Running Marklin 3-rail equipment on conventional HO/OO track?

[Martin S-C]

Cheers, but I've just bought it and a separate track is out of the question. I will have to convert... somehow...

[DIW]

Considering then that a conversion project seems to be in order, perhaps you can try putting "Maerklin 37285 in Gleichstrom umwandeln" into google.de, and pass the results through google translate? That may give you an indication of what tasks would be required.

[UP 4000]

I also done the Marklin DB crane "goliath" it only needed pickups and wheels which were unobtainable from Marklin, I did source some wheels via ebay and also bought the Trix (DC) version which had 2 piockups on so I pinched one and put it on the Marklin, the motor and decoder needed no alterations as it's DCC, I would check that first on your model, if it runs on DCC then it's only wheels and pickups.

Pickups may have to be hand made and wheels you could try to source something similar or you could try drilling out one wheel and try resin to insulate it from the axle, it's only an idea and I'm not recommending it and I've never tried it.

Could this be any help? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LIMA-208114-HO-GERMAN-DB-CLASS-V188-BR-288-DOUBLE-DIESEL-LOCOMOTIVE-V188-002/401715227935?epid=653597032&hash=item5d8817ed1f:g:o4sAAOSw6CRb~QYB

[Martin S-C]

Yes, I'm thinking this cannot be too hard. Insulating the existing wheels or swapping them over, removing the stud contact shoe and wiring up for 2-rail. I don't see that anything more than that is needed.

It is a DCC model, equipped with sound. Not sure how I can test it though, not having any Marklin track or a controller!

[UP 4000]

Any DCC controller will do although can't guarantee the address is 3, Marklin like to do thing different, check the instructions it should tell you in there.

For track just place some brass strip in the middle of it or strip long wire and thread that between the sleepers, it's dog rough but will work, alternately just connect one wire

to the slider and one to one side of the track doesn't matter which one and preferably on a short test track not the layout.

 

Hope this helps,

[Krazykrisbell]

I really wanted a good looking Amtrak loco so bought a Marklin 33621 , forgot it was a 3 rail system. i've done a lot of DCC conversions so am used to disassembling locos. Anyone know if the DC wheel set trick will work on this model ?

[Nigelcliffe]

7 minutes ago, Krazykrisbell said:

I really wanted a good looking Amtrak loco so bought a Marklin 33621 , forgot it was a 3 rail system. i've done a lot of DCC conversions so am used to disassembling locos. Anyone know if the DC wheel set trick will work on this model ?

 

Before you even get to the wheels, does it have an AC motor or a DC motor ?   If its an AC motor, do you have suitable decoder around, or are you going to change the motors?     There are some decoders (ESU, Zimo) which can operate some Marklin non-DC motors, but you need the "right" decoder, not just any old decoder.  

[Krazykrisbell]

Ok thnks , nice tip , not sure about the motor I'm assuming from your question that it may be an AC motor, Supposedly the Loco can operate in DC or DCC so possible already fitted with a decoder

[Krazykrisbell]

apparently the decoder will need replacing

[Krazykrisbell]

So my plan is to replace all wheels with isolating ones , fit pickups as required , disconnect the 3rd pickup, and put dcc decoder in and wire up , including lights hopefully.

Can you recommended which decoder(s) would work with the  AC 3-pole-DCM motors

[trevora]

https://wiki.3rail.nl/index.php?title=Märklin_Drum_Collector_Motor_(DCM)

would convert motor to dc

[GoingUnderground]

I've just come across this topic for the first time, so apologies for repeating what might have been said already.

 

There is another way to convert 2 rail track to 3 rail without ripping it up to fit the Peco stud strip. You do what modellers of the London Underground do, add a centre rail. Just buy yourself some Peco rail and stick it to the centre of the sleepers so that it is at the same height as the top of the Maerklin studs (Maerklinists call them "pukos"). It may not look too clever, but it should work.

 

If you own a Maerklin loco and want to run it on 2 rail, you'll have to change the wheelsets to an insulated version, so look to see if there is an equivalent Trix model and get the wheelsets for the Trix one as Maerklin have owned Trix since the 1990s and most Trix H0 models nowadays are 2 rail DC versions of Maerklin 3 rail AC ones.

 

But beware,  you may still run into problems with the AC motor in Maerklin locos. AC motors will run on DC but you can't reverse them when you reverse the polarity as you would with a DC motor. Certain Maerklin motors can be converted to run on DC by replacing the field coil with permanent magnets. ESU sell conversion kits. If you don't fancy that, there is a dodge that lets you still use the field coils by fitting diodes to the feed to the field coils to create a bridge rectifier so that the current in the field coils can only flow in one fixed direction irrespective of the track polarity. This means that you can't use them on AC. You also need to watch out for the type of AC motor fitted as I believe that Maerklin have a motor type called a "C-Sinus" and also one called a "Soft drive", and I don't think that you can convert these to DC by replacing the field coils with permanent magnets or using the diodes trick. From what I've seen, I believe that they can be tricky when converting to DCC.

 

Maerklin have their own digital systems, MM and mfx, with their own decoders, and it is only relatively recently that they started fitting multiprotocol decoders that had DCC in addition to mfx. Older mfx decoders do not work on DCC.

 

If you like the look of a Maerklin loco, and there isn't a Trix version, check to see if there is an equivalent model by Brawa, Roco/Fleischmann, Piko, Rivarossi, Jouef, Tillig, or Mehano, but again beware as all these makes sell all their locos in both 2 rail DC and 3 rail AC versions, and the 3 rail AC ones may not be easy to convert to 2 rail DC.

[Philou]

I don't know if this of any help but seeing the comment regarding insulating the wheels - years ago I converted some H/D 3-rail locos to 2-rail. The way then was to drill out the wheels on one side in which you could put in a pukka plastic sleeve and push the axle into the hole within the sleeve (they were spares from H/D and cheap as chips at the time). In the end I used to do both sides and the loco was fully insulated. On steam locos the bogie/pony wheels I changed for Jackson ones. If the sleeves are still available, would this be not better than resin, especially if you can't get replacement non 3-rail wheels? Just a thought.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[GoingUnderground]

4 hours ago, Krazykrisbell said:

I really wanted a good looking Amtrak loco so bought a Marklin 33621 , forgot it was a 3 rail system. i've done a lot of DCC conversions so am used to disassembling locos. Anyone know if the DC wheel set trick will work on this model ?

The Trix version appears to be Trix 22590 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254738537675?hash=item3b4f999ccb:g:pEkAAOSwHfpfeXsT

[Krazykrisbell]

Yes thanks for all the info, decided to buy the replacement trix dc motor and bogie (x 2) for the upgrade , not too expensive at €19 euros a pop