here's an earlier video where the smoke was off on the rear mainline. The engines did not stumble across the switch. I had an issue with the PS2 rear engine stumbling last month and I found that the engine only had one power pick up point on the engineer's side. I rewired and added another pickup. So now the lead engine will need this modification.
Ever since I bought the larger Atlas 7.5 switches, and have dead frogs, engines have been giving me grief. When I ballasted, things got worse. I believe glue residue created even more issues. A piece of ballast got inside a 3/2 engine and melted an axle!
I must have been lucky that I originally had only Atlas 5.5 switches and did not realize it. The shorter dead frog helped the engines.
So???? power the frogs properly? (more work and $$) or...Run with the smoke off? ( no fun for us) or ....modify every engine?
Moral= do it right the first time. Buy Tortoise switch machines or similar and power the frogs!
Urrggg.