It's simple really you can't go past Marklin for quality
and relability

Hi Gor
Welcome to the forum.

Yep - Can't beat 3 rail.

Dale's comments summed up the situation nicely.


Regards
Tony
(Chrome Dome)

Many(MANY) moons ago when I was a 2-railer, I used to cut my own ties our of balsa wood, and handspike my rails with the ends soldered together (no rail joiners). There are many who really like that level of achievement but for me at my age I really like being able to construct a really nice layout without worries of reverse loop connectivity and turnout polarity. I really don't mind the pukos (in fact on modern K and C track they are virtually invisible unless you really look as Dale and others have stated) and I don't mind the 1:100 and 1:93 length coaches. If that makes it a toy in some others eyes, that, in my opinion, is their problem, not mine. I love my Marklin trains.

Nice to hear guys!

Interesting topic, since I've used 2R systems in the past. The newest 2R are very good and reliable in many cases, but not all. It's been well stated above and the US market in general is 2r, probably 95% at least. It's huge and very diversified.

Local modelers don't scoff at Marklin. It's just foreign to them. They already have digital locos in 2R with great detail in construction and they are much cheaper in price. Also most use American models and the number of those available is amazing. Take a look at the Walthers catalog online. Marklin has very few models for these people and now almost none at all.

Marklin is thought to be oddball and unusual but not necessarliy undesirable. It's mainly considered "European" and it is. I know a number of 2R roaders and they don't hate Marklin, they just don't need it and the higher prices.

I've been on a North American forum for quite a while and love to tout the reliability of Marklin, but it hardly ever gets a response. 2R is less reliable by nature and is more susceptible to rail problems. ie: dirt, dust, grease, etc. I have found M to be far superior in that respect and it hardly ever stalls or fails due to those factors. It's the 3R system. It's just better.

I originally got into M through Z gauge in the early 70's since I had very little space for a layout. My first system was on the kitchen counter, then a small board, then a larger board, then an added room on the house with a really big board for Z, 5x9 feet.

That's almost a whole house full for HO by comparison. I easily ran 7 trains at once for visitors. No problem. Of course it is 2R and has all those liabilities.

Sometime later I succumbed to HO and used 2R for a while. I became disillusioned, however, with the quality of much of the stock. In those days the detail was lacking somewhat. But now with DCC systems available and much better quality they are really good and very competitive with M over here.

I went to M HO a few years ago just for kicks and don't regret it a bit. It's extremely reliable and well designed and manufactured but a bit pricey.

I was able to find good older stock on eBay from Europe. I particularly like the tin plate of the 90s' although the newer plastic models have great detail and are compatible. Things I like about M over the 2R would be as follows: They work anytime I turn them on. C-track is great, maybe not realistic, but very well made. I'm not a stickler for realism. I have no track problems or switch problems. It works and they work. I rarely have to clean any track pieces.

The detail is good enough and the locos are excellent and run every time I need them. The sound systems in the digital are good and realistic. In that respect, DCC has good sound too and even more types of sounds than does M.

Overall I like M for it's reliability and quality. What more can I say. I think that 3R is the way to go, but I'm in the minority around here. Marklin is considered a bit quirky but that fits me anyway. I've never been conventional, whether in politics, religion or model trains. I've been a scientist all my life and that probably says it all.

Cheers, Bob

I hate it when I hear people referring to Märklin trains as 'toys'. IMHO they are not toys, they are precision models to be admired, looked after, appreciated, and run on real layouts.

The 3 rail AC system is technically superior, and the quality of Märklin models is second to none - from what others say only Brawa and Hag match in the quality stakes. We don't have a large range of MRR available in NZ, mostly Hornby is available new, and I would not rate Hornby anywhere near the quality of Märklin. It's a shame that Märklin is not more widely available here than it is - certainly availability is way down on what it was when I was a child.

Possibly many of the 2r modellers critise marklin because they secrectly know its superior to their own, and cannot bear to admit it

Hi Gor,
You've really started something, and welcome.
Everything stated above is correct.
Märklin has always been 10-20-30-40% more expensive than other model railroads. That immediately counts out 80-99% of buyers (outside of Germany).
Many people outside of Germany, can only justify model trains as a hobby, by buying at low prices or second-hand, scratch-building from parts, or spending many hours on do-it-yourself parts of the hobby.
The economics of getting a complete, working model railroad weighs heavily in favour of Märklin, but only if you have the money to afford it.
Any negativity hides a significant jealousy factor, and that is part of human nature.
regards
Kimball

Märklin is "strange". True hxmiesa

Two railers are cheap - that is what a dealer told me one time. They then must be jealous also. This leads to dismissal and to talking down to 3 railers.

I saw the benefits of one set of wires going to the rails and operating several locomotives / turnouts through just two wires. Not so with many two rail layouts.

Problem is, there is not much available in three rail for railways outside Europe. Very little American and no decent quality British models exist. So if you want a US HO scale layout with locos other than F7s and PAs then you'd have to convert them. Most people will look at that, see the price and difficulty of obtaining Marklin compared to say Lifelike Proto and think "stuff it, I'll stick to 2 rail as that's what everyone else is using and I can run on the local club layout".

Think very carefully before claiming Marklin to be the best - last week I bought a Tomix Japanese N scale loco that will pull anything and can buffer up to a train without jolting the coaches, the slow speed control is that good. 2 rail, plastic body, and made by a subsidiary of the Tomy toy company. But it beats Marklin locos in silence, haulage ability, detailing and control. It was also cheaper than a Marklin Hobby loco despite being delivered from Japan by air mail.

I went to Marklin after noticing that second hand locos can often be cheaper than other brands, as shops tend to mark them down as they're no use to most modellers. However I'm frustrated by the lack of sensibly priced expansion steps for the control systems. I have an MS which is good as far as it goes, but there's no obvious next step as there would be with a Lenz DCC system. I can't get a box to plug in for point control, or a larger booster. The only available upgrade is the CS which is well out of my budget even at ebay prices. Compare that to the basic Lenz system I bought (a Compact) which I was able to add a wireless throttle and a five amp booster to as I needed to. Originally bought for a HO scale switching layout it now controls a garden railway, hence the booster and wireless.

This is one of the reason why I chose Marklin. When I started MRR with less collection, I like to try different layout configuration as many as I can, so it was easier for me to use 3 rail. Today, as I have more collection I have less interest in making different layout. I'm very happy with Marklin.

When I took my layout to the train show a the week before last, I had several people say when did marklin go to two rail. They had completely missed the pukos in the ties.
And I like the fact that my locs the shorter coaches can go around R1 curves and climb steep grades, and have couplers that don't leave cars behind every time they cross a uneven piece of track.

This is absolutely untrue .If you take actual production do you really find that Marklin models are less realistic than productions from other industrial manufacturers ?

I just invite you to put a BR 01 , a Serie 18 ( or 40100 sncf) beside another same model from another industrial manufacturer . Just do it real .No photo , no internet .
I'm sure many people never has done the experience ....because they can't !
Only one word : prejudice . I said : too much prejudice !(similar to lack of real & concrete knowledge) .
That's only internet : too much "talkin & blablabla" .

Interesting article, Dale. A few points, though. I agree that there are not many options for turnouts in K track, but I would not call the switches delicate or fragile, anymore than an Atlas switch is. As to use of Tortoise motors, that is what I use almost exclusively (except where space is an issue). Since the author is apparently using code 100 track in 2 rail the rail size of K is not an issue. The big issue here aside from track cost, to me, are the pukos. They are the one thing that caused me to hesitate before I dove into Marklin in the 70's. I have grown to accept them but they are still a detraction to me.

Actually, I have for some time been considering digging out my old (1960's) Athearn F7 ABA and doing a small 2 rail layout just for comparison. Just haven't had time to follow through. If I do, I will report my observations and experiences here.

Welcome to the forum Gor!
The 2-railers probably also want heavy metal locos .

Thanks for the kind words Rowan

When I began collecting, Märklin was the only brand I knew, or sort of. At the time I didn't knew the different between 3-rail or 2-rail and AC and DC, just that the Märklin start package I found on a market was great and funny to play with. Since then, I know that it was the right choice to use 3-rail, simply because Märklin has the best quality, and I'm mainly collecting old model train from before the sixties, where Märklin was the most dominating toy firm in Europe.

Regards,
Thor

A lot of good comments, folks.

For me 2-rail was never an option.
When I started my hobby, the 2-rail locomotives and cars I knew of did not have the samy heavy quality feeling as Märklin. Märklin was the only option. Later in life I have never concidered converting to 2-rail.
I do not care if a model is too long or too short, if number of rivets one the tender side is wrong, or if the lamps are a little bit too big. It is important, though, that "normal people" can recognize the model.
It is also important to me that the model runs well and is easy to maintain.

BTW, welcome to us, gor.

The Schwarzwald Modellbahn in Hausach is a Roco DC layout. Because it is a "show layout" reliability is very important. They use current conducting couplers on all the rolling stock to allow all the wheels of a given train to pick up power for the locomotive. I'm not sure if the large Märklin show layouts, like Minitur Wunderland, do anything like this (or need to with the 3-rail system). But that says something about 2-rail DC, in my opinion.

With relation to huge layouts and reliability, didn't someone post recently about such a setup that has to replace track segments due to the pickup studs wearing down? Two rail may need more cleaning but I bet the track lasts longer.

We use weathered K-Track on the ETE modular layout here in the SF Bay Area. It has been displayed many times.

The puko issue is totally bogus. Many many times I have explained to the audience that we are using a third rail to run AC/Marklin trains because the center studs are just not noticable to the layman and even to 2-railers that view the layout.

2 rail has become reached against 3 rail in about technology and good contact too in the rail...!

1/ technology : not in reliability ( some tests have been made ; Marklin and Fleischmann are the best . Roco is very far : less than half time .)Unfortunately there were not HAG in test .
2/good contact with rails : only two railers says that ! I'm sorry , for me it's completely untrue .Three rails offers more contacts less chances to be dirty too .
wheels to rails contact is still the Achilles heel of MRR .