How Do You MU The New Lionel Sharks?

What you can do is give all 3 units the same number. I did this with my MYC F7's.

Is the trailing A unit powered or unpowered?  If it is powered you will have a hard time setting all three up with the same engine ID.

The trailing A unit is not powered. however it does have a separate smoke unit and a operating front coupler plus directional lighting.

Forgot to mention. It can be programmed with its own ID.

The motors are the real issue.  You can't easily change the default direction on a powered engine.  The TR command allows you designate which end a unit is facing but it doesn't effect it's actual direction as an ENG.  TR's automatically limit some sound commands, e.g. the horn/whistle/bell ONLY come from the lead engine.

BTW, one other caveat about using the same eng id on all three.  If the powered B has any coil couplers, they may fire when you don't want them to.  You MAY be able to program the two A's with the same ID and then assign a different one to the B and make a TR using the the lead A and B and not even programming the trailing A.  It has more to do with how the dummy A unit is set up.  If it was set to be used only as a dummy trailing the powered A the dummy's "front" coupler is really a rear coupler.

I was under the impression it is not a good idea to have all units with the same number.  I could be wrong.

"I was under the impression it is not a good idea to have all units with the same number.  I could be wrong."

Like many things in life "it depends".  I edited the previous post to qualify my comments.

The A-B-A run fine set up as a TR. My only concern is why only a partial fuel refilling scenario when the lead engine (which has the sound board) is in a TR and a complete scenario when the powered A unit is run separately as an ENG.

When your running diesels like the f units, e units and the like it is best to program them with the same number. If not when you want to uncouple the cars from behind the

last unit you will then have to address that unit separately. Also the sounds will not work correctly. If you have it in a tr set up they will not. It is a software problem that I don't think Lionel has addressed yet. I have had mine programmed just as I described for the past year and they run great.

Thanks all. I will try programming all 3 units with the same ID and see what happens. I appreciate the replies.

Pennsy Fan,

With the new electronics in our Legacy locos you have options that you did not have before, when creating lashups. Because loco (or eng) id numbers are in short supply (who would have thought 15 years ago that 99 ID numbers would be too little?) you can configure your lashups in two ways.

The single most important step that must be completed is that your Legacy Remote/base have the correct Loco specific information about each engine you plan to operate. In the instance of the sharks, if you use individual ID numbers each engine address msut be set for "DSL" , "LEG" , "LRS" in each engine menu. In the instance of the sharks you will have to make these settings manually as the powered B and non-powered A do not include memory modules. Once this is done you can do either of the following:

The first is to build a lashup like you normally would, using a "TR" address. The display on the Cab-2 screen will dispaly specific to the control type assigned to the lead engine in the lash up (if the lead loco is set to "LEG" then the display screen will show the Legacy display. If the lead loco is set to "CAB-1" then the display will only show "Cab-1 mode").

You build the lashup like you normally would. The downside here is that the fuel loading sequence is disabled in the "TR" configuration. This method also prevents the rear lamps from coming on for engines in the middle of the lash up (in the instance of the sharks this would be the back up lamp on both A units and the B unit).

The "TR" Lashup method is ideal for configurations that have more than 1 powered unit, as it allows you to reverse the direction of different engines in the lash up.

The second method (designed to conserve Eng ID numbers) is to assign all the locos the same ID number. The newer electronics we have in the locomotives are "smarter" than previous revisions, in that the non-powered A unit will configure its lamps (and coupler) to operate as a "trailing" unit (as opposed to earlier AA configs where the non-powered A was configured same as the powered A unit).

The only downside to assigning all the engines the same ID number is that the rear lamps stay on (unlike they do in a "TR" config). Powered units must also be positioned so that their "forward" start direction matches that of the lead unit, meaning you cannot manipulate the start direction of additional powered units like you can with a "TR" configuration. Non-powered units do not matter they can be forward of backwards. If these two nuances are not enough to push you over the edge then assigning similar roadname/deco locos all the same number makes sense (for number conservation). S, in the event of the sharks assigning everything the same ID number saves a b it of Legacy Cab-2 configuration (meaning the orange memory module for the AA set will then apply to all the locos assigned one ID number). Just make certain the rear lamp on the B unit is facing the non-powered A unit and you will be good to go.

All the stuff on the loco will work including fuel loading, sequence control, etc.

I will attempt to create a video on building lash ups with Cab-1 and Legacy remotes to try to dispell some rumrs and show everyone how easy it is. I suppose we should also include a section on "Train Link" too.

If you need additional help you can contact Lionel Customer Service at 586-949-4100 ext 2.

Thank you,

Mike

Mike, thank you for a clear and concise explanation. Looking forward to your video.

Sam