DCC and "Seasoned" Brass Locomotives

[nachoman]

I'm not very conversant on DCC, but if some of your older locos are driven directly off the motor shaft (many were) and use a steel worm with a brass worm gear (it was often also the final drive gear, directly on the driver's axle), then you'll have a direct connection between the track and the motor. A possible fix would be an idler-type gearbox, with plastic gears.

Wayne

Wow, that's a good point. I never thought of that. That would definitely energize a metal motor frame (from the worm, to the shaft, through the motor bearings, to the motor frame). But, not all motors have one of the poles grounded to the frame. One could probably solve this problem with a new motor.