Oh, wow, guess like I will have to take another look at this site in my free time (at the office now). I hadn't even heard about electrically heated steam locomotives until now (http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/swisselec/swisse...).
It probably took me about a week to get a full idea of how it works, and I'm hoping to create a model to help myself really understand.