Jumping into his conversation late but given an MTH as a base engine....
A Mike'schief Plus (trademark pending- just kidding
) is an option. That is, a baseline MTH engine (frame, motors, trucks) can be retrofitted with certain Lionchief Plus boards, a simple wiring harness made up and LED lighting, and result is a bluetooth or Lionel universal remote driven engine, also possible to use under conventional transformer operation, with sounds, smoke, and even elecrocouplers and yes, possibly done cheaper than some of the proposed solutions.
Lionchief plus boards are between $55- $75 and you can either get one that requires a tachometer (and thus you are best to buy the Lionel motor to get the tach sensor and flywheel combo roughly $32) or get one of the few tackless back EMF boards. Also, MTH PS1 couplers are the same as a Lionel and can be used, but PS2 and PS3 couplers must be changed to a PS1 or Lionel version to be compatible. Also, MTH smoke units can be used, just remove one resistor for a 16 Ohm smoke resistance (MTH used 16 ohm resistors, but just 2 in series or parallel depending on the unit).
Also keep in mind the half off annual Lionel parts sale. If you plan ahead, that makes the conversion even cheaper.
Also- no you cannot use or adapt the MTH flywheel and optical tach. You have to switch to the Lionel parts. You pull off the MTH flywheel, install the Lionel tach board on the motor brush end, and then install the Lionel flywheel (set screwed not pressed on) making it easy. the challenge is more removing the MTH flywheel than anything and just requires he correct puller tool. Again, if that is too hard or won't fit, there is the back EMF variant of the LC+ board but it is in less models and road names.
And then, latest kicker- Lionchief Plus 2.0 includes TMCC operation. Boards are
list at $150 and all but 1 (dockside steam) requires a matching tach and flywheel (buying a $32 motor with tach and flywheel is best). Same rules, 16 ohm. smoke requirement, LED lighting, and either PS1 or Lionel electrocouplers.
Again,
if done right at the half off sale and planned ahead, you can do a conversion for
UNDER $100 for a standard bluetooth plus version, or splurge and get for say
under $150 do a complete
LC Plus 2.0 with TMCC.
One downside is you have to build your own wiring harness. Lionel does not yet list those parts in most cases. But you can buy ready made JST-ZH and JST-PH connectors with wiring on Amazon in various number of pins pretty reasonably.
Again, the basic requirements to use a LC+ or LC+ 2.0
8 ohm speaker
1-2 can DC motors (note, most Williams are not a great choice, too high gearing and too high amp draw) MTH is perfect.
PS1 or Lionel electrocouplers. Cannot use PS2 or PS3 couplers electrically incompatible.
Possibly install a lionel tach sensor board and matching flywheel on one motor. Or go with specific tackless LC+ board.
16 ohm smoke resistor in fan driven smoke unit (MTH does use 16 ohm resistors- just must remove and use only 1)
LED lighting for all outputs.
DIY wiring harness.
Discussions
Lionel Lionchief Plus 2.0 and recent Legacy wiring and...
Just trying to get some info out there and there will be more to come. Smoke unit uses a 16 Ohm resistor. Working on the exact pinout and will update. FYI, not all boards have the silkscreen labels so hoping this helps people in both repairs and modifications.
www.modeltrainforum.com
I purchased the Lionchief Santa Fe Super Chief set because I wanted something that looked like the passenger set from the 50's. It works well not that I upgraded the power supply so I can use the uncoupler track. As I look at the features of the Lionchief Plus (electrocouplers and speed...
www.modeltrainforum.com
Keep in mind, this has changed over time. Months ago, I never saw anyone else publish much reverse engineering of Lionchief+. You had to buy an engine to understand the wiring harness and while Lionel had parts breakdowns, you still didn't know everything on what was compatible.
Now, 7-9 months later, I know and have done conversions. LC+ 2.0 is still so brand new Lionel only sells the board, but I have figured out what legacy sensor boards work and specific flywheels.
And the kicker is, MTH engines, both Railking and Premier are near perfect candidates. The motors and gearing are so close to Lionel it just is a match made for this conversion. Even specifics like MTH always used 16 ohm smoke resistors just 2 of them that can be reduced to 1. Also, PS1 conversions often have usable electrocouplers making this even more attractive.