I'm using TMCC. I was planning to upgrade with Legacy, but once I got serious about purchasing a ZW-L I put that off as my TMCC was and continues to work just fine. I still plan to purchase the Legacy system sometime this year. Bo
Visit my website Bo's Trains at http://www.bostrains.com
For you guys who have installed it, are you primarily conventional operators or command (TMCC or Legacy) operators?
Bob Keller
With that cost and my being closer than I want to retirement, in no way could I afford the price.
I will stick with my TW transformer in the VAMC office, the LW in the Ironton AMVETS Service Offiice and my use of two Flyer 4B's with Lionel Sound Activation Buttons at my apartment!
Bo, Koala,
Thanks for the feedback. Like Chuck I am sticking to my old ZW for now.
John
Well, I installed the new ZW-L yesterday and ran trains for a couple of hours last night. I like it alot. I was using two ZW's which have been great transformers, however, when Lionel announced they were coming out with the ZW-L I decided it was time to move to a newer more sophisticated transformer to keep up with my modern era fleet of locomotives. The price of the new transformer was certainly something I had to consider, as it is expensive, however, so are my locomotives and ultimately I decided to go with Lionel's new offering.
Like I said I have only put a couple hours on my new ZW-L, but so far I have been very impressed with it's performance. I didn't have any issues setting the transformer up and getting the trains moving. Both of my layout's power districts are now controlled by the one ZW-L. I operate using TMCC and it is very neat how I can communicate wiith the transformer using the handheld controlller. It's very similar to how the controller communicates with a locomotive. Once I had the trains moving and my focus turned to them, I pretty much forgot about the transformer and just enjoyed running. The ZW-L was easy to work with and did a good job of powering my railroad. It's seems to me at this juncture, that is about all I can ask.
I will note that it seemed that my locomotives were perhaps a little more responsive than they had been with the old ZW's and that some may have actually demonstrated a slower start up speed, but I do not know how to actually qualify/determine if what I sensed was accurate. I am hoping someone may have more to say about these latter observations regarding locomotive performance with the new ZW-L. In addition to its good performance, the layers of protection built into the ZW-L mean a lot to me.
So far, it is a . Should something change (problems deveop), I'll leave further comment. Bo
Well, so much for that. I will stick to my ZW.
I have one of these monsters for about two weeks now. This thing is big and heavy. It has lots of nice features but like anything new all the bugs haven't been worked out yet. The transformer has developed a loud hum when voltage is applied from the "D" handle and the left side voltage meter has stopped working. I am sure that Lionel will repair it under warranty but I just hate to have to pack this monster up again and ship it back. The old ZW's have been around for sixty years and have proved to be very reliable. I don't think these new ZW-Ls will. I won't be selling my old ZW's anytime soon.
Chuck, List is $799.99
I see some places that have them for $699.99
i like the idea of no more power bricks with this one.
Joined 1-21-2011 TCA 13-68614
Kev, From The North Bluff Above Marseilles IL.
Bob, Did Lionel say how much this new transformer will sell for ?
It looks like a great item.
Chuck
http://ctt.trains.com/en/Videos/Bobs%20Train%20Box.aspx
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