Welcome to the forum   
Welcome Guest! To enable all features please Login or Register.

Notification

Icon
Error

Share
Options
View
Go to last post in this topic Go to first unread post in this topic
Offline Poor Skeleton  
#1 Posted : 01 April 2022 21:43:33(UTC)
Poor Skeleton

United Kingdom   
Joined: 09/10/2015(UTC)
Posts: 550
Location: England, Cambridge
Hi,

Does anyone here have one of the BR212 models, 88216, 88690, 88691, 88695, 88699 etc?

I was slightly tempted by one that came up on eBay recently, but by the time I decided I was really tempted it had gone! What intrigued me was to see that it has reduction gearing in the bogies, which I would normally equate to good slow speed running. If anyone has one I'd be really interested to hear your assessment of its running characteristics.

Have a great weekend everyone!


Chris
Offline parakiet  
#2 Posted : 01 April 2022 22:44:49(UTC)
parakiet

Belgium   
Joined: 20/02/2017(UTC)
Posts: 280
Location: Flanders!
Hey,

I bought the 88217. A very very good runner. Good power pickup. Good slow speed. Good puller. I bought the same loco and a newer model on 1zu220.

Those two I still need to pick up, probably this spring!
Offline Zme  
#3 Posted : 02 April 2022 00:18:27(UTC)
Zme

United States   
Joined: 02/10/2013(UTC)
Posts: 760
Location: West Texas
Hello Chris. Hope all is well.

These are a model of the medium duty diesel locomotives which first appeared on the DB in the late 50s for both freight and passenger services. Because of its versatility it can be seen in use even today.

I do not notice gear reduction on this model. It will pull a few wagons on my hill layout. I know three, four axle passenger wagons is no problem, but a forth will be a struggle. The wheels will just spin but I will do it. The 88690 was the first model released and it came with the five pole motor, it is fast and not very noisy. The new bell motor is even more quiet but does not seem to add weight. It seems to lack the weight or gear reduction needed to be a top puller, but on my layout it will pull five to seven 2 axle wagons. I watched a YouTube recently and on a flat layout, it will pulled many more wagons than I expected. I am not certain how it will perform on your hills.

The frame and upper shell are all metal and it has a good feel in your hand, unfortunately this does not translate into spectacular hill or pulling performance. The upper shell just pulls off easily for cleaning. It seems to be firmly held on by the springy contacts for the LED light. The unusual aspect of this model is that the circuit board is not one piece and does not run the entire length of the frame. Over the motor there are two copper circuit bands which connect the two small boards on each end.

I have the v110/212 locomotives which I like very much. There are many followers of this locomotive series and they seem to hold their value. Now a days, prices for all z scale is very high anyway. I don’t think most models are particularly rare, but there have been a few which are dealer MHI releases. The Wiebe is one which seems rare, even though it is not an MhI. There is also an orange release which models the locomotives used when building the channel tunnel. (Marklin describes this model as a French export) Occasionally you will find some models available in the secondary market, but priced similar to new. Unfortunately some of the earlier models have been around long enough to be throughly abused.

There have been many model of this locomotive so you may find a number of different ones. Mostly, I see the red/gray ones and with two, of course double traction will provide plenty of power. The 100/212 has also been available as the centerpiece on various freight and passenger sets. The 88414 includes a red v100 locomotive with three green passenger wagons is a good example.

Z weekly was impressed with this model and did a short article about the older versions.

https://ztrainsweekly.co...2/marklin-v100s-br-212s/

This article says they are easy to maintain but this ease comes with experience. These are not like a BR 216 or 218 which are perhaps the definition of easy to maintain.

I still like this model and continue to add different ones to my collect when given the opportunity. Remember, the first model of this locomotive was released about 20 years ago. I find parts are somewhat hard to locate and like most z scale, expensive. It also seems the parts have been refined with each model release and newer model parts might not fit on an older model. I have yet to find the circuit boards for the older five pole models, so be careful working on this. The good news is, the motors are still out there, if you look.

Hope this helps.

Take good care.

Dwight

Edited by user 02 April 2022 05:20:57(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Offline Poor Skeleton  
#4 Posted : 02 April 2022 00:26:57(UTC)
Poor Skeleton

United Kingdom   
Joined: 09/10/2015(UTC)
Posts: 550
Location: England, Cambridge
Originally Posted by: parakiet Go to Quoted Post
Hey,

I bought the 88217. A very very good runner. Good power pickup. Good slow speed. Good puller. I bought the same loco and a newer model on 1zu220.

Those two I still need to pick up, probably this spring!


Thanks very much for the comments - I'm now even more frustrated with myself for not snapping it up when I could!

Cheers


Chris

Offline Poor Skeleton  
#5 Posted : 02 April 2022 00:41:43(UTC)
Poor Skeleton

United Kingdom   
Joined: 09/10/2015(UTC)
Posts: 550
Location: England, Cambridge
Originally Posted by: Zme Go to Quoted Post
Hello Chris. Hope all is well.


All good here, thanks - hope everything is good with you, too

Originally Posted by: Zme Go to Quoted Post

I do not notice gear reduction on this model.



By this I refer to the gearing in the bogie

88216.jpg

In the exploded drawing you can see the compound gear which will reduce the gearing in the bogie. (Probably not the right terminology, but hopefully you get the drift!)

Of course this won't help the traction, but it will reduce the speed. My theory has it that locos perform better if the first reduction gearing is the worm (which is quite a large reduction factor). Most (3 and 5 pole) Marklin diesels have a spur gear reduction between the motor and the drive shaft to the worm. My theory has it that, because this is a fairly modest reduction factor the load on the motor is still quite high and so slow speed running is not so good.


Isn't Z gauge fantastic for making amateur scientists of us all?!

Have a great weekend


Chris
Offline Zme  
#6 Posted : 02 April 2022 02:23:24(UTC)
Zme

United States   
Joined: 02/10/2013(UTC)
Posts: 760
Location: West Texas
Hi. Oh, okay, it obviously has gear reduction.

I have an E44 which has gear reduction which keeps this locomotive from being fast. I think of this one as a good puller.

The 212 is more similar to the newer 216/218 models. Perhaps.

Thanks.

Dwight
Offline parakiet  
#7 Posted : 02 April 2022 13:24:33(UTC)
parakiet

Belgium   
Joined: 20/02/2017(UTC)
Posts: 280
Location: Flanders!
Originally Posted by: Poor Skeleton Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: parakiet Go to Quoted Post
Hey,

I bought the 88217. A very very good runner. Good power pickup. Good slow speed. Good puller. I bought the same loco and a newer model on 1zu220.

Those two I still need to pick up, probably this spring!

I'm now even more frustrated with myself for not snapping it up when I could!




don't get carried away!
and don't buy this https://www.benl.ebay.be...14e49:g:hZ4AAOSwa4lhwgtp ;)
Offline husafreak  
#8 Posted : 02 April 2022 15:24:56(UTC)
husafreak

United States   
Joined: 09/04/2019(UTC)
Posts: 557
Location: California, Bay Area
I have the 88214 which I purchased new from a dealer not long ago. It is a nice loco.
This one still shows in stock at a couple of the larger US shops, maybe you have a chance with this version?
Offline Poor Skeleton  
#9 Posted : 02 April 2022 22:06:00(UTC)
Poor Skeleton

United Kingdom   
Joined: 09/10/2015(UTC)
Posts: 550
Location: England, Cambridge
Originally Posted by: Zme Go to Quoted Post
Hi. Oh, okay, it obviously has gear reduction.

I have an E44 which has gear reduction which keeps this locomotive from being fast. I think of this one as a good puller.

The 212 is more similar to the newer 216/218 models. Perhaps.

Thanks.

Dwight


I'd heard the E44 was quite a formidable little loco. It would actually suit my layout quite well, but it has no catenary which has put me off so far.

You're quite right that the coreless motored BR216/218s don't have reduction gearing between the motor and worm but I don't think there's reduction gearing in the bogies, unfortunately. I've taken my 88807 apart enough times, in attempt to get it to run more smoothly, I'm sure I would have noticed!

Cheers


Chris
Offline Poor Skeleton  
#10 Posted : 02 April 2022 22:08:37(UTC)
Poor Skeleton

United Kingdom   
Joined: 09/10/2015(UTC)
Posts: 550
Location: England, Cambridge
Originally Posted by: parakiet Go to Quoted Post

don't get carried away!
and don't buy this https://www.benl.ebay.be...14e49:g:hZ4AAOSwa4lhwgtp ;)


At that price I think I can resist the temptation! Anyway, getting stuff shipped from the EU is no longer as straightforward as it used to be Sad

Cheers


Chris

Offline Poor Skeleton  
#11 Posted : 02 April 2022 22:10:56(UTC)
Poor Skeleton

United Kingdom   
Joined: 09/10/2015(UTC)
Posts: 550
Location: England, Cambridge
Originally Posted by: husafreak Go to Quoted Post
I have the 88214 which I purchased new from a dealer not long ago. It is a nice loco.
This one still shows in stock at a couple of the larger US shops, maybe you have a chance with this version?


I'm on the lookout! Hoping to find something closer to home, but I do tend to get quite determined about these things!

Cheers


Chris

thanks 1 user liked this useful post by Poor Skeleton
Users browsing this topic
Forum Jump  
You cannot post new topics in this forum.
You cannot reply to topics in this forum.
You cannot delete your posts in this forum.
You cannot edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You cannot vote in polls in this forum.

| Powered by YAF.NET | YAF.NET © 2003-2024, Yet Another Forum.NET
This page was generated in 0.461 seconds.