Why You Should Buy TMCC Locomotives 

Like your previous video, you are politely expressing your view. I like what I like. Pre-war, Post-war or modern. Lionel, K-Line, MTH, 3rd Rail, Weaver, etc. Conventional, TMCC, DCS, or Legacy. This is hobby for each of us to enjoy the way we wish. I like it all and enjoy the videos that you and others take the time to do and share with us. Thanks for being you in the hobby!

I have one TMCC diesel from the 90s. However, I run it conventionally as I’m a conventional operator.

I got more out of this video .... than the last 25 train vids I watched. I share a lot of your thoughts and observations. 'Railsounds 5 and it only has 32 speed steps....' Enough for me. Srsly, good info for those of us with not a lot of experience and are a bit put off by Lionels costs these days. kudos and a gold clap.....

Tip: toss a 2 watt speaker in those older engines with the 0.5 watt factory speakers. You'll be amazed at how much the limiting factor for the audio was the speakers. Just be sure to match the resistance. 16ohm each for twin speakers, 8ohm when there's only one. Replacement 2watt speakers are available from Lionel parts.

After hearing all the issues with these computer driven engines it makes me more secure in retaining the old pre and post war convention Lionel engines. Honestly I do not relate well to the sounds as a necessary feature to running trains. No knocking persons that do, but not a desirable feature (artificial sounds and talking) for my enjoyment. The old running sounds of the metal wheels on the track’s rails is enough as is. Thank you for sharing and pointing out positive as well as negative points. That was a very good evaluation.

I know I'm late to this discussion but I had to reply to this discussion. You are absolutely right when it comes to build quality. Tmcc from about 2001 to early legacy from 2007 to around 2015 are the best to buy. The bean counters at Lionel are putting pressure to reduse costs and it shows. I just bought a legacy Mikado from 2012 and it is incredible, nice detail, great sounds and the build quality is very good.

Great video and commentary. I was shocked with the first one I got, an CN Dash 9 with RS5. It doesn't have the best prime mover or RPMs, but makes up for it the quality of the horn and the road specific dialog. I also have a Lionmaster J3a, again the whistle and engine specific dialog is fantastic.

I think a lot of the issues with older TMCC locomotives can be fixed by upgrading the motor controller to an ERR Cruise Commander. Sounds can be upgraded too.

I love the old rail sounds 5 sounds. The only issue I’ve had with the old tmcc engines is that I got burned on one at a train show. The odyssey lurch on it is so bad it’s borderline inoperable. I have one of the U30c’s and it has my favorite horn and crew talk sounds lionels ever done. It’s a CNW engine and the crew has the thickest Midwest/Wisconsin accent ever.

The tmcc stuff has such a good sound system

I Do like the RS 5 Steam ,’they have a much deeper sound …Nice looking F units you have there (:

I think that the TMCC and early legacy engines are the most reliable. I have bought a Aberdeen, Carolina and Western F-9 A-B set. So far, it has performed well.

TMCC have proven they last, and were built super well. The only thing I like to do is get the smoke output on steam engines more like an MTH engine, add super chuffers, if the original unit just blows constantly.I actually prefer incandescent bulbs especially in steamers so I wouldnt change to LEDs unless I had to. I'll replace with older bulbs if I can if needed. Like someone else said on here, a lot of TMCC sounds seem louder and more bassy, than some Legacy versions, and steam in particular I actually like some whistles more even though they're not as quill able as newer ones. Whistle steam is not a make or break feature for me, so I don't mind not having it in the older models. And prices are going down on older stuff so anything I can get more affordable is always great. New Legacy stuff is so expensive these days. Long live TMCC IMO!

Some of the TMCC steam locomotives have better sounds and deeper bass in them over some of the later Legacy.

Most of my command equipped locomotives are TMCC as these were the engines of my childhood. I know that people replace the sounds of these engines with legacy or mth sounds but I prefer the TMCC sounds over em both cause of the unique horn and whistle sounds that tmcc locomotives had over the many years between 1994 and 2005. Also I do like the paint schemes they came in across the 90s and 2000s. Heh but I do remember early TMCC steam locomotives like the C&O 490 and Lionel 777 commodore vanderbilt did come with 1 chuff per revolution but they thankfully upgraded their later steam models to 2 chuffs per revolution by late 90s. Im not sure how many came with 4 chuff revolutions but I don't think it was very many of them.

Good video man

Cool 😊

What model(big one/6 wheel trucks) Pennsy is that?

I've not yet replaced speakers but have 10 ish mth premier proto 1 engines with less than 3 hours run time but deteriorating speakers. The hard part is finding a compatible speakers that will fit and survive 5 years on the shelf. Proto 1 and proto 2 steam engine need positive and negative power drops every 5 feet. Gary j

Don't get me wrong, I love lionels legacy locomotives but I LOVE TMCC because they are cheap ( sale price) and they not cared about do you can get it for a good price. Also some have road specific dialogue which now and day legacy locomotives don't have. But I do love lionels legacy , it is a great line but in my opinion I like TMCC more.

Is it true that Lionel supports a three year warranty on these engines?

Lionel doesn't make trains anymore they make future paper weights.

I like Williams locomotives. Sturdy well detailed simple reliable easy to maintain. I would keep my eyes open for sales in classic toy trains. I have scarfed up so many brand new locomotives for 100 bucks each. When their circuit boards go out I will convert them all to straight DC

The first thing you need to do here is explain what TMCC is. Is it Lionel or what?

When faced with a choice between getting a locomotive with a bell or a horn or a whistle or one with DCS or TMCC or Legacy I prefer to get the simpler version but unfortunately the simpler version have all been discontinued forcing you to spend three or $400 extra for electronics you have no use for or desire for. I would rather buy a dummy of a specific locomotive and have it pushed from behind. Did you know you can run TMCC and Legacy Lionel locomotive from a Mike's train house DCS control system. DCS can run Lionel trains but Lionel trains can't run DCs.

I would bet you on dropping it on the floor but I don't think you would want the odds. You could drop a Williams engine on the floor and it will survive

Are TMCC engines kind of cost a bit of a penny ?

The railroad Road name has no bearing on the sound effects coming from the engine. All diesels of the same engine configuration sound the same the paint on the outside of the locomotive doesn't mean anything

You quill a whistle on a steam engine you cannot quill a diesel horn. Quilling is a term used for a particular engineers message of sounding off the whistle. You could tell who is running the cab by its sound. It was a practice stopped during World War II because they thought the Germans could use it to sabotage trains because they would know what train would be coming.

Lionel is over rated and over priced all I buy is MTH TMCC controllers are shit I use MTH DCS and got rid of my TMCC controllers.

The sound is a gimmick useless get four or five locomotives running with five different sets of sounds and three sets of smokes and you turn everything off after a while. It becomes a cacophonous noise. If I was going to spend that much for a diesel locomotive it better come with a diecast shell $400 for plastic are you kidding me.