I am looking at a set of the Marklin 4228 Rheingold passenger cars set, which I believe are in fact 3 rail (the cars all have lights) it looks like only the lead car has a pickup for the lights. I assume the others get tied to it somehow.
I want this set to go with my MTH HO S 3/6 german steam engine (I run DCS)
Is it possible to convert the 3 rail lights to 2 rail?
[#welcome]
As a newbie your first few post are moderated and have a bit of a delay.
If they are 3 rail there will be a power pickup for the center rail. The wheels could have non insolated wheels meaning they will have to be replaced with one wheel insolated wheel sets.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Doable? Yes. Easy? Not quite. Depends if the sideframes are metal or not. Metal wheels with plastic axles would work even if the sideframes are metal, or metal wheels with metal axles with insualtion at the wheel centers. Also have to remove the center rail contact shoes, and rig wipers on the other side.
Some Marklin stuff was sold under the Trix name as a 2 rail version - if these cars were, just get the Trix versiona dn they will be ready to use on 2 rail. There may be conversion kits avaialble - there are for some Marklin locos, there might be for lighted rolling stock. If such a kit is available, that would be easier to install than figuring it out yourself.
–Randy
This video shows the conversion of other Märklín cars. Perhaps yours are similar?
I recall reading some buyers of Trix and Märklín cars could get free replacement insulated wheels but the item had to be purchased from a Märklín dealer.
Trix 66720 conversion kit for pickup.
The same outfit, Reynaulds, may be able to help you fit the proper insulated wheels for these cars. There is a pretty extensive cross-reference list for the insulated wheels.
Good Luck, Ed
contact a guy named Marklinofsweden. Not sure if he is here anymore but he is on linked in and YouTube. Along with other platforms. He can tell you exactly what to do and how. He works almost entirely with Marklin.
Shane
Hi,
if the price difference is not crucial then I would rather consider the set of same cars but from Trix, which is meant for DC. I have it, runs great.
This set is available on ebay from US seller here. There are also several sellers from Europe.
Marklin set 4228 is if I am not wrong older version, I did not like it because it is all metal (metal body), and it did not look as good as newer, plastic version due to details that were lacking on metal version. But this is of course a matter of personal preference. While I like steam locomotives with metal boilers from other reasons, I find cars with plastic bodies more accurate.
Hrvoje
Unfortunately the price difference is pretty big between the Marklin And trix sets. almost 120$ Usd
Here is a video showing Trix set. I paid mine 250 Euros, for 5 cars, it is acceptable. Car lights can be controled by decoder, as explained in video.
Hrvoje