I would say the first thing to do is to take your tracks and lay down a circle or oval on the floor. One of the tracks should have a red and brown wire attached to it, which you then plug into the transformer/controller. Try one of the locos on the track and see if you can get it to run.

A WORD OF WARNING! The transformers shown in your pictures are old and possibly dangerous to use due to insulation failing inside. I would be reluctant to use them unless they have been checked out by a qualified electrician. Even better, buy a new Marklin white transformer like the 6647 and use that instead.

Don't be afraid to experiment with running your trains. None of what you've got is particularly valuable and most of it is quite durable so you shouldn't be able to break it unless you throw it across the room!

Yes, I do.

First a Maerklin brochure (German/English/other languages) about digital railroad with the major items explained inside in English (page 24 of the brochure).

https://static.maerklin....57ac95a9a31493730041.pdf

But in your picture you show mainly analogue Maerklin articles (beside this beautiful S 3/6 Delta - which is already digital - article #33181

https://www.maerklin.de/...s/details/article/33181/

I attach some very old Maerklin brochures (all in English) about analogue railways.





It is a theoretical attachement for a start up into the world of a MRR (Model Rail Road - we do have a thread with abbreviations here at marklin-users.net. Sorry for the mistake inside for MRR. It is shortend as MMR)

https://www.marklin-user...tionary-of-Abbreviations

For further questions, please come back.

And then of course are the Maerklin websites from Germany in English

https://www.maerklin.de/en/

and the American website

https://www.marklin.com/

Have fun.

@Greenhutte,
You can also try to get in touch with Mike Mervine. He is in New England and might be able to help.
https://www.marklin-user...um/profile/1046-mmervine

You can also check with Hartmann in Intervale, NH (about a 90 minute drive)
http://www.hartmannrr.ch/new_hartmannrr/

The website says no phone at the moment, but I think you can still reach them by email

Might not be a bad idea to start off with a new 120V transformer (6646).

Regards

Mike C

Thank you all so much for your information (and thank you Dale for the offer! might take you up on that.) I'm going to get a new transformer (the ones I have look pretty suspect) and see if I can get any of them running. I will update you and I'm sure I'll have more questions!

Good luck by me too!! Enjoy everything, please!! It is a great hobby
Stefano

greenhutte, that is such a such a priceless possession. You have everything you need there. Catenary masts, beautiful metal wagons and locos, track planning book and loads of tracks. Time for you to burn the mid night oil and work on your layout:)
If I was to stay just 40 minutes away from Dale, I would visit him and learn from him as much as I can digest. I wish you good luck and eagerly waiting to see your metal beauties in action soon

Hi everyone, Thanks again for your help and encouragement. I wanted to give you a quick update! I got a new transformer (6646) and put together a small track and gave it a try... and it worked! All the track is old (there is one with a center rail which I think is older and then the rest in the green boxes) and it seems like some of the track pieces might not work, the trains would stop at them. So there was some trial and error and we swapped out a few track pieces until we got a working oval.

The newer locomotives (the ones that came in the white boxes) worked right away. The older ones had some more issues. I was able to get a few running but they needed a couple of gentle pushes to get started. And then one lit up but wouldn't run. I am wondering if they might need to be cleaned? They were all very squeaky. I didn't have time to try out everything but I'll slowly keep going through them.

Good progress!

If a loco lights up but fails to move, the usual reason is that the brushes do not make a good contact with the motor. Sometimes it is enough to clean their contact surfaces up, sometimes they need to be replaced. Also the little springs that press the brushes against the anchor may have become bent a bit out of shape so that they don't do their job properly. Feel free top post pictures if needed!