Hello all,

I recently pre-ordered Marklin's #88651 V60 Diesel Hydraulic 0-6-0 switching loco from ZscaleHobo.com. I was told that this would come with a "can motor." Also, browsing Marklin's website for new models, I noticed that some of them are being equipped with "bell-shaped armature" motors. Then on top of this, I've learned that there are some models that have "coreless" motors.

I know nothing about these new designs!

Can anyone give me a quick primer on these? Or if anyone knows of a YouTube video on this subject, or information from another source, I'd really appreciate getting a link. (BTW, I just now hit on trying Wikipedia; I doubt I'll find anything.)

Many thanks in advance!!

Sam Robertson
Hollywood Low-Speed Rail Authority

Except in the Roco older can motors. The instructions show how to replace the brushes. Also my Mehano GG1 from the former Yugoslavia.

Or one could do a twin engine. I only have 3 pole motors, so could only do a "6 pole" motor. Rotated 60° relative to each other. Nice & smooth with lots of torque.


Cut two locos in half.

Thanks for all the helpful information guys!

I brought up this subject with Frank Daniels, ZscaleHobo.com. He was kind enough to send me this helpful image:

On this topic, in Z-scale we have 3 generations of motors:

3-pole
5-pole
"can" style motor

There is some confusion with the "can" style motor.
Is it actually brushless ?
What I mean with that is, does the magnet spin, but the windings are fixed in place around the magnets (opposite to the 3 and 5 pole variety where the windings spin) ?
It looks to be maintenance free, ie: no brushes to replace.

What about performance of the "can" style motor ?
It looks even smaller than the already small 3 and 5 pole variety.
What sort of torque does it give compared to 3 or 5 pole motors ?

I have a mix of 3 and 5 pole motors, here is what I have noticed between the two varieties:

slow speed operation
3-pole: jerky start, but can run slow enough after that
5-pole: very smooth start, and can run even slower than the 3-pole

torque (pulling power)
3-pole: good, can easily pull 4x passenger wagons
5-pole: equally as good as 3-pole, can easily pull 4x passenger wagons

I'd be interested to know how the "can" style motor performs against these two older motors

Hello everyone, hope all is well.

I believe the forum was offline for a time and then restored using an older backup device,and some of the posts are missing.

This comment is posted referring to the other comments on this subject which are now missing.

I believe that most failures to pull a string are most often not the fault of the motor regardless which one it is. I have always believed the three poles were slower to move, perhaps had a bit more noise but might be better able to pull a few more wagons. The five poles start earlier, are more quiet but perhaps have a bit less torque. The can (coreless) motors are quieter than any other and can pull on equal par to anything that is available. Technology had to move forward and Z had to benefit from improvements in the other scales Marklin sells. All this was to their and our good fortune.

A locomotive which cannot pull usually has something else which influences this. The track is dirty or the locomotive is on to steep an incline and has too many wagons attached. When these conditions exist, the motor doesn’t stop and burn out. Rather the drive wheels just spin and spin.

I believe we all have discovered what makes a difference is the weight of the locomotive and how traction is applied to the rails. The plastic/metal shell BR 232 can pull many wagons despite the fact that some of the what look like drive axles are actually cosmetic. The BR 94 is stronger than expected perhaps because it has all the weight of a metal shell centered over 5 drive axles. I have the BR 64 in both five pole and the new can motor and they are very similar is performance and capability.

I think it is not the motor which lets down the locomotive, but the locomotive weight and how it is able to use the power of the motor to move down the track. If you want or need to pull long strings of wagons, keep your layout flat and clean then buy some big and heavy locomotives. The more the merrier you won’t be disappointed.

I am certain others have some valuable comments to add on this topic.

Just trying to provide my opinions. I have searched for the best locomotives to pull long strings too.

Take good care

Zme

Edited by user 01 November 2024 20:43:10(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified