It would appear that MTH has increased considerably their line up of Maerklin suitable Locos. quiet an impressive line up now .

Have a look here


MTH line up of 3 rail locos

Very tempting.

I'm afraid I will buy one sooner or later. But I dunno which.
Alco PA/PB would be nice. Or a tiny Challenger. Maybe a Dash-9.

At least they describe which motors they use: "The balanced 12-volt, 5-pole precision skewed flywheel equipped motor ensures that these locomotives will be the smoothest running engines on your roster."

Yep, saw that. My MTH GP 35 is a sweet runner, smooth as silk and lots of noises if you like that.

Nev

I like that PRR F-3A a lot. A bit easier to run than Marklin's massive 3 unit F7 set. Does anybody know if these models (MTH 3 rail in general) have traction tire(s)?

-Brandon

Anybody get their hands on any of the new MTH 3-rail items yet? As a re-alignment of priorities, looking at the DRGW F3 A-B unit set (MTH 80-2197-5). It says December 2013, but I haven't found any stock online yet (and few sites). Anybody have a recommended dealer for MTH 3-rail stuff?

-Brandon

I have been MIA on the forum here for quite a few months. I have been very busy with a little traveling but my time has been mostly consumed with building a Lionel layout for a client (ok, not Marklin, but at least it is three rail). It was originally a 12'x7' layout built in the summer of 2012 that i quickly added a 7'x6' extension to make it "L" shaped that I completed Dec 2012. In May this year, I moved it to a warehouse and I am expanding it to 37.5'x15'. It includes a 145" long double track scratch built trestle that includes a 90 degree curve and a 24" drop. The layout also has a 40" scratch built truss bridge that doubles as a hinged lift up section. I have also included 4 blocks on a main 100' "parade route (using blocks in Lionel seems to be something that not many are doing).

But I digress from this topic. I acquired a MTH GP35 some time ago and I like it a lot. I posted a thread here on the forum at the time I got it. The price was great!!. It runs very well. I acquired during the early fall 2013 a MTH UP Challenger with synchronized smoke. Unfortunately, I have not had an opportunity to run it yet. Ok, me bad!! It supposedly requires R2 curves. If I can find some time (LMAO!!) I'll run it and let you know how it is. I paid $555.00 for it, not including tax. I have thought about an MTH Big Boy (not sure it is out yet and I think it is the same price as the Challenger.

I purchase the MTH items from a train store in Miami, FL, called Ready To Roll. They do not carry much, if any, of the three rail HO in stock, but are on very good terms with MTH and can get items very quickly if in stock at MTH. In fact, the owner of MTH stops in on a regular basis to Ready to Roll. They do sell Internationally. At least one member here asked where I bought my MTH items and then went and placed an order. As far as I know, they were pleased with the service.

I do agree that they take a while to bring something to market, but I think they are getting better.

@Alsterstreek Was the one you almost bought the 80-2115?? A friend of mine bought the A-B pair and it is a gorgeous loco pair. He has not run it yet. When I saw it with the "Chrome" looking paint, I almost caved in and ordered one myself.

Are all these models have plastic or metal shells?Any photos and information about them?

Eureka!
The model looks familiar.
Years ago Fleischmann issued this model using the bodyshell of the Dutch NS 1200 series,rather peculiar in New Haven colors.
At least the wheelsets look very similar.
I always wondered how Fleischmann got the inspiration.
Now it is clear,they used the NH EP-5 as basis.
Whilst the NH EP-5 was designed by GE,the NS 1200 was designed by Baldwin.
Also,the NS 1200 has sharp angled noses whereas the NH EP-5 has rounded noses.
Learning all the time!

Foumaro,

Reading the product description, it would appear to me that most models are plastic shell with a metal chassis.

-Brandon

Brandon- I can't speak for individual models but you should be fine. Most US (made) rolling stock is famous for not rolling well, whereas most European made equipment is famous for rolling wonderfully. Therefore I suspect the Marklin boxcars will be mo problem and these locos are rated for some pulling power... Just an educated guess though!

Are you asking for photos of the Lionel layout and the trestle, bridge, etc? But it is not Marklin!!! LOL!!

If the answer is yes, I think I will start a new thread. I don't want to put photos of a Lionel layout in this thread about MTH 3 rail HO. You will need to give me a little time to put some things together since I am busy working on the layout as well as modifying a small Marklin HO layout for another client as well. And today I spent about 10 hours basically building a 10.5'x5' framework for another client for his Marklin HO layout. It's good to be retired!! LOL!! I do have a few photos and videos from the earlier versions of the layout so I guess I could go through the whole evolution of my work. Now if I could only find a few more hours in the day to have a life too!!

Robert

This katalog is very dangerour for my wallet.

Hi,

MTH (AC) 80-2175-5 GP-35 Southern Pacific for Märklin:

There is a German test report with photos on: http://www.stummiforum.d...ic.php?f=33&t=94589.

While according to MTH the minimum radius is Märklin R2, the user did not experience any problem running it on R1 and over turnouts (but he noted that the trucks had not any more slack though).

Note: The gent used a Märklin Central Station (CS) 2.

Attention: The test report states that the loco has a manual switch to change from MTH standard "DCS" to Märklin compatible standard DCC. In his case, the switch was on "DCS", which might harm the loco decoder when trying to activate it on a Märklin circuit. Thus, a Märklin user should make sure that the switch is on "DCC" before putting it on the track.

Gr. - Ak

At The Marklin Days last year I took a few pics of the models on the MTH stand. As they were either O scale German models or HO USA models, in a few cases, I didn't bother with too much detail but here are a few for those interested. I thought their details were quite nice and was talking to another seamingly very interested person, but he said whilst they were nice, he was into fine scale models so they weren't for him
Note they were running the "demo tracks" with a Viessmann Commander