Upgrading my Lionel Conventional USRA 0-8-0

Please don’t take this the wrong way.  Go to www.3rdrail.com.   and find the ERR link. You will find all kinds of info. On how to installs and pricing. Presently there’s a lot of items out of stock but due in. Just a rough guess on pricing for what you want would be $350.00. You never mentioned anything as far as sound. I have no idea as to what you have for an engine as far as a starter set. These engines with factory TMCC have very little room inside. The antenna is the engines handrail and they all feature a wireless tether.
The factory TMCC engines run very well. Excellent slow speed and a fan driven smoke unit. My only knock on them is the spacing between the engine and tender. They run better than the last Legacy offering. I’ve seen them in the $400 dollar range years ago. They probably aren’t any cheaper today. Probably a blt more. Still it’s all there. I know it sounds like a fun project doing an upgrade. Some engines are certainly worth doing. Do your homework. I’m not sure this engine is one of them.

Thanks for the info!

If this engine is a starter set engine, the parts to upgrade will cost double what the engine is worth. You might be able to find a scale engine with TMCC for little more than what you will have invested in your existing engine.

Pete

@The-576-Guy posted:

Lately, I have been thinking about upgrading my conventional 0-8-0 to TMCC with ERR, Fan driven Smoke, & LED Lighting . It's tender came from a 6-30156 Stater set, while the engine came from a 6-30096 Starter Set. However, I have no skills in soldering, and I don't know what parts I need for the upgrade. It would be a pleasure to get any info.

Truthfully, I'd recommend you consider Pete's suggestion.  Also, if you have never done an upgrade and don't have the soldering/wiring skills, this could turn into a real can of worms for you.  For the money you'll be investing, you can almost surely find a PRR 0-8-0 or similar with full command and fan driven smoke ready to go.