheduled delivery is met.

LDBennett

Been doing that for years. Best bet is to do low-speed testing to see if the reverse units cycle on turnouts/dirty track as this can knock them out of phase with each other.

It works all the time, even with locos that aren't of the same pedigree electronics.

I'll try it with both engines up front. Thanks.....