I did a casual search, but don't see them listed anywhere at retail. I bought 6-82043 from Charles Ro and cut the cord in half to get them for around 6.50 each..but the only female is 6-82038 for about 8.50. I don't like to cut the cords off things, prefer to work around it if possible. They also have a 3 female to single male which may come in handy.

Try looking for modular connector on sites like Digikey and Mouser. They seem to have a assortment of similar looking connectors but it’s going to take some searching through the site to find.

cjack posted:

Try looking for modular connector on sites like Digikey and Mouser. They seem to have a assortment of similar looking connectors but it’s going to take some searching through the site to find.

I will try to find as it would be good for everyone who is using thee accessories with this plug.

I don't like cutting the ends off either, but I made some exceptions for the latest few 'plug-n-play' items I have from Lionel. I don't have Fastrack and if I ever do get any I won't be using these accessories with it. But, I certainly do understand not wanting to cut the plugs off. 

My PH-180s were a different story, I broke down and got adapters for those. Just seemed to me like the power supplies should stay intact, for whatever reasons. For accessories, I didn't come up with any reasons, so they got the nippers (and I didn't want to wait to get them connected either... ).

IMO, they really should definitely include an adapter piece for those of us that don't want the plugs! But, I know, they would just say the costs would go up if they included it. 

rtr12 posted:

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IMO, they really should definitely include an adapter piece for those of us that don't want the plugs! But, I know, they would just say the costs would go up if they included it. 

That's exactly what they did say. 

The plugs are promoted as being a benefit for attracting new blood to the hobby that may not be comfortable stripping a wire to attach it to a cheap spring clip terminal or screw terminal on the base of an accessory.

Not a fan of Plug n Play here (at least not the Lionel kind)...

-Dave

Not sure what is not right with the plug and play. It's convenient, easy to remove an accessory and replace it, and really not too expensive considering the cost of other Lionel cars and engines.

Plug and play into fast track has actually stopped me from buying Lionel accessories in the past because I didn't want to deal with another wiring connector style I didn't have.  I bought my first one, the Halloween witch and ghost pylon, and promptly cut the connector off as I had no other way to hook it up and integrate into my existing Halloween layout.  

Now I have a new Christmas gateman house for this Christmas.  I am conflicted on what to do with it.  I don't intend to run fastrack around the tree, and don't have an accessory track even if did.  I don't want to butcher it either.  I will be visiting a brick and mortar shop this week, so if the have the adapter I will pick on up, problem solved.  Otherwise - off with its head!

P-n-p is fine for anyone using Fastrack, but I have Atlas track. I don't have any Fastrack, so nothing to plug the p-n-p into.

I do agree it is good, and very easy for someone new to the hobby buying a starter set with Fastrack and adding on from there.

@cjack posted:

I did a casual search, but don't see them listed anywhere at retail. I bought 6-82043 from Charles Ro and cut the cord in half to get them for around 6.50 each..but the only female is 6-82038 for about 8.50. I don't like to cut the cords off things, prefer to work around it if possible. They also have a 3 female to single male which may come in handy.

Chuck, when you cut the cord in half, do you remember were the wires red/black and white?  I was going to do the same thing, since I can't find the individual ones.

Tony

Yes. The Red goes to the A transformer terminal, and the Black to the U terminal. I do not know what the white is for, but I just cut it short and insulate it. Maybe it's for a feature beyond just simple power.

I don't get why it is such a big deal to buy the Lionel connector plug if you don't want to cut it off.  With all the money everyone in this hobby spends on engines, cars, track, etc. 8.50 is not a big deal.

Lionel used to include the pigtail in the first PnP accessories.  I know because I got some and it was included.  But they stopped doing it.  Whenever I buy a PNP items I just always order a pigtail too. 

Wish I could find/buy the individual pigtail, but they are nowhere to be found.  So I did what Chuck stated, bought the extension cord.  When I get it I will cut it in half and have both male and female pigtail.

@cjack posted:

Not sure what is not right with the plug and play. It's convenient, easy to remove an accessory and replace it, and really not too expensive considering the cost of other Lionel cars and engines.

Chuck, when a wire with a connector starts costing what an engine costs, I'll be looking for a new hobby!

That only happens in aerospace, a connector can easily cost $500, and for the life of me, I could never figure out what was so "special" about them!

I use Fastrack and have a lot of Plug-n-Play accessories, and a drawer full of cut off plug ends.  I don't like the idea of drilling a huge hole through my layout to get the connector through.  I prefer to hook up the accessories the old fashion way to on/off switches and accessory power supplies.  There is also a need to add additional power feed wire, so the plug has to go.  My concern is a good working accessory on my layout and retaining the originality of the plug is not a factor.

Has anybody tried soldering 22 or 24 awg wire to the pins then cover with shrink tube.