Layout Accommodates Runaway locos?

I haven't given it much thought, but I rarely have runaways.  Also, my curves are O72 and larger, so they can accommodate faster running and I have more time to hit the kill switch.

When you took the shell off, did you disconnect the antenna wire from the ERR board?  If so, that is the cause of your runaway.  Since you also run conventional, think about setting track voltage at 10 to 12 volts when testing TMCC locomotives.  A runaway won't be at warp speed with lower voltage.

The antenna is in the tender with the TMCC boards and I had the engine shell off but this reminded me that the antenna connecter didn't fit tight on the board pin.  I went opened the tender and tightened the connector.  

Good idea to use lower voltage when test running.   I'll also move my controller closer for easier reach.

With the ERR installations in the tender, it's necessary to provide an good antenna.  The classic method is to insulate the tender shell and use that as the antenna.  However, when you have them apart, sometimes the insulation gets damaged and the antenna is shorted to the frame of the tender.  In that case, there's no TMCC reception and you get the rocket mode you describe.

That might be it.  When I installed the TAS EOB stuff 15 Years ago I taped the antenna to the shell and insulated the frame with electrical tape.

As part of this recent upgrade I removed the electrical tape and used Kapton tape to insulate the shell.  I'll take a careful look.

Thanks for that idea.

Ward

I find that while Kapton tape works well, if there's a sharp point on the shell anywhere, it can punch through and cause the issue.  I go around and smooth the edges before taping to make sure I won't have issues.