Hi, John,

Please note that the 5-pole armature of 35xx is different from the HEP 5-pole armature.
AFAIK you should replace the chip with the decoder and install a new armature for best results.

35xx locos have acceleration and breaking delays, but are analogue locos without decoder and without digital address - if this loco still has its factory configuration.

That 35xx 5-pole motor sucks... It sucks power... I'd say rip it all out and get an M kit with motor parts & decoder, or at least the motor parts and a decoder of choice. That motor belongs in the bin...

I have had 3 locos with that setup, and all I can say is that they suck... Mainly because the rotor has rather low impedance and uses way too much current and has bad torque... Even if they are "smooth" they are "powerless" as Delta when they meet some load like pulling a long rake of wagen around a bend or uphill...

Have even tried to use the 5-pole rotor from 35xx in Delta DCM motors - Smoother than normal Delta,
but oohhh - almost no torque at all, loco even slows down significantly in curves by itself... Sucks, Sucks, Sucks...! Period...

The ones I had (have) are 3528 E91, 3518 BR 18.3 and 3514 BR80...

No wonder they were in the catalog only for a year or so...

Rip it all out and replace with proper stuff... That's my personal recommendation...

John-I did this exact upgrade for a friend of mine. I would also suggest replacing the motor parts and using a Lokpilot or Loksound 4.0. Take a look at the Lokpilot manual as to how to wire up the lights for 'Swiss lights'. One thing that I have learned in doing a couple of Croc upgrades is not to slice wires. The splices can interfere with the movement of the 3 part body. I ran all new wires in the two that I have upgraded. Finally, I installed a wiring harness with an 8 pin socket to make it easy to change the decoder in the future.

Hi,

At last, I decided to rip out the old motor and replace it. Thanks - Juhan !!
Having had some success with the 60760 series with my other locos, I decided to go for the same 60760 decoder for this conversion.
There is also no point in having a good crocodile sitting on the shelf - gotta get on with the job to digital !

Having plucked up the courage to slice & dice with the croc, I am actually delighted at the outcome.
The conversion went pretty well, I thought, and there were no unforseen problems.
It helps that I had done some other conversions before I tackled this one.

The Croc now crawls along at a similar slow speed to my C-sine croc, so that is good news.
Lighting is also nice, with front and back switching over main lights and single light.

Here are some pictures :

Taking things apart :



One last look before the cut :



Wires all over the place :



Putting it back together :





My Green and Brown Crocs now side by side :



Some of my other conversions, here some electric locomotive conversions :



Here some steam locomotive conversions which I have also done :









I find these conversions an interesting part of the hobby.
I have learnt somethings about electricity AC and DC, and soldering, and decoders which I never knew before.
Sound installations are still some way off for me : for the moment, I am just happy to have all my old locomotives run together with my newer locomotives on the same digital system !!

Regards,
John

John,
Great, job done well.congratulations.

John

Well done John. Yes, fitting decoders and converting locos is part of the MMR fun. I converted my 3300 Crocodile (very similar in looks to your Croc) with a 60760 kit. It runs very well, although one day I might put a Loksound in it.

I find the 60760 decoder is OK for what it is. I don't like decoders with '65448684' speed steps, as it takes forever to get some speed on the loco, requiring multiple turns on the controller knob.

Quite right, Tom.

Nice work John,
I converted mine with a MArklin MFX Decoder and Motor Kit. Great.

Nev