i own a restaurant in alaska and on a childhood whim and with and adult income i decided to run a 300 foot train around my dining room. i went out online and purchased all the track (lionel fast track o gauge) and the power supply (360 watt) and the lionel tmcc II system controller. then not knowing anything and being stupid i went out and bought 3 engines and several cars that are MTH because they were alaska RR. Now i need to know will they even run on my track and system at all? will they have any sounds at all? and if not can you hook both systems up to one track to run either type of loco. Thanks in advance for any help as I would not like to waste any more money than necessary. when I started all this I had no Idea there were different kind of systems. Edward, Delta Junction Alaska Thanks Again
I will try and send don Baker a email on this as I believe hes knows the mixture of the two best but I believe to run them (MTH) you will need to get MTH system off dccs or what ever it is ( sorry) but it can be done run both systems on one track from what I understand. If he doesn’t respond goto coffee shop find his post and click on contact member and send him an email or private message.
All brands will run on Lionel Fastrack but if you want MTH remote control you will have to buy their DCS remote system. Fastrack can be bought in different size curves to handle all engines, just be sure what you buy will run on the size curves you have installed.
Yea … MTH shot theirself in the rear with that non compatible control system of theirs . Almost all and including imports in brass run exceptionally on Lionel powered systems . I think they had overblown heads thinking they could take over the train world … LOL ! You have to have their designed control system to get the full benefits of all the features on their engines or plunk down bucu hundreds of more dollars to add Lionel components to their off the wall DCS system . Every manufacturer except MTH is setup for the standard Lionel invented many decades ago . They could have made them compatable … but did’nt … now they’re like edsels … and studebakers . That’s why you see Williams and K-Line and Lionel engines bringing much more money and selling like hotcakes compared to MTH engines … even on Ebay . It’s a shame you did’nt come here first and ask … I feel for you ! MTH did make the best darn kick butt transformer … the Z-4000 … 400 watt … never gets hot and power to spare for about any layout … which I upgraded to … even has a cooling fan … lionel left out of all theirs and is sorely needed .
where whould you find how tight the engine can turn… is it on the engine or the paperwork that comes with it? since i have almost all 0-36 corners seeing that is is running around a dining room with normal corners. And thanks for your help
I am not familiar with TMCC II compatability and PS2 locos, however with the original version of TMCC you can operate PS 1 & 2 in a remote control basis thru the use of a TPC400. With a TPC400 you have most of the PS2 functions but not all, you will still be able to access station sounds etc, as well as the prime mover sounds.
However with the fasttrack you will definitely need to use a good sound absorbing roadbed as well as filling the void in the plastic roadbed with the fiberglass insulation used around doorways and window openings.
A Lionel TPC 300 or 400 like dugagrump suggests will work with a TMCC II (Legacy) outfit to run your MTH engines. You won’t be able to access all the features in the MTH engines but you can access the basics. For your purposes, you should be fine. Sticky back weatherstripping along the under edges of Fastrack helps to quiet it down too.
Home in Alaska (What city?)
I think the first question is regarding the engines you purchased and whether or not they will accomodate the 31" radius curves. An easy way to find out is to look up the item number at the MTH web site. Or, check the user manual and it will say.
Assuming, that is resolved. Then the consideration is getting the wiring set up. DCS is a SENSITIVE system, and does require a reasonably strong signal strength to get the results you will desire. Considering you have a 300’ track length, you will need multiple feeds to to the track. Again I am assuming you are only running 1 track. Fast Track is really good regarding the interconnections between sections, but depending upon the length of sections you acquired, the more the interconnects the greater the overall resistance, resulting in a degradation of both signal and voltage. MINIMALLY, have a lead at every corner. You will also want to isolate those sections into blocks. That way you do not have the signal cancelling itself out, because it is propagated in two directions from the connection points.
In order to get the sounds and ALL the other features DCS offers, you need to get a MTH “TIU” unit, AND a DCS Remote. http://www.railking1gauge.com/detail.asp?item=50-1001http: That will run about $300. ALSO, you will need an adapter cable to connect to the TMCC Command Center (module). The cost of that cable is about $15.
Now I have a totally different suggestion. Since you made mention of having this running elevated around a room, you MIGHT want to reconsider O Scale. In my opinion, G Scale would be better and much more visible. The cost of the cars and engines are essentially the same, however the track IS more expensive. But long term, you would probabl
He said Delta Junction, which is about 100 miles southeast of Fairbanks.
Not real convient to a LHS, hey ?
I would dump elaborate sound systems and any type of fancy control system unless you are running a trainshop/museum that serves food as opposed to a restaurant with a railroad atmosphere.
Most restaurants with running train sets near the ceiling use simple loops of track and G scale trains. These are large enough to see from eye level and simple enough to run like the energizer bunny. A local restaurant that is adjacent to the CSX mainlines through Plymouth has a train theme. There are two (possibly three) loops of track that circle the main dining areas. There is a smaller upstairs dining area reserved for family gatherings/small parties that actually looks down on on of the loops. The owners have some Lionel style equipment in display cases (e.g. 1976 bi cenentenial set, Girls set) but the running trains are G.