Bach man,
I'm afraid it may have been.   Why is it so easy to fry it?   No Fuse?  If that's the case, is there a way to fix it?  When you say its proabably shorted out, is the problem in the transformer or the EZ command unit itself?

Regarding the volt meter or the grain of wheat bulb.....   I did not have a voltmeter handy at the moment bt was pretty sure it was fried.   None of the lights on the unit lit at all and I had an old bumper/track end that has a grain of wheat bulb in it and i get nothing there either.

I'm out of town right now, but when I get home, I'll check it more closely.

I have an EZ command unit and it was working great for several months.    ..then my mother-in-law came to town.   My son(almost 3) loves and respects the trains and knows enough to ask for help and wont run them without me.  My mother-in-law knows everything there is to know about everything and is a self proclaimed expert at everything.   One day while I was out of town and she was in town, she decided she was an expert on trains.  I had suspected that this might be a problem so I had actually unplugged the EZ command unit and set it on an adjacent shelf.  This was not a strong enough hint or deterrent.  I came home to find the unit plugged in and trains all over the tracks and derailed all over the place.  Things had obviously been dragged all around by hand and she flatly told me "I think somethings wrong with it, I couldn't figure it out."   
Now, I have no idea what happened, but the unit has no signs of life when I plug it in.  I do recall in the instructions that it explicitly said to connect to the track before connecting power.  Is it possible that if that was not done that she may have let the majic blue smoke out and the unit is cooked for good?   I took the cover off hoping to find a fuse or obvious fried connection and was unable to see anything that looked obvious.   After repeated pleas of "Daddy fix??" I had to tell my son that I couldn't fix it now.....  The look on his face was heartbreaking. (so far he thinks daddy can fix everything)   
Any suggestions or do I have to buy a new unit?

Thanks everyone for the responses so far!
We have been to Union, Il.  My dad used to take me there when I was young.  We took Matt there last summer and plan to go again this summer a few times.

The Georgetown Loop looks great Bob.  Too bad the steam locos are out for service this summer.   I'll see if we can make that a day outing.   I'm still trying to convince my wife to go from Fraser to Grand Junction and back on the Amtrak just to enjoy the ride and scenery....  It looks like there's no way around that being a 2 day trip though (out one and back the next)  Not bad if it werent for Kids and all of the associated stuff that travels with.

I do plan to hit some of the eastern spots as well, but they may have to wait until the boys are a bit older or if we happen to have a family trip in that direction.   ( I might be that way on business though..... and I'm still a boy..... so....)

Is there a good way to find out when & where steam locos rumble through town?   
I found the UP site that details the 844 and 3985, but are there other sites that track more locos and there proposed routes?
Last winter we were lucky enough to catch a tiny blip in a local paper about Santa coming to a nearby town on a train.   My son Matt couldn't have cared less about standing in line for an hour to see Santa.  He just wanted to walk around and study the beautiful and powerful hissing behemoth that brought him.  (that was fine by me, as I would rather check out steam locos than stand in line to see Santa too.)
Thanks again for all of the great advice so far.

I was recently in Colorado on business and the beautiful drive from Hot Sulphur Springs to Grandby with the tracks opposit the river really gave me the urge to get a ticket just to see the rest of the scenery.   At the very least, later this summer I want to take my son somewhere cool to watch & see trains.
I live in Wisconsin, but there is something special about mountain passes....

If anyone has any recommendations for things to go see & do, I'd love to hear it.
I will be in Grand Lake, Colorado from July 18th to Aug 9th with the family.   I really wanted to catch the 844 from Denver to Cheyenne for the rodeo and thought that maybe I could even talk my wife into it as she would love the rodeo.  She did nix that as she thought it would be too much of a production and all day(and a long one at that) affair with an infant and an almost 3 year old. 
I did also look into an Amtrak ticket from Fraser to Grand Junction and return, but it looks like that would involve a two day trip and hotel one night or a one way trip and driver to come retrieve us. 
All that being said, anything close and simple would be great.  When the boys are older we will surely do the Cheyenne trip as well as the Silverton Durango, but for now, short attention spans and naps limit the day...

Any and all suggestions are welcome.   I'd even like to hear suggestions for southern Wisconsin (I'm near Lake Geneva) if anyone has any. 
PS- Matt loves Steam!
Thanks in advance!

 Quote from Yampa Bob
"A reminder to all; user installed Soundtraxx Tsunami have "Alternate Power Source" (DC operation) disabled. You will need a DCC controller capable of changing CVs to enable analog operation.
Bachmann locomotives with factory installed sound decoders will run on DC out of the box, just like their non-sound DCC models."

I did not know that when I just picked up my Tsunami decoder the other day...    I want to be able to run on DC & DCC but do not have a DCC system that I can program CV's on yet.    Hmmmmm    Is there anybody out there in southern wisconsin that can do a quick CV change for me once I'm done with the install? 

Ok, I'm still limping along with way more derailments than I'd like.   As of lately I haven't had much time to deal wioth this, but would like to address it soon.

First off, Can I get a Bachmann turnout replacement? (the 18" radius ones that comes with the 'starter packs'?   I would love to be able to just replace the turnout on the roadbed.  It seems it would be easiest; just cut the connectors, unscrew & lift it off and put the new one on the roadbed.  ( I did not ballast any more than the edges around the switches)  This would avoid having to tear up 4-6 pieces of roadbed/track.
The trouble is, I can't find the switch alone anywhere.   Can someone at Bachmann tell me if I can get just the turnout sans roadbed?

Thanks to everyone for the input.   (I did go to the Tsunami site to listen to the different decoders)
I will let you know how it goes.  I'm excited about doing the install.

Fire,
It sounds like you have the same loco that I had.... 4-8-4 Northern, Burlington Route.....

I have not heard anything back from service yet, but I've heard that they have a considerable backlog.   I do know that the package was recieved.
I doubted that parts would be available either as it is over 30 years old.   (I'm feeling old now, up unitl a few weeks ago, that was one of my 'newer engines'

The table is level and the track is fastened.   I don't think the problem is in putting the track down.   The main and most obvious problem is just simply that the rivets are not fully pressed and the rail is loose and floppy at the hinged end.   No matter what my track layout looks like, I don't think anyone can argue that that is a good thing....
That and the tip of the switch point never really gets very tight to the rail and gets picked often by pilot and trailing trucks and occasionally cars.
Obviously it would be preferrable to use large radius turnouts for steam or any large locos, but I am using what came in the starter kit.

What is recommended for adding sound to a Bachmann Spectrum 2-10-2?
I would like to run it on DC and DCC.

...to try to answer your question of why EZ track:
I guess after being out of the hobby for 25 years, I was a bit out of touch with what's out there.  I'm sure I'd have no problems laying track the way we used to and I questioned the EZ track when I did it.
I guess my reasoning came down to cost and time.   My wife was going out of town for about 8 days and taking the kids with and I my oldest son had recently taken a huge interest in trains.  I thought it would be fun to build a layout for him.  As much as I want to involve him in the building process (half the fun, right?) I know that he is young enough that his attention span might not be up to it and as much as I love it when he helps, it is hard to do some tasks with toddlers.  (He will be more 'hands on' with the next one....)
That coupled with a heck of deal on the EZ track Nickel silver starter pack at the LHS, and my decision seemed easy.   I don't think I could have bought 3 or four switches for what I paid for the whole kit.  The simplicity of "click, click, click, plug, plug, plug" seemed appealing.
One more trip to the LHS yielded another deal on one more turnout and an expansion kit (two more switches, more radius and straights and bumpers) again, for less than the cost of two more switches and I was able to modifiy my track plan for more sidings and spurs.
I layed it out and unpacked some old locos and ran them around the first evening.  Everything worked great.   ( I should have tried a steam engine....)
Within one week (of really late nights)I had built the table, cut in the river, layed the track, built and installed bridge butresses and bridge, built the mountain with exposed rocks and installed portals, added a road, grass and some trees & shrubs and ballasted a good portion of the track and then added a few old buildings that survived several moves and 25 years of storage.   It's nothing fancy and won't win any awards, but for something built from Monday to Monday, I think I did ok.  The look on my sons face was worth every late night.  Most days lately I can't keep him away from it.  I don't think I could have done this so quickly with other options, but maybe....
My biggest frustration is that now he primarily wants to run the steam engines ( I can't blame him; my favorite too) but I have to be constantly putting them back on the track, or explaining that "we can't use that siding because it will derail".
The irritating part is that it looks like it's a simple quality control issue that is causing most of my problems.  The rivets on several (not all) of the switches are simply sloppy and loose and they allow the switching tracks to wobble all over the place at the hinge end. I also have one that has a dead spot from the frog to the switch that only the large engines that span it or have a flywheel and good momentum can cross.  Yet another switch had such a thin fragile point that it simply broke off the tip and left a short blunt edge that wont quite contact the other rail.  Now I can only run through that switch in one direction (just happens to be opposite the flow of my layout and spurs).
It aggravates me that I will have to tear it up and either spend more money to replace what I think were sloppy turnouts and then take the time to rewire, reballast and landscape around all of the areas.  The EZ track tabs are large enough that I envision having to tear up about 6 pieces of track for each switch I need to replace.  I read the earlier suggestions about cutting them out or removing and sanding down the bed and installing Atlas, but again, it's more money, aggravation, time and headache to replace a defective part.

If only the switches were of higher quality, I would be thrilled with the product.  Is Bachmann aware of these loose rivets?  It looks like a simple press adjustment gone wrong.   
And how much cost would it add to the cost of the switch to recess the point into the main rail like Atlas?    The feather edge on the Bachmann swithces are not only fragile , but they still do not lay flush enough to not get picked on a regular basis.  ( I have tried filing them to a bevel and it doesn't really help...maybe a tiny bit, but by no means a good corrective action.)
Now, try to tell an almost three year old that his train layout is going to be out of commission for a week or two while I tear it up.   (and try to tell my wife that I need to spend $120-$150 on switches to replace ones that are only a month old).   (I may have to wait for them to go visit the mother-in-law again.))
(almost tempted to start from scratch, but not sure my wife would like that option due to $)
Bachmann does so much so well, why can't they make a better turnout?  I'm in it for the long haul, but I wonder how many other people get turned off to the hobby by bad experiences like this.
If anyone has any other suggestions, I'm still pondering the best way to attack this mess.

I have heard some discussions about people 'cooking' or 'popping' decoders.
Can a bad derailment lead to a short that will damage a decoder?
Right now I am running a small layout that I finished for the kids.   It is EZ track and I am having a hell of a time with the switches.   I can run deisels without too much trouble, but  the steam engines and rolling stock derail like clockwork on 4 out of the 7 switches.
The kids like the steam (as do I) and I have a few DCC locos on order and planned.  Will I be loosing the magic 'Blue smoke' that makes all electronics function (you know, once the blue smoke comes out, it doesn't work, ergo, it must run on blue smoke.)

Another issue altogether is that the EZ track switches are a huge source of frustration right now..... all track laid, wired, semi ballasted and landscaped and then I started having trouble.  The rivets at the pivot of the switch is loose on  the 3 problem switches. It is so loose that the switch rail moves 1/16" from side to side and causes locos to stall and/or derail.   The point of another switch simply broke off about 3/32" leaving a blunt edge and guaranteed picking of the point.   Examination of the bit that broke and the remainder showed tiny little cracks in the whole thing near the thin end....  Even my 'good' switches get picked often.  I've tried filing/beveling the very tip of the point to help the situation and it is minutely better, but still worrisome.
Help....  I'm getting tired of re-railing rather than running my locos and rolling stock.
I really hate to have to ripp it all up to get the three bad switches out.   Has anyone had similar issues with the pivot rivet?  How do you fix it other than replacing it?

Well, I've been busy lately but I just got around to packaging up the old Northern and sending it in.    We'll see what happens.   Despite some of what I've read here about some people having issues, I'm optimistic.   
My son's 4x8 is 'done' (if there is such a thing.... ok,ok it's running, mountains, bridge, road, most landscaping and some buildings, but still more to be done.) 
I've already been making my wish list for new locos and equipment for the next new big layout that's being started at grandpa's house....(bigger basement, more permanent address) 

....anybody know if the stndrd unmarked Pullman green and the Santa Fe are the same?   They look similar in photos.

Yes, I am the original owner, although I do not have any paperwork to back that up.  I must have been about 12 or 13 when I would have bought it.  I would guess that the fee to repair it and the shipping to & fro would probably almost warrant just buying new, but I could be wrong....   (anyone agree or disagree?)   I have no idea what the ballpark figure would be to repair.
Obviously I repaired it once when I wasn't any more than about 16, so I guess I could do it again if I could get the parts.  It looks like it had metal wheels and plastic axles and axles broke.   I suspect that the pressure of running it on some of the smaller radii in our old layout may have torqued and flexed the back wheel set repeatedly and caused the failure, but I ran the heck out of that engine.   (Being the younger son, my tracks and yard with turntable was laid inside my brothers and the two were circumnavigated by two larger dogbones & folded dogbones.)  The only way to get from my turn table out to the two larger loops was a tour around my line, switchover to my brothers (a source of a few fights) and then out the the two larger main lines.  There were a few unavoidable 18" radii which the engine handled well, but apparently paid the price in the axle.  It'd be a shame to see a good work horse put out to pasture.
Incidently, last night I went through some boxes with my dad last night at his house and we found something interesting...   He had always been impressed with my 4-8-4 Northern and how it ran and he had apparently (sometime later) found a beautifully detailed Brass 4-8-4 Northern and 'just had to have it'.   I can't ever recall seeing it run...  Maybe he bought it after I was off to college....