[MichaelE]

My son never contacted me to explain to him to open a return with the seller. Probably very busy with work these days. The return deadline has come and gone so I guess I'm a Märklin owner now.

Since no one wants this locomotive I decided to remove it from the box and place it on a display track. I might fence this area in and make up an information board to place in front of the fenced area.

This serves two purposes, I get to look at the locomotive, and I don't have to place a building on this lot that has sat empty for over a year. I like to be able to watch the trains run by this area and it allows me to see where to stop them for turnout clearance between tracks at the station.

I guess I now have an historic restored locomotive display in Michaelstadt. Folks in the Bier Garten can marvel at the beautiful locomotive next door while they sip their beer.

 

[Gramps]

Good idea, sounds like a win-win for the loco and the space.

 

[Lemonhawk]

was it a 3 rail?

 

[Murv2]

Here in the US engines like that in parks will often have concrete pads, a carport-type roof and often a fence of some kind around it to keep out graffiti artists and vandals.

 

[MichaelE]

was it a 3 rail?

It is.

 

[Stumpy]

Cool.

 

[Lemonhawk]

Beautiful steamer, but virtually impossible to convert to DC, probably all the axels are direct shorts.

 

[MichaelE]

Electrics and Diesels can sometimes be converted, but it is nearly impossible to convert steam. The steam wheel sets are the problem as you indicated. Not to mention all of the other wheels. No wheel sets on Märklin products are insulated.

Even if you were to find the wheel sets, you still must fabricate and install wheel pickups and change the motor to DC. You must also eliminate the third rail pickup shoe.

There are some DC conversion kits that Märklin sells to convert a particular motor used in some of their locomotives, but that doesn't include any of their steam locomotives.

There is the possibility of ordering spare parts for the DC TRIX counterpart, but there is no guarantee they would fit correctly nor if there is even a DC counterpart for the locomotive you wish to convert.

My only other option is to lay a small oval of K track on the third level inside the RhB loop on the mountain end of the layout. This is really the only viable solution if I want to run the locomotive. However, not having planned for this unexpected contingency leaves me with no room for scenery or structures on the RhB line on that end of the layout if I lay this track.

I don't really see that happening, though I did investigate the possibility over the last couple of nights. I looked into track cost, minimum radius, and either a power pack for running conventionally or the possibility of wiring it into my DCC buss which would work too with the on-board decoder and proper DIP switch settings.

I think this is a No-Go all around.

 

[Lemonhawk]

You have few options, I think even selling it may be difficult in the US. Your option making of making it a display probably fits better into your layout than any attempt at adding another track. What a shame, it looks really nice. If you had track that just used the catenary (hot cat, ground on both rails) you could easily convert it to run with a pantograph on it

 

[Stumpy]

Where did the pic go?

 

[MichaelE]

I still see all three pictures.

 

[Stumpy]

Well... they're back now.

 

[Lee Willis]

Not a bad looking loco.

 

[MichaelE]

I like tank steamers myself, but I'm not against having a locomotive/tender combo one day. I'm rather fond of the Br.50 and Br.44, which are heavy freight locomotives used in the 40's and well into the 50's and 60's.

But like I said I like the smaller tank steam locomotives. If/when I eventually get one it will probably be one like this or similar:

Br.83

This is the Br.50

And the Br.44

 

[Stumpy]

Those locos look something out of Mad Max. Can't put my finger on it, but....

 

[Lemonhawk]

I like that BR83!

 

[Lee Willis]

Those are great locos! I love those German BR locos, but am not really a fan of the red paint, so I repainted the one BR I have in my collection when I converted it to my own livery. This is an MTH 1:43.5 scale BR-44 for O-Gauge 3-Rail track, with Proto 3.0 and High Rail Wheels - a really fine model and great runner. Since it was a BR loco, I could not resist the pun and numbered it BR-549, making a small model of Junior Samples, or course, to honor that great comedian.

 

[MichaelE]

It looks great.

What is the closest American counterpart to the Br.44?

 

[BigGRacing]

The bright red is a little bright for sure, but they are all gorgeous locomotives. Middleton, Nova Scotia railway museum just had a 10 wheeler donated and delivered this week. I can't wait to go visit it this summer. I believe its the oldest CN locomotive still around I heard (I did not fact check this, but heard it on my local news)

Middleton Railway Museum News Release | Middleton Railway Museum

middletonrailwaymuseum.org

 

[Stumpy]

What is the closest American counterpart to the Br.44?

I1s Decapods ?