Cab1L

Yes but it has no antenna and its supposed to be able to control quillable whistle. Anyone hear when its coming out?

Not really,more like a "legacy lite".

It's in the catalog separately, but nobody seems to know when it's actually coming out, or how much it will cost.

well get real to forkout the big cash..since its lionel..

Distinctly UNhelpful.

Well, if you're going to "fork out the big cash", you might as well buy the Legacy system, it does anything the CAB-1L will do and more.

When they showed this to us at York I think most felt there was going to be a very small price window or it will make more sense just to buy a complete legacy system.

I think many of the buyers of the new system will be those who want to run it with DCS

I'm getting that feeling too Chris.

I'm looking for something that visiting children can use that limits what they can do.  The Cab1L looks like it does too much for that.  It would be nice if it, or the Legacy remote, could be temporarily setup to limit functions.

At this week's Rocky Mountain TCA meet in Denver I'm going to look for the old Big Red Button to fill my need.

Actually the legacy remote is easier for kids to use, pictures displaying what the touch screen buttons do eliminates the random "button pressing"to see what happens" of the old  tmcc cab1or  new cab 1L.

My seven year old daughter has been running TMCC crane via( its her favorite) legacy for over a year now without incident.

My grandson took to the Legacy controller since he was 5, no problems at all.  He even switches tracks, controls two trains, piece of cake for the video generation.

Rick and John, I understand and agree with you.  I'm thinking about younger children where I just want them to be able to blow the whistle and not be able to change direction or uncouple.

That's a whole different deal, I'm not sure what solution is available.

With a standard TMCC command base, a computer program could restrict things to a very limited subset of commands, but you need someone to create it.

This would sound like an ideal application for the 6-12890 Lionel 'Big Red Button'. 

Nicole, yes that is what I mentioned in my first post.  I hope to find one at the Denver show this weekend.

Sorry John. I missed that you had already mentioned the BRB. 

I think the adults have more fear of the Legacy remote  than the kids. I have handed mine to numerous kids down to age 3. Showed them the whistle button and hows to speed up/slow down, they never have any issues

I always thought it was a PITA to remember what each button did on the CAB-1. Its far easier with the icons on the CAB-2

Our youngest Grandson.  He's almost three.  He's using the Cab 2, ver. 1.51, controlling Lionel Centipedes, on trestles.  He doesn't like to give it up.

He looks very intense!

Does anyone know if the cab1L can communicate with the standard legacy base? Is it true that its supposed to have the quillable whistle and bell slider?

For all intensive purposes it is a legacy remote that "looks" like the old TMCC remote, but thats where the similarites end. It will communicate with the legacy base, and the word is the whistle will quill by varying the button pressure, and will keep the tmcc style bell button as well.

Its appearance makes folks think it will communicate with the old TMCC base, this is not the case.

For those not interested in a full blown legacy system Lionel sells a legacy "lite" base that looks similar to the old TMCC base, so one could have the basic legacy features like the quillable whistle in a simpler package that closely resembles the old TMCC cab1 and base.

Thanks! 

I always wondered what that big red button would do, so I looked it up.  You plug it in to your Cab1 (2?) to program it and it plays back the last command entered when the big red button is pushed.  Interesting, and that would be perfect if all you want to do is blow the horn.  Also kind of funny, because I always thought it was a big HALT button that you could push if you have too many youngsters around or are a clumsy operator.  How I got that idea, I'm not sure, but I'm real glad I'm finally squared away on the concept.  

"Big Red" as it is called was developed by Neil Young to give operators with severe physical handicaps the opportunity to be able to operate trains with minimal assistance from others.  Young specifically wanted his son Ben, who is afflicted with cerebral palsey, to be able to experience the joy of running trains.  In the mid 90's, during the embryonic days of TMCC, when only the Powermaster was available for walk around conventional control, and even before the production and the marketing of the Command Base, Lionel literature touted the benefits of "Big Red."  Regarding the discussion of the CAB2 vs the CAB1L, the one point that has not been mentioned is cost.  Unlike the CAB1 which was relatively inexpensive ($50.00--$70.00) depending on the place of purchase, CAB2s are more than three times as much.  In my case, I have five CAB1s for use by guests and grandchildren.  I'm not sure I would want to or even be in a position to purchase 4 or 5 CAB2s. But if the CAB1L has basic Legacy features and is of significantly more modest cost, then that would seem to justify its existence.  After all, hopefully an effort will be made to control the significant increase in cost that appears to be the inevitable result of converting a full blown TMCC operation to a Legacy one.

if only lionel would put a price on the 1L!