Hello, hope all is well.

I have the DB versions of this locomotive, with both the 5 pole motor and the coreless. I like this locomotive it has a more prototypical appearance with the detailed drive rods and brakes, etc. It is nice that it lights going forward or when reversed. It runs smooth and quiet, with either motor. There is a lot to like, but is is expensive compared to others which can actually run better. I know everything is expensive now.

It seems this locomotive is a lightweight. While all three drive axles pull, perhaps the two sets of sprung pilot wheels are keeping the weight it has from being focused on the rails. It does not pull as well as a 8895, BR 74 which has an unsparing pilot wheel at the front and is also a tank locomotive. On my layout which has a hill, this locomotive will pull 4 two axle wagons and will slip if more were attached. This is perhaps typical for a small tank locomotive. A BR 74 will have wheel slip with 7 wagons. The 74 has recently been updated with the cordless and detailed drive rods etc. I think both the 64 and 74 are reliable, just like all Marklin products.

As I mentioned earlier, there is a front and rear spring (Feder)which contacts the front and rear pilot wheels on the five pole locomotive. If it is out of place or damaged it might not make proper contact and the locomotive might not run. On the coreless, this spring was eliminated in the front, simplifying things. As far as I know, the front contact spring replacement is not available at Marklin so you would need to find this in the secondary market. The five pole motor might be hard to find and expensive. It seems there is very little difference between the two 64 locomotives, but I believe the circuit board has changed on the coreless and it has a motor which is held in place by a single bracket which might not be replaceable. I think the shells are identical.

I have the BR74 in a three and five pole versions. I don’t have the cordless version, but I think this would be a better locomotive to consider if one was available.

Take good care. Hope this helps.

Dwight

Hello again

I agree with your liking the Br 64, I like the appearances of this one too. It is very common to see a 64/65 still a part of the moving railroad museum on YouTube. This is probably why I purchased this one, just seeing it. I thought it would be very similar to the 74 in the way it operates and was surprised it just doesn’t work better. It is possible my 5 pole 64 was abused by the previous owner but the coreless wasn’t notably better. The appearance of both 64s is identical except the number was changed. It might be, the internal mechanism on the coreless is actually lighter I don’t know.

If you want a DRG version with a coreless you might have to wait as I am not certain this model has been updated. All models will eventually be converted to the coreless. It is just a matter of time. There are many versions of the 74 type locomotive and they have just started to convert them. A flat track would probably change the way these work too. Hills are not good, but look nice.

I believe if you want to pull many wagons, you could use the 64 with a double traction setup. These two can easily pull 9 wagons. Or consider a 64 and 74 which might work. The trouble with this is that it is very expensive when a single 78, 85 or 94 (tank locomotives)would work better for less but might not be as familiar. I think the coreless conversion has already been released on the 78 and 85. It is likely the small tank locomotives are actually perfect for up to 4 wagons as is common on starter sets. I might be expecting to much of these small jems.

Hope this helps. Take good care.

Dwight

Hello, I hope you find what you want.

I have not seen the 94 for sale for a while, I hope it will soon be released with the new motor.

Two other tank locomotives I failed to mention are the 86 and 96. The 96 in all of its models is a great one. The 86 is so, so, to me not that impressive for pulling. I think this model has been released with the new motor.

Take good care

Zme