Is Cab3 going to have a way to run conventional engines?
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It should via the TR button but right now that's not working.
Advice has been to instead use the ENG button and the brake and boost buttons.
Reminder that the Cab 3 can't do it alone however. First it needs a Base 3 in order to communicate with the layout. Then you'll need a PowerMaster inserted in-between your transformer (e.g. updated ZW) or power brick (e.g. PowerHouse PH-180) and the track in order to vary the track voltage (just as an old-fashioned transformer would do), blow the conventional whistle/horn, and turn the conventional bell on and off.
Once you have the PowerMaster in place you can definitely already control it with a Cab-1L or Cab-2, The Cab-3 should already be able to do so too, but presently can't due to a bug that apparently has yet to be fixed (as mentioned by @rplst8). Hopefully Lionel will fix it soon.
Also, as mentioned by @rplst8, there is a temporary work-around for the problem so that Cab-3 can be used in the interim if you'd like to try it.
Mike
The other way is if you have a ZW-L, the cab 3 can control the power output of the transformer the way you do from the handles (there is a switch I believe to change mode on each of the 4 output channels). With a ZW-L you don't need a powermaster, but obviously it also is a very expensive unit (last I checked well over 700, prob more these days).
Based on advice read on this forum, I reprogrammed my Legacy (dark blue) PowerMasters from TRn to ENGnn and it works with Cab1/Base1. Haven't gotten around to the Cab3/Base3, started another train-related project.
Right now I just run my conventional engines straight from my dual MRC.
