Yes, I have similar questions about the Z gauge can motors especially how long might they last and why are the locos so much slower with them fitted. The current consumption is tiny which means that Rokuhan controllers can be used which is a plus point.
ChrisG

Hi Rob

In the latest locos, Märklin uses CAN motors (long closed maintenance-free motors)
Here is an example on the BR95 ref 39095

It is fair to say they are not bad and probably not expensive (Märklin prices them at 25€). Regular bearings.
In the previous years (2004 to 2014) Märklin used Sinus and C Sine , SDS motors. They were much better (ball bearings, no brush) but they are not repairable anymore.
Another type used in the past years is the ironless rotor. First used on the Wurttemburgische C type (3611), here on the bR45 (37450)
37450 motor.png (1,462kb) downloaded 89 time(s).

Before this there were "coffee grinders". The ubiquitous Märklin motor (large, noisy and solid)


Cheers
Jean

Yes, and all the makers are using them now. Some Roco's still have open frame motors, but all are a 5 pole design. Very similar. Some have plastic housings, some metal. I think all Roco's still have replacable brushes.
Falhauber and Maxxon;s may be brushless, but are more expensive.

Thank you all for your replies which are greatly appreciated.

I certainly have no complaints regarding the motors, they are smooth, quiet and operate extremely well at low speeds (in the engines I have at least). Agreed, they certainly draw a low current with is good. Speed wise, I have no issue, in fact I have reduced the maximum speed on most of my locomotives. They are a quantum leap from the open frame motors that I grew up with - my old collection is Wrenn, which is obviously very dated now but the motors are still going strong, although I did get a re-magnetiser for the tired ones.

I was hoping that someone was going to tell me the Marklin motors were German made, with an almost unlimited life expectancy! However, I suspected that the lack of information about them from the manufacturer suggested that they were possibly cheaper and not a main selling point.

I also contemplated buying spare motors but figured that Marklin/Trix would maintain spares for some time. I also saw in the link provided by Lasse the conversion kits and I will have a look at that website in detail tomorrow.

Thanks again for all of the information.

Cheers,

Rob

My Württemberg Class C Model 3611 has a Falhauber motor but that probably changed with the most recent version from a few years ago.

It is very rare these days to see any Märklin locos with anything but the unmarked generic motors , which are at least cheap and easily replaceable. If they go away we had better hope that someone has a higher quality motor option from Maxon or Falhauber. That would be nice anyway if you have the money and the time to do that. I am more likely to face those decisions when one of my motors dies and demands my attention.

So far just a few have died and they were steamers with the gearbox input shaft immediately adjacent to the motor. You have to watch the grease levels on those or they will not last very long once grease gets pushed back into the motor. Some have come from the factory awash in grease and some have come without any, so it pays to check.

Yes, the early Württ C/18.1 had Faulhaber motors, and there was a "middle period" when they were fitted with Maxon motors. As I wrote above my 37112 is fitted with a Faulhaber and my later Württ C from 31021 is fitted with Maxon motor.
According to Märklin customers service the new motor from the latest Württ C, part E253759 can be used as a spare part to replace the Maxon motor (part E280560). So E253759 can probably also be used as a spare for the C's with Faulhaber, as the Maxon is marked with the same spare part no as the Faulhaber motor spare part no.(602620).
The Faulhaber and Maxon motors and gears in my 31021 C and 37112 are visually similar. They are both excellent runners but personally, I think the 37112 with Faulhaber, and msd3, is a little bit better than the 31021 C with Macon

this link has pictures of the Maxon motor used in the 37115, https://www.3rotaie.it/3r_Recensioni/Recensione050.htm
(same as in my 37112)

Picture of the Maxon motor in my 31021 Württ C, I do notice that the numbers printed on the motor are the same as in the picture of the 37115, 602620 + 286226. The 602620 number is the same number Marklin uses as spare part no. on the Faulhaber's alone in the early Württ C. In the later


Picture of the Maxon motor in my 31021 Württ K (it has a slightly different Maxon number, 286229)


I believe this post, has a picture of a C with Faulhaber
https://www.marklin-users.net/forum/posts/m357274-3614---which-kind-of-motor-is-it#post357274

As mentioned in my post above, I ordered spare motors for my locomotives. Marklin posted within 24 hours but parcel delivery from Germany to Australia is very slow at the moment! The motors have now arrived, and interestingly for all of the larger steam engines, the motors were essentially identical, as are the gearboxes. The difference appears to be the size of the gear cog which meshes with the driving chain. The gearboxes are easily removable from the motor and the cogs are metal. Unfortunately, I cannot comment on any other models aside from the ones I have but at least for these, my conclusion is that one replacement motor would suffice, provided the gears were not worn. I now have a few spare motors!!

I have posted a picture of all the motors with a copied picture of the locomotive that they belong to. I hope this is of help to somebody.

Rob

Thanks for the picture. it's quite useful.

it would be interesting to know the meaning of the HH + 4digit number? could it be the gearbox number?

One the identical motors, some of the flywheels look a bit different? is that correct?

you are probably correct, in assuming that most of the motors are identical, and can be swapped.

but sometimes there are also some differences in flywheel arrangement.

eg in this one with a double flywheel arrangement: (at 5:23)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8hqEE-AENQ&t=322s

Sorry, with respect to the HH number, I initially thought it may be the gearbox number but a couple of the gearboxes look almost identical but have different numbers. In the end, I thought it was more likely that the motors had individual numbers associated with their particular locomotive to avoid confusion. It may be that a couple of these motors are entirely interchangeable even though they have different numbers - however that is just a guess - there may be subtle differences that I cannot see. The most obvious one being slight differences in the size of the driving cog.