I also got one of these and it is very nice. Got mine from modeltrainstuff.com . Four left at 74.99 plus shipping. Seemed to be best price I could find, but others may have done better. Shipping for me was around 8.00, Maryland to Roanoke Virginia. I do not have fast track so you need the adapter to pig tail, part # 6-82038. This was around 10.0 at local hobby shop. Cutting off the plug works, I just did not know if it would void the Lionel Warranty if you got a bad one or if it quit working. The lionel tower looks nice on the layout and the blinking led light on top is a nice touch.
Another option I have used to get bluetooth sounds on layout is the small bluetooth speakers. These come in various sizes and price. The biggest one I have is made by Jam Classic 2.0 which is too big for a boxcar but could be hidden in a building, a smaller one made by iHome which will fit in a lionel boxcar, and the smallest one made by Grove Cube.
The phone apps I have found are Train Sounds, Train Horns, and Train Sim.
Would be nice to know what apps others are using with the Tower.
Dean
