Welcome to the forum   
Welcome Guest! To enable all features please Login or Register.

Notification

Icon
Error

Share
Options
View
Go to last post in this topic Go to first unread post in this topic
Offline dave55uk  
#1 Posted : 30 November 2025 23:17:22(UTC)
dave55uk

United Kingdom   
Joined: 15/09/2023(UTC)
Posts: 111
Location: Ely, England
A mate of mine, who buys and sells OO gauge model trains, has aquired an older Marklin 103 Electric loco (in it's orange & blue box).
How easy would it be to DCC this loco? I'm no expert so an easy way would be preferable if possible.
Offline EB421  
#2 Posted : 01 December 2025 00:13:51(UTC)
EB421

United Kingdom   
Joined: 10/04/2025(UTC)
Posts: 54
Location: UK
Originally Posted by: dave55uk Go to Quoted Post

How easy would it be to DCC this loco? I'm no expert so an easy way would be preferable if possible.


Same as any other Marklin loco, I think - you'll need a 5-pole motor conversion kit, a DCC decoder, and some soldering (unless it's a HAMO product in which case you just need a decoder).

Looking online, your friend probably has a mechanical reverser so will have slightly more difficulty than my 3320 (I just pull out the Delta decoder and the 21MTC carrier clips into the same spot) but it shouldn't be the end of the world.

If you're concerned, I'm sure Trains4U over in Peterborough would be willing to do this work - as long as you lent them some C-Track to test it on!

Edit:
I should probably ask - do you mean 3-rail DCC/mfx or the full 2-rail DCC for use with Hornby etc?

If the latter - it's a nightmare. I'm about 3/4 of the way through a 3320 - I've done the 2-rail conversion and the motor upgrade, but I haven't gotten a decoder yet. No-one has stock of the drop-in HAMO conversion parts, nor are there aftermarket replicas, and while the electrical pickups were thankfully easy to find - wheelsets are not. I had to disassemble and file down Lima replacement wheels to properly fit the original axles; needing a bunch of tools and vast effort.

So if your friend was thinking to do that - gently discourage them.
Users browsing this topic
Guest (3)
Forum Jump  
You cannot post new topics in this forum.
You cannot reply to topics in this forum.
You cannot delete your posts in this forum.
You cannot edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You cannot vote in polls in this forum.

| Powered by YAF.NET | YAF.NET © 2003-2025, Yet Another Forum.NET
This page was generated in 0.187 seconds.