Lionel Train on Atlas track

Border Man I run all my trains on Atlas Track. Both post war and Modern from most all of the makers. The DCS manual from barry is quite concise and covers mostly all issues that may come up. But you might be better served if you posted this in the DCS Forum for any of the DCS Questions.

Borderman01,

I couldn't imagine why the subway set wouldn't work on Atlas O track, I imagine the only constraints would be the minimum curve diameter the set can run on.

You say that you currently have DCS. Is it the full-blown set, or is it the Remote Commander that is offered in starter sets?

If you have the full-blown DCS installed, do you also have either a Lionel TMCC or Legacy command base attached to the TIU? If so, then you can control it in command mode by adding it as a TMCC engine in your DCS handheld. If you don't have a command base, or if the subway set itself is not command-equipped then you will only be able to run it conventionally with the DCS remote by using the variable channels on the TIU to vary the voltage and control its acceleration/deceleration & speed. In conventional you will be able to sound the horn/bell but you won't be able to do advanced controls like fire the remote couplers (if the subway set has them) and you won't be able to activate the full spectrum of crew talk/station announcements if that matters.

If you have only the DCS remote commander that's not going to really help you much as it's only designed to run MTH PS2/3 engines in command mode (TMCC/Legacy can't be daisy-chained to it and it can't be used to vary the transformer voltage). Your options in that case are to either buy a separate TMCC or Legacy set to control it separately or upgrade to the full-blown DCS system and set it up as described previously. Either way, you can operate DCS or TMCC/Legacy engines either with the DCS remote or you can run them with their respective remotes separately.

I see. I do have the full DCS set if you mean MTH O 50-1001, DCS Remote Control Package? I do not have the Lionel TMCC or Legacy command base. So that answers my question. I will then get the Lionel TMCC or Legacy command base. Thanks.

I have the lionel subway and run it with Legacy. When the train stops, you can ring the door buzzer, open the doors, have the stop announced, & more. I think Legacy is a must to get the most out of the subway.

quote:

Originally posted by borderman01:
I see. I do have the full DCS set if you mean MTH O 50-1001, DCS Remote Control Package? I do not have the Lionel TMCC or Legacy command base. So that answers my question. I will then get the Lionel TMCC or Legacy command base. Thanks.

Yep, that's the one I mean.

In order to daisy-chain the TMCC or Legacy command base to the TIU you'll also need to get the connector cable (MTH# 50-1032).

Audi brings up a good point, if the subway sets are Legacy-equipped you will still be able to add and run them in TMCC mode using the DCS remote, but DCS will not be able to operate Legacy-specific functions as that is proprietary to Lionel. If being able to do so is a must for you then you'll want to spring for both the Legacy CAB-2 remote and command base, and disregard getting the older generation TMCC/CAB-1 set even though the latter is considerably less expensive on the secondary market. If you predict that you will add more Lionel Legacy-equipped engines to your roster, then it makes all the more sense to add Legacy and can make the additional expense of it more justified.

Sorry for the late question. Considering adding a Lionel subway set. So opening the doors on a Lionle subway set can only be done in legacy mode? Not TMCC mode? Is this correct. Thanks