I have the complete S+E+T1,2,3 set which Marklin have been marketing in the 70's, along with two transformers (the original 37540 and 6631).
Recently when I reassembled it for my grandson, the locomotive tends to run some distance, then stall. A soft push, or a reversal of the transformer switch, makes him run a bit more.
The set has been stored for several decades in a proper clean and protected storage, and the problem is disappointing; can something be done to fix it?

Make sure the rails are clean, give the locos a light oiling. that may help
NN

What you´ve got is the "good stuff" from Märklin (IMHO -of course).
Almost CERTAINLY you can make it work flawlessly, as the quality and mechanical engineering allows for a thorough repair and service in your own house.
New sliders (=power pickup-skis) traction-tires, motor-brushes/coals and reverse-unit springs can all be aquiered from Märklin spare-parts service.
Also, you must definatly pay attention to the all the advices from Tom ("H0").

But if you have rust on your rails you may have a problem though. Apart from NOT using any abrasives, you can use a wooden block to clean the rails, and maybe protect them with some WD-40 or similar (although this can have other adverse effects!) if the rust-attack is VERY strong.

Written off, WRITTEN OFF???? !!!!

Sacrilege. Go wash your mouth out.

The only times I can think a 'write-off' to be valid would be if something was dropped and obviously damaged beyond repair, (broken body or frame), or if the required parts clearly exceed the value of the item.

Being a 'red shunter', I'm assuming either a small DHG style Diesel or similar?

Why not pop up a photo so we can identify just in case it's something worth some effort?

Really, for it to 'die', there can only be a few reasons.

1: Most minor would be a sticking reverse unit, or sticking motor brushes

2: Slightly more work would be a broken wire, should be obvious

3: Most work would be burnt-out armature or field winding

The fact it 'died', indicates it was running initially. Really unusual for either armature or magnet windings to simply burn out, other than prolonged overheating.

Have you done any trouble-shooting?, do you have the service manual? (download here)

I guess if worst comes to worst it would still make a static display.

Cheers

Hello,

You do not have to download every page, you can download a scan of the publication as a PDF here (titled service manual):

http://www.lctm.info/Biblioteca/Libros/index.htm

Hope you get it running!

-Brandon

I'll give you $50.00 for the 3001 if you decide to give up on it.


Just kidding.

You will find all kinds of help from the people on this forum.


Welcome and enjoy.

Hi Eli,

Ok, well glad you made some progress. The other lever if you read the text on that page (now hi-lited), is the manual reversing lever. You don't need to remove the body to operate either of them.

The random stopping and humming may suggest a reverse unit out of adjustment and to check that properly, you do want the body removed so you can observe it in operation.

Once you have the service manaual downloaded, the adjustment procedure and how to check is explained very well in that publication.

It does sound however as if lubrication would also be very adviseable, but I strongly suggest NOT WD40. It's fine for what it's designed for, but not really for lubing your loco.

Assuming you have a car, in the mid-late 60's, Märklin suggested lubricating with normal everyday winter-grade motor car engine oil and is what would have been in the oil bottle 7199.

If you change the oil in your own car, and use a good quality oil, the fews drops left in a container after topping up your car would probably do for your loco's for years - you only need the smallest drop.

Failing that, Sewing machine oil is also good, you are bound to have a sewing shop not too far away?, or, failing that...., a hardware store and you want a medium grade general machine oil, even 3-in-1 is better than nothing, but nothing is better than WD-40!

Just keep a note of what oil you use, it may not be a good idea to mix organic and synthetic oils but I'm no expert in this area.

Finally, the 3001 in Red is more rare than the Green one, and quite sought-after. There's also a Brown version, numbered 3002, and number 3002 was also used for a Primex version in the 80's.

Good luck

Steve

Edited by user 01 February 2013 18:47:10(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified