Apparently this is not possible. The DC system is 2 rail, although I don't understand what the purpose of the shoe on the bottom of the locomotive that is on most Maerklin Locos is for.

I have the 3 rail analog track. And my loco for DC will not run on it.

I have you tubed this and get no simple clarity on how to change the track over.

And the Maerklin user manual for the loco is terrible. Also it doesn't even think about running the train on the 3 rail track.

I put the new locomotive on the track and the MS2 immediately recognized it. But it won't make it run.

I'm beginning to think my earlier questions were not clear enough to get a usefull, hands on type, of answer to this.

Do I really have to change my track out to run DC?

Thanks,
Steve

Hi Steve

As Jimmy already said, it is not possible to convert M-rails for 2 rail DC.
The shoe on the bottom of Marklin locos is to pick up the + (or better said the "return") of the current.
What loco do you have? With or without the shoe?
If the MS2 recognized the loco, it should work, at least the communication with the loco is there....

Jean-Pierre

If your MS2 recognised the loco, then it should be able to run it as well, just like Jean-Pierre said. Moreover, the loco cannot be a 2-rail DC version - if it were, MS2 would not see it at all. What was the model no. of the loco? What precisely happens when you put it on the tracks?

There's been some kind of confusion about "DC" in your posts all along. Now that you have a MS2 and regular Märklin 3-rail tracks, you are fully set up for digital operation ("DCC"). You don't need 2-rail DC, nor should you want it.

Steve

You have to give us a bit more info to figure out whats wrong...

Did you buy the Marklin #37043 (BR80) from Reynoulds?
I did read in a previous post that your track is from the '60, by any chance are those the M-rails that have effectively a 3e rail in the middle? "3e rail" means also the "newer" M-rails or C-rails that have the "pins" in the middle....
The outer rails are one conductor, the one in the middle (rail or pins) the other conductor to bring power and digital info to the loko.
"2 rail" has nothing in the middle of the rails and uses only the left and right rail to get power and digital info to the loko.

If your MS2 "sees" the loko, it means there is a closed circuit and digital info is flowing....

Jean-Pierre

OK, so I went through your previous posts and I have figured out that you bought some kind of Maerklin set and were looking for a locomotive to run on it.
You also discussed the Mobile Station (MS) and Central Station (CS) and I assume you bought a MS2.

That means that you have entered the digital world and are no longer running analog.

It still works using the 3 rails, with the digital + being sent through the center rail studs and the - being sent through the rails (both of them).

So, here is what I need to know. What locomotives do you have? Just that one or do you have others?
You can use digital loks (locomotives) on an analog setup, but cannot use analog loks on a digital setup (as they will run at top speed).

Do you want to run using the MS2 or using an analog transformer?

If using the MS2 with older (M track), you need to connect the brown wire to the brown wire of a feeder track and the red one to the red one.
The MS2 should then work with the older track. You will have to ensure that you are not using a feeder track with an interference suppressor.

Once the MS has recognized the lok, it should add that model to the ten that you can directly access from the controls.
You can then activate functions and move the lok using the dial.

Please provide more details so that I can provide a more precise reply.

Regards

Mike C

Your loco is not defective. When you release the STOP button at your MS 2 and the stop returns after a short while, than you have a shortage somewhere in your layout. You must find where. I think that you are still mixing up a anlogue current connection with the digital connection. Get rid of all your analogue stuff and restart only with your digital devices.

Download this brochure

https://static.maerklin....57ac95a9a31493730041.pdf

and have a look inside for basic informations about Märklin digital. The advantage is, it is in English too. Also it explains a lot of MRR terms.

Do not know if you got a few C-tracks already. M-track and C-tracks are no porblem, because Maerklin offers special adapter tracks to use both type of tracks.

https://www.maerklin.de/...s/details/article/24951/

If you read the brochure and you have questions connecting your MS 2 via the track box to M tracks, comeback here for explanations, please.

Hi Steve,

This may be a silly question. Is your 6627 transformer COMPLETELY removed and disconnected from the track when you are trying to use the MS2? You CANNOT use both at the same time! If you tried using both at the same time, I suspect you destroyed the power output stage of the MS2.

If the track works OK with the 6627 it should be fine for the MS2. But you must remove any noise suppressors (capacitors) that are still on your feeder tracks as already mentioned by Mike C. The noise suppressor caps are connected across the leads on the bottom of the feeder track section. If you have a spare M track feeder section turn it over and you will see the capacitor that needs to be removed. If you have multiple feeder tracks you must remove the noise suppressors from all of them - not just the one you use to connect the MS2. Removing these will not affect analog running with your 6627 transformer at all. They are only there to reduce RFI (radio frequency interference). REMEMBER TO DISCONNECT THE MS2 COMPLETLY BEFORE HOOKING UP THE 6627 AGAIN OR THE MS2 WILL BE DESTROYED!

It's the MS2, not the loco. The MS2 goes into STOP mode and turns the track voltage off.
If this happens every few seconds then there is something wrong - maybe power consumption too high.
Make sure you only use feeder tracks without capacitor (radio interference suppressor) when using the MS2.

The MS2 should show the loco name "80 014 Museum". A different loco name could indicate that you are not using the correct loco entry on the MS2.

When I turn on my MS2's (gray and black), the screen says "STOP". I push a button and the light disappears. At the point I can control whatever train I have on the layout.

This is correct. But Norton wrote, only a short while later the red STOP sign returns. At my MS 2 and/or CS 3+ it happens always too, if I have an electrical short anywhere on the layout.

It is correct, the MS 2 shows the loco's name. But firat after it has registered. As long as it is registering you see a bar blinking with the word mfx, where this bar is building from the left to the right side. But to this stage you do not come, because your MS 2 shuts off before. Also the name of the loco is not shown yet in the display. You only get this all after a correct registration of the loco. First get to the step the MS 2 is accepting your release of the stop button.

Well, maybe. In the first post we read "I put the new locomotive on the track and the MS2 immediately recognized it."
I asked for the loco name to find out what this sentence actually means.
Maybe the loco had time to register between the stops, maybe not.

Tom,

When I first put the new loko on the track it came up with a name and I assumed it was the correct name for this little loko. So yes you read correctly - what I didn't know was that the MS2 had to run through a series of things internally to correctly identify this loko.

I'm a fairy quick learner but I do make some pretty horrendous mistakes when I first start out!! And this world of DC has me rethinking a bunch of things. I went through the entire track setup and found on switch that wasn't working correctly so I repaired that and have one switch that needs a bit of tweaking to allow the cars to run more smoothly on.

But I am happy with the track and how it all works together so my original work was how I usually do things. Slowly and carefully.

Thanks again,
Steve

That is fine. But may be you can explain him the usage of an analogue loco running on a digital layout again. Much more detailed as you did already. You are the much better expert for this as I am. I think we all here mainly forget quite often, real newbies are real newbies. You have to explain everything and very detailed. Even we are thinking it is so normal, we do not have to write about it. But from where a newcomer shall know anything, if we do not have told him before?

I do have a 3316 series 25 loko and am going to see if I can convert it to DC. I think it is possible and I am sure there are threads in here that will explain it for me. It's in excellent shape and I just got it back from a Marklin dealer for cleaning and tuning. It's only worth about a $100 so I don't think i can hurt it any.

Thanks again compadres!

Steve

It's not meant to work. Some folks are happy to see the loco running around ("works" if you only have one loco on the layout).
Trial and error can be fun.

Hi Steve,

I'm glad you got your MS2/loco running. Congratulations on that. It's the biggest step! All the rest is downhill and only money from here! I do want to correct one nomenclature mistake I noticed you keep making in your posts. You continually refer to digital control as DC. The correct acronym is DCC (Digital Command Control). DC is shorthand for direct current which is the other and most common type of analog control power used in the model RR world. It is also commonly referred to as "two rail" or "two rail DC" as opposed to Märklin's "three rail" AC (alternating current) analog control power. As baggio and Martii have said: do not confuse DC with DCC. They are two completely different animals.

Phil S.

Hi Steve,

To calrify; digital refers to electrical signals used for communicating. So, digital protocols are like languages. Digital signals (digital words so to speak) travel within the electric current; doesn't matter which, AC or DC. So, electric current is the medium in which the digital signals travel.

In turn, AC or DC currents use the metal rails on our tracks as its medium of travel. They don't care if the medium has 2 or 3 tracks.

Now, Marklin system is usually referred to as 3 rail: both rails on two sides plus the center rail that consist of studs; center rail in Marklin system is the (+) pole of the current while the other two are (-). Thus, Marklin locos have the current pickup under them and comes with axles that does not have insulation.

On the other hand the 2 rail system use the regular tracks as one side the (+) pole and the other (-). That's why 2 rail locos don't have current pickups; they have insulated axles and they draw the current from the layout by means of their wheels.

Now, in analog, there is no languages spoken between the command post and the locomotive. In analog, the command is the electric current itself. You increase the voltage on the tracks to make the loco run faster, and decrease to make it run slower. So, the voltage on the tracks is variable, volume decided by yourself.

In digital, on the other hand, the voltage on the tracks is constant (equivalent of your maximum speed in analog, usually 18 volts in Marklin system), and have to be there so the digital signals have a medium to travel in. A loco wouldn't move until you tell it to do so. This is done by the commands sent to the loco from your controller (MS2 in your case), and the decoder that interprets the command. In other words, there is the decoder standing between the motor and the electrical current.

In theory and practice, you can have any language (digital protocol) spoken within your 2 or 3 rail layout; MFX, MM, or DCC, both locos and controllers. Think of digital controllers and digital decoders as multilingual people. As long as they speak each others language, you'll have no problems at all.

Ok, which one to choose; 2 rail or 3 rail system?

That's totally dependent on your personal likes. I like Marklin locos, so to be able to use them without modification, I chose 3 rail system. If you like Roco or Trix locos, you can choose 2 rail.

There's also great advantage with 3 rail system while building your layout that is; 2 rail systems are prone to short circuits over crossings and turnouts. So utmost care should be taken when building 2 rail systems.

To recap: there is no such term as DCC or MFX system, or AC or DC system. The correct terminology is 2 rail or 3 rail. You can have any digital protocol on any system (2 rail or 3 rail).

Hope this makes things a bit more clear for you.

C.

Steve hi,

I don't know it is something specific about your Br80, but you must be aware that digital decoders are pretty picky about momentary lapses (milisecond gaps) in the current on the tracks. If you have patches on your layout where there's current conducting issues (reason being that digital signals dependent on the existing current), behaviour like these may happen. This is not something noticable when you run analog locos over the same patches as locos only care about the voltage and not the signals.

Best would be to buy/build a current detecting car.

Cheers,

C.

Well where it stops is where my analog lokos would also stop. It's a switch so I may have to find a replacement for that one. I replaced one other switch that the 80 didn't like also. I just received my new loko from Spain and it stopped on the same spot. I'll pull it from the layout and go through it and make sure it is conducting properly.

My new unit came with Loksound and my MS2 is recognizing the Loko properly but the sound is evading me.And the instructions came in German I think. So I am emailing him to find out where I can get english instructions. nice loco but no sound and the smoker is a smaller diameter from the ones I currently have. So DC must take a different unit.

NOT so fast, Steve.

You CAN run both systems concurrently. I do.

Digital is where you get the sounds. Some of them are very nice, others, so, so. You get them from Marklin digital (or Walthers/Roco digital).
l
The best sounds come from a digital steam loco of yesteryear.

So, keep going with a simple digital layout, like the one you have, with one or two locos, while around it you run the other system, analogue.

Mine is like that: Two rail analogue on the outside (Roco and Walthers mainly) and Marklin digital on the inside.

You can do this NOW, without spending another dollar.

Silvano

baggio - I don't have the room to run two systems.

Phil S. - My biggest problem is the switches. They are somehow blocking the current right in the middle. I took one apart this morning and saw where the spring was rubbing against the track - a bit of a short. So I realigned everything and it still doesn't want to let the Loko go past it at slow speeds. Several of the switches are doing this. At regular train speed it glides right on through but going slow it just stops.

I think I have a handle on digital, several reference articles from you good folks, it's that I think in order for it to work as it should I need to replace several of the switches. I'm thinking of simply ordering new ones instead of trying to get these to carry current and not short out. To really do it right I would need to replace the layout's track. Ugh.

Be well,
Steve

I will do this first as properly. I did a few further studying and came to the realization that the 24 draws 70 mA that's better. Also, the Kühn T145 manual says I ought to be looking for a smoke generator that's 16V-21V with small electric smokers reviews and in accordance the specs, the 24 must in shape that completely.