Running PS-2 Steam Without Tender?

no the  ps 2 board is in the tender a lot of times and sometimes the board is in the engine! also the reverse is true if t the ps 2 board is in the engine then the battery is in the tender also the tender is needed sometimes for rollers for pickup power for then track! I would ever run the engine without the tender IMHO ! plus the speaker is just about always in the tender TOO!

Alan

No. 

Some PS-2 steam locomotive sound files, such as the 20-3105 Empire State Express 4-6-4, include a squeak that is synchronized with the chuffing.   I don't know whether this would be true for your Imperial Mikado, but you might want to try running it with the engine sound turned off.

Yes you can there is no problem doing that.  BUT the board has to be in the engine PS-2 only and it would have to be DCS since the battery is in the tender on almost all of them.  I think I know of one exception on a early premier.

Having said that you can just turn smoke and sounds down on tender.  Now that squeak  could also be the smoke fan motor needing a drop of oil on the top bearing.  G

Thanks all for the replies - I turned smoke and sounds off and was able to isolate to a side rod - a drop of oil fixed the issue.