My Märklin Memories

 If my memory serves me correctly, my first exposure, to what I now call my beloved Märklins, must have been a Christmas Eve in the early to mid-1940s. I remember vividly that they were classic tinplate windup locomotives and freight cars set up on the dining room table. There were two trains, each with three freight cars - one for me and one for my younger brother.

My locomotive was a very simple 0-4-0 with a two-axle tender (R 890) and my brother's was a two-axle electric (RS 900). We each had different freight cars which no doubt led to long forgotten arguments who was to play with what specific cars. At some point we each were given two more freight cars. I still have both locomotives and the cars, all a bit the worse for wear. The only box that remains is the one for the steam Lok and the brown box is marked RM 6.00, a modest price at best.

As Christmas 1944 approached and unbeknown to my brother and me, good friends of our parents asked them to safeguard what turned out to be a good assortment of 00-gauge equipment. We lived near in Wilhelmshorst about 5 miles (8 km) from Potsdam (southwest of Berlin) and with the increasingly severe air raids against Berlin, my parents' friends feared for their precious 00-gauge "Tischbahn." The result was that these trains were set up for us on the dining room table at Christmas time. You can probably imagine the surprise and joy my brother and I felt at being able to play with these marvelous electric trains. I seem to recall that there were three locomotives, a small tank engine, a small electric locomotive and a 2’C1’ express locomotive. Referring to Koll’s Preiskatalog, these were probably a T790, RS700 and HR700, respectively. There was "Oberleitung" or catenary. The lighted, at least I think they were, four-axle passenger cars and a fair assortment of freight cars were simply wonderful. I don't remember if the turnouts were manual or electrically operated but none of that mattered because these trains were so far and above the tinplate that we were used to. In retrospect and in light of our young ages, I am still surprised that my brother and I were able to deal with the necessary electrical connections without shorting everything.

I also recall being totally engrossed in what must have been a Märklin catalog and a photograph of what I now know to have been the 1939 Leipziger Messe layout. A 1990s recreation of this famous 00 gauge layout was described in an article in a 1994 Märklin Magazin.

Other than the continual air raids, my brother and I were not overly conscious that the war was coming closer and closer. Then came the night of April 14 to 15 and with it the big raid on Potsdam. We were terrified. Living very close to that doomed baroque city, Wilhelmshorst received more than a few hits and I can distinctly remember saying to my mother that we would soon die. Probably shortly after midnight, it was all over and water, electricity and gas were cut off. That also put an end to our playing with our parents' friends 00-gauge. By early May, the war was finished but it was still weeks before some electric service was restored. Still, we had to part with the Märklins but by no means did my interest in trains part with them. My brother and I went back to playing with our trusty old Spur 0 tinplate. I have no idea whatever happened to these 00-Spur Märklins.

1950

I came to the U.S. in mid-1947 to live with my foster parent in New York. Their boys had Lionel trains. Again, it was love at first sight and the Märklins all but forgotten. In early 1950 my parents were able to return to the U.S. and my parents brought our Märklin tinplate trains along. That same year my brother and I received our very own Lionels for Christmas. Skip ahead a few years. 

1962

We lived in a spacious apartment in New York and somehow my interest in trains revived. I began to tinker with 2-rail American H0. A year later we bought a house with a basement and I became quite serious about trains. I built my own track, loco and car kits. Some pretty nice things but, still being single, sports cars lurked and that was the end of trains once again. Please, fast forward to…. 

1984

It was 1984 and I vaguely recall that a gift suggestion mailer for executive toys came to my office. It featured a modest Märklin starter set. That triggered something. The die was cast. I knew I had to return to Märklin. My family and I had settled in Chelsea, Michigan after a corporate transfer and my employer had taken our house in Connecticut off our hands. The result was some extra money and my wife and promised each other something that we'd each enjoy. She opted for furniture and I cast my lot with Märklin, to my wife’s surprise. An ad in Model Railroader with a very German name caught my eye and I placed an order with Helmut's Hobby Specialties in Davenport, Iowa. Initially I bought the classic 3000, a 3039 and the 3310, a fair assortment of freight and passenger cars. My first layout was on the almost obligatory 4 x 8 ft (approx. 1.2 x 2.4 m) sheet of plywood laid on an old billiard table.

I’ll not easily forget the first time I ran my newly acquired treasures. Believe it or not but the smell of the warm oil mingling with the tiny sparks that come off the motor commutator were the same in 1984 as they were on those 00 gauge trains we were allowed to play with 40 years ago. Incredible!

Even though this was a very interim layout built mainly to become acquainted with Göppingen's goods, I couldn't resist incorporating my turntable. I also knew I had to have a "Betriebswerk" (Bw) or locomotive servicing facility. That simple layout taught me a great deal and became a planning tool for a more interesting and realistic layout. The Märklin 0700 Layout Book, Märklin Magazin and eisenbahn magazin provided much valuable insight into German layouts. Fortunately, I am fluent in German which made browsing through those publications even more pleasurable.  

1985

In the meantime, we moved from Chelsea to Ann Arbor and two years later I started construction of a separate train room. It wasn't some grand, huge affair because we had some thoughts about finishing the basement so our kids would have a place to entertain their friends. While, in the end, that idea never materialized, my train room's dimensions remained modest. By then I had added the wonderful 3300 Crocodile Anniversary Set. A Märklin layout without a Crocodile is not a real Märklin layout.  

Yes, a Märklin layout without a Crocodile is not a Märklin layout.

The layout construction followed classic American practice with the basic framework being 1 x 2s (25 x 50 mm) with risers to handle the tracks. The locomotive depot, named Michendorf; was built separately and then installed into the layout. Michendorf is the next station after Wilhelmshorst. 

The Wilhelmshorst station photographed sometime during the East German regime's time. I am surprised they even sent it to me.

The Wilhelmshorst station in 2003. Photo by Michael Taylor, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Everything was K-track with a mix of 2271, 2261 and 2267 turnouts. Catenary is a mix of Märklin and Sommerfeldt. In retrospect I should have done Sommerfeldt throughout but I think I was too anxious to start running trains that I opted for the simpler catenary. Signaling is a mix of semaphore style and modern light signals. All lighting is by means of a 100 VA industrial transformer. The lights are on the 12 volt tap for longer bulb life and reduced glaring.

Growing up in our small village, it was reasonable to name my station accordingly even though the countryside of my railroad in no way resembles that of the line serving Wilhelmshorst. My first industries were a chemical plant, lumber mill and gravel yard. The lumber mill cuts real wood not imitation plastic logs and the gravel yard processes real gravel. Both were served by a suitably well worn narrow gauge Roco Feldbahn (field railway). What Epoche or era did I choose? None, is my emphatic answer. I am very prejudiced to certain locomotives, freight and passenger cars and that’s what is on my layout.

1992

In late '92 everything came to a screeching halt. Since I had been tinkering a little with various electronic devices for my trains, I became increasingly fascinated with electronics and I also became an amateur radio operator. I became fascinated by vacuum tubes. They, of course, belong to the glorious era of steam. That infatuation lasted six years but faded rapidly by early ‘98. In the Spring of '98, we knew we'd be going to Europe for our vacation. Making a long story short, I fell in love again with my Märklins and the clincher was a trip to the shrine in Göppingen.

1998 to 2000

In the Fall of ’98 I returned to my trains and found that my layout needed some serious attention to its wiring. I gave some thought to expanding my layout since the finishing of the cellar was unlikely to ever take place.

I built a new control panel and used the opportunity to replace the unreliable blue Märklin switch boxes. I thought again about going digital but the cost of converting nearly 25 locomotives was very scary, especially so since our kids had reached college age. Dropping that idea, I turned to doing something about my Betriebswerk. 

My Betriebswerk from the old layout was retained pretty much as it was. In the foreground is the Liliput work train, a BR 44 is on the turntable. The electric Loks are in the background. 

It was, for all practical purposes, inaccessible. Fortunately, it could be removed as a “module” and that’s exactly what I did in early ’00. How to connect it to the layout? Tunneling through a non-load bearing wall was the answer. My bride wasn’t enthralled but said, “you could do worse.”  

The tunnel through the non-load bearing wall.  Trains go through the tunnel from the Betriebswerk to the main part of the layout.

As we uneventfully went into 2000, I also announced my intensions to retire in July. On my last day at work, my boss and one of the VPs came into my office and asked to sit down. They handed me a gift wrapped package and asked me to open it. It was a nice train book signed by everyone at the agency. Then they said, open it to page so-and-so. I did and there was an envelope from, of all places, Matschke in Wuppertal. Its contents stunned me.  

The other side of the Betriebswerk with its Sommerfeldt catenary. Here the Eloks are serviced. In the foreground are two new sidings I added.

Now, my boss knows of my train interests and that my favorite hobby shop is in Wuppertal. The envelope contained an extremely generous gift certificate. That evening I took my 99/2000 Märklin catalog to hand and went shopping. About four weeks later, I opened the package. An E18, a BR 96 mallet, an E52 and an Ep3/6 joined my Loks. There was also a Feldbahn Lok and suitable cars for it. Yes, retirement is wonderful.

2001

About mid-January I decided that I had had enough of my 1989 Märklin layout. It was just not user-friendly. It occupied the center of my 11 x 7.8 ft (3.35 x 2.38 m) train room with barely enough room to navigate around the sides. Even though I had removed and relocated my Betriebswerk in late 2000, getting at parts of  the layout was an exercise for a contortionist. The whole thing was just not very inviting. The straw that broke the camel’s back came about mid-January. I wanted to play a little with my BR 80 switcher (3504) only to note that the pilot light on the Trafo dimmed and the Lok barely moved. I stopped immediately, removed all Loks and cars from the layout and said to myself, “This is it. It’s the end. This layout has to go.”

That thought had already taken root in my mind some weeks before this incident. Taking pencil and paper to hand, I did some figuring and it didn’t take advanced calculus to figure out that a shelf-type layout around the periphery of the room would be more user-friendly. Further, it would actually give me more space. The old layout occupied about 55.5 square feet (5.16 sq m) but a shelf layout 3 ft (0.91 m) wide around the periphery of the room came out to be 80.5 sq ft (7.48 sq m), a gain of 45%! That clinched it.  

You have to start somewhere. I just want to show you this so that you get some idea of my "shelf" layout. 

By January 23, the old layout was history. It’s funny but I had no regrets breaking up all my scenery and detail. I guess the anticipation of a new, friendlier layout overcame any guilt I may have head about tearing down the old layout. Thanks to my trusty electric screwdriver it didn’t take but a few minutes to take everything apart. In the meantime my friend Carsten Ramcke, sparkplug of the Great Lakes Chapter of European Train Enthusiasts (ETE), came over and offered some very valuable pointers about what could be done with my ideas for a shelf layout. A few days later I started putting down K-track on the carpet after marking an operating area with masking tape in the middle of the room. This way I had my 3 ft (0.91 m) all around. Ideas took shape quickly. Carsten came over again and while enjoying a cold brew, tweaked my basic layout. He made sure that it would be a user-friendly, in other words a layout with real play potential. It would incorporate my newly finished Kibri “Calw” station renamed Wilhelmshorst, a freight depot, my industries which comprised the Faller “Marienschacht” mine, a gravel works, a lumber mill, and a chemical plant.

In the meantime I had begun to fabricate the necessary wall supports using virtually everything from the old benchwork. I am very fortunate to have a strong table saw and a band saw, both of which greatly simplified construction of the vital wall supports. Attaching these to the cinder block wall was done with carbide drill and screws specifically made for anchoring things to cinder black. By January 26, I had the first three supports in place. Others followed quickly.

On Sunday, January 28, I started to install the electrical distribution system similar to the one I saw under Jim Milas’ layout. Jim is an ETE member in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The system comprises electrical busses all around the periphery. I adhered as much as possible to the Märklin color coding. These can be tapped anywhere and thereby do a bit in reducing the wire jungle that’s the inevitable part of an analog layout. I went to the hardware store and bought red, green, yellow and black 16-gauge wire for the electrical distribution system.

February 6th marked another milestone and it is truly a mark of progress. I screwed down the first piece of plywood (3/8 in.; 9.5 mm), specifically the location of my Wilhelmshorst station. Taking some artistic license, my Wilhelmshorst station is actually the Kibri “Calw” station.

Carsten came over to see my handiwork on the 8th.  The next day I did much thinking, measuring, playing with track and more thinking. For example, I had to find the right grade for the connection to the Betriebswerk. That wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Then some checking, rechecking and still more checking about the location of the Marienschacht and the loading of my ore cars. In my case, the Marienschacht is not a coal mine but rather an iron ore mine. My ore cars are the 48444 set (98/99 catalog) and 48445 (99/00 catalog) and bear the names of various French and Belgian companies. I use them in a train with Gützold DB side-dump cars and the whole consist will be pulled by my Belgian 1’E (34156). I know this is not Epochenkorrekt (Era correct) but then I don’t care one bit.  

Marienschacht mine head. Coming in from the lower right is the Feldbahn (field railway) that delivers mine lumber.

One of my most valued tools for aligning track and maintaining the correct distance between parallel tracks are without a doubt the Krause Gleisklammern or track clamps. These nicely machined clamps are a must for securing 2205 Flextrack in position for cutting and then screwing down. Another tool you don’t want to be without is a good level. As a matter of fact, I have no fewer than three in use at all times. Things have to be level. After all you don’t want to set out cars on a siding and have them continually roll into oncoming trains.

Well, February 14 was a milestone day. A little after 11 AM, I had done a bit tidying up and successfully connected all the track. A simple ohmmeter check showed that there were no shorts and with that in mind, I decided to connect track to trafo. I took out my humble Märklin 3000 and set it on the tracks. Advancing the throttle, I was unabashedly thrilled that the little Lok moved out smartly.

I spent a fair amount of time juggling around my various industries to see what sort of logical combinations I might come up all the time keep in mind that the mine (Marienschacht) will have to make use of the Feldbahn (field railway) in some way. Then the proverbial light bulb lit up over my head. Why not have the Feldbahn deliver ready cut lumber to the mine. Mines always need heavy timbers. So, I’m going to have the Feldbahn use a bridge to cross the siding going to the mine.

Just about the last day of the month. I fitted all my track together with great care. With some depredation I plugged in a trafo, set my turnouts so that my little BR 89 could hopefully make it all the way around the incredibly temporary layout. I advanced the throttle and lo and behold the little switcher made it all the way around without hesitation. After several rounds, I let it rest and set my favorite steamlok, a BR 50 (3084) on the track and it too made it all the way around. All of this with just one feeder. Yes, a milestone but also great satisfaction at having come this far in about a month and a half.

The next day Carsten came over to advise me on the location and types of signals over some Warsteiner. We also were able to run a train. I did more painting, a job that was necessary before any roadbed was put down.

The first day of March marked two more small but important milestones. I put down some cork roadbed on the incline coming in from the Betriebswerk. I also airbrushed some track with water-based paint (grimy black) to make some very realistic looking track. I did not mask any part of the track. After the paint dried, I used an eraser-type track cleaner for clean-up. Don’t worry, it doesn’t take very long at all. Last but not least, I tested the track sections by running a Lok on them. It went flawlessly. Another thing I’m doing is to solder two or three pieces of track together; I confine the soldering to the center stud connections because the tiny contact tend to tarnish.

Well, lots of things prevented me from working on my layout but on the 15th  I got a fair bit done. After much figuring, thinking and whatnot, I finally found a way for the mine head, the gravel works and the lumber yard to be incorporated. These industries had to be located in such a way so that the Roco H0e Feldbahn could shuttle between them. At one point I’m going to build a small bridge for the Feldbahn to go over the sidings serving these industries. The Feldbahn will be powered by a small Atlas 12 volt DC power supply that also provides 17 volts AC for the H0e turnouts. There will be four turnouts on the narrow gauge line. This way the tiny Lok can be turned. By the way, this Lok has two names – one on each side of the cab. One way it’s Paul, after our son, and the other side is Lyn, after our daughter.

In the meantime (March 22 to April 5) my wife and I vacationed in Spain and therefore nothing was done on the Wilhelmshorst – Michendorf Bahn. Before going away, I started gluing down cork roadbed. On my previous layout, I used a solvent-based contact adhesive but on this go-around, I opted for a water-based material. Not that I’m a fanatic about smelling a little solvent, this job was so much bigger than the previous one that I didn’t want to risk a headache or other unpleasant side effects. DAP-Weldwood makes the water-based contact adhesive and I use cheap acid brushes to apply it. Putting down the cork roadbed does require a certain amount of care and planning and the time it takes is well worth the final result. Ballast will come later.

In April I took time to make nice wooden mounts for the electromagnets of my light signals. In the past, I had them dangling on their wires, not exactly very professional. This time the electromagnets are secured to wood block which will be screwed underneath the layout. This way I can get to them, if there’s trouble.

I can think about my trains again and while I don’t work on them every minute of every day, I am making progress. I’ve spent some time thinking of the best way to make the necessary supports for my Formsignale (semaphore signals) so their electromagnets can be sunk below track level. It took a little doing but I used my 2 hp router in its table and “machined” a long strip of L-shaped wood. The L-shaped strip is then cut into the proper length for the different signals. For example, for the 7040 signal you need a hole measuring about 3.1 x 1.2 in. (80 x 30 mm) and the L-shaped support is about the same length. I drill a ¼ in. (6.35 mm) hole in one corner and then use my Dremel tool with a suitable cutting bit to cut the hole. Takes but a few minutes and a few more to vacuum up the mess.

By May most of the signals located, work began on isolating the necessary blocks for them and making the requisite electrical connections to the track. After all these years of playing around with Märklin, I finally took the time to learn more about what signals go where and why. Carsten, located them on my layout and I was amazed at his expertise in this area but I decided that it takes time I take a serious look at signals and learn more about them.

On Friday, May 12, I had quite a scare after doing some signal wiring. I turned on my lighting trafo and suddenly all the signal lights went out followed by a tiny whiff of burning electrical wiring or contacts. I felt the electromagnets of the signals involved and, much to my dismay, the one for the most expensive one, the 7241, felt just a little warm. The fuse on the trafo had blown. Luckily with my semi-modular approach to mounting the electromagnets under the layout, I had the ‘warm’ one out in seconds. Ohmmeter in hand, I did find that the coils were intact. Had these or one of the three suffered meltdown, I would have been out of some big bucks. I took off the cover and found out right away that one of the sets of contacts had welded closed. It was my good fortune that that the fuse had done its job and the ‘welding’ was only superficial and quickly undone. To this day I don’t know what happened and will never know but it proves once again that you just can’t be too careful when dealing with these expensive signals.

Well, it’s the June 1 and after nearly two weeks on very, very little work on the layout, I’m back to it with much more vigor. I have come to realize that my layout will be very, very analog. So far I have not installed any ‘switching’ tracks, the kind that’s activated by Lok or car sliders. Subconsciously I probably decided that it is I who wants to be in control. I want to set turnouts, I want to set signals and so on. Is this heresy in this day and age of digital?

It has also become apparent that you can never have too many feeders and grounds. Sure makes for smooth running of my Loks. With most everything in place I did some voltage testing. With no Loks on the track, I arbitrarily set one of my trafos to 16 volts and proceeded to measure track voltage. I measured at approximately three foot intervals and was very pleased when within a tenths of a volt every point I checked was indeed 16 volts. Of course, running a Lok also proved that things were in really good order.

Decided to install Märklin catenary for the time being. It will enable me to run my favorite Eloks, such as the two Crocodiles and the E18. The first Elok to traverse a short piece of track with Oberleitung was my little red, single pantograph E 63 switcher. Then I became aware of Viessmann catenary and so ordered a starter set. Let me sum up that experience. The system is OK, if you don’t want to power it up. The galvanized (zinc coated) wire is not conducive to soldering and thus there is a conductivity problem. To make a long story short, I sold the starter set long before I decided to go digital. But, I am getting ahead of my story.

For each signal you need two feeder masts. So, with about 18 signals, that means 36 feeders. On the Märklin feeder masts, I unsoldered the red wire and substituted green to go with my color coding where green equals catenary. It may not be as bad as that because some tracks will not have catenary. For example the siding leading to the lumber mill will be without catenary because a large crane is on site and I don’t want to electrocute the crane operator if he accidentally hits the cat’ wire.

Well, it finally happened. I put up catenary for at least one track. My E18 ran beautifully but my Märklin Crocodile with the narrow Sommerfeldt pantographs got caught in several places. Since the Märklin catenary is temporary, I changed the Croc’s pantographs back to their original Märklin p’graphs.

Gradually things are beginning to resemble something that can be operated. Found some problems with the isolated sections of the mine spur but nothing that couldn’t be cured. Also got my 7241 signal to work properly. Using this with its 7239 advance signal involves a lot of wiring between the two of them and then the connection to the layout. Last of the signal/turnout switches hooked up, just in time since I have run out of blue hookup wire and Purchase Radio doesn’t have any at the moment.

I did some moving around of my industries, specifically, the gravel works. I think I found a good place for it and will even be able to incorporate a proper gravel pit. Now I have to see if any of the kitmakers have a suitable conveyor belt.

A much needed 2271L turnout arrived in less than three days after ordering it from Helmut Wilkniss. He can be counted on to be pretty darn reliable. I installed it immediately and the siding for the gravel works (Kurt & Kinder Kieswerk, KG) is pretty much in place.

Change of pace. I like black & white photography and with my digital camera you can do that. Construction site. Two Menck steam shovels (Kibri). A BR 81 is picking up gravel from the "Kurt & Kinder Kieswerk (Kurt & children gravel works). 

Did a lot of playing around with the Marienschacht Mine, the associated H0e “Feldbahn” and its connection to the lumberyard. The “Feldbahn” has to go over the spur going to the ore loading facility to reach the lumber yard. The thing that bothers me with the “Feldbahn” turnouts are the large switch motors and so I sent an e-mail to Matschke to find out if somebody makes an under-the-table switch machine for these tiny turnouts. Went to “Joe’s Hobby Centers” in Farmington  and found an Atlas switch machine for $7 and turned out to be the solution to hiding the H0e switch machines. I found a nice conveyor belt kit (Scale Scenics, Riverside, IL; No. 652-3508) for $9 to move gravel from gravel pit of my gravel works. I did find the assembly of the small white metal parts quite challenging. You can’t solder the white metal parts with an ordinary soldering iron unless you want total meltdown. You have to use gap-filling CA (cyanoacrylate) and that’s not exactly fun stuff to work with. The kit directions were not exactly clear cut.

The Marienschacht is located and that enabled me to put down a fair bit of Feldbahn track. I decided that three of its four turnouts will receive underboard switch machines. It will just look better.

Ore cars being loaded with red iron ore from the Marienschacht mine.

In late summer I soldered all the rail joints of the Feldbahn H0e track. I also discovered that power supply no load output is not what matters but rather the actual voltage available to the Lok. Then there’s “cleanliness most certainly being next to Godliness” when it comes to dealing with 2-rail DC, especially when the Lok is a tiny lightweight.

Atlas sent me an e-mail stating that I can send them the power pack and they’d repair it free of charge. Well, the service may be free but the over $7 UPS charge for sending it to New Jersey is on me. Oh, well. It didn’t more than a week before the new power pack arrived by UPS. That’s nice service.

Work on fitting in the H0e Feldbahn is making good progress. As I progress, I have to be careful that I don’t paint myself into the proverbial corner. I have to watch what building, etc., I place so as not to block access to track that is still waiting for catenary. I have to be able to get to all the track to take care of derailed Loks or rolling stock.

Last day of August. Started work on the bridge to take my Feldbahn across the mainline. Used plastic girders and CA adhesive. Much careful measuring required.

In September work continues. I placed a small order with Matschke for a single engine building and small coaling facility. Those are for the Lok (BR 81) serving the mine spur. Also had Herr Laag throw in some more Sommerfeldt masts. I also found out from Matschke that it is possible to buy a single replacement arm for a Märklin crossing. I had inadvertently damaged my 7592 crossing.

More wiring and soldering thereof. Got started on some of the wiring for the lighting of buildings and industries. Again, the color coding is retained. Yellow for supply and black for return.

Received my package from Matschke with a Kibri one-engine shed (9436) and a small coaling station from Faller (131). Again it is evident that Kibri has the best kits. This time I airbrushed many of the parts before assembly so that the shiny plastic finish would give way to a proper sooty, grimy appearance. Obviously an engine shed and a coaling station need to be grimy. I also received the crossing gate arm. Installed it in seconds. Works great. Also received some very nice back issues of Märklin Magazin.

A BR 80  has just delivered some coal to the mine spur's coaling and watering station. A Belgian Type 26, a DB BR 50 KAB and a DR BR 44 are in the background. My coaling station uses real coal. 

Late that year, I started with a small bit of teardown of completed work. The Feldbahn had to be moved a little bit. Nothing major but time consuming. Built a nice wall and installed the crossing gate. Nice to have it back after all these years. Spent the last months of the year with adding scenery, details, made trees, made rocks using a silicone rock mold. Tried finding Hydrocal locally but did not succeed. Paula and I went to a craft shop called Michaels and did find some plaster- and cement-like materials to make rocks. Plaster is too brittle when it’s dry. The plaster like material contains chopped glass fibers and the rocks that can be made this way are quite strong. All in all I am very pleased with what I accomplished in 2001.

The freight depot at the Wilhelmshorst station. No, that's not M-track but rather a new siding and the ballast has not had chance to become grimy.

2002

Fast forward to December. Everybody knows that in cartoons, an idea or sudden realization is shown as a light bulb going on over a character’s head. Well, a light bulb lit up over my head in early December. Wow, I realized that the Wilhelmshorst-Michendorf Eisenbahn Gesellschaft (WMEG) has some Delta locomotives in its inventory and if I could at least operate them as they are intended to be, I’d be able to get so much more out of my layout. The desire to operate with greater flexibility always nagged me and suddenly something made me think that, heck, I might be able to find a used Delta controller (6604) so that I could at least have a little bit of flexibility.

I casually inquired on the Märklin B&G to find out if anyone had a spare 6604 Delta controller for sale. Much to my surprise an even better offer came along, an offer I couldn’t refuse. A 6021 Digital control was available and in relatively little time, a barter deal was struck with the helpful ETE member.

Ah, the wonders of having a complete set of Märklin Magazines really paid off now. All those unread articles covering different aspects of digital now came to the rescue. I quickly learned that the 6021 could handle Delta and digital Loks. An added bonus was that my Delta BR 98.3 Austrian Glaskasten (3387) features an eight-key mouse piano meaning that I would not have to use up any Delta addresses.

A year before a good friend had converted several of my Loks to Delta which I ran analog. That still left more than a few requiring decoders. He had done many conversions and offered to do some more for me using extra Delta and 6080 decoders.

When my new toy arrived and before installing it on my layout, I set up a sheet of plywood in my shop, put on it a simple loop of K-track to try it out and to set the decoders in my Loks. The first one I did was my favorite BR 50 (3084/3484). Wow, those four-key mouse pianos are small. At first I forgot to set the GO button but once I did the Lok ran just fine. It was the start of a new era for me, a once ardent analogist. Yes, I know Delta is not full blown, multi-function, high performance digital but, hey, it’s just fun to be able to run a lot of Loks on the same track at the same time. I set the Eloks to operate off the track (Pukos), as suggested in the 6021 manual. It was December 10, 2002.

My idea was to be able to operate the WMEG both analog or digital but not both simultaneously. So, I took paper and pencil to hand and thought out how best to, not only connect the new controller while retaining the use of my 6627 Trafos that are needed for analog operation. In addition, I had to install the 6021 in such a way that it could be portable, that is, unplugged from the main part of the layout and plugged into the control panel of the Betriebswerk which was about six feet from the main control panel. I decided to mount the 6021 on a piece of plywood that could then slide into two L-shaped rails.

The next day, I installed and wired the Digital controller into the main part of my layout. The wiring, though soldered, is not permanent yet because I want to install a switch to change from digital to analog and the other way. On the 17th I wired the Betriebswerk so that it can be operated analog or digital.

Two days later the 6021 died. With a voltmeter in hand and some troubleshooting over the phone, all pointed to a very serious problem. What caused the digital disaster? I do not know. All I do know is that it was an incredible disappointment. The next day I sent it back to my friend with whom I had concluded the barter agreement. I was so discouraged that I didn’t even go into my train room for the better part of a month.

2003

While waiting the return of my 6021, I did some serious troubleshooting that, in the end, didn’t really reveal anything. The only thing I could think of was that I had inadvertently left the variable output of the 6627 trafo connected to the layout and put an additional voltage on the track. That combined with the output of the 6021 spelled trouble with a capital T.

Well, in February my controller came back but, as you might imagine, I was a bit nervous in connecting it. I made certain that the 6627 trafo was only used to power the 6021. I also wanted to check the amount of current a Lok would draw while operating in digital mode. I don’t remember what it was and, besides, it doesn’t really matter since I only needed a value to compare to what the next step of my test would show. So, next, I turned on my lighting trafo and everything that it powers. The Lok performed exactly as described above, that is, it drew 0.473 amperes. It proved that the lighting trafo did not, in any way, affect the 6021. Well, my confidence was restored, I am quite pleased and my digital disaster is fading quickly.

The idea of operating both digital and analog was scrapped. I wanted to keep things simple. My catenary became non-functional and a potential fringe benefit of that might be expanding my use of Sommerfeldt catenary, but that’s another story.

In terms of Märklin digital, I am probably still in the late 1980s. At that time none of my Loks had whistles, bells, sound, programmable acceleration and deceleration or smoke. Am I missing something by not having these? No, I don’t think so. For me the big appeal of this basic approach to digital is that I can park my Loks anywhere and I can do all manner of switching maneuvers “rangieren.”

In mid-April when I came into some unexpected hobby funds. Get this, a car nut in California offered me an almost outrageous amount of money for an old for-display-only steering wheel. With this newfound wealth, I headed to Jan Eisen’s Eisenbahn Shop, Michigan’s newest Märklin dealer.

Initially I had my eyes on his 1993 Dutch BR 50 (3419) and a 60901 digital conversion kit but when I saw that he had the Hindenburgdamm

The Hindenburgdamm BR 50. A Donnerbüchse in the background. 

BR 50 (37844), I could not resist. I added a 60904 digital conversion kit to bring my SBB Ae 6/6 (3332) up to date. On the way home, I stopped at an industrial electronics store and invested in a grounding wrist strap. I prepared my not always tidy workbench with a shiny and properly grounded copper sheet. I reasoned that by starting with an E-Lok with all its empty interior space, I would have little or no trouble finding a comfortable space for the decoder. I was right. Disassembling the old motor was the proverbial piece of cake. Doing the necessary cleaning and oiling before reassembling the new motor with its permanent magnet stator was another no-brainer. The booklet accompanying the 60904 kit is very clear and its color coded diagram needs no words to be understood.

After wiring the motor but not yet the lights, I set the address on the mouse piano and set off for my train room. With dangling wires in tow, I punched in the address on the 6021 and cautiously advanced the throttle. Movement! Wonderful! Reversing no problem. I had succeeded and with it came a new surge of confidence that I was capable of dealing with digital on the next level, that is, doing my own conversions. My next step was to tidy up the wiring and connect the headlights followed with a test of the lights. They worked just fine but were not in sync with the Lok’s direction of travel. That was easy enough to fix. Next I converted my favorite, the BR 50 with Kabinentender, to full 60901.  

Workmen are finishing the ballasting of a new siding on the WMEG. A BR 50 is bringing a refurbished tub tender to the Betriebswerk.

As of mid-November 2003, I have converted ten of my locomotives to one or another form of digital operation - Delta, c80, 60901...4.

Photo opportunity. From left to right Belgian Type 26 (ex BR 50), BR 194, Swiss "Crocodile", BR 50 "Hindenburgdamm",  BR 50 KAB. All five of them are equipped with c90 decoders.