Heritage Units vs LccTools
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Heritage Units
This app allows users to track and report special interest locomotives from major US railroads. View reported units on a map within a 200-mile radius and contribute new sightings directly from your device.
- Track heritage units
- Report new locomotive locations
- View locomotives on maps
- Search within 200 miles
- Support for major railroads
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Track and report Heritage units (locomotives) and other special interest units for Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, CSX, BNSF and other railroads. Features: • View reported locomotives within a 200 mile radius of your devices location. • Report a new locomotive location directly from the app • View locomotives on maps All recorded locomotive information is provided by volunteers using native apps and website (https://www.heritageunits.com) Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Terms of use: https://www.heritageunits.com/user/terms Privacy policy: https://www.heritageunits.com/user/privacy
LccTools
Control and configure your LCC/OpenLCB model railroad directly from your mobile device. Manage locomotives, turnouts, and events, and even update node firmware. Includes a companion Apple Watch app for convenient fast clock display.
- Locomotive control
- Consist management
- Fast clock display
- Turnout operation
- Event activation
- Node configuration
- Firmware updates
- Bus traffic monitoring
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LccTools provides the tools you need to operate and configure your LCC/OpenLCB model railroad in the palm of your hand! - Throttle - Works with the TCS CS-105 to control your locomotives - Consisting - Make, modify and break up locomotive consists - Fast Clock - Display the fast clock time - Turnouts - Operate your DCC turnouts - Events - Send defined events to activate your railroad's controls - Configuration - Provides configuration menus for all your LCC nodes - Firmware Update - Download new, updated firmware into your nodes - Monitor - See the traffic on your LCC bus If you have an Apple Watch, LccTools includes a companion watch app that will let you put the railroad's fast time on your wrist for easy reference. Requires a WiFi LCC network hub. Works with hubs provided by the TCS CS-105, JMRI and others.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: LccTools at 4.8 against Heritage Units's 4.1. LccTools also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 58%) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). Heritage Units's advantage is ratings volume (253 vs 5) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Heritage Units sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per year. LccTools asks for nothing beyond the download.
LccTools holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Heritage Units has 253 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Heritage Units's written reviews are positive against 100% of LccTools's.
Heritage Units ships an update every 10 days, LccTools every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Heritage Units | LccTools |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (253 ratings) | 4.8 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 58.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 253 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 122 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Brian Minnich | Bob Jacobsen |
Customer experience
Heritage Units
LccTools
Bugs and requests
Heritage Units
Reported bugs
14 issues- App crashes when refreshing or loading reports
- Persistent 'You've reached your limit for spots' error that lasts weeks or months
- Login credentials rejected despite correct password/username
- Automatic logout after 1-2 months of inactivity
- Premium subscription purchases not recognized by app
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- Email validation not working or emails not received
- Location tracking showing incorrect geographic location
- Reports not posting after submission despite multiple attempts
- Timezone error when submitting reports
- App incompatibility with certain iOS versions (iOS 12, etc.)
- Cannot report certain locomotives that exist in database
- Notification system stops working after initial use
- API exceptions with no user-side resolution
- Random account suspensions without explanation
Requested features
15 requests- Dark mode and light mode toggle
- Report timestamp visibility to distinguish old vs new reports
- Edit and delete buttons for submitted reports
- Increase daily/monthly report submission limits
- Ability to favorite or star specific locomotives
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- View history of past reports made by user
- Color-coded report age indicators (green for current, red for old, etc.)
- Push notifications for units within 50-100 miles
- Guest mode without account creation requirement
- Chat feature for railfan community discussion
- Add more heritage units to database (NS 3625, BNSF H1s, etc.)
- Unlimited photo uploads for free users
- Live time and destination information for trains
- Ability to report multiple units in single photo with highlights
- Include normal locomotives, not just heritage units
LccTools
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Heritage Units
- Ad Free$0.991 Year
- Premium Membership$5.991 Year
LccTools
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Heritage Units free?
Is LccTools free?
Which has better reviews, Heritage Units or LccTools?
Do Heritage Units or LccTools have ads?
Which is updated more often, Heritage Units or LccTools?
Other comparisons
