What ERR boards do I need to future-proof my TMCC locomotives?

I would suggest taking the shells off the powered unit of your K-Line diesels but I suspect all of K-Lime steam and likely all of your K-Line diesels are Lionel modular. The steam engines just need a Cruise M and R2/4LC. For diesels with more than 2 motors you will want a pair of Cruise Commanders. You can upgade with Cruise Ms but its not easy as special tethers need to be made.

If your Atlas or Weaver use TAS boards then you will need Cruise Commanders. Railsounds are up to you. 

You can find out what is in your Lionel engines by going to lionelsupport.com and entering the product number in the replacement part tab. If its modular then Cruise Ms will work.

I wouldn't keep more than one set of boards on hand. ERR will be available for some time despite what a very few believe.

Pete

Lionel and K-Line will use the Cruise M as a rule, there may be exceptions but keeping a few around will keep you safe. Atlas, Weaver and 3rd Rail with the TAS boards will need the Cruise Commander and the appropriate Railsounds Commander.

Future Proof ? A large majority of the the post war equipment wouldn't be running if it weren't for second party parts makers or the reintroduction of postwar items

that utilized the same parts. So, if you are worried about future proofing it goes beyond the electronic components.  I've become a parts collector.

When, I purchase a new train. I ascertain the parts that may fail and order extra where posssible. 

But, being one Manufacterer can't build a house that stays together. I may have to update my parts purchasing.

shawn posted:

When, I purchase a new train. I ascertain the parts that may fail and order extra where posssible.

And as sure as you're alive, one of the parts that you didn't think could fail will, and you'll still be stuck.

Thanks for the responses.  I'll look up the Lionel engines online.

Here is the lead unit of the K-Line F7 ABA tethered set.  All 6 motors run off this board.  There is a board in the trailing A that is only the Mars light circuit.  Is this Lionel's modular setup?  

My guess is the small boards L-R are power, sound,  motor driver, and radio?

Would all of these boards be available from Lionel if they failed?

Here is the K-Line Mikado in the middle of my SuperChuffer/Chuff Generator/MTH smoke unit install.  I had removed the radio board in this picture.  The tach tape is for the Chuff generator, though this unit had some other kind of tach reader between the tach tape and motor.  

What motor board would be used here?

I appreciate your patience in answering what must be pretty basic questions.  I read the forum extensively, but still find I have gaps in knowledge particularly in all the iterations of TMCC boards. 

Bob

Does the F7 have motors in the B unit? Usually there are two motors in each A unit. The picture shows one DCDR, non cruise motor driver. K-Liine uses one to drive 4 motors though its not good design. If they all stalled it would exceed the current rating of the DCDR which is 8 amps. The stall current for each motor is 2.5 amps. 4 would be 10 amps. 6 would be 15 amps. You may have more DCDRs in the other units.

Your Mikado has K-Line Cruise. You can use a Cruise M to replace the motor driver and leave the tach reader in place but unused.

Pete

Thanks Pete

I had to replace the tethers in the F7 set, so I had all the units apart.  2 motors in each unit (ABA), a board with only a pair of caps in the B unit, and here is the trailing A.  Power comes in from the tether through the 2 black wires to the board with the caps, then out 3 pairs of blue/brown wires.  One pair to each motor and the third pair to the Mars board powering the lights through the red and white wires.  I can't recall what components were under the board, but there is no connection to the rollers. All the power is coming from the tether.   The can motors are small but I agree it was gutsy or foolish to power all six motors off the one board. I have pulled ten  K-line 21" aluminum passengers cars on level track without a problem, but I don't think I'll push my luck on that again! 

Bob

K-Line is able to get away with this because under normal running the total current draw is probably under 2 amps. You would be pushing it to replace the single DCDR with one Cruise M. The Cruise Ms are only rated for 6 amps.

I used two Cruise Ms to power a pair of K-Line E8s with the single R2LC but had to replace the tether with a 10 conductor. Its not a drop in swap. You might be able to repower your setup with two Cruise Commanders. Those are also rated for 8 amps. Not sure how the Cruise feature would work driving more than two motors though.

We have a club member running a K-Line F7 ABBA all powered but each one has its own Cruise Commander.

Pete

gunrunnerjohn posted:

shawn posted:

When, I purchase a new train. I ascertain the parts that may fail and order extra where posssible.

And as sure as you're alive, one of the parts that you didn't think could fail will, and you'll still be stuck.

Yep! and if you read further! I did state that ---- Especially, going to be a problem when the aftermarket parts guys are gone, 

Norton posted:

Not sure how the Cruise feature would work driving more than two motors though.

I have been using single Cruise Commanders to drive 4 motors in several diesels (MTH Centipedes, Sharknoses, F3's and a pair of Atlas RS-1's run together) for years now.  I originally tried a Cruise M in the MTH 4-motor F3's and it ran hot.  The "regular" Cruise Commander (older version 3.4) works great.  I left the motors wired in parallel and cruise control is smooth with great non-jerky slow speed.

The Cruise M has a problem with four motors, but the standard Cruise Commander does seem to handle them well, at least the several I've tried.

Matt Makens posted:

Lionel and K-Line will use the Cruise M as a rule, there may be exceptions but keeping a few around will keep you safe. Atlas, Weaver and 3rd Rail with the TAS boards will need the Cruise Commander and the appropriate Railsounds Commander.

So it looks like I should keep a couple of Cruise M boards around for the K-line locomotives.  I did a quick search on Lionel's parts availability on the Santa Fe PA-1 from 2003 and the Century Club PRR Sharks, and surprisingly all the original boards are still available.  

Has Lionel historically had a good availability of replacement boards?  

Do you prefer to just replace the Lionel board(s) or upgrade sound and control with the ERR products?

Bob

RRDOC posted:

Has Lionel historically had a good availability of replacement boards?  

Not really.  They have a finite number of spares, that varies widely depending on the specific board.  For older stuff like TMCC locomotives, once they are gone, they're gone, they're not making them.  At times, you will get used boards pulled from returns when you order parts.  From personal experience, those boards don't always work properly!

If you’re worried about boards going out, you’d do well to keep a few Cruise M boards on hand. They’re a pretty universal replacement for TMCC boards