make sure the track where the loco is sitting is clean, clean wheels, good pickups on the wheels. i would eventually put the resistor under the layout for firm contact.
lex

first of all, you will be robbing power from your dcc controller. at least 200ma. with a system that is 1.5 amp, subtract at least .2 amp.
I would use a full wave bridge rectifier, a filter capacitor and a lm317 voltage regulator. below is a link to lighting circuits which will be usable if you are comfortable working at a component level.
http://www.awrr.com/lighting.html
as an example, circuit #3, adjust the resistor between the lm317 adj terminal and common for the voltage you want at the out terminal and common. i do this with a variable resistor , then solder in a fixed resistor near the same value. a couple tneths of a volt either way will not be an issue.  i am able to work at the component level.
just ignore the components i did not mention with that circuit.
you need the bridge, .1 ufd cap, lm317, 270 resistor and suitable resistor to set the voltage.

you will need clean track,clean wheels  and good wheel pickups.
good luck
lex

Quote from: RAM on October 12, 2009, 04:27:35 PM
The report said that the engineer got off and was near by in the yard when the train took off.

the driver was climbing back on board and slipped back off and dragged a little ways.

While the train was still moving at a speed of approximately 8 mph,
the
engineer dismounted the locomotive and ran ahead to reposition the
switch before the train could run through and cause damage to the
switch. The engineer was successful in operating the switch just
seconds
before the train reached it. The engineer than ran along side the
locomotive and attempted to reboard. However, the speed of the train
had
not decreased as the engineer had expected but had increased to
approximately 12 mph. Due to poor footing and wet grab handles on the
locomotive, the engineer was unable to pull himself up on the
locomotives ladder. He dragged along for approximately 80 feet until
he
released his grip on the hand rails and fell to the ground.
lex

i did some looking and found the below story behind what happended. To start with, the engineer fell off the loco.
http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=70901
this shows you how safety problems can occur.
lex

any geared locomotive sounds like it is running very fast. they have a lot of gear reduction. logging track was very rough at times. some logging railroads used pole roads. small diameter tress with limbs removed laid end to end and used as "track".  The loco wheels were double flanged.
do a search for shay locomotive speed.
lex

Unstoppable (2010) is about a single locomotive bringing a freight train with no engineer in the loco under control. hollywood will no doubt make it an action movie. wonder if the original story will be recognized.
lex

kadee site has a suggestion. http://www.kadee.com/conv/hocc14.htm
you might use a very thin film of contact cement, walthers goo using a toothpick on the couple surface and bottom of the attachment point on the loco. i mean thin. a new batch of glue is good as it has not got thick yet. I have done that but have to be very careful, not ham handed. more is not better
lex

i do know the pc board in Bachmann locos have a resistor on the PC board if the loco has led lights. the sites that talk about the shay instal, just plug in the decoder.
lex

me thinks the instructions are in e-z command and called 1 amp decoder instructions. look at the left side for e-z command. these worked for my spectrum loco. bac hmann has never been good for instructions
lex

i have been able to purchase the two connectors that have the wires on them from Bachmann, but not the one mounted in the tender end or locomotive bottom. The 4-4-0 and 4-6-0 have two connectors mounted in the bottom of the loco.
i think the connectors come from china, everything comes from china. if bachmann told us the company, we would probably have to order a large batch. no way bachmann could ever profit from this.
businesses today are for profit. no problem with profit, but they are not model railroader focused.
lex

here is a cabbage stack
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/585-3088
radly & hunter stack
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/585-3516
Congdon Stack & Base
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/585-3539
balloon stack
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/585-31445

the only one i would think of is the cabbage stack.
lex

look around the web for walt disneys backyard railroad. here is one i found. there are more. i find looking around i can find facts many times instead of opinion. works for me real nice

http://www.sci.fi/~animato/rail/walt.html
lex

i have those two paper catalogs. looked about three times. nothing. i used a caliper to get the specs. good luck
lex

i should have included these links. all this information is on the internet. i have fun looking. i learn a lot.

http://wpporter.duckburg.us/DisLocos.htm
http://miceage.micechat.com/stevedegaetano/sd042307b.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_World_Railroad

many times stuff about the trains does not mention narrow gauge. i was there back in june. road on the train. saw them top of the tender water just like many years ago. the water tank along the track is much smaller.
lex

the locomotives where built in the 1920s for a narrow gauge railroad in mexico. you can find information on the internet.
lex