Head spinning

John,

I can't comment on DCC but know that Legacy/TMCC were designed specifically for AC systems, and 99.9% of the time are used only with AC systems.  Very, very few people would consider using them with DC.

Mike

Grasp your head by the sides and keep it from moving, the sensation will soon stop.

Take a look at the discussion in this thread.

As you will note, there is no answer on which everyone will agree.  Probably the best suggestion I can make is to look carefully at each manufacturer's "product" literature, look at the NMRA data/standards for DCC, look at more than one forum for discussion of this topic, and finally decide for yourself.  After all, it's your money to spend, so do it on the most informed basis you can.

I know the feeling when I went through it.  A quick outline of LIONEL electronic controls may help a little.

Thanks for all the help. Will continue to research the subject. GRJ I tried that but my brain kept moving!  John

IMO, using DCC on 3-Rail will create orphan trains.  It's just not the standard, and very few people use DCC with 3-rail.  Other than running MTH PS/3 in DCC mode, there is no commercial O-gauge 3-rail DCC products generally available.  Most folks will select from Legacy/TMCC or DCS, and many will simply run both as they're able to run on the same tracks at the same time.  If you're running DCC, you will not be running Legacy/TMCC or DCS on the same tracks at the same time.

If you were to take a poll here who runs what command system on 3-rail, very few would turn up running DCC.

Note that I am NOT saying what people would prefer to be available, we're simply dealing with today's reality.  You don't have to like it, but it is reality.  All the DCC cheerleaders are indulging in wishful thinking that suddenly DCC will become a major player in the 3-rail market, that simply ain't the case.

If you're interested in a wide availability of commercial products, pick between one of the two major 3-rail command systems.  If you're interested in blazing new trails and building your own stuff, DCC might make more sense.

There's also the battery power crowd, there are no readily available commercial production locomotives available, so you'll certainly be building your own stuff.

The Lionel product lines are just confusing, took me a bit of reading that website to figure out what LionChief or Legacy was. For their own sake, hopefully they do manage to unify this all in one single control.  My father seems to have invested mostly in TMCC, so I think maybe that's where I'm staying, as long as the buttons on our Cab-1 hold out. I'm super careful always to remove batteries, just so they don't explode inside of it.  If that breaks, I'll have to figure something out.

At the start, I'd apply power, put a train on the track, and it'd just sit there making sounds and not moving. What do I do?  I got it working, the TMCC is figure-outable, but I think it does require actual reading the manuals.  It took me a bit to figure out to set the transformer to full power.  Also to remember to turn it back down before sticking trains without control on the track, or they set off super fast.

Thanks all more good information. John