I seem to remember from some earlier post, perhaps several months ago, that a forum member said he upgraded a post-war engine to TMCC.
If that is true, where does one find a TMCC upgrade kit? I have a Lionel # 18011 Chessie T-1 from the early 90’s that I would love to upgrade. Lionel’s website apparently does not offer ugrade kits like MTH does.
So, any info on this would be greatly appreciated.
Bill
Bill,
There are several vendors for TMCC upgrades. They sell the upgrades as a “do it yourself” or for a “labor + cost of goods charge” will do it for you.
Electric RailRoad
TrainAmerica
Digital Dynamics
Based on feedback on the forums sounds as though all are good. I have dealt with ERR once and it was with very favorable results.
Dave, Chuck, Doug:
Thanks for the info. Will take me a while to digest each site’s unique presentation of the equipment required for my engine. Now, at least, I know where to look.
Regards,
Bill
I had a Mohawk from the early nineties and am assuming your engine is somewhat similar. If it features a Pullmor motor you will need the AC version. If I remember right the engine wasn’t tethered to the tender. You may be able to keep the stock sounds and simply upgrade to command. Certainly should be enough room in the tender as it’s pretty large. TA was offering a cruise feature similar to EOB. Don’t know if it was ever produced.
The only problem I see is if you opt for Railsounds. You will need something to trigger the chuffs. Not sure how this is done on your engine presently. If there is a cam and switch setup in your tender your all set. If you want to get 4 chuffs per rev. . You can achieve this using some magnets glued to the drivers or trailing truck wheels and a reed switch. This works but it’s not the easiest route.
Last you may consider changing out to a can motor and flywheel. I believe Frank Timko can perform this service. This would allow you to use EOB. This pretty much depends on how much you want to spend and what type of performance your after.
ERR makes an excellent cruise unit that does not require the use of a reader for the flywheel. The EOB is a great unit but it is my understanding that the installation uses the connection that is used for setting a max speed limitation. To most people loss of this TMCC feature would be a minor issue, but when operating at a public venue and you let a few visitors run your train this is a truly indespensable feature. [:D]
Dave,
My Chessie T-1 is tethered to the tender with a plug-in cable. The engine is an early Railsounds unit. Compared to PS-2 and TMCC sounds the “sounds” on the T-1 are pretty ancient (and a little scratchy, too). This engine appears to have a reasonably powerful motor, but surprisingly, it was not manufactured with Magnetraction or traction tires. Thus, it loses a lot of traction with more than a few cars and even worse going up a slight grade.
Regards,
Bill
Now that I think of it. The Mohawk did have a tether. The sounds weren’t up to todays standards and the chuff was about one per revolution. But it had a killer whistle and bell. Still can’t remember what purpose the tether served. Can’t remember if the reverse unit was housed in the tender or if the rollers were only on the engine and they carried power back to it.
Not sure who does this work. But I’ve read that someone will machine wheels on these older locos so that they will accept traction tires. As I remember the Mohawk looked and felt like it could pull a ton of cars but it really struggled compared to the few Williams brass locos I had with traction tires.
I have heard good reports on the Cruise Commander as well. I’ll admit that the timing tape on EOB is a royal pain to install. But once it’s done you get selectable chuff rates. Any other method of cruise requires using the stock switch setup if available or gluing magnets to wheels and using a reed switch.
I still believe you probably have an AC Pullmor motor and your options may be a little more limited.
Frank Timko machines the wheels to add Traction Tires. We need this done on our Lionel T-1’s they slip bad with any load on a grade. Dave
Why not check into doing like I am having done with my R.I. geeps, I have sent one to Brasseur Electric Trains and having the very poor magnetraction replaced with wheels already grooved for tires. Unfortunately direct replacement wheels are no longer available, but an acceptable alternative from the Lionel PA’s is available. If this meets my expectations I will be shipping 3 more GP7’s for this modification. You never know, but there might be something available from another loco that will fit. Try checking with several service/repair shops.