Power pack advice

oops, I am using Lionel Fastrack.

One thing that I found with my older Williams engine was that the sound board ( horn and bell) did not like transformers that put out a modified sine wave. The horn would blow constantly. The transformer I was using was an older MRC unit that had two handheld controllers. I am pretty sure the Lionel CW-80 would also not work with that type of board nor would a TMCC Powermaster. (Key words being pretty sure. I haven't tried these, and don't know if it is still a problem with their sound board)

That said, anything that puts out a pure sine wave would be what I would recommend, even if your current engine does work fine with one of the above transformers. the next engine you get might not. As far as modern transformers go, MTH makes a z-1000 that seems like a nice pack for the money. MRC makes a 125 watt pack that has a nice look to it, but I have never used one.  Postwar transformers are dropping in price, so if you could find a nice LW, 1033, or even a KW, that may be the way to go. If you aren't comfortable working on electrical appliances, you will want to make sure you buy one that has been gone over. 

I know I probably made more questions than answers for you. Hopefully this post helps in the long run though.

J White

few questions.

do you plan to ever get command engines?

do you plan to run large trains?

would you like to run your trains remotely?

are you ever going to get Lionel or MTH engines?

otherwise just a good mth z1000 will work.

Spend the money now and get a good transformer...MTH Z-4000.  Eventually, you will need it anyway.

Rick

I've operated  both a Williams GP9 and a Williams Trainmaster with a CW-80 transformer (separately, not at the same time), and they worked fine pulling a few freight cars.

It's not so much a factor of how large the area of the layout (as long as you have good track connections, you can lose a little bit of power at each track connection, but you can counteract this by having multiple track feeds around your layout) as it is a factor of what you are running on the layout. Running more than one powered locomotive at a time requires more power, and running lighted passenger cars requires more power than running a freight train with no powered cars.

If you plan on running multiple engines at the same time and running lighted passenger cars, you'll need a more powerful transformer.

I just bought a new Lionel GW-180 from Sommerfield's in Butler, Wisconsin. A truly great store. I hope this one will do the trick.  Thanx guys for your input.

Hey VB, you are where I was about 3 years ago.  I too, am a retired teacher, moved to Utah from Hawaii, and finally have a house with a full basement and train room. 

I built my layout with 2 4 x 8 tables and 1 4 x 6 table all from scratch and arranged them into a "J" shape.  I run 3 independent loops using both Lionel and Williams trains.  I did use the bus and feeder system to counter-act the "voltage loss," especially on the long mainline track. 

Initially, i used 3 separate Lionel CW-80 transformers.  But because I run 2 passenger trains with lighted cars, I traded up to the more powerful MTH Z-4000, with each variable circuit wired to a passenger train loop.  This transformer is great because there is plenty of power for the engines and passenger car lights for each train, and you get a constant readout from the LED displays for volts and amperage for each circuit.  The Z-4000 also has 2 separate fixed voltage circuits for switches and other accessories.  I still use the Lionel CW-80 for the freight train loop and it does well for smaller trains and a few accessories.

Even though the Z-4000 is a little expensive, it's still about half of what a Lionel ZW-L would cost.  I found mine new on ebay for $325.00 and love it.

Good luck with your layout building.