what all needed to control everything on my layout.

Sorry to hear of your situation, sounds like you are making the best of it.

As for the control systems, it's a bit of religion around here.  Which makes it a personal choice.  I have stuck with Lionel TMCC and Recently added Legacy.  You will need SC-2 switch controllers and maybe some of the other accessories to meet your needs. 

The first question is what kind of switch motors are on your 35 switches.  The manufacturer and type will have impact on the means you use for remote control.  Lionel even has command ready switches which make it real easy. 

I personally considering adding DCS to the mix as well to get the most out of the few MTH engines I have.  I think it would be the best of both worlds.

Good luck in your decisions.

Welcome to the hobby. You will probably get about as many answers as there are flavors of ice cream. My own choice (based on my modeling goals, pocketbook, delays in getting DCS to the market, and lack of comfort with computers) was TMCC. The ironic thing is that currently none of my locos are Lionel but rather MTH, KLine, Weaver & Williams - ALL converted to TMCC using originally Digital Dynamics stuff and now ERR components.

That said, if i were to start over today i'd go with either Legacy (#6-14295) or Legacy CAB -1L/Base 1L (#6-37147). Most likely the latter as i couldn't see myself ever owning all the feature laden engines that would require the full blown version of Legacy. As to controlling non Lionel (MTH, Williams, etc.) locos and postwar Lionel locos, I'd convert them all using ERR stuff. That way i'd only have one command system and one learning curve.

But then my choices of ice cream might explain my thinking. Go figure.

Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia and Phish Food

Hagen Daz Coffee and Rum Raisin

Stewart's Philly Vanilla with real maple syrup

jackson

Welcome to the forum and to the greatest hobby in the world. 

Assuming that you will be using Legacy, then if you wish to run your conventional locomotives from the remote, you will need to use either Legacy PowerMasters or TPC300/400 units. These can be switched to run in either command or conventional mode and give you the best of both worlds. 

Do you already have your switches? If not, and if you are going to use FasTrack, then I would suggest that you purchase the command control switches. That way you can avoid a great deal of wiring.

if you decide that you wish to run MTH locomotives under command control in the future, then you just need to add a DCS system. Both Legacy and DCS can co-exist on the same layout quite happily. 

Timothy Eric-

Welcome to the forums! I'm sorry to hear of your misfortune, but you have come to the right place as there are numerous experts here who can help you select the command components you need to get the desired operation on your layout.

When it comes to picking out command control systems, the key is always to match what you have (or planning to have) with what you want the command system to do. Based on your post I'll assume that you already own TMCC/Legacy locomotives and a few postwar/non-command locomotives, with plans to acquire MTH DCS-equipped locomotives in the future. In addition to the locomotives, you would like to control accessories and switches via the remote system too.

Before I jump into the components you'll need to make it work, let me first touch on Legacy and DCS. Both systems have remotes that control locomotives, and with additional pieces can throw switches and turn accessories on and off. However the way each system works is different. MTH's system uses the third rail to send digital signals to trains, whereas Lionel's system broadcasts radio signals in the air. This difference is why MTH recommends wiring your layout using matched pairs of feeder wires radiating from a central point (aka "star" or "home run" wiring); Lionel's system works just fine on traditional bus wires. This is why most users would recommend wiring your layout the way MTH recommends, then adding the Legacy components.

In terms of compatibility, we run into a few issues between the brands and systems. MTH's system can control TMCC locomotives (with the purchase of Lionel's command base and a cable), but Lionel's system cannot control DCS locomotives at all. Legacy-equipped locomotives can be controlled by DCS, but DCS cannot access any of the "Legacy-only" features such as the quilling horn. For this reason you might opt to install both remotes, running DCS locomotives with the DCS remote and TMCC/Legacy locomotives with the Legacy remote.

Conventional locomotives can be controlled equally well by either system, but the deciding vote comes from how you will divide your layout. MTH's system can only accomodate two conventional tracks per TIU (even though there are four ports on the TIU, only two are capable of adjusting track voltage). If you need more than two, you can either connect additional tracks to the fixed voltage ports and run them with a transformer, or you would have to buy another TIU. With Lionel's system, you would need a transformer and a powermaster for each block.

For accessory/switch control I'd recommend going with DCS, only because MTH gives you more switch/accessory outputs per AIU (MTH's accessory controller) than Lionel does with the SC-2 (Lionel's accessory controller). Given the number of switches and accessories that you have, more outputs per controller is better.

So to summarize I would recommend the following:

1. Wire your layout per MTH's recommendations

2. Purchase the base DCS system (remote and TIU) for operating MTH locomotives and conventional locomotives

3. Purchase enough DCS AIU modules to control all your switches and accessories

4. Purchase Legacy to control TMCC and Legacy-equipped pieces

A great first reference is the 2nd Edition of "Command Control for Toy Trains" from Kalmbach Publishing. It goes into more details about the systems and is an excellent reference to selecting and purchasing your components.

Best of luck, and happy railroading!

-John