Hi friends,

Recently there have been some threads regarding Fleischmann conversions to 3-rail digital operation. I had already converted some of these locos to digital by adding the pickup shoe, the decoder and replacing the motor cover, which, as you know, is not isolated from the chassis (and therefore can't be used "as is" to convert the locomotive to digital).

However, while searching the suitable motor cover, I came across a website which sold some 5-pole re-motor kits for Lima & Fleischmann locomotives. You may know them (I didn't). The manufacturer is an Australian company called "ModelTorque".

If purchased in Europe, these kits are fairly expensive (around 33-36€ each, plus shipping, at least in Spain, where I've found no dealers). However, it is possible to order directly to ModelTorque and the price drops significantly.

As the leadtime to receive the isolated Fleischmann motor covers was long, and the price was quite high (15 € each!!), I decided that these kits were worth a try (in addition, I enjoy very much to carry out all sort of experiments on locomotives).

I ordered 3 FLM + 1 Lima kits, directly from Australia, and I paid less than 24€ each, including shipping, what I think it's fair having in mind that only the FLM cover would have costed me about 15€ and this kit includes the 5-pole motor, bolts& washers and a sort of big diode block which, fortunately, does not have to be fitted in case the locomotive is going to be converted to digital.

Dealing with ModelTorque was a pleasure in every way, and that's maybe the best thing you can say about any company nowadays (no I have no interest in advertising ModelTorque but when I feel that a company does not care about its customers I tell everybody, in this case I've felt that this company cares about its customers, and I tell everybody as well). They were very helpful, the shipping was fast & the package was very good.

OK, let's get straight to the point.

This afternoon I have had some spare time and I have started to convert another 4281 to 3-rail digital operation. I've got this one, as usual, from eBay. Fitting this kit is extremely easy & straightforward, in fact I think that it's easier than replacing the original motor cover (refitting the brushes is a bit tricky).

the "victim":



As you may know this FLM model is "almost" a Märklin locomotive: it has a very nice & detailed metal body (in fact the whole locomotive, including the cast bogies, is metal) and a motor which is very similar to a LFCM one. However, it has no chassis as the bogies are assembled directly onto the body.

After bogie removal & wire unsoldering (yes the two current pickup plates are already wired together)



ModelTorque kit beside the motor bogie, original motor already removed:



Original motor & replacement one:



New motor already fitted:





I have tested the motor bogie by itself so far. The original motor was silent & smooth, but this one is even quieter & smoother. The starting voltage is extremely low. I have to wait until the loco is fully assembled again in order to test its new pulling power and its behaviour with the decoder. But, so far, it seems to be an improvement.

I'll keep you posted.

Regards.

Thanks a lot to you, Jacques...don't know if you saw this topic:

https://www.marklin-user...ult.aspx?g=posts&t=13158

Regarding ModelTorque, their website is http://www.modeltorque.com.au/

Best regards.

Hi,

Where can you verify the MLF-55 is a five pole motor? Here are two web pages that seem to call it a three pole motor (I'm little unsure on translation of the German):
https://www.hood.de/arti...leischmann-lok.htm?sec=1 and http://www.adeboer.de/lang1/for_fleischmann.html

The modeltorque and other web pages I've googled don't mention the number of poles.

Thanks

It's a five pole armature, folks.

I have these motors at home and in fact it's not difficult to count them.

Regards.

Hi,

I've been somewhat busy these days but last weekend I was able to finish the work.

I did not take pictures of the process, as this has been quite straightforward. Only details to mention are pickup shoe installation, LED lighting & decoder setup (UHL 76320 is perfect for this loco). Nothing really special. Now this loco runs even smoother that with the original FLM motor (and the original motor is very silent & smooth!).

Some pictures of the "final" product:



Slider:


LED lighting (sorry for the poor quality). I have noticed that the upper headlight is not as bright as the others. I wonder if this could be solved by replacing the LED (has it something to do with LED angle?). However, it will remain as is by the moment:



After this one (which did not give much trouble as it was close to "brand new condition") I've got myself another "heavy metal" FLM model. An E40. I'll show the conversion process in another thread if someone interested. This will be much deeper-the loco is quite old and will be completely dissassembled:



Regards.

Hi,

Sorry for the delay in replying but I just noticed your question. That's right, I used the lower current pickup plate, I cut the side plates so there was no shortcircuit between the plate & the wheels, and I attached the pickup shoe. In this locomotive it was fairly easy-it seemes that everything was prepared in order to attach it. The E40 I'm converting right now is a nightmare and I've had to machine a new bogie.