Terry's 1950s Marklin Layout

[Terry]

I like the German HO wood buildings made in the early 1950s, so I started keeping them. Along the way, I also acquired a few Marklin trains to run around the buildings. I put up a 3' 10" by 10' 6" table in on corner a year ago. Now that the Standard Gauge layout is wired and running, I've been playing with the Marklin.

Here's the first running last weekend:

Here's the layout after a week of toying with it and unpacking boxes:

I never played with Marklin before so it's engrossing. I find myself looking over at the clock and thinking "I should have been in bed hours ago."

The trains run great. Or they are visibly broken.

The track sucks. It's hard to connect it together, and comes apart easily if it's moved at all. In the second video the track is all tacked down with hot melt glue. The glue peels off so I can move the track.

Here's another train. . .

I couldn't get this fantastic Marklin DL800 to run when I tested it earlier this week. The center collectors snag on the teeth of the center rail. The ST800 streamliner set has the same problem. I realized a few hours ago that I might be able to run the train the other direction. It works, but only runs one way.

Here is the DL800 pulling the same string of cars as the Crocodile:

The noise is the collector sliding on the center rail  teeth. The streamliner has the pickups in different directions so it always snags. I might be able to reverse the pickup so it runs.

[starfire700]

How did you find room for a third layout?

[Terry]

It's a big basement. Here's a view looking west from the stairs.

 

I have another larger area to build a freestanding 00 layout with a few loops of American Flyer S under it. About 7 by 9 feet.

 

I bought this house just for the huge basement. By May of 2023 when I'm 60, I want to have all my trains out on layouts or shelves.   On this layout I'll wire some signals and uncouplers, and then move on to the 00.

Here's some more photos of the Marklin. You can tell I like autoloaders with Volkswagens and wine cars. I also found 4 of the Faller operating windmills in the boxes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[starfire700]

wow, you do have a lot of room.

[Terry]

I found the solid rail track I needed to run the early trains in a box in the "guest bedroom." I also found some more houses and decided I needed to inventory what I have before I buy more.

Here's a page:

https://train99.com/german-ho/my-1950s-faller-buildings/

I did really well with the Marklin. I have lots of American Flyer S gauge and Lionel Postwar I put aside, but I was less grabby with the Marklin. Or maybe it's just that so many more American postwar trains go through my hands than German ones.

[starfire700]

Big difference from standard gauge. With HO you can construct an upper-level structure with foam insulation board. It must run super quiet. 

[Terry]

It's actually really loud. I think the foam on the upper level creates a drum effect. Right now it's just held together with pins. Once it's glued together and coated with plaster it should get quieter.

The Marklin signals have contacts in them so the blocks go on and off. I want to run three small trains on the point to point up the mountain and have them stop and start. It looks like I can do that with the Marklin signals and some outside rail actuator tracks. No relays required.

[Terry]

I managed to get three trains to run on the same point to point track using only Marklin signals. It was difficult because the connections came undone and many of my old signals don't work.

Here's a video of them running:



Once I get the mountains in, you wont see the stopped trains until they advance to the stations. I'll have three small passenger sets running on this loop unless I'm doing switching.

It's the same basic idea as this one I built 20+ years ago to run Lionel trolleys around a Plasticville town:



The trolleys are running on a point to point loop that is folded back on itself and set up so the runs are parrallel.

The Marklin switches are sprung so no nonderailing function is needed. The Lionel was easier to set up because the realys were new aqnd it was just a matter of connecting it together. The Marklin signals and plug connectors aren't as easy to use as terminals strips and crimp connectors.

[Terry]

Here's current photos of the Marklin layout:

 

 

The whole lower area is plastered and grassed in. I need to vacuum the extra grass off where I detailed the road and the grade crossing. I bought the caternary I need to do the layout, but cannot put it on while I still need to work on the rear edge of the layout near the mountain and the bridges. 

I have decided I want an arial cable car on the upper deck.  This has been holding me up since I can't do the mountain until I know where the tramway goes. I've been bidding on them on ebay and have came in second 3 times!

I don't have to rush.