Ok after I saw a PRR Q2 on youtube that a guy put the T1 sound in it.. It has upgraded with ERRCo Cruise and Lionel T1 railsound in it.. love it.. sounds very closed to the S1 duplex..So I need to hear from the experts/techs and anyone who had done a conversion.. What All do I need to get for it..and also need to know the wiring diragram to do it..
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You can go to the ERR website and look under "manuals." From there, you can download the manual for the cruise commander for free and read and re-read it at your leisure.
Generally on a steam engine conversion, you can do all the work in the tender and leave the engine alone for the most part.
Usually the tether plug is a four pin affair. The two inner contacts are hot and ground and the two outer ones are the motor power. You need a cheap ohmmeter to ring these wires out to the center rail pickups and the wheels/frame/chassis.
The trickiest part will be to make an antenna. You can isolate the tender shell from the frame and use that, or if the coal load is removable, you can put a coil of wire into the coal.
I tend to do my conversions in a simple manner, and do not add every feature/light/control/whiz bang that is possible. But that's because I have to fix my own stuff and like to make it reliable.
Another tricky part will be finding the T1 sound board, it's not one of the generic ones that ERR sells. You may find it at Lionel parts...
At least as of a few months ago, Lionel was selling the S1 sound board among the Railsounds 4 boards available. This board has both a whistle sound and also an air horn (AUX1, 6 to blow the horn). The prototype S1 had both. I'd recommend contacting Boxcar Bill about this conversion.
I just checked Lionel's parts website and they still show the S1 sound board as available (part number 691RS4E018 for $45).
At least as of a few months ago, Lionel was selling the S1 sound board among the Railsounds 4 boards available. This board has both a whistle sound and also an air horn (AUX1, 6 to blow the horn). The prototype S1 had both. I'd recommend contacting Boxcar Bill about this conversion.
I just checked Lionel's parts website and they still show the S1 sound board as available (part number 691RS4E018 for $45).
Lionel is selling the S1 sound?? Thankyou for the info!!!.. Id seen all three board that goes into the T1 proubley have 110.00 into it.. just looked it up and thankgod its for sale!!! Also would like to do chuff and I would love to do steam whisle if proosible if not no biggie.. gunnerjohn knows I'd been wanting that S1 sound from lionel about 6 months now.. also need to know what transformer and stuff I need to work these funtions to my engine?
ok question? the S1 tender show 4 board.. should I get them? another question.. could I just run railsound with the S1 board or do I have to go full blown TMCC?three boards 139.00..not to bad..unless you got any sudjestions in what to get and do? I do want that S1 sound system..
The S1 sound board is just that: the sound board with the proper S1 chip. I would highly recommend installing a Cruise Commander from Electric Railroad to run the motor. You'll also need a Railsounds Commander motherboard to plug the sound board into. To generate chuffing, you'll need some rare earth magnets and a reed switch. If you've never done one of these conversions before, I recommend contacting Boxcar Bill on this forum. Here is his website:
Bill discounts the Electric RR stuff, can help explain the installation and also offers very reasonable installation rates if you don't want to do it yourself.
Boxcar Bill has the kit for $185 which includes the ERR Cruise Commander and the RailSounds Commander, it's on the home page. Another $40 to Lionel for the S1 board and you're all set. 
doesnt the lionel S1 have Errc already?
The Lionel S1 has Odyssey (I think). I know it has an infrared drawbar to the tender. This means that an ERR Cruise Commander "M" can be installed in the locomotive without touching the tender.
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