lionel transformers

I had a Lionel 180 brick tied into 2 channels of a TIU and a Z4000 into the other 2. There always seemed to be an issue with the channels associated with the brick. I didn’t need the power of another Z4000, so I purchased an MRC 270. Excellent transformer, no issues.

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@nsp154 posted:

I had a Lionel 180 brick tied into 2 channels of a TIU and a Z4000 into the other 2. There always seemed to be an issue with the channels associated with the brick. I didn’t need the power of another Z4000, so I purchased an MRC 270. Excellent transformer, no issues.

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• THE OGR ON-LINE FORUM
• TRAIN FORUMS
• 3-RAIL TRADITIONAL TRAINS
• MRC - PURE POWER DUAL AC, 2

Do you mean the MRC AH601 Pure Power Dual?  (I don't find a MRC 270, but the AH601 is 270 watts, so maybe that's what you're referring to.)

My AH601 works with DCS and TMCC, and it's got plenty of power for running conventional.  They are available on the aftermarket at many different price points.  Just saw one in the for-sale subforum a couple of days ago.  There is a common failure point with the solder connections on the control buttons, but it's usually an easy fix. 

Yes sir.

If the LW doesn't have enough power, the next size up would be a kW at 190 watts. After that its the zw at 275 watts. The 180 watt bricks are also a great choice. Used with a power master the bricks can run anything. They also have very fast breakers in case of shorts.

If you don’t want to go ZW then get a KW. I had the MRC dual pictured above. It worked great until it didn’t. Took it in for repair but they couldn’t get parts. I now have a KW for my 5x9 Christmas layout and it is run by a rebuilt KW by Hennings trains. It has the better circuit breaker protection. This way you can run postwar and TMCC engines and not worry about frying your sensitive TMCC boards. I have two separate loops with 4 022 switches powered on the D posts, no issues. I run postwar, MPC, Williams, and the occasional lion chief.