IF I can find my old horn hooks, you can have them. I saved them because I just could not bring myself to throw them out. As I recall, I had a bag with hundreds of them.  Tyco, Bachman, AHM, Athearn and others.  I will search later today. We are supposedly going to be in a snow apocalypse this weekend in Colorado, so that will be a good diversion for me.
I will report back here if I find them.

Tom

H5subway -

Google Micromark truck tuner. It is a tool that will perfectly take care of the wheelset binding you described when changing to metal wheelsets. It is worth every penny. I have used it for years as I convert cars from plastic wheels to metal.

Tom

you might have luck with someone that has already designed for 3D printing snap in modules with seating, restrooms, dining cars, etc.  Shapeways may have designs on file. I know there are numerous of those available for the old Roundhouse passenger cars. Some of those designs are sold on ebay cheap.

Tom

I had forgotten about the propane torch trick. Yes it works too and I have done it. Just dont leave it over the area very long. I used to remember things like that better than I do now.  Good to be reminded.

Tom

For eliminating bubbles in that resin, first pour thin coats. You can add layers.
But bubbles happen. Use a straw and blow across the bubbles through the straw. I also used a hair dryer on low and cool with success when I was pouring that stuff to cover a vanity cabinet converted from an old hutch.

As always, your layout looks great.

Tom

Those resistor values, although helping to protect the leds, are pretyy low to try to dim anything.  Many folks will use a 2k ohm or even 3k ohm for a single led for a headlight.  Those leds dont take much to be extremely bright. And it takes a surprisingly large resistor to be able to get any significant dimming..

Good luck,
Tom

And meny Hobbytown USA stores carry Radio Shack products.

Tom

Did you buy these locomotives new or used?  It sounds like momentum has been programmed into the decoders. That would account for the slow acceleration to what you are calling normal.  That is my best guess. Have you tried a decoder reset?  (Ususlly writing a value of 8 to cv 8 then removing track power for several seconds - that will return the locomotive dcc address to 3 and will reset all the internal parameters to factory defaults - then you can reprogram your locomotive number into the address).
What DCC system are you using? Some are very limited in their capabilities.

Hope that helps,
Tom

The cheapest way to use your android as a controller is to first go to the website for JMRI (jmri.org) and see if your DCC system is supported within JMRI.  Then if it is, download the free jmri software ( windows, linux, mac compatible) and configure it with your system according to their instructions.  Then, go to Google Play Store and download  Steve Todd's free Engine Driver throttle app and download that to your tablet. Follow the instructions he has for setting it up. He has his own website dedicated to that program.  Also JMRI has instructions for setting that up. There is a bit of a learning curve, but it is pretty cool once you get it going. You do need to have a wireless network environment on your JMRI pc for the android throttle to communicate.

Good luck and have fun,
Tom

One more thing to consider about a new system. If you belong to a club, or think you might join a club later, consider what they are using - check with your local hobby shop if you have one and they can give you club information in your area.  If you get a system compatible with a local clubs's system, you automatically have a good reference group for helping you figure yours out and tweaking it. And you may be able to use your throttle at the club if they allow it.

Just some thoughts....

Tom

You didnt say if you are operating on DC or DCC. I dont know if that behavior is expected on DC.  I dont think so, but I could be wrong.  If you have access to a DCC system, you can reset the decoder (set cv8 to 8 and then remove power for several seconds). This will likely cure it if some programming has been messed up.  Note that if you do a reset, any custom speed parameters, loco number, volume controls, bell or whistle choices - these will all go back to default. Loco number will be 3.

Very nice! Thanks for sharing!

Thermo,
I feel your pain. I had one that may have moved 25 feet. Mine has more than gears at issue. There were some electronics attached to the motor and the motor started smoking. And the electronics (capacitors maybe) got so hot I burned my fingers on it while troubleshooting why mine would not run. Pretty crappy that they dont have parts for a $300 locomotive. Mine was beyond the new warranty term as I tested it when I first received it, then shelved it while I did other projects. Then pulling it out again, a year later it did this failure.  Their old lifetime warranty was great. But now, with the one year, makes me question ever again shelling out that kind of money for something that the parts supply or replacement locomotive supply is nonexistent for. Mine still sits in a box completely disassembled as I hope to someday have a go at rebuilding it. I did manage to get a motor and gears from NWSL that will hopefully solve my issues.

There should be some kind of marking on controller. It might just say a/c and d/c. D/c is what you want for track.

Perhaps one of the pilot truck wheelsets is in the truck backwards. Look at the wheelsets closely. You may see a plastic hub on the end of them. My guess is one of them has been put in opposite of what it should be.  Figure out which one does not cause a short, leave it alone, then pull the other one out and flip it end for end.

Thats my best guess.

Hope that helps.