HI Jay, sorry for your loss! I can't imagine outliving a child, but my mother did, and she is well.
I see you have posted a bunch but I don't know what scale you run, I only have experience with Z.
In the context of this thread I would point out that characteristics listed in my opening the interactions of the trains and controllers can differ a bit. But we are being pretty demanding here. We are looking for controllers that allow many different locos to crawl along and run smoothly at slow speeds. Due to all the different motors on the market now, gearing, lighting, tire types, this is a tall order and in fact the controller to run them all the same probably doesn't exist. The controller in your set should certainly move your loco just fine.
Now to your train set. I could not find a date of manufacture on the internet. The loco you have is either a 3 or 5 pole motor. The loco I have that matches yours is a 5 pole and one of my best runners. The real issue is whether or not it is gummed up from storage. Marklin used an oil for a long time that would congeal and cause "HOS" or hardened oil syndrome. If your loco has that issue then it will not run or it will run in fits and starts. It is not difficult to clean and oil them yourself but it is a process and it must be done correctly, particularly in the case of timing the running gear. There are shopkeepers that specialize in cleaning Marklin trains, zscalehobo.com here in the USA for instance. There is also a nice "teardown" video on the internet for your loco if you can find it! Also clean the track with iso alcohol on a bit of fabric in case it has corroded, these locos are limited in their electrical contact and benefit greatly from a clean track.
So the danger is that you could set up your train Friday and have it not work properly. And you probably don't want to get bogged down fixing a loco with your family looking on. If you have a knowledgeable dealer or friend with Z scale track I would recommend testing the loco this week, hopefully it runs well, if it doesn't I would bet quite a lot that simply cleaning and re-oiling it would have it running to spec in no time. There is tons of stuff about this Marklin HOS on the internet. Good luck!

Hello. Sorry for your loss. It would be great to get this running for that special day.

I know a video for this engine would be great but I am not certain which one you have. A photo could be posted. I think it is a black tank steam engine 0-6-0. This is one of the smallest z scale engines they make. This set has been made for years and if it has a wooden looking box it is very early. Here is a link to the Marklin catalogs, perhaps you could locate your set and figure out when it was produced. Remember z scale was released in 1972. Perhaps you could match the engine and cars. I am not certain which language these are in.

http://www.marklincafe.c...%20antiguos/PDF/Marklin/

Try this link for a maintenance page, but sorry it is in German. Towards the bottom is the steamer I believe you have. I believe with Windows you could install a webpage tool which will translate the webpages into English.

http://bautipps.z-kueppe...llgemein/lok-inspektion/

Breaking these small engines down can be challenge and losing a part can be a disaster. It is not impossible to do, most work can be done with a small screw driver.

I have never tried this but I understand there is a loco doctor who sets up a table at the train shows in Germany and cleans the hardened oil out of the locos using lighter fluid. This is done while you stand there and watch. I believe the engine is never taken apart. If you were to try this just keep the lighter fluid on the lower parts of the engine. The petroleum properties of the fluid will dissolve the harden lube. The wheels are where the hardened oil is, and on the gears inside. You might want to remove the body or shell. After cleaning, and drying out, oil needs to be applied to the little gears seen at the bottom. Hope you have some, it is usually provided with the set.

When you are ready to try it out on the track, use the original controller unless it is obvious it is damaged. don’t apply full power and keep it applied. This may burn out the motor. I try short bursts, first in one direction then the other to see if it has been broken free of the hardened oil. On the small engines, there is no light to confirm the power is being applied so be careful.

Best wishes, hope things work out well for you.

Edited by user 23 September 2019 15:52:54(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Hey no problem.

I think it important to let you know, no matter how old or how small these Marklin z scale pieces they just keep working.

I am not certain what kind of luck you will have with just alcohol but the stronger the better if you don’t plan a disassembly. Just don’t get rubbing alcohol as it has a component on it which is left behind when it drys. I get those small minty brushes used for between your teeth and come in a variety of width and really clean these small parts good.

This diagram might be useful

https://static.maerklin....1a7427c4791434541745.pdf

Take care

Hello.

It occurred to me that a controller was not included with some of the early sets. The controller should have a blue housing and say Marklin on it if they were purchased together. Don’t want to exceed voltage limits with an incorrect source.

Hi guys, I had forgotten that today was a public holiday and many stores were closed,so I couldn't get any of the recommended items. I will get them tomorrow for sure.
Carim is right the controller that comes with the set is dark brown and printed on the face : Marklin mini club. Electronic 05. Its also in very good condition. I put a meter to
it and at its maximum speed setting it reads just over 12 V. However when I touch the wheels with the wires and the controller set to 10 V nothing happens. I do not want to
exceed this voltage until I have worked on the loco first which will be tomorrow. d_landen@yahoo.com, yes that is exactly the type of loco this is, thank you also for the link.


Warm wishes
Jay

Hello Jay.

Maybe something like this should help.

Magnifier

Cheers,

Walter

Hi Walter and d_landen@yahoo.com
Walter thanks for the tip and link, I do have one of those but somethings just have to be held
in hand for the feel. But true,I need to get one that has a proper clamp,the
crocodile clips just doesn't cut it.
d_landen@yahoo.com,what a brilliant idea! I am trying to locate the parts,no one in my
neck of the woods has any. Sadly in the past year the few bricks and mortar dealers that
I dealt with have closed shop . So the internet is the option.
An aside: in my test runs I ran the loco without it body and my dear wife passing by
remarked "that looks like an insect!"

Thank you all again
Best
Jay

PS We need to talk controllers again on the other thread. Had to move from that as it was
not relevant to the topic.

A trick I was taught is to disassemble these king of things with everything inside a transparent plastic bag. Without doubt this limits how far astray things can go, though the coupling springs are still near impossible to find even when you know they're inside the bag!

Cheers


Chris

Hi Chris.thank you you for that tip. I will sure use it! What amazes me is the
simplicity of the Marklin design and its durability. As for the springs,I know I placed them
in a white saucer but one disappeared during reassembly.I tried walking on air but I was
still accurate enough to have stepped on it. I take consolation in that I found it on a tiled floor
a similar colour to the spring
Best
Jay