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The train in question is an E231-500 series motor car which is at least 4 years of age, and has a (I think) 3-pole motor with flywheels on either side. Normally (as everyone who models knows lol) when the power is turned to moderate speed on the powerpack (mine is a Kato standard S) the motor begins to operate and the head/taillights on either side of the train light up. However, this time when the motor car is placed on the track, the head and taillights of the leading cars flicker off, the motor car does not move and a slight odour of electrical burn is emitted from the powerpack vent. If I turn the speed all the way up on the powerpack, the green power lamp on the powerpack turns off with a click (then I push the re-start button) and the controller returns to normal. I suspect that there is a short circuit in the motor (all the bogies and copper plates on the motor car are touching in normal position) but I do not know where. Does anyone have solutions to the problem?

I just had a thought after seeing some more dramatic images of molten trains on facebook; I use KATO Unitrack. Several of my trains (mostly, but not exclusively TOMIX ones such as Shinkansens) have electric couplers and pickups in each car, and are quite long. Is there a risk of overloading or short circuiting the trains when moving from one block to another with TNOS or with two different Power Packs (e.g. with the KATO double crossover, or with just one isolated block to another)? Only talking about analogue operation with PWM. Would really like to avoid finding out the hard way that I shouldn't have done something and having destroyed several of my trains or turning them into lava. All of them are equipped with lights by the way. I was also thinking of using 2 different Power Packs on the two diverging ends of one KATO #6 switch. Not a reversing loop; really two different Power Packs attached to each of the diverging ends, without using any insulators otherwise, so that the single track can be powered by a different Power Pack depending on the orientation of the switch. Would that cause any issues?