A long time ago, I promised that I would post these comparative photos of the Maerklin and Hag Re 6/6 Loks.
Unfortunately, my Maerklin Re 6/6 was slightly damaged and must be returned. I did manage to take a few photos while I was inspecting it.

Here is the Maerklin 37320 alongside the Roco 69730 and the Hag 205:



If you compare the three models, you can see how each one has it's better and poorer features.
The Roco model clearly has the most detailed pantographs as well as being the only model with raised lettering and city crest. I am also going to give the Roco model points for the Swiss Crest on the front.
The Hag and Roco models have separately applied windshield wipers.
The Hag model's Swiss Crest looks like Chrome, but I don't like the little indent in the housing where the crest is inserted. Both Roco and Maerklin look more like the prototype in this regard.
The Roco model is the only one to have the white stripe extending fully around the locomotive body. This does not extend past the start of the footboard on the Maerklin and Hag models. Unfortunately, the footboard is a little too wide on the Roco model, so this kind of cancels out the advantage.
The Maerklin model seemed to be the heaviest of the three models. I did not have a chance to weigh them.
The Roco model has the slider mounted on the intermediate bogie, which allows for the outer bogies to be powered by cardan shaft. Both the Maerklin and Hag models have traditional motors, where the front bogie has the slider and the rear bogie has the motor block.
I did notice that the Maerklin lok is reversed when compared to the Hag Lok, in terms that the slider is on the bogie which is in front when the SBB FFS side of the lok is visible (Lok heading to the right). The Hag model has the slider on the opposite end of the lok, so that the SBB CFF side is showing. Normally, this is considered Cab Nr 1. You can also notice this difference by looking at the position of the air blast circuit breaker and the layout on the roof.
The Hag model has the best lighting. The light channels are milled so that there is a real headlights effect. Unfortunately, the Hag lok does have a problem with light leaking through the frame around the motor bogie. This problem can be solved with a little electrical tape or other masking agent.
The Roco lok has good lighting, but not as focused as the Hag model. On the red model, the lighting glowed through the locomotive shell, which was not satisfactory at all. This is a simple problem that could have been solved by moulding the housing in red instead of neutral plastic.
The Roco and Hag models have a driver in Cab Nr 1. All three models have detailed cabs.
None of the models have true close coupling. The Hag model (original) has a metal hook, which IMHO works well combined with my trains. The Roco model came with a standard Roco hook and loop. I have installed a Hag NEM hook, which works pretty well. The Maerklin lok comes standard with a Maerklin 7203 close coupler head.
I installed an ESU sound decoder in the Roco lok. The speaker is sitting on top of one of the bogies. The Hag has no sound. The Maerklin lok has blower and horn sounds. I noticed that the horn was set for continuous blast and not for single toot when F3 is pressed. I wonder if this can be corrected with a Lokprogrammer as I do not have a MS or CS. The Roco has the best selection of sounds, as the decoder can be bridged over two Motorola addresses, enabling additional sound options.
It has already been discussed in other posts that the positioning of the lok number and the crest is slightly off prototype on the Maerklin lok. The Hag lok has them in the correct position.

I am waiting for my 37321 Re 620. I have not yet decided whether I will run the 37320 as an Re 10/10 or operate the loks separately. I may choose to run the 37321 with the Re 4/4II from the 29859 (11376) and use the Re 6/6 with a 1980s/1990s Intercity or Eurocity as my Hag lok is analog and not digital.
In any case, my 37321 should arrive any day now and the 37320 has to go back to the dealer to be repaired/replaced.

In the meantime, enjoy these pics and this short review of some of the aspects of each model.
Oh, and for those who are curious, the photo in the background is a photo of the TEE Roland pulled by a Re 4/4II in the TEE livery and is in a SLM (Schweizer Lokomotiven und Maschinenfabrik) Flyer that I picked up in Switzerland as a child. I presume this is a bridge over either the Aare or the Reuss on the route between Basel and Luzern.

Regards

Mike C

Mike,
What an excellent writer you are!
I've been holding off purchasing this Märklin model until I could read more comments. However, I would like to see it in red livery instead.
According to what you may have researched, was it ever prototypically possible to use two Re 6/6 or one Re 6/6 and one Ae 6/6 for tandem operation? Were the Re 6/6 exclusively used in combination with Re 4/4, sunch as in the Märklin model?

Quite curious about a comparison between the driving capabilities as well!

David,
I did report that the Roco lok did have a problem with light shining through the shell. This referred only to the red models (63/699731 and 63/69736) and not to the green models (63/69730/33/35). The difference between these models is that Roco moulded the green loks out of green dyed plastic while the red ones were moulded from neutral (opaque plastic) which was then painted red. The result is that the paint was not sufficient to block out the light source underneath.
This is another one of those flaws that could easily have been avoided if they had taken more care in the planning, development and quality control in production. I don't think that adding red dye to a mould would substantially increase the cost.
It is interesting to note that after having a similar problem with the 63/69841 Re 4/4II that the problem was corrected on the 63/69845 model with rectangular headlights, but the problem reappeared with the next year's 63/69736 Re 6/6. I am waiting to see if the problem exists on the Re 10/10 Set from Roco, as I am very interested in the Re 4/4III from that Set.
As far as driving quality, the Hag probably has the best motor. The Maerklin model has the same motor as the Re 4/4IIs, which was Maerklin's standard motor type for years. The Roco model has a centre mounted motor with cardan shafts driving the outer bogies, which helps to give this model traction as well.
If I was to run them head to head, I would think that the Hag and Maerklin loks would probably either end up pushing the Roco model backwards. The Hag lok would triumph over the Maerklin lok.
As I stated in my review that started this topic, each of these loks has some aspects that are far better than the others and each of them has it's weak points as well.
I have several of the Hag loks, at least three of the Roco ones, and am waiting for my second one from Maerklin.
I am hoping that Maerklin releases the model in red next year, because I do not have a digital version of this lok in red (having returned the Roco version to the dealer).

Regards

Mike C

Thanks for the report Mike. Methinks I should get myself a Re 10/10 set.

Thanks for the comparison Mike. Great pics!!

Lutz,

The positioning of the slider can be a big issue with some modellers. I have read postings in the past where modellers prefer to have Cab 1 facing front and some of those and other postings/articles mention that the position of the slider under the front bogie is preferable due to signals and the positioning of stop/power cutoff zones. The fact that the model was conceived in the opposite direction than most existing models is a valid comment that may be of interest to some modellers.

You then go on to quote "I had not noticed this discrepancy on the Hag model until today." without any reference to what I had been referring to, which was the area between the buffers and the driver's door on the right side of the lok and how far the footboard extends along the chassis.

As far as the handrails, If you actually read the entire thread, you would have noticed that the issue of the placement of the UIC handrail was addressed in my review/comments on the 37321. You did misquote from that post, so you should have read the sentence about the UIC handrail.

I have not had the chance to closely examine the motor and frames of both of the Maerklin Re 6/6 as my 37320 had to be returned to Germany because it was damaged during shipping. Most of the detail changes were made to the outer shells (housing), including the additional antennae, headlight configuration, UIC steps and handrails, etc. The chassis should be the same for both variants.
In order to operate the Cargo lok as part of a Re 10/10, I assumed that the chassis (motor/decoder) of the 37320 was better designed for tandem operation, while the 37321 with the budget mfx decoder was better for solo operation. The lok from the 37320 seemed to operate much smoother than the 37321. I have not had the chance to compare the accel/decel and other decoder settings because, as I stated, the 37320 had to be returned for repairs/replacement.

If there were any other changes to the chassis that would make a swap non prototypical, please let me know.

Regarding the horn, you state it is already factory switched to momentary sounding and it is the older controllers that are not equipped to handle that function. This may be true, but as the horn is not constantly in use, it should have been designed to be a short sound for all customers and not just for those with a CS/MS. The older models (Re 4/4I) etc with similar sound module did not have this problem.

Your criteria for evaluating a model are your own. You are free to compare, contrast and evaluate models as you feel. I did not have the equipment to measure traction (pulling power) and other mechanical criteria. I gave a very basic review of those aspects of the model and chose to focus on the visual aspects aka "the look" of the model. The fact that I used different criteria does not take anything away from the review or any of the comments therein. You criticize the criteria that I use to review the loks, state that you use other features to guide your evaluations, but do not contribute any information of significance.

Respectfully,

Mike C

Lutz,
Here is an idea,
rather than attacking Mike for the criterias he used to review a model (his review, his opinion),
why don't you write your own version of Re6/6 review?

What's the point of telling everyone that your criterias are "technical features" and "performance" when there is no Lutz review to speak of?

Nuff said.

It would be my view that a model should be as close to the original as possible as this is what we are paying for.
Regarding any technical or running qualities then all models should run and operate well straight from the box as described in the catalogue. The only reason I can see to test anything would be to compare the running of different manufacturers and even then all should run perfectly with perhaps different noise levels. Only in the long term will we know who is best for reliabilty.
With regard to small details I do not have the knowledge of the original to notice differences but Mike has and is able to thne point out errors which are important to collectors but not always to those who just enjoy running the trains.

dave

Always same contributions circulating the same message...
...same biased & patchy comparisons under cover of "just an enthusiast's review"...
Marketing departments today takes a great interest in the value of "internet-image " of a brand ......

ON the first post of this topic , the author said :
"I installed an ESU decoder on Roco model..(...)....
...Roco model has the best selection of sounds....(...)...

So why did he installed an ESU locksound decoder ?
...or is he talking about the sound of ESU decoders at 120 Euro each ?

no report about which one has plastic body, which one has metal body ...
....etc...

Jeehring,

In response to your comments. I did not think it was necessary to repeat, once again, that Roco models have plastic body, while the Maerklin and Hag models have Die Cast shells. I did mention related details like the raised lettering on the Roco model and so on that might be unknown to modellers.

I did install a ESU Loksound (V3.0) decoder in one of my Roco Re 6/6 as I wanted to replace the OEM (non ESU) decoder that came with that particular model (69730). The other Roco models in my collection have OEM ESU decoders (no sound). When I stated that the Roco model has the best selection of sound, I meant that the ESU decoder. I should have added that the Roco model comes standard without a sound decoder. The Hag model is available with factory installed sound (for a surcharge) and the Maerklin model comes standard with a basic sound module.

In my posting, I was trying to keep it concise by not repeating details that may have been addressed in other threads about the 37321 or 37320:

https://www.marklin-user...aspx?g=posts&t=15658
https://www.marklin-user...aspx?g=posts&t=15494

Specifically, here is the original post where I gave a quick comparison of the models (based on photos). You will find that details like the plastic body (Roco), etc were addressed here:


I hope that this clears the issue up.

Mike C

I tend to agree with Brian here, we all have different aspects and expectations of this hobby and we are all free to express what we think about it... Unfortunately it sometimes tends to lead into "storm in the waterglass" discussions...

Remember, we all have our different preferences of what makes model railroads fun and worthwhile, and we also have to expect that other members may have other preferences...

I myself think it is great to learn things from the forum.

Well, I come from the Flash Dave School of MRR - it's a hobby and is meant to have an element of fun to it. As has been said before, there is room for all types in this hobby, the rivet counters, the non rivet counters, those who are modellers, those who like woodworking, those who write software, those who are into electronics, those who like painting their buildings, and those who don't. That includes Lutz and MikeC and all the rest of us.

Don't forget, the rest of the normal world consider us all to be complete nutters anyway, so it is best that we don't start infighting amongst ourselves.

I've just ordered myself the Marklin Re 10/10 set, these will be my first Ae 6/6 and Re 4/4 II locos, so I'm very much looking forward to getting and enjoying them.

As for Roco, well I only have 1 Roco, my Br 182 Tauras (see piccies in Stephen's 'What locos have you got' thread). It doesn't have any issues with light showing through the plastic shell, it runs very well, and doesn't lose much at all when compared to the Marklin version of the same loco (again piccies of the 2 in Stephen's thread).

Topic Locked.