Question on TMCC cruise control.

Your Alco performs normally. TMCC without cruise is essentially the same as transformer control but you are turning a dial on a handheld vs moving a handle.

I was not able to find your 2008 engine on the Lionel website so don't know what it came with but I was not aware any command upgradable engines that came with cruise. More likely its due to gearing.

Pete

A simple way to see if you have cruise is to just crack the throttle to the lowest speed step.  Very few (if any) non-cruise equipped TMCC locomotives will start moving at that speed setting.  If it does start moving, just grab the rear coupler and apply a little drag and see if it keeps moving.  My cruise equipped stuff will, none of the non-cruise stuff I have even starts before a few speed steps.

Of course, you can also just look at the motor driver board and see if it's a cruise version.

Just went downstairs for a second to try it.

Starts on the first step (as determined by watching the flashes on the Powermaster/LCS modules) and when I try to restrain it it slips the drivers and then "overshoots" when I release it.

I will pull the boiler off later today and post a photo of the internals. I bought this brand new at a LHS so I doubt that it was touched after leaving the factory.

Owners manual attached. Unfortunately, I have never been able to find service information or a parts list.

I believe this is actually a 6-38642. It did indeed come with an ERR Cruise M which explains why it runs like a cruise equiped engine. In 2008 Lionel did put Cruise Ms in a few engines. Nowhere in the catalog, box, or owners manuals does it list this fact. The only way to find out is to look it up in the replacement parts site.

I have a 2-8-0 from the same year that also came with a Cruise M. In this case it was listed as TMCC but no mention of cruise.

Pete

I do believe you have nailed it. The manual I posted is for the Pacific as well as the K4, but Lionel chose to show the parts for only the K4 on their web site.

Mystery solved. Thanks to all for your help!

Now to deal with the C-420. Was thinking of adding cruise to it, but the pickup rollers on this thing are 10.5 inches apart, which is exactly the wrong distance for use with Fastrack O-36 switches. It will go through 1 switch just fine, but close connected switches have a gap between 10 and 11 inches. Every other engine I have, PW, LC+, TMCC, Williams has no problem. Perhaps I will take the C-420 apart to see if the rollers can be reversed to move them closer together. I am not about to redo the layout for the sake of 1 engine.

Yep, you have a cruise module, that makes sense.

For the C-420, have you considered using longer rollers to change the spacing?

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Yep, you have a cruise module, that makes sense.

For the C-420, have you considered using longer rollers to change the spacing?

 

Nope, don't know my way around Lionel parts well enough to do that.

Here is a photo of the bottom of the truck; the roller arms are very short and recessed into a pocket of sorts. A longer roller might not retract far enough. 

I might be OK if I could reverse the existing rollers so they face inward, if I can get them to be less than 10 inches apart I will probably be OK.

Any input appreciated!

Hmm...  I don't think turning them around will work, the roller will hit the truck.  See that hole in the back of the truck?  You might be able to cantilever a roller off an insulated piece of material there to fill in the space.  I do stuff like that for tenders with no rollers to add an extra or two for reliable running.

Look at something like this.

You could probably grind a bit of this away to provide clearance.