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Offline dmphilipson  
#1 Posted : 20 December 2010 19:34:07(UTC)
dmphilipson


Joined: 20/12/2010(UTC)
Posts: 13
Location: Sacramento, USA
Hi, I'd like to create a vintage Marklin layout using pre-war/post-war track with a solid third rail, not studs. It will be small (5'x9'). I have plenty of track and switches to build the plan. Are there issues I should be aware of with respect to wiring, cleaning, utilizing very old switches, the single arm/single blade catenary, loks and running stock? Most of my running equipment is from the 60's through the early 90's; will this be problematic? Should I just think in terms of using the old track as I would stud M Track? I'd appreciate any suggestions you might be able to offer. Thanks. Dave
Offline Ian555  
#2 Posted : 20 December 2010 19:52:30(UTC)
Ian555

Scotland   
Joined: 04/06/2009(UTC)
Posts: 20,235
Location: Scotland
Hi Dave,

Welcome to the forum. ThumpUp

I look forward to seeing progress with your layout plans.

Ian.
Offline dmphilipson  
#3 Posted : 20 December 2010 20:05:00(UTC)
dmphilipson


Joined: 20/12/2010(UTC)
Posts: 13
Location: Sacramento, USA
Oh, thanks, Ian. I just retired and am returning to things I loved as a youth...Marklin!!!! Have a little house with just one room I can spare for trains. The layout will be small, but, hopefully, fun to build and run. Dave
Offline Ian555  
#4 Posted : 20 December 2010 20:15:32(UTC)
Ian555

Scotland   
Joined: 04/06/2009(UTC)
Posts: 20,235
Location: Scotland
Hi Dave,

I already have some solid third rail track, and intend to incorparate some of it into my M track layout, in my analog sections of the layout.

This I feel will look really good, when running some of my 1950's Loco's.

Ian.



Offline Ranjit  
#5 Posted : 20 December 2010 20:48:28(UTC)
Ranjit


Joined: 18/06/2003(UTC)
Posts: 3,008
Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, INDIA
Welcome to the forum, Dave! Have fun building your vintage layout!

Cheers,
Ranjit
Modelling in HO Scale - Era III & IV. K+M Track, Analogue + Digital
_____________________________________________________________________________

#Get Vaccinated
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"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need" - Marcus Tullius Cicero
"Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come" - Victor Marie Hugo
"If you can dream it, you can do it" - Walt Disney
Offline jvuye  
#6 Posted : 20 December 2010 22:51:08(UTC)
jvuye

Belgium   
Joined: 01/03/2008(UTC)
Posts: 2,881
Location: South Western France
dmphilipson wrote:
Hi, I'd like to create a vintage Marklin layout using pre-war/post-war track with a solid third rail, not studs. It will be small (5'x9'). I have plenty of track and switches to build the plan. Are there issues I should be aware of with respect to wiring, cleaning, utilizing very old switches, the single arm/single blade catenary, loks and running stock? Most of my running equipment is from the 60's through the early 90's; will this be problematic? Should I just think in terms of using the old track as I would stud M Track? I'd appreciate any suggestions you might be able to offer. Thanks. Dave


Hello Dave and welcome aboard!

Great project and excellent idea: retirement is the time to make dreams come true.
There is no special consideration using solid center rail track, except that you are dealing with old equipment and sometimes a little oxidation is unavoidable.
For cleaning, refrain from using any sand paper or abrasive.
I use lighter fluid (but carefully!!) on a rag to wipe the tracks before mounting them.
After that, the regular running of trains is all you'll need to keep it operational.: it removes the crud quite rapidly
In terms of wiring,I would suggest you feed your track every 3 to 5 sections (both power and ground!)by soldering a wire to the connecting tongue.
It may seem a little overkill, but please take this as the best piece of advice I can give to avoid/reduce frustrating debugging after all the track has been anchored down!
Another word of caution: the old catenary masts can be very fragile, as they too suffer from the dreaded zinkpest.
I suppose you are aware that until about 1951, the switches had single coil motors, (acting a bit as a flip-flop)and require 24 Volt supply.
They are recognizable by the fact that they only have two wires: one yellow for the lighted lantern and one black with a green plug for the supply.
Same apply for signals and uncoupling tracks of the same vintage.
Newer switches and signals have double coil motors and are recognizable to the three wire: one yellow and two blue.
These will allow you to build up a simple automated block system, which I always thought was the coolest thing on earth when I was a kid in the 1950's (I am still a kid, but now in the 2010's....BigGrin )
And if you discover problems with old rolling stock, you have come to the right place, I don't think any of your questions will stay un-answered for very long!
Once again welcome
Jacques Vuye aka Dr.Eisenbahn
Once a vandal, learned to be better and had great success!
Offline Soest  
#7 Posted : 21 December 2010 00:07:41(UTC)
Soest


Joined: 05/09/2009(UTC)
Posts: 201
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
My analogue layout is solid rail, a mixture of pre-war and late forties, early fifties. This is very durable stuff. The late forties rails have a bit of a copper glow about them which I find attractive. The single solenoid switches have a arm which emerges to turn the signal post. If this is not well aligned it will only turn the switch one way. Also on the cross track that I have the centre rail does not dip at the end resulting in a rough passage for the contact shoe. I find that the centre rail track works every bit as well as the stud track and has an attractive vintage look to it. The turn outs, especially, are nicely done with little touches like slight scalloping on the inside of the outer rails to accept the moveable rails in the centre. Have fun.

Cheers,

Mike
Why do grown men play with trains?
Their wives insist they are insane
But their dreams they won't let down the drain
'Cause there ain't no thing so hard to lose as those disappearing railway blues.
Offline YannisB  
#8 Posted : 21 December 2010 05:01:50(UTC)
YannisB

United States   
Joined: 22/05/2010(UTC)
Posts: 190
Location: USA
Hello Dave,
Welcome and good luck with your project. I too have started a large layout with all my "old" material. Nothing digital all analogue.

The biggest problem I have encountered and drove me to extreme frustration was the old M turnouts, of which I used a great number (I have two hidden stations with a total of 13 staging tracks). The problem I encountered was that although the actuating mechanisms (relays) functioned perfectly, the frog legs kept getting stuck. I tried everything imaginable (cleaning, lubrication, re-tensioning of the actuating springs, etc.) but nothing would solve the problem. It became very serious because my automated track switching was very unreliable (see my postings "M Turnout Problems" and "Building my New Layout".)

Finally, the only solution was to buy new C turnouts and replace the old M. I had to "re-engineer" (read modify) the C connections to fit the M track, but everything works just fine now!

Please feel free to message me if you need more information.

Regards,
Yannis
Offline hennabm  
#9 Posted : 22 December 2010 13:22:20(UTC)
hennabm

Scotland   
Joined: 22/09/2009(UTC)
Posts: 2,040
Location: Edinburgh,
Hi Dave
Welcome to the forum.

I am envious that you have made it to retirement age and can afford the time to devote to the project.
It is my ambition to set to with a layout once I finally retire (probably when I'm 94 given the current state of affairsCrying )
I prefer the slightly later period of stud contact from the late 50s to the late 70s.

You will have to post some pictures of progress etc.

have fun building.

Mike
1957 - 1985 era
What's digital?
Offline Joseph Meiring  
#10 Posted : 22 December 2010 22:06:17(UTC)
Joseph Meiring

South Africa   
Joined: 27/12/2009(UTC)
Posts: 1,157
Location: Western Cape Cape Town
Hi Dave/Mike
Welcome Dave - I started a small 1.9 x 1.2 m set up a while ago - I am close to retirement, not quite there yet! - all analogue, with some of my original M track and locos from 1959. I also prefer the stud period from the 50's to 80's Mike. I have about 17 remote turnouts and 11 uncoupler tracks, and there's still lots of wiring to couple up to my six 7072 control boxes! But it is great fun, seeing the layout slowly take shape - I also, like Yannis, battled getting all the old M turnouts to work efficiently, without dead spots, and getting them to work EVERYTIME, but have succeeded thus far! Something else I found necessary was lots of extra feeder tracks to ensure constant voltage. I have two reverse loops, one of them on a raised section, with a number of parking bays, to move from the inner to outer circuits.
After the wiring is complete, I then need to start on some station building and scenery...roll on retirement.....M track Joe
Offline steventrain  
#11 Posted : 23 December 2010 22:20:55(UTC)
steventrain

United Kingdom   
Joined: 21/10/2004(UTC)
Posts: 31,601
Location: United Kingdom
Hi Dave,

Welcome to the forum.Smile
Large Marklinist 3- Rails Layout with CS2/MS2/Boosters/C-track/favorites Electric class E03/BR103, E18/E118, E94, Crocodiles/Steam BR01, BR03, BR05, BR23, BR44, BR50, Big Boy.
Offline Renato  
#12 Posted : 24 December 2010 20:10:20(UTC)
Renato

Italy   
Joined: 19/03/2004(UTC)
Posts: 976
Location: Gorizia, Italy
Hi Dave,

A worm welcome to the forum from me too.

I wish you and your family Merry Christmas and an Happy New Year.

Renato
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