TMCC/Legacy Caboose

I have this one.  Since it's designed for TMCC it's a little awkward working with Legacy engines but it does work.

I've found that the 6-19742 Erie Bay window is the most common.

I have the Erie caboose, it's the one I see the most also.

Can some  one tell me how to operate the TMCC ERIE caboose using Legacy?

71-9889-250 Crew talk Cab User's Manual

How many different roads of the TMCC caboose did Lionel make? I had one in my old layout, that I sold on eBay about 10 to 12 years ago. 

I am thinking mine was a Santa Fe, but I can't be at all sure.

I have a Southern Pacific version, catalog # 6-29835.

19742 Erie, 19889 PRR, 19890 Santa Fe.  There was later Lionel Lines and SP, but they are advertised as being Trainsounds.

I have the Erie. I'm trying to get it to work with my new Cab2 without any luck. Anyone suggest the correct settings on the Cab2?

You need to use TMCC.  I have an Erie TMCC caboose, that works fine with the CAB2 and Legacy base.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

You need to use TMCC.  I have an Erie TMCC caboose, that works fine with the CAB2 and Legacy base.

Thanks I'll try that.

@Rickw2 posted:

I have the Erie. I'm trying to get it to work with my new Cab2 without any luck. Anyone suggest the correct settings on the Cab2?

This is how I do it. All I know is that it works:

Use the CAB-2 to set up the train (lash-up) with a train link. At this point, you can toggle between the train and the train-linked caboose to trigger the TowerCom and the CrewTalk of the engine and the caboose.

Second, use a CAB-1 to set up the train following the directions on pp. 12-13 of the caboose's owner's manual (https://www.lionelsupport.com/...ents/71-9889-250.pdf). Now--with either the CAB-2 or the CAB-1--when you address the train and trigger TowerCom or CrewTalk, the engine and the caboose will talk to each other.

(Note that you won't want to use a CrewTalk caboose with a Legacy engine because when you trigger TowerCom, the caboose and the engine will talk over each other. Legacy engines (and perhaps, I'm not sure, some later TMCC engines???) don't have the 7-second delay on their TowerCom announcement that allows the caboose to talk first.)

I was able to set up my caboose correctly without using a CAB-1. Using a CAB-2 to build a train with the caboose and a TMCC engine worked fine and gave the expected dialog coordination between the engine and caboose.

Try these settings for the caboose:

• Type "DSL"
• Sounds "RS"
• Facing forward if part of a train (TR)
• Set to same control type as lead engine in train (TMCC or R100). As mentioned above, coordination between the engine and the caboose might not work if the engine is in Legacy mode.

Interestingly, I had a TMCC engine on the track with the same ID as the caboose. Same ID so the setting were the same. In theory, the engine and caboose should have "talked" to each other. But they didn't. It turns out the caboose sound doesn't work! I know it's responding to commands because I can turn the strobe on and off and fire the electrocouplers. I tried hitting "0" to reset to no avail. Oh well.

@Rickw2 posted:

Interestingly, I had a TMCC engine on the track with the same ID as the caboose. Same ID so the setting were the same. In theory, the engine and caboose should have "talked" to each other. But they didn't. It turns out the caboose sound doesn't work! I know it's responding to commands because I can turn the strobe on and off and fire the electrocouplers. I tried hitting "0" to reset to no avail. Oh well.

Stupid question I know, but have you tried the volume control on the bottom of the caboose?

@Professor Chaos posted:

Stupid question I know, but have you tried the volume control on the bottom of the caboose?

There are no stupid questions Yes I checked that.

I just took my ERIE Bay Window Caboose, with crew talk all apart last night.  And took a brand new Nickel Plate Road Bay Window Caboose with interior lighting all apart. And put all of the crew talk components in my brand new NPR body, along with the end platforms.  When tested the lights were on but nothing else seemed to respond. It worked before I tore it all apart.  So I got the book out and reprogrammed it again.  Works like new and looks Awesome.

@ed h posted:

19742 Erie, 19889 PRR, 19890 Santa Fe.  There was later Lionel Lines and SP, but they are advertised as being Trainsounds.

The later Lionel Lines and Southern Pacific Trainsounds versions don't have the features of the earlier RailSounds versions. That ability of the RailSounds cabooses, as mentioned above (programming them as part of a train together with the CrewTalk-equipped engine), when the engine and caboose exchange CrewTalk with each other, is one of the coolest features.

This is the 19890 Santa Fe RailSounds version:

I also have the Santa Fe RailSounds version. Very clever technology...very cool. I suspect that Neil Young played a role in it. (Given the state of electronics in the 1990s, the caboose is packed with boards and weighs a ton!)

Well I don't know if they ever made one. But I got the Nickel Plate Road with the 6-19742 ERIE crew talk chassis.

You'll notice the delays when you trigger tower com from the locomotive, that was deliberate to allow the caboose to stick it's nose in.

@Keith L posted:

I also have the Santa Fe RailSounds version. Very clever technology...very cool. I suspect that Neil Young played a role in it. (Given the state of electronics in the 1990s, the caboose is packed with boards and weighs a ton!)

For what its worth and not that it matters today but it was said the SF and  Penn RS caboose were the very last items produced at the old Chesterfield factory in May 2001 before it closed. 

@Keith L posted:

I also have the Santa Fe RailSounds version. Very clever technology...very cool. I suspect that Neil Young played a role in it. (Given the state of electronics in the 1990s, the caboose is packed with boards and weighs a ton!)

@JC642 posted:

For what its worth and not that it matters today but it was said the SF and  Penn RS caboose were the very last items produced at the old Chesterfield factory in May 2001 before it closed.

That's interesting about the Santa Fe and Pennsy versions being the last made in the Chesterfield factory. Those were indeed the first of these RailSounds cabooses produced, and it was awhile before any more of them were cataloged.

It is indeed cool technology and operation with these cabooses. I have the SF and Pennsy, and what these cabooses do is unique. Given their capabilities, and entertainment value, it has been curious to me for a long time that there hasn't been more discussion about these over the years. They've sort've been stealth cabooses. It may be that there just weren't that many of them made. They were fairly expensive (and no wonder, with all the electronics), which may have been part of it.

I have the same Erie caboose.... somewhere.

Secarider,

I did the exact same thing with a N&W warhorse bay window caboose. Gutted the Erie and put everything in the N&W including flashing grain of wheat on the rear. 😎

I also put everything in my NPR, just as it was in the ERIE.  I removed antenna plate from underneath the roof on the ERIE. Had to cut the wire tie holding the wires in place. I had to cut one of the wires on the End Of Train strobe light near the plug harness. And untied the other wire from the wire nut with the 3 black ground wires. To be able to remove the assembly, and slide it off the back of the caboose underneath of the roof.  Removed green LED lights from the inside of the rear lanterns, removed window lens assembly, and the entire chassis base with electronics. Took lighted chassis base out of Nickel Plate Road and set off to the side.Had to drill out the Lantern holes by hand with a drill bit, so the green LED lights would fit in. Slid dummy End Of Train assembly off, and put the ERIE End Of Train assembly on. Used Foam Tac to glue the antenna plate up on the inside of the roof like it was in the ERIE.  And also used Foam Tac to glue the green LED lights into the inside holes of the lanterns. Ran the wires back through the window lens assembly. Striped both ends of the cut wire, and reattached the strobe light wire back together and electrical taped it. Put the other red wire back with the 3 black ground wires, and put the wire nut back on.  Put both of the Cabooses back together, keeping their end platforms and screws with their original chassis. Now the Nickel Plate Road has crew talk. And The ERIE is a lighted Bay Window Caboose.