retrofiting old engines to accept trainmaster commands

[Anonymous]

I am thinking of buying the lionel trainmaster system, but I want to know if there are kits for retrofitting old engines? if not, are there block diagrams available or trainmaster command system specs?

[tmcc man]

Well, first [#welcome] to the forum. As far as I know, there is no "do it yourself " kit. There are many companies that will upgrade the engine, and I am sorry, but do not know the price.

[Roger Bielen]

bursk, welcome to the forum. To answer your question, there are companies that manufacture after market kits for conversion to TMCC. Whether it is feasible to do it yourself depends on your abilities and the individual engine(s). I've had one done and did another by myself. If you desire I know TAS, Train America Studios, supplies electronics and also does installations. They advertise in CTT. I believe Digimax is the other, also a CTT advertiser.

Diesels can be easy if there is room or the electronics can be installed in a second dummy unit. I've an A-B-A that I put the hardware in the B. For a steamer the hardware is in the tender.

Good Luck and Happy Running.

[Buckeye Riveter]

[#welcome]
Yes, there are kits to convert older engines to TMCC and Railsounds. I have two of them. One is in an old K-Line switcher and the other is in a William's Diesel. Both kits were from Train America Studios (TAS) in Canfield, Ohio.

I let TAS install the kit in the K-Line, then I opened it up and looked to see how they did it. Then I bought the kit for the Williams and did it myself with the help of the 3M Company who makes double sided tape. The double sided tape is a real time saver.

Digital Dynamics makes kits too, but I have not used them. From the reports I have heard they are very good and less expensive than TAS.

[tmcc man]

Roger, who did you do it. I only thought that other hobby shops/specialists could do it. I am not saying you could not.

[Roger Bielen]

tmcc, its not hard if you can follow instructions and have a bit of mechanical/electrical savy and, in come cases, willing to add a few holes to your engine. The hardest part is finding space in some installations, especially with sound. As Buckeye mentions, double sided tape is a necessity.

[ben10ben]

I have upgraded two engines to TMCC with Digital Dynamics kits, as well as a dummy using an LCRX(still have another one for a project I haven't decided on yet). I personally refuse to do business with TAS, but that's a personal choice, and don't let me stop you.

www.digitdynam.com

[ChiefEagles]

Welcome to forum. I've done two MPC GP7's with DD kits and they were easy. Some flaws in instructions is, if you have can motors in the trucks, you wire the two motors opposite to each other or they will pul in opposite directions [not stated in the insturctions]. Works great.

[tmcc man]

Roger, I do know a little about the electronics. I do follow directions, and I do not mind drilling holes. The only thing is soldering, do you have to do it? And how much do they usually cost?

Buckeye, how much is the railsounds upgrade, or does that come with the TMCC upgrade?

[tcripe]

Provided you are not upgrading a Lionel Pullmor AC motor, there is no soldering required with Digital Dynamics AC/DC DLX products. You can twist wires together and use a wire nut or electrical tape. The AC Pullmor motors require soldering two capacitors (included).
- Terry

[ben10ben]

There's always a chance that you will have to do some soldering. I always manage to break at least one of the wires off of the board, and have to solder it back. You might need to re-route wires, which can sometimes only be done by soldering. You can get away, though, with just using wire nuts, although soldering makes a much neater and more dependable connection.

[tmcc man]

I have a lionel Alaska GP I got for Cristmas, and I do not know if it is DC, or AC powered
Anyone know??

[Anonymous]

If it's a current Alaska GP from the Yukon set it's definitly DC can motors. There are lots of kits to choose from, starting at about $65. Some of them offer more speed steps than the usual 32. TAS has kits including cruise control starting at $150.

I think the Alaska GP already has railsounds, right? But if you want to add sound to something else, Electric RR has basic sound boards starting a $45. Real Railsounds 4.0 runs $90.

I have converted two engines so far: an MPC era switcher and a K-Line GG1. I used a Lionel LRCU for the switcher and a Digital Dynamics DC/DLX for the GG1. It was maybe an hour for each conversion. Adding sound would add maybe another hour. They were very, very rewarding projects.

Regards,

Old 2037

[tmcc man]

My engine is from like 1999, I saw it in a catalog, and it appeared under the tree.

[ben10ben]

By the way, if you can find anyone who still has the LCRX in stock, those are fun little experiment boards. The two that I bought I paid $20 a piece for, and I've seen them as low as $11. They were sold as part of the GP-9 Dummy upgrade kit, which contained the LCRX, antenna, and two coil couplers, as well as the Deluxe GP-9 Dummy Upgrade kit, which contained totally new trucks. All I could find was the deluxe kit, and resold one of the sets of trucks on Ebay for $40. They also have the capability of controlling directional lighting, Railsounds, and strobe light or smoke unit.

Norm Charbonneau has a section on his website about the different ways of wiring the LCRX.

[Buckeye Riveter]

For you guys that have installed Digital Dynamics kits, are their wires color coded? The TAS conversion kit's wires were all the same color, black, and you must really study the instructions and the kit before the installation.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, Buckeye - my DC DLX came with color coded wires. And the color coding matched the K-Line GG-1 almost exactly. As I recall, power in and motor out are wire leads, the rest of the connections are made at a good screw terminal strip. It was very easy, and the kit seemed to be very high quality.

Can't wait to do my next engine. (Probably my Budd cars or my General.) Eventually (close your eyes and ears purists!) even my Flying Yankee is going to get the TMCC treatment.

[ben10ben]

Both Digital Dynamics kits that I have installed have had colored wires.

[Buckeye Riveter]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ben10ben

Both Digital Dynamics kits that I have installed have had colored wires.

I believe my next conversion will be Digital Dynamics. Thanks for the info.