Lionel I1 Decapod Stopping on Ross #6 Switch

@Norm Charbonneau mentioned something like this with his recently purchased Lionel L1s Mikado. I think it was due to a pickup roller that was sticking. Maybe he’ll chime in.

The "nuclear option" would be bridging to the rollers and wheels on the tender, with a tether between the loco and tender.  This loco doesn't have a tether from the factory, so adding one would require a bit of soldering.

In a practical sense, it's not possible to test every combination of wheelbase, roller spacing, etc., with every combination of switches including those of other manufacturers.  IMO two roller pickups on the loco isn't enough.  If it already has three rollers, then you should check continuity--one of them must not be in the circuit.

IMO Lionel and MTH should both revise their electronics architecture (the distribution of boards, power, and signaling between the loco and tender) to solve this pesky problem, instead of leaving it to us after the sale.  At least with Lionel, there are already rollers on the tender, and adding a tether only requires basic soldering skills.  My $.02.

Thanks for the suggestion Ted... Sorry for the late reply but I finally had some time to work on this. Added a tether from the front engine pickup roller to the front tender roller. Now it runs smoothly over the Ross #6 switches at slow speed. Was able to hide the tether so it it's too noticeable. Only down side is you have be careful remove the engine and tender from the tracks now that they are tethered together.

I bought small 2-conductor connectors to bridge both hot and common not only between engine and tender, but also powered A and dummy trailing units. I'm not quite halfway through my loco roster. Also bought roller pickups to add to tenders/dummies that lack them.