Upgrading Marklin Locomotives

This is a presentation I made to the ETE (European Train Enthusiasts) on May 18, 2020. It's a tutorial that details all the parts, decoders and tools necessary to upgrade Marklin locomotives from analog to digital operation and goes into detail of the various decoders currently offered by both Marklin and ESU. I hope you enjoy it!

[@brianlaschkewitsch2855]

Excellent presentation!

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

Thanks so much. I'm always available if you have a specific question on any of the material here.

[@herricmountain]

Thanks for this great presentation. This will help tremendously through the jungle of possibilities to upgrade my old Märklin locos

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

Glad you enjoyed it. If you have any questions, or need any of the Marklin parts (I'm an authorized Marklin dealer), just ask!

[@davidemch2038]

Truly appreciated you taking the time to present this info.

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

Thanks, glad you found it helpful.

[@kenkorach9187]

excellent presentation, very complete and informative, very understandable and provided good leads to other options - well done

[@manuelpedrogao8955]

Robert, excellent presentation, very well explaind, and really will provide additional help on the upgrade of my very old Märklin AC locomoties that I really like. Thanks very much for sharing.

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

Manuel, Thanks so much for the very kind comments. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions or need assistance in getting any of the parts noted in the presentation. I typically have everything in stock.

[@wanndanneisenbahn]

"You"ll get a little puff" NEVER let the magic smoke out.

[@runeljungstrommer331]

Very informativ, thx!

[@johnsimon5546]

Amazing presentation. Coincidentally, I was born in Kassel and my father lived outside of Nuremberg for many years.

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

Cool -- thanks for sharing -- small world!

[@filipm2725]

Thanks ! Im a newbie in the Marklin Digital stuff.. and this explanation is awesome/interesting !

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

Great, glad you found it informative. Let me know if you need help with anything.

[@markjones1852]

Very nicely put together, lots of information I did not know. Thank you for putting this video out.

[@ModelTrainFun]

Very nice summary - thanks. Enjoy ;-)

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

Thank you. If you have any questions, just ask.

[@jorgemompo5826]

Great informative presentation Robert..! Thank you for sharing..!

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

Thanks so much. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me.

[@yvesfatton7685]

Trés belle présentation merci beaucoup

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

Jorge, thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@ETA555]

Great video 👍

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed it.

[@matthewbradley6675]

Well explained /chapeau

[@hansloeher2894]

I like the two undercover swans

[@herrkiwi3110]

From my understanding the ESU Lokprogrammer cannot be used to program the Marklin decoders. Having used the Marklin decoder programming tool it is probably not as easy to follow as the ESU Lokprogrammer but you can achieve the same results. The Marklin website can also be difficult to download sound projects from but they are there.

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

This is technically correct. The ESU LokProgrammer is better suited for ESU decoders and the Marklin programmer is best for Marklin decoders. The one exception to this might be the first generation of Marklin mfx decoders. These were initially produced by ESU (for Marklin) and -- way back then -- the only way to program these was with the LokProgrammer. That said, the ESU decoders AND LokProgrammer provide more options and offer more features, not to mention ease of programming and decoder customization than Marklin's products.

[@adamdelarozza1985]

Very informative video! My Marklin 3065 loco will not move, although the motor spins swell. The gear that engages the 3-coil armature is plastic and has stripped away. Is there a source for new gear parts , preferably brass gears? thatnks.

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

The plastic gear is still available. I either have it in stock or can get it easily enough. Please e-mail me ([e-mail]) and I'll be happy to help you get the part.

[@peterinaia]

Excelente explicação, tinha dúvidas ,qual decoders utilizar nas minha máquinas AC antigas pois os novos decoders e a própria Marklin não explica o que pode utilizar aliás são discriminatórios , não respondem a quem não fala inglês ou alemão.

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

Muito obrigado. Se precisar de ajuda, tenho um bom amigo que fala português fluentemente e sei que ele ficaria feliz em ajudá-lo.

[@peterinaia]

Obrigado pelo retorno apesar de ter passado um ano. Abandonei os decoders Marklin , minhas máquinas são antigas e todas Ac, uso a central 6021, então comecei a comprar os decoders Argentinos custam mais baratos e fazem a mesma coisa que preciso pras minhas máquinas . Os decoders Marklin são muito frágeis já tive que trocar vários pois uso transformadores fortes dos antigos. Então e jogar dinheiro fora usar os Marklin . E os que vem dentro do Kit start set, sai uma porcaria e aí da por cima com motor latinha descartável . Então só compro e uso máquinas antigas.

[@sunnysworkshop]

Is it possible just to upgrade the magnet into a permanent one of an old AC motor?

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

If you're asking if you can "only" install a magnet and use the existing motor shield/brushes and armature, the answer is "yes". Marklin makes the 3 different magnet styles as Trix products for their older analog (2-rail) and Marklin HAMO locomotives. You should realize that only replacing the field coil with a magnet, while allowing you to now install a digital decoder, will not improve performance. You'll still have the 3-pole armature and you won't achieve the smooth acceleration / braking or running at slow speeds as you will if you use the 60941, 69043 or 60944 kits which replace all the components and, in the process, you get a nice 5-pole armature.

[@johnknox2694]

I have recently obtained a Hamo 8347 heavy goods engine 44 originally purchased late 1960 early 70, I have no documentation, instructions or exploded view of the item, can you please advise me where I can obtain this information | have not had any success via the internet and no response from Marklin Hamo. Thank you

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

Let me know exactly what you need -- I'm sure I can help you.

[@sunnysworkshop]

Hello Robert, would you recommend a decoder to be able to used on analog transformers as well?

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

I haven't found where one particular decoder works any better than another if being controlled with an analog transformer. Of course, if you're just going to run it with an analog transformer, there's not need for a decoder in the first place. But, if you're planning to run it both analog and digital, then my answer is simply (again) there's no reason to pick one decoder over another, AS LONG AS the decoder supports analog (and in the case of Marklin, AC) operation. Any Marklin or ESU decoder will suffice for this purpose.

[@sunnysworkshop]

@@robertfrowenfeld5866 I have to give you some context about this. Marklin trains are scarce to find where I live and recently bought a locomotive with the decoder missing. I run an analog setup and now can't decide on what to do. For instance looking at this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fanGfmSeaMmBntk kinda cool to run with sound on analog.

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

@@sunnysworkshop Well, most of my experience is with ESU decoders. They run in analog mode just fine but -- to your question -- you CAN program these so the sounds will run in analog mode. So, if your intent is to run analog AND have sound, then I suggest you consider the ESU LokSound decoders (which I can sell you if you'd like).

[@sunnysworkshop]

​@@robertfrowenfeld5866 Sorry for the late reply, unfortunately customs here is a big problem. We can't even buy anything overseas. Now there is an earthquake on top of it.

[@ChrisS-ez3mu]

Where can I get the cd with the train manuals on it?

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

Most Marklin dealers and authorized Marklin service providers should have access to this. It was (and still is) a good reference for many of the locomotives produced around the time period the CD was first made available. These days, Marklin's web site has nearly all of these exploded views available. If you're looking for a particular locomotive in particular, let me know and I'll try and help.

[@ChrisS-ez3mu]

I am in so cal, very few, if any dealers here. I looked on the Marklin site and was not able to find the diagrams. Do you happen to have a link?

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

@@ChrisS-ez3mu Which locomotive(s) are you looking for? Please e-mail me directly. Thanks.

[@jamestownsend2662]

I am trying to find parts for a 5706 Marklin Engine...Any idea where to find parts??

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

Please be more specific. Do you have part numbers I can research for you?

[@jamestownsend2662]

I need pick up shoes for the engine .. I am new to the hobby do you have a email that I can send you a picture… please…

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

@@jamestownsend26625706 is a 1-Scale locomotive. This doesn't have a pickup shoe in the conventional sense. Please e-mail me ([e-mail]) and I'll see what I can do for you.

[@sunnysworkshop]

Can you enlighten us about upgrading a double locomotive, such as 3346?

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

Sure, happy to oblige. While this model does indeed have two motors, you would simply use a single decoder. Even the "regular" Marklin mLD/3 or ESU LokPilot should be able to handle the current draw since these aren't unusually heavy locomotives. Just put the single decoder in one unit (the one with the pickup shoe) and run wires between them to the other unit. There are already wires (I don't recall how many) going between them. You really would only need 4 wires: 2 for the motor and 2 for the rear light. If you can squeeze in a fifth wire, I would attach an additional ground wire to the motor shield of the rear unit -- you can't have too many grounds! Yes, Marklin uses thicker wires than really necessary, but I'm sure you can route 4 or 5 wires between the two units if you use the thin wire ESU offers. Let me know if you have any other questions!

[@sunnysworkshop]

@@robertfrowenfeld5866 Thank you, you cleared it up for me. I also have two 3000 mini steams I want to convert to a double as well. Your video is extremely helpful. 💪

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

@@sunnysworkshop One more thing... Whether you are converting the 3346 or doing the same sort of thing with your 3000's, as you suggest, remember that you will have to wire the "rear" locomotive's motor backwards. That's because (since they are back-to-back) one will always be running in the opposite direction as the other. So, once you get the locomotive WITH the decoder running in the forward direction, note the wires on the motor (blue / green for Marklin, gray / orange for DCC), you'll need to reverse these on the other unit.

[@sunnysworkshop]

@@robertfrowenfeld5866 One last silly question, do you think it is possible to convert a V200 to two motors? I saw this video and got really interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4mnp5Zopt1-bbs

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

@@sunnysworkshop The short answer is "no". I'm not sure why you would even want to -- I mean, this is a very powerful locomotive with the one motor it has. The front part of the frame doesn't have the proper size / shape opening for another motor. I suppose that you could modify it to accept another, but then you'd be faced with the problem of where to put the pickup shoe. I'd just leave this one alone. But I'd like to know how that guy filmed that video -- it does look cool.

[@tomsmaerklintrainlayout6742]

Hello Robert, just happened to find this video, and liked it a lot. We talked earlier about converting an older TEE, and I finally got it to run by getting a transformer: kzbin.info/www/bejne/epq4cnmCYrGkmdk. I was not happy with the driving / directional switching performance, and will convert it to digital with the kit I already bought. Looking forward to future conversations.

[@robertfrowenfeld5866]

Thanks for your kind words. Have fun.

[@tomsmaerklintrainlayout6742]

@@robertfrowenfeld5866 I'm having a lot of fun and you are helping quite a bit. BTW, I'll leave the TEE analog, as I just got a digital version...