TMCC Upgrade Path in Jeopardy

[G3750]

All:

This topic has been causing serious consternation for me and more than a few others.

Apparently the Electric Railroad is no longer going to receive TMCC upgrade boards. Full story below.

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/the ... ade?page=1

George

[chuck]

The only things "known" are:

a) ERR is shutting down and inventory is moving to North Carolina.

b) Jon Z retired from Lionel earlier this year.

c) Lionel is starting to sell Legacy boards without a swap for the "replacement" ones

d) Last round of mini commander boards for accessory/speeders/action cars did not require the receiver module to work. aka you don't need an R2LC to get TMCC to work.

Things we don't know:

a) Will Lionel allow someone else to design/build TMCC boards?

b) Can they stop anyone from doing this as original patents are probably running out?

c) Will they roll out some other boards as a replacement?

Main issue to me is the lack of support for the older PW open frame equipment. There are a lot of well made and serviceable PW chassis that are not "collector items" could have a TMCC installation and be used on a modern layout. The original TMCC design equipment was meant to handle almost anything Lionel had made in the first 100 years. You can probably upgrade a modern loco (e.g. Williams or PS-1) using parts available from Lionel.

[HONDO74]

Sure glad I stayed with tinplate and conventional control.

[G3750]

Sure glad I stayed with tinplate and conventional control.

Honestly, I love using TMCC. As far as I'm concerned, there is no going back. Panhandle 2.0 will have a loop of track controlled by transformer (via CAB-1 / TPC in conventional mode), but that's for the kids and my old conventional locomotives.

I have no data or experience with Lionchief, but of the 3 big systems - TMCC, Legacy, and DCS - TMCC is by far the most reliable. By comparison, it is feature lean, but does everything 99% of users want or need.

I hope another method of supplying these boards emerges.

George

[christopher2035]

less competition / suppliers in any field is never a good thing.

[G3750]

less competition / suppliers in any field is never a good thing.

Agreed. Lionel bought out TrainAmerica and IC Controls. Digital Dynamics folded (I think). And now Lionel has closed down Electric Railroad.

I am not a happy camper.

George

[J. S. Bach]

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/the-death-of-the-tmcc-upgrade?page=1 George

I can't believe I read the whole thing. That and with having no interest in TMCC (or DCS for that matter). BTW, now closed for comments at the request of the OP.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I can't believe I read the whole thing.

You either have way too much free time or are into masochistic activities,

[J. S. Bach]

[chuck]

http://www.lionel.com/articles/ELECTRIC-RAILROAD

[G3750]

http://www.lionel.com/articles/ELECTRIC-RAILROAD

Thanks for posting this Chuck. I had seen this previously.

I remain skeptical. I find it hard to believe that the timing of such an announcement was an accident or the result of an oversight. Ken's retirement decision was made 1 week prior to the closing? Gimme a break.

Hitchcock expended a lot of words to say very little of substance.

Because of this, I am caught short. I was planning to acquire a larger locomotive and convert it to TMCC. Now those plans are in jeopardy.

We'll see how this all plays out.

George

[Neil]

I think there is a relatively benign way of looking at what happened. One of Lionel's staffers gave the folks at York a heads up that ERR was going to close. Not exactly a public announcement to the world. The vast majority of Lionel's customers buy starter sets and LC/LC+ stuff. TMCC folks (like me) are a small but important minority constituency. They probably thought it wouldn't be a big deal.

It's possible that no one thought it would cause much public consternation, and that they were already working on a plan for upgrades of some sort (TMCC, Legacy, Bluetooth, LC, LC+). Indeed, I'd put my money on an inexpensive Bluetooth upgrade that uses their app/Universal Remote. That's what Hitchcock said in his lette, more or less. I think this just was a case of them not realizing exactly how much blowback there might be while they work on the ultimate successor to ERR. They probably figured they had at least 6-12 months inventory left before this hit the fan. It's probably not going to be TMCC as the upgrade in the long run, simply because of lack of availability of parts down the road. It's going to be Legacy, Bluetooth or LC in the longer run. Or a box that let's you communicate with LC/LC+ locos using the cab-1/cab-2.

That said, I find it astonishing the number of Chicken Littles we have in this hobby, as well as people who think all corporations/businesses are evil and only looking out for their own interests without considering the customer. That's suicide and stupid for a business, and it's amazing to me that so many people got their panties wildly in a twist about something that is temporary and not likely going to be a game changer. Too many cranky old men with too much time on their hands, and lots of grievances in life? .

[webenda]

If you care about this matter, I strongly encourage you to write a thoughtful email and send it to talktous@lionel.com

All the best,

Derek

That said, I find it astonishing the number of Chicken Littles we have in this hobby, as well as people who think all corporations/businesses are evil and only looking out for their own interests without considering the customer.

I don't care.

[jlong]

Everyone....Dave Olson from Lionel has just informed me that he is posting an official announcement from Howard Hitchcock concerning the future of the ERR products. I have made that announcement a featured topic across all categories on the forum. Here is the link: https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...on-electric-railroad

In addition, Derek Thomas, the OP of this thread has asked me to close this thread. If you want to comment on the announcement from the announcement referred to above from Lionel, please start a new thread.

Thanks,

Alan

[jlong]

That said, I find it astonishing the number of Chicken Littles we have in this hobby, as well as people who think all corporations/businesses are evil and only looking out for their own interests without considering the customer.

NAILED IT

This will work itself out. It always does. If there is a demand, it will be supplied.