Hi,

Bought from ebay (another) blown up 3048 in box. Did not expect much from it, but sometimes I get myself these kind of models just to see how difficult may be to convert them in perfect runners again.

I tested it when it arrived. Other than its poor appearance, as expected, it had a very rough running (not a single drop of oil or grease on it in many years), but it also shown some kind of jerky running, slow down-accelerate, slow down-accelerate...it seemed to have some mechanical issue/s. As I was quite busy at the time, I left the poor thing somewhere. At least, it could move by itself!

Today I've found some time and I've checked it. After removing the shell, what I see makes me think that somebody has got himself a couple of these 3048s, has dissassembled them and then:

1-re-assembled one with the best parts of both. (this one is not the one I've received).

2-re-assembled another with the worst parts of both (and yes, this is the one I've got).

I've dissassembled the motor, the reverse unit and the bulb holder and have sprayed some degreasing fluid on it, to check if the "hard point" went away. No success.

So I've started dissassembling it completely.

That's what I've got:

A bent cabin roof in a dirty, rusty and peeled off early body (which also has some bent handrails :D ):


Haven't tested the smoke unit yet but having seen the rest of the loco, don't expect it can work:


Very nice slider:


Missing oil foam in chassis and in motor cover:



I guess these wheels have many km on them...the yellowish appearance is wear:


Well, after complete dissassembly and some cleaning, what I had was this:



Fortunately these ones are quite well engineered...there are sleeves on the axles, and regardless of use, axles and metal gears were in quite good condition. Intermediate gears are made from nylon, what seems quite strange. I've overhauled another 3048 which was a later model and that one had metal intermediate gears.

A close looking to the nylon gears showed the problem:


(notice two bent teeth on the first gear)

So now there's some solution to be found to be explained...tomorrow.

How did you get the drive wheel axles apart? I have looked at my models and they seem press fit and I am afraid to damage them by pulling them apart.

Thanks
Darren

<font face="Verdana]Great report! Looking forward to the rest of it!</font id="Verdana]

Me too. I find it quite exiting to go that deep into a model.

Great work Brakepad

I've found the part you miss, just look here :
http://www.bahnhoefle.de...howdsearch20318:11000100!0,5145003760,203180

I'm actually cleaning the motor. Before I've just assembled the complete rod system, which had some issues. After deep cleaning and light oiling, I had to straighten the main rod which goes from the cylinder to the 2nd axle in one side (don't know its name in english if there's any), because it was bent outwards and got stuck when the nut was tightened. With all rods assembled, the axles did not turn smoothly.

After some work it seems that running gear is OK and awaiting the motor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9JXlVHYr_c

BTW: Is there a way to embed videos in this forum?

Brakepad,
Your picture of the drivingwheels shows the first or last drivingwheel is out of line.
The rod should have the slack on the same side and not the opposite side (screw hole).
To find other sprokewheels, there is a company in germany : Ritter restorations, they would have these spare parts on hand.
I'll come back to you regarding converting it into digital.

regards.,
John

OK, let's go ahead...

Rotor and motor cover were quite dirty:




After some cleaning, everything looks much better:



So we can start from what we had, chassis+running gear:



Step 1. Rotor&stator in place after cleaning:



Step 2. Motor cover+2 bolts slightly tightened



Ready to fit two foam cuttings from a scrubber in place:



Foam fitted:



Next stage: brushes, reverse unit, some oil, & 1st running tests "by herself".

As I do not have a new set of brushes, must refit the existing ones for now:



Reverse unit has been replaced as existing one did not work properly (fortunately I keep many reverse unit from previous digital conversions):



The contact plate has been welded and slider cleaned &refitted. Before I purchased it, this locomotive must have been modified (perhaps converted to digital and re-converted to analog for selling purposes). There's no contact plate for smoke unit, and isolating plate for bulb&smoke unit has been cut. Following picture shows bulb&bulb holder parts before refitting:



Prior to welding bulb holder wire:



Front truck parts, already clean &oiled:



Front truck assembly ready to fit:



Reverse unit, bulb holder, bulb & front truck fitted:



Chassis is complete:



Here we go!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1MC-5wNgao

Success! Alive again and smooth as silk.

Next step: body & tender. But I'm happy today.

Great, Brakepad!

Indeed great work, Brakepad.

I bet you got this satisfaction feeling when you saw it run.

I also enjoyed following your work.

Hi,

I am not sure about repainting the loco. At some point I was sure I would. Now, having dissassembled the smoke unit so I have had the chance to deep clean the shell, It of course shows its age (& the fact it has been quite a lot mistreated). But it's appearance is still acceptable. For now, I'll assemble "as is", but in the near future I expect to strip paint off the shell (also for the cylinders & wind plates) and repaint it. Meanwhile I'll have to get a working smoke unit and manufacture the part which holds the smoke unit in place (a sort of chimney insert, which is broken).

These are the pictures of the shell before cleaning:







And these ones, after:







Next episode: Tender.

Eric,

The part is not missing, I still have it, but it has a small bit in the upper side which is broken. I do not have a source for this part, but will ask a friend of mine to machine a part from inox steel.

Will post some pictures later.

Best regards.

Hi,

Many thanks for your comments that are much appreciated.

I think this is the last update for now as if I repaint the loco I'll have to wait until summer. In the meantime it would be helpful if I could get some advice about the best way to strip paint as I should repaint not only the shell but also the wind plates and the cylinders (the wheels would be a plus but I believe it to be quite difficult...any ideas?).

For the tender here it is, prior to reassembly. No secrets here.



Two ladders are broken and I was thinking about cutting them all, get the surface leveled and replace them by some metal ladders. I should first find these ones, though.

And for now this is the final result:







Not the best looking 3048 ever, but working now like a swiss clock.

Best regards.

I think it looks great as it is. I would not strip the paint off and repaint it.

If anything, re-touch the red edges, and maybe wherever the black paint has worn through to the bare metal.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck, and congratulations on such a lovely old lady!

Ray

Dale, I do think that chimney is a separate insert for all versions, as the casting process would not allow to get that part burr-free in the main casting with the required tolerances to insert the smoke unit. I own four of these models (2 "early" Märklin, 1 "later" Märklin, and a 3193 Primex versions), and all of them have this part as a separate insert. It seems, however, that the Primex insert is made from a different material, perhaps due to the fact that the Primex did not have the smoke unit fitted as a standard.

Your 3048 conversion to digital was a great help for me in the past, I even remember having sent you an email requesting some additional info on the smoke unit connections.

Thanks for your comments.

Eric, Ray,

Thanks. At first I thought that a new paint job would be a plus, but after a deep shell cleaning I've realised that paint is not so bad (actually, black paint is much better than my other "early 3048" which is supposed to have been much less mistreated). It's possible that I give red paint a try as red paint has lots of scratches and is missing in many places.

I purchased this 3048 very cheap (around 30€ including tender and scuffed box) and has been a sort of "experiment", I had planned also to carry out an "experimental paint job" on an "experimental cheap loco" but now I'm not so sure. I have a BR80 3031 with telex lying around, bought in similar conditions, but paintjob looks (and is) much worse, so I'll probably start with that one.

At the time I've started to dissassemble that little loco, if you are interested I can take some pictures of the process.



Many thanks Steven. Glad you all liked it.

Best regards.

For those who are interested in pictures of F800, 3008, 3026, 3048 and 3148 (all 01 097 in 'Osterthun' style ), just see my Picture Book.


http://www.osterthun.com/WRF/M3148.JPG


Regards,
Frits


Märklin 3148 in very good condition

AWESOME work!