TMCC and track power how much should i pay reasonably

Be patient and buy a 180W brick used either locally or on ebay.  I have bought 6 in the last year.  All have been $75-$85 delivered.  Even if you're impatient, you can get one for less than $100 on ebay most of the time.

We're not supposed to link to ebay so cut and paste these two item #'s for a couple of PH180's that have no bids so far: 333739565269 and 254746267351.  You have a chance for either of those two if they don't get bid up.  Even if they don't work out, just wait for the next one.  They pop up almost daily.

I don't know anything about TMCC prices.  Good luck.

At this point, I would go with 1L. Tmcc is old and most that have it still, I would think have it as a back-up in case something happens to their Legacy system or 1L. Also, buy the base and cab 1L together, otherwise, you will end up paying a lot more to get it. I see them right now running about $240 + shipping but you may be able to find it for less if you wait. ( on eBay)

I'll second Mikes recommendation of the 180w brick. Not only do you get more power , but more importantly it has one of the fastest breakers in the hobby which protects your trains.

I'll chime in and also recommend the PH180 brick.  It's far and away a better product than the PH135 brick.

I like the PH180.  I have 6.

George

Sounds like you do not run conventional, so that saves money by not having to buy a PM.  However, without a PM you will need to decide how you are going to connect the PH135 or PH180 to the track.  Either cutoff the plug or get a TMCC Direct Lockon ($40+).

As far as a command system, as a college student on a limited budget, only you know how much you can spend without impacting your daily life (like eating).  While I'm all PH180s now for track power, I ran two PH135s for years with fast blow fuses without problems (a pain to replace fuses).  I would now add a TVS or three, but that is for any transformer.

If the budget allows, I think I would buy a Cab 1L before a Cab 1 for the reason given above.  If you have the excess funds, a Cab 1L and PH180 combo would be the best bet and would probably support your needs for a long time.  Plus a Cab 1L handheld can be used with a Cab 2 base if you ever decide to upgrade.

But a Cab 1, PH135 with cut off plug, and a fuse holder with some 7.5 amp fuses would be cheaper.  Don't forget those TVSs.

My personal experience: in (I think) 2019, I bought an "almost new" TMCC Cab 1 system, in a box, for about $ 130.  It was seemingly never used, but had been removed from the box.  It has been perfect.

Then, later I bought (separately) a second Cab 1 handheld for $40 that I use in addition- so two can run trains at the same time, off one Cab Base; (again perfect) , and most recently, a second (backup) Cab 1 Base for $53 (not yet tested).  Al these off the Big Auction site.

I (just) discovered how to run my ZW-L using them TMCC- so now I run postwar and MPC-era engines using the handhelds as well.

In my experience, the TMCC units are great values, and do what I want them to do.

paigetrain - Just to assist you, further to rtraincollector's comment that buying the Legacy Cab-1L & Base-1L 'together' would be cheaper, Lionel's item number for this combo is 6-37147.

@Mike Wyatt posted:

In my experience, the TMCC units are great values, and do what I want them to do.

BINGO!!!!  Simple, reliable, dependable.  Very few problems and all with known solutions.  Adheres to the KISS principle.

George

Buying today, I'd have to go with the Lionel BASE1L/CAB1L set.  $187.99 at ModelTrainStuff, and it's a current and fully supported product.  Also, if you upgrade to Legacy at some time in the future, you can use the CAB1L with the Legacy command system.  The BASE1L TMCC signal output is twice the amplitude of the old TMCC BASE1 for more trouble-free operation, especially on larger layouts.  Finally, it gets rid of that troublesome antenna on the CAB1.