My first ERR installation.

Very nice!   Great horn!  Was the installation an easy job without issues?

No problems to report it is pretty straight foward with good instructions.  You just need to take your time.  

The passenger cars look familiar. Good looking consist. Has to give you a good feeling of accomplishment.

Awesome job, Chris.  

I did a similar gut of PS2, then ERR install on my MTH MBTA F40 as well.  ERR DC commander, SD40 sound commander, and Evans LED's.   I don't have the flashing strobes on top or the flashing ditch lights.   My ditch lights are solid.   Some day I might install a mini commander EX to give me flashing ditch lights when the horn is activated.

I also have those Altas MBTA cars.   I wish they were 18" instead of 21".   They have a hard  time navigating parts of my layout!

Mike McCutcheon posted:

Awesome job, Chris.  

I did a similar gut of PS2, then ERR install on my MTH MBTA F40 as well.  ERR DC commander, SD40 sound commander, and Evans LED's.   I don't have the flashing strobes on top or the flashing ditch lights.   My ditch lights are solid.   Some day I might install a mini commander EX to give me flashing ditch lights when the horn is activated.

I also have those Altas MBTA cars.   I wish they were 18" instead of 21".   They have a hard  time navigating parts of my layout!

I just have the ditch lights on a switch to shut them off for now and the headlights are just on constant with the track voltage.  I don't see the need to shut my headlights off on any locomotive so I really didn't need to toggle them off and on. That's a good idea on the ditch lights please let me know how that works out if you do it.  After watching a few YouTube videos the closest sound to my ear was the Dash 9 sound board believe it or not.     

I love my MBTA passenger cars I got from my friend Cape cod Northern "Thank you Al"   But I agree 18" would have been fine. 

Welcome to the ERR Club Chris.

I've done a few upgrades using the CC-M to run the ditch lights.  I use a standard Lionel motherboard for the R2LC and RailSounds boards and the CC-M.

Thanks John. I may try that some time if I figure out what you just said!   I have to walk before I run I guess! 

Hi Chris,

Great work !!!! she runs very nice, if you have a CAB2 Legacy remote you can set up this engine to run in a mode called R100. It will make the engine run even smoother. I can walk you through it if you like .

Thanks,Alex

Chris,

Nice job on the upgrade. Enjoyed the video. Always nice when you can do yourself and not have to ship a loco from one coast to the other.

I am assuming this is tmcc now.

I wonder what the difference in cost would be to do an ERR upgrade opposed to PS3 upgrade on a PS2 engine or PS1 for that matter? I do not think I could do the PS3 and would have to send to someone qualified to do so

Joe Gozzo

Trainlover160 posted:

Chris,

Nice job on the upgrade. Enjoyed the video. Always nice when you can do yourself and not have to ship a loco from one coast to the other.

I am assuming this is tmcc now.

I wonder what the difference in cost would be to do an ERR upgrade opposed to PS3 upgrade on a PS2 engine or PS1 for that matter? I do not think I could do the PS3 and would have to send to someone qualified to do so

Joe Gozzo

The price difference wouldn't be that much when all is said and done but yes it is TMCC now. I know my limitations and I'm not ready to solo on PS2 or PS3. 

Alex Thank you. Coming from guy's like yourself that means a lot!   I will catch up with you and John at Trainstock! 

Chris,

Congratulations on your first upgrade, the next will be much less stressful, you build confidence with each one. Good to see you have the old girl back in service.

Great job

Ray

Congratulations!  Nice job.  Wish I had the "confidence" to try something like that, but I don't even understand all of the lingo of these upgrades.  We need a glossary someplace for the uninformed like myself.

Love those Ditch Lights!  And more so the shut down soundtrack!  Very nice detail!

Ron L

Ron, These are not very hard to do, I did not know squat before I tried the first one. Spend some time on the ERR website, look at Carl Tuveson's web site, purchase an anti-static mat, and maybe try a small engine with a can "DC motor" using one of ERR's Mini 2 motor driver board. I believe they are still on sale for under $40.00.

Ray

Looks like everything turned out very well. Great job. That has got to be a great confidence builder for the 'next one'!

Hey that is great! There maybe hope for me? My last upgrade did not go so well!

Electrical boards and me just do not mix!

Awesome Job Chris!! 

Chris, congrats, again, failed to mention that I really liked the video of your results.

Ray, thanks for the advice.  I think I might like to try an upgrade.  Just need to find a victim. 

Good job!  These kinds of upgrade are very satisfying.  I am electronically challenged and took an ERR upgrade to the 18003 Lionel Northern to eliminate to "sound of static".  It worked.

Ah yes, all guys like to share their "first" one!  Congrats Chris!

Jeff T posted:

Ah yes, all guys like to share their "first" one!  Congrats Chris!

I'm too late to share my 1st one, I'd have to think about the number now...   Nice to see a successful completion, it gets easier each time. 

I don't even think about the electrical aspects nowadays, it's all the mechanical stuff that takes the time.  You have to fit things into place, especially brass steamers, that takes most of the time.

gunrunnerjohn posted

I don't even think about the electrical aspects nowadays, it's all the mechanical stuff that takes the time.  You have to fit things into place, especially brass steamers, that takes most of the time.

Ain't it the truth!  I go through wire ties and double sided tape like crazy, during the positioning process.  Fashioning all the sundry mechanicals like brackets, braces and tethers is equally tedious.  I have yet to upgrade a smoke unit, but the next order to Henning's will include a Super Chuffer......maybe 2.

Bruce

Fitting the smoke unit is sometimes fun, depending on the locomotive.  I just crammed one into a brass A5, it was a tight fit, and I had to use the little MTH single-resistor smoke unit, the regular one was way too big!

Very nice.

Also like that glass roof passenger station .

J Daddy posted:

Hey that is great! There maybe hope for me? My last upgrade did not go so well!

Electrical boards and me just do not mix!

OUCH!   Glad I didn't see this before my install! 

Here's video of my MTH MBTA PS2 to ERR DC Commander convert.  (No smoke unit)  

I put the red marker lights in the front for when it's pushing back into North Station.  

That looks real good Mike!

Hello forum members! I just bought a ERR Cruise Commander Kit and a Railsounds kit that I intend to install in a Williams FA-1. I downloaded the Instruction Manual but It's not detailed enough for a first timer like me. Are there any detailed installation manuals available? Are there any Youtube videos? I searched Youtube and there are a couple, but not very detailed and none specific to my Williams diesel. Can anyone steer me in the right direction?

Here is the 3rd rail web site you should be able to download detailed instructions for your application. Click on “manuals” 

http://www.3rdrail.com/err-3rdrail/

The most important part of the installation manual should be the wiring diagram. If you have that, you should be OK.

Thanks Chris, but the instructions there aren't very detailed. I'm looking for a step by step if it exists. Example: the Cruise Commander instructions just have a graphic of the power connections. It's Brush 1, Brush 2, AC Common, AC Hot (3rd). I'm not sure what to connect to these connectors.

Have any idea? Thanks

brush 1 is one terminal of the motor (usually yellow or blue)

brush 2 is the other terminal of the motor (usually yellow or blue)

AC Common is the frame/wheels/chassis/outside rails

AC hot is the center rail pickups

If the loco starts up backwards., swap brush 1 and brush 2.

Thanks Roy. My FA-1 has two motors so should the terminals for both motors be combined and then connected to the board?

Rickw2 posted:

Thanks Roy. My FA-1 has two motors so should the terminals for both motors be combined and then connected to the board?

Yes.

Note that most diesels have the motors running in opposite rotation, so make sure you have them "cross-wired" so that all the wheels go in one direction.

Good to know. This is why i'd like a watch a video of an ERR installation.

I did my first ERR conversion about two weeks ago on a Lionel F3. Took about 30 minutes to install the AC Commander following along with ERR's instructions. I plan on installing another AC Commander in a F3 and a Cruise Commander and Railsounds in a Williams Alco PA this weekend. Follow along with the instructions and it shouldn't take more than an hour or two tops.

But I've been taking apart Lionel trains since I was about 11 years old (and taking apart and wiring cars since I was 16) so a lot of this stuff is second nature to me. So if you have any questions ask on the forum if you're not sure.

Lou1985 posted:

I did my first ERR conversion about two weeks ago on a Lionel F3. Took about 30 minutes to install the AC Commander following along with ERR's instructions. I plan on installing another AC Commander in a F3 and a Cruise Commander and Railsounds in a Williams Alco PA this weekend. Follow along with the instructions and it shouldn't take more than an hour or two tops.

But I've been taking apart Lionel trains since I was about 11 years old (and taking apart and wiring cars since I was 16) so a lot of this stuff is second nature to me. So if you have any questions ask on the forum if you're not sure.

Thanks Lou. Hey, why don't you video your installation? That would be GREAT! Your Williams PA would almost be an identical installation to my Williams FA-1 except a bit bigger.

There's nothing to follow along with the instructions. I could  really use a step by step. Where to cut the wires, where to connect them, how to mount the circuit board, etc. First time jitters.

Lou, also did you need any wire nuts and/or any soldering?