1990's Lionel Mohawk Electrical Upgrade Options.

Have this same Lionel engine.  My decision was NOT to upgrade the drive to TMCC or the equivalent because of cost.  Both MTH and Lionel have other later versions of the NYC Mohawk that already have command control.

That locomotive would require the ERR AC Commander and the RailSounds Commander.  Add the electrocoupler, and the parts cost is in the $150-160 range.  I've done several upgrades of similar locomotives.

The ERR AC Commander and RS Commander will give you better speed control and better sound than the old 1990's electronics as well.

That's a pretty good deal in my opinion. If you go DCS the motor will have to be changed, There's at least  $100 bucks already.

Another option is to have the motor upgraded to DC.  This is what I did with My Chessie 4-8-4 of the same vintage.  Then you can get the standard Cruise Commander.  It runs like a champ!

Well, those "there are better engines..." comments do us no good - I have a Lionel L3a Mohawk because I wanted an L3a Mohawk (non PS2/3). These things are not interchangeable. This loco is a diamond in the rough. Look at those nice scale-size pilot wheels - yet rated for 042 (I have 072, so...) - a clue that this loco was designed for Lionel by MTH back before Lionel had any Korean connections.

Mine is below; I just finished partially "correcting" an ancient and poor weathering job. It looks better, and I'm happy - except for the largely missing valve gear/rod - Lionel, you should offer these parts!

Anyway, solid, good-looking loco. I sent this one to Frank Timko for a change to a DC can motor. It also now has an ERR Cruise Commander and Railsounds. The smoke is on the original circuit. I love the lack of traction tires.

The Timko conversion was not cheap or fast, but the loco runs very well.

It ran well - for an AC Pullmor - before the conversion, and you could certainly put in an AC Commander, skip the sound (the original Sound of Steam is best buried, if still working) for now, and have a very decent command control L3a Mohawk.

That plastic coal load - I love 'em - makes the ERR antenna situation a 30-second installation. Like a plastic diesel. 

Pardon the quick-and-dirty photos with poor depth-of-field:

my thoughts:

I have the loco and kept it conventional with the AC motor. It has the scale Hudson type drive so it runs smoother and slower thatn other AC motor locos. I love it.

I have had other locos upgraded to Timko DC with ERR and railsounds and I am pleased with them.

I upgraded my B&A semi scale Hudson to AC Commander and railsounds and it runs slow, staedy, and the sounds are good. I would expect the same for the Mowhawk.

My one caution is on the 18064.

Lionel had a lot of problems with the electronics pakage on these. I don't know anyone that was happy with theirs. I sent mine back to Lionel 4 times. Every board and componenet on that loco must have failed at least once. On the phone, customer service told me they were having a lot of issues and my locoal hobby shop said the same for his other customers. Believe it or not, Lionel told me to send them my receipt and they refunded my complete purchase price. I would avoid that locomotive.

I've test ran this locomotive several times. The sound still works just fine, it smokes really good and runs very smoothly. So I don't think it was a bad one. 

This.

I have this engine and upgraded it to TMCC AC Commander and Railsounds 5 with electro coupler. I used the super 50m Fatboy speaker from Lionel, and not the one that comes with the kit, and it sounds great!! There are plenty of people on the forum that could do the upgrade for you if you feel you cant do it yourself.

Stirling, I apologize for the misunderstanding. The first loco I mentioned in my post is the same as yours, the conventional earlier version. I am very pleased with mine. It was the later version that came with TMCC and railsounds that had problems.

The #18064 Mohawk with Elephant ears from Lionel in 1997 was a dog. Some of them suffered from bad paint and poor sounds from a faulty sound board and took forever to break in and run smoothly.

Luckily back then newer shells were available if you sent your original in and to this day you can get the replacement sound board from Lionel.