I have been away from Lionel toy trains for ten years and have forgotten most of what I knew about TMCC. My new layout will be 4'x16' along a wall with two concentric mainline loops O-gauge 42 radius and 31 radius (connected by 022 switches but separated into two blocks) for Command Control locomotives only. In addition, there will be one elevated 027 single track line with 027 switch loops at each end for running a small 027 passenger train or trolley.
Here's what I own
1 Z4000 MTH transformer (new)
1 CAB remote with Command Base
1 PowerMaster (135 watt)
2 PowerHouse units (135 watt)
1 TMCC SC-2 switch controller (mainline layout will have a total of five 022 switches.)
1 Direct TMCC lockon
Can you advise me on the best way to hook things up, please?
Should I buy two Track Power Controller 400 units for the two mainline blocks (in case I want to run a conventional loco) or can I use two TMCC Direct lockons from the Z4000, hooking one up to each block of the mainline loops?
Can I connect the one Command Base to an outside rail of both blocks plus the elevated track, or do I need another Command Base for the elevated track? (refer to next question)
Should I utilize a Powerhouse 135 and Powermaster 135 on the elevated track, and will the Command Base work with it as asked in the question above?
I know this is a lot to ask, and TMCC may seem very basic to experienced users, but I want to be sure I don't blow out any electronics on my Command Control engines. I want to "keep it simple."
Thanks for the advice. I need it.
Bill
bill I'm not up on it completely but you can hook your 1 135 power brick to your powermaster and then 2 wires to your track from there and then hook the one wire from your command base to the U on your power master now that will do 2 things 1 you will be able to run your tmcc engines and you can by the powermaster run one conventional engine on that loop and it will be one or the other.
If you send me an email thru the forum I'll send you adown loads for tmcc, power master, and tmcc touble shooting you will need to send me you email address in that
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Thanks for the reply, Bill. My chief question is whether or not I can use one TMCC Command Base for the entire layout, even with a separate loop not connected to the others.
Bill....Did you know that the complete Lionel Command Control manual can be found on Lionel's website? I have been running TMCC for years and still refer to it for specifics.
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Buckeye Riveter Bill....Did you know that the complete Lionel Command Control manual can be found on Lionel's website? I have been running TMCC for years and still refer to it for specifics.
There is also a great interactive tutorial at :
www.coilcouplers.com
If it were me I would use the Z-4k w/TMCC on the two lower loops, one track on each channel, and the power master on the upper level. Operate the upper in conventional mode thru the powermaster with the cab-1.
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That's what I was hoping to do- run the two lower blocks from the Z4000 and the upper level independent loop with the Powerhouse/Powermaster combo. I just couldn't remember if one Command Base could be wired to separately powered loops and blocks. I have my instruction TMCC books somewhere, where I wouldn't misplace them! Thank you for the replies. This is a great forum.
Bill,
That's why I like to go to the Lionel site and print out some of the critical pages from the customer service section. If they get trashed during set-up it's no big deal.
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