Has anyone heard if Lionel is going to be issuing the new B&O 2-8-2 Mikado with TMCC and RS? [?]
I’ve heard that there were other road names with TMCC and RS.
I’ve not heard of anything Buckeye… I know they have a PRR Mikado… I’ll be ticked if they do because I think I’m getting the conventional Mikado for X-Mas. Lionel in their infinite wisdom decided to hold back production on the matching madison cars till March! Well, I guess if I get the Mikado for X-Mas, the madison cars will have to arrive in time for my green-beer b-day!
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A thread on OGR has been going on this. Some have already gotten the uncataloged PRR TMCC version. Joe
That’s good news. If they did a PRR TMCC, there is a chance that other road names might be on shelves in the near future.
I would like to see other road names on the Mike as well - maybe even the NYC version stand alone. I also though the catalog did not specify an electrocoupler on the rear of the tender. Does anyone know if an electocoupler is included? Seems strange not to have one on a TMCC engine.
Look at page 45. The TMCC version (shown here as part of a set) comes with the electrocoupler. At a little over $300. “street price”, this TMCC engine will be a hot seller. I want to see it before I buy one, but so far, it’s gotten good reviews. Joe
Buckeye, MTH had a B&O Mikado in the 2006 vol 1 catalog.
BUCKEYE, I was at BARRYs Train Shop in ETOWN where JELECTRIC is from and he had the PRR Mikado there for sale at about $350 with TMCC. Don’t quote me on that price. I saw it but wasn’t in the market for one so did not pay close attention.
laz57
Yes, and it looks very nice…but some of us don’t want to spend $700.+. Under $350. is better for me. Joe
I did a review on this forum of the NYC Hot Box Reefer set with the Mikado just recently.
http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/975502/ShowPost.aspx
Nice, smooth-running loco. Great detail. Railsounds are very nice. TowerCom is crystal clear. TMCC coupler on tender. Only real gripe I have with it is the “CrewTalk”. For some strange reason Lionel is still installing “unintelligible” crew talk on it’s locos. Maybe they have a zillion of these chips and they’re trying to use them up…I dunno. If there is an easy way to yank out these “garble-garble” CrewTalk chips and install one with clear speech, I’d sure like to know about it. Even MTH’s cheapest locos with Proto 2 have crew talk that is understandable.
Dep
Just received my B&O Mikado today… what a stunning piece of model railroading! Just wish Lionel had added the TMCC to it! 
I also received the C&O Super Freight TMCC set today as well, and have the Christmas Berk from 2001/2002? All have the crewtalk and the only thing I can’t understand is the ‘we’re waiting on track orders…’ then someone says something like ‘I need to pack my breaks.’ but that doesn’t make a lick of sense.
I have one question… I received the Hot Box Reefer today as well… awesome X 2!! Problem is I can’t hear the HBR talk over the engine! What is the recommended volume setting for the engines? I have the HBR set at 100% and the engines at approx 75% - 80%.
Also, I would have to say that 75% of the FasTrack noise comes from light weight cars, i.e. unloaded hoppers and boxcars. Heavier cars aren’t as noisy.
Reference: http://www.legacystation.com/Lionel_Chesapeake_Super_Freight_Train.htm
The C&O Super Freight should have RS 5.0. My RS 5.0 equipped engines are very clear even when moving down the track. The Christmas Berk from 2001/2002 should have an older model of RS. The older RS, IMO are not as clear, but I can still hear what they are saying when I press ALT 7. The ALT 2 Command on older RS is set to imitate a garbled radio.
I can also hear my HBR. When the guy says, “Ready to roll”, it is very clear. Only one command is somewhat garbled and that sound is made the same time the fire is making a crackling noise.
On my layout, I have two sound effects QSI modules that make even more noise than the engines. I am putting all 18 volts into the track with TMCC. I don’t know if a lesser voltage, say 15 volts
Actually, I don’t think the C&O Super Feight has Railsounds 5.0. From the looks of things in their catalog, only the high end locos get the 5.0 system. For instance, the NYC Empire Builder set has 5.0. The Santa Fe U28CG Standard O Freight Set (a high end set) has 5.0 too. There seems to be no “cutoff year” for the basic Railsounds vs the 5.0 version. It seems to be based more on price of the loco or trainset you buy. The hotbox reefer Mikado set is listed as a “Premium train set” mainly because it (the set) is loaded with features. Not because the loco is a Premium loco. Lionel is still installing the basic Railsounds into some of their locos, even though it’s 2006. I finally gave up on the gobble gobble sounds coming from my Mikado. I put my MTH NYC F3 ABA under the tree with heavyweight passenger cars and ALL the talk is clear as a bell. [:D]
Dep