I am going to hard wire about 5 DC locomotives with Bachman 1 amp decoders. I will build a test track. Does the test track have to loop back to its self to make a full circuit or can I just wire my EZ Command Console to 2 or 3 pieces of connected straight track open at each end???
No, it does not need to be a full circuit, a few pieces of flex track are sufficient.
I use a single length of flex track, which would be the same as 4 pieces of E-Z Track, for a temporary test track. The siding on my layout that is wired as a test track is even shorter. Three or four pieces of E-Z track with one of them a connector section, plus a spare cable to go from your E-Z Command to the connector section, is an ideal test track that stores is a minimum of space.
When testing new installations, be sure to use a 100 ohm, 10 watt resistor connected in series with one rail (explained on page 5 of your E-Z Command manual) just in case there is an undetected problem. If you use the spare cable suggested above, split the two wires apart, then cut just one of them in half. Join each end of the resistor to one of the cut ends.
Jim