Considering Switch to DCC

[torikoos]

It is annoying to find that the cab needs to be plugged in though. My Prodigy express even has a small power station that keeps the trains running when I unplug. I was under the impression that most trains just followed their last instructions when you unplugged the cab from the tracks. After all, track power should still be theoretically going to the track, since its still connect to the wall plug.
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That is because the NCE Powercab (unlike their ProCab) has the DCC commandstation build into the throttle, including it's power supplies, so by unplugging it, you disconnect the commandstation from the rails (and thus remove trackpower). Also remember that the last instruction (per address) you give , is being re-transmitted all the time by the DCC command station, basically telling the engine to keep running at speed step 15 over and over, until there's a change . If you remove this signal, the loco no longer knows what to do, and all stops...

(JMRI is a great tool to watch this communication, you'll see a constant stream of activity in the log windows )

Koos