Can a non-remote train be made to be remotly controlled?

[TechCarp]

My husband and I got our first trainset this last Xmas, as a christmas gift from our daughter.
It is a Lionel Fastrack O-scale

It does not have remote control. Our biggest question right now; if it is possible to make changes to an engine to allow it to be remote controlled ? For example by adding a decoder/receiver. Wiring it in.

Has anyone been able to do that?

[dmaynard]

Remote controlled, like how? Adding DCC (a form of remote control) has been done by model railroaders in all scales. Adding another form of remote control has also been done (MTS, Airwire, RSC) , and some of the garden railroad folks have added RC with battery power so they can run without powering the tracks. So in a short answer yes you can add remote control.

You would need to look into whatever system of RC you are looking at and see if the receiver would fit in the loco or tender, in O scale that shouldn't be a problem. You would need to see what would be involved in wiring it up, this is the challenging part.

Since you didn't say what kind of system you are looking at I am giving a general answer, but yes it can be done.

[TechCarp]

Sorry for not being more specific.
The trainset is the Pennsylvania Flyer Freight Train Lionel 6-30089 Die cast 0-8-0 with Die-cast steam engine, coal tender, 3 cars and using a PowerMax Plus transformer

We have not yet decided which remote system we are planning on using. Depending on who we talk to the 2 systems that has been talked about are DCS and TMCC.

One is supposedly more flexible than the other? Can allow the use of trains with different decoders? We only have the one train right now, (except for a G scale christmas train) so we are flexible either way as to which system to get.

[Dan_Morgan]

We have not yet decided which remote system we are planning on using. Depending on who we talk to the 2 systems that has been talked about are DCS and TMCC.

This is one of those volatile discussions where users base their opinions on their experiences. And everyone's experiences are different.

Legacy, DCS and TMCC all cater for slightly different user functionality and budgets. I know of model railroaders who run all 3 systems and love all of them. They took a long time to accumulate all 3 but they have the perfect solution. Other model railroaders can come over and run their trains no matter what system they are configured for. Also there is no restriction on what they can buy out of the catalogs because they cater for all.

Most of the time it comes down to the budget you have available. However I suggest having a play with all of them before purchasing.

Cheers
Dan