For a simple solution, you can get a few Märklin 74042 to distribute the power.

You can also get a few Märklin 74040: Do not connect the 60113 to the track, connect thicker wires to the output of the 60113 and connect the 74040 as needed to those thicker wires.

Or simply solder cables to the track pieces where you want to feed power. It's easy to solder at the pads where you normally attach the spade connectors.

MS1 and MS2 are totally incompatible. You can use the 24088 like a normal piece of track if you do not plug anything into the "ugly box".
You can even unscrew the ugly box.

The wires coming out of the 60113 are thin, but I wouldn't open the box. Either connect your own wires at the end of the original wires or cut the original cables somewhere in the middle.

Re "complaint":
The large premium starter sets include a 74042.

There are many different ways to get more feeder tracks. The "how to" information could be a bit better.

Hi 5HRR,

not easy your questions.

The track with Märklin # 24188 is just a plain straight piece of a C-track, 188,3 mm long. You find this piece on page 240 in the actual complete paper catalogue from Märklin 2015/2016 (CPCM 15/16) - and that's it – for the moment.

But combined with this track Märklin has an article # 194548 power connecting for the “start-up” system, which is only controlled via an infrared controller. You don't have it, so forget it. It is not compatible with the digital world of Märklin. If you want to know more, please look inside the CPCM 15/16 page 36. There you find the Start-up system architecture.

I guess, what you are asking for is the article # 24088 power connection. Please be very thoughtful with the article numbers, because sometimes they only differ in ONE digit, but have very different usage.

The article # 24088 you find on page 241 of the CPCM 15/16. As far as I know, this was for the MS 1 article # 60652. The “old” experienced digital railroader may correct me, if I am wrong. So both articles are no longer in production and superseded my newer models. So forget about them too, except you ow them already. Also I was thinking to buy one, because they are very, very cheap on the used market. But finally I did not, because I came to the conclusion the differences in the techniques and incompatibility to my equipment (only MS 2 and one digital box 60113 at the moment) brings me too much hassle. So I kept my fingers off from these parts. As also Tom wrote the MS 1 has nothing to do with the MS 2 (in grey # 60113 or in black # 60116 colour – but both controllers shall be technically identical). It is as it is and unfortunately Märklin uses very close or similar notations for different products.

But for your convenience here are 2 links to a Dutch rail wiki

wiring conncetion 1

wiring connection 2

showing in graphics three power connections ( in Dutch: Aansluiten Märklin = wiring diagram or as I write "power connection" or “power to the tracks”). It is a nice overview including also the old connexion with delta control sytem. Also no longer sold by Märklin, but still often used by “older” Märklinisti. (= Märklin fans).

Now I guess, that you got a 24088 for an MS 1, but you "only" have a MS 2 or MS 3. This will never work together. For a MS 2 you must have (no exceptions) as a minimum a digital box (60113 or 60116) for a power connection. The main reasons are a change in the power supplies by a new law and a different technique by Märklin. Märklin had to switch from the “Transformatoren” (transformers) to “Schaltnetzteile” (switching power supplies).

If you are not sure, what you got, just ask Google. Inserting “Märklin 24088” and search for the pictures, but you also get a few graphics for wiring connections. Always helpful to myself too.

If you want more assistance, especially for cabling to get more power input (you using the words “feeder wire”, but I guess it is the same?!) of your carpetbahn, please let me know. But please write all the articles you are using for powering, feeding and controlling your railroad.

Regards

Wolfgang

The 74042 has spade connectors at both ends. It is meant to carry current from one part of the layout to another part. Ideally you put one end of the 74042 next to a feeder wire.

The 74040 has blank ends on one side - but two plugs should be included.

So the 74042 is a simple solution for floor layouts. The 74040 or soldering wires is the better choice for permanent layouts.
I'd solder the wires before I glue the tracks to the ground. Those spade connectors sometimes fall off easily.

AH! The 74042 makes perfect sense then- thats exactly what I was referring to and needed for a temporary solution. I'll have to try and get a set, or better yet just find a source (cheaper than marklin) for a big box of spade connectors!

I use a multi crimper. It has several "notches" for different sizes of connector.

Correct, but I do have the same problem as 5HRR. The cables from the digital connector box # 60113 do have a thin profile from - I guess - only 0,19 mm² (I did not check it). At the moment for my small layout it is sufficient. But for a bigger layout either I must get a booster or a CS3.

Do you know, if the cables at a CS are also fix plugged in or are they exchangeable? I want to attach cables with a profile of 0,75 mm² from the CS3 to a ring main loop cable. With the "Switched Mode Power Pack" # 60101 I want to get 5 A power on this ring for multiple feeders to the tracks. But therefor I need a thick cable connecting a CS3. Is this possible?

Good point.

Remember however, that the amount of current the layout draws from the trackbox and wiring from it to the track is determined by the power demands of the locomotives and car draws (lights, sound, etc) on the track, not the physical size of the layout (in case anyone may be confused by that). So running 2 locomotives around a giant loop draws the same current as running those 2 locomotives around a small circle of R1.

If doing a fixed/permanent layout it is advisable to design for the maximum.. so figure out how many locomotives and other consumers you might have, with full lighting, and size the power buss for that. Then if you upgrade the power supplying hardware, the wiring stays in place.

For the existing track box, one can always open it up and solder in thicker gauge wires if one feels the need, but I'd expect that the wires are thick enough for feeding to a distribution bus that then feeds around your layout.

I'm afraid I don't get your point here.
The 60113/2/4/6 have a booster inside, just like CS2 and CS3 have a booster inside.
The CS has a more powerful booster (at least 2.4 A) than the MS2 trackbox (1.9 A).

Wires must be thick enough to handle the maximum current.
And the total resistance between booster and the remotest point on the layout must be low enough to allow reliable short circuit detection. Replacing the cables on the 60113 will improve the resistance a little bit.

Having more than one booster on the layout brings new security risks, it does not generally improve safety.

Beyond the length difference (74040 is 1m long, 74042 is 2m long), and that the 74040 doesn't have the flat crimps on the other end (as it appears to be targeted at the old plug style connectors used with the DELTA and similar systems) where the 74042 has the flat crimp connectors on both ends, I suspect the wire thickness (gauge) is the same between them.

Using a Mobil Station with a track box, doesn't require the Delta controllers and AC transformer for power, so things do depend on the entire electrical setup you are working with.

The Märklin cables ( http://www.maerklin.de/d...e/details/article/71060/ ) have a 0.75 square mm surface (though I'm not sure if that is the conductor area only (wire gauge) or also includes the colored insulation.) I'm not at home so I cannot take the calipers to the wires coming from the track box.

The area is pi * radius * radius, so for A=0.75 mm^2 we have a radius of 0.49mm or a diameter of nearly 1mm (0.977mm).
That puts it at around 19 gauge (AWG) which is at .91mm. ( http://www.firemountaing...ncyclobeadia/charts/6404 )
19 gauge wire has been rated to carry around 9A of current maximum ( http://www.rowand.net/Sh...ch/WireCapacityChart.htm )

This means the wires that come out of the track box have PLENTY of current carrying capacity for what a Mobile Station or Central Station puts out.

The only issue in power distribution, is thus the voltage drop along longer runs of wire. So if you have a large layout and need to distribute power to many places many meters away, then it makes sense to have a thicker gauge power distribution wire as the buss that runs all around your layout, to minimize the voltage drop, and then patch in with the thinner 19 gauge Märklin (or similar) wire at the track/switch/consumer. Use stranded wire (as it can carry much more current and is better for high frequency signals (aka the digital data modulated on top of the AC/DC power signals), but if color coded distribution wire seems like overkill, then a 14 gauge speaker wire should be just fine.

Bottom line, the wires are thick enough to supply the current the track box outputs via Mobil Station or Central Stations. Even if the cross section of 0.75mm^2 includes the insulation the thinner wire still has enough copper to supply the power from the controllers.

This is very interesting- so if there is a booster inside, one can use one of these with an additional transformer for each power block then? If so that somewhat helps explain why the things are so darn expensive!

As these sorts of discussions go, I get the feeling that Märklin's choice to use the term 'booster' helps lead to the confusion.

If I understand things, and correct me here Tom, the 'booster' does two things - it modulates the digital control signals onto the electrical power for delivery to the track electrical circuit, while also having some monitoring circuitry in it to detect short circuits to protect things. So the booster is a power amplifier, or power modulator maybe.

Each track electrical circuit can have one and only one, hence the need to electrically isolate the sections on tracks that are driven by their own boosters. Be the booster in the track boxes or central stations or MS1's (where slave's likely have some of their booster circuit shut down when slaved), the booster determines the power flow to the track. Its the upper limit on the power that can be consumed on the track circuit. The wiring must accommodate that level, to be safe. The consumers (locos, lighting, car decoders, etc) determine how much power is demanded and define the power actually drawn (so long as that demand doesn't exceed the ability of the booster).