I inherited trains from my grandfather after he passed away. It’s mostly Z gauge trains. I have trains, tracks, and accessories(everything is Märklin). I’m just looking for a way to get them up and running. I have a Märklin feeder track but I’m finding issues finding wires and a controller that are compatible. Is this worth it or should I cut my losses and go to Rokuhan? What are the Märklin red and yellow or green and yellow boxes for? I’m a newbie to all of this but really want my fiancée and maybe future kids to have cool Christmas setups. Thanks, Raallday1
Hi, there. If you can get your hands on ,"Greenberg's Model Railroading with Marklin Z" by Riley O'Connor it will be very helpful. It was published in 1990. It has everything you need to know about Marklin Zee. Jim
Welcome! You had a really great grandfather... Glad you’re considering continuing his legacy. The two wires are grey and red. The DC controller/transformer is either blue (older) or white. They can be found on eBay. Clean wheels and track are essential in Z-Scale. (There is Just so little contact area available.). Good luck! PS. Boxes are for Switching/accessories
Before all this, lets make sure your train can run. Grab a 9 volt battery. Pick up the locomotive (a.k.a. 'Engine') and turn it upside down. Make sure the wheels all have some movement. There should be 'easy' movement and *not* stuck. If movement, touch the 9 volt battery and the should instantly run. If there is NOT any movement DONT HOLD THE BATTERY ON as the loco has OLD lubricant that as hardened Hardened Oil Syndrome or 'HOS). See this: http://www.zscale.org/ (see first topic, if you locomotive (a.k.a. 'Engine') doesn't run. If it is a Diesel loco, it is super easy to revive. If it is a Steam loco, it is not! Note: if you are handy, and want to do a steam loco, DO NOT TAKE THE long bottom piece HOLDING THE DRIVERS IN PLACE, with out LEARNING from us. On to the track and power: If you have just straight and curve track (no Turnouts/Switches (Euro/USA) , just wire the Red and Brown to the track. (the general rule is Red on the Outside track, Red is 'Right side" and Forward). Like this: http://guidetozscale.com/html/electrical.html and here: http://www.zscale.info/wiring.asp The direction is controlled by the power pack. You can use any Z scale controller however, the Marklin motors draw more current and you could run into issues if you use the Rokuhan controllers. The battery powered Rokuhan RC02. Even with a plug-in power supply, they can be over-Crurren tripped and you have to turn the RC02 (or RC03) OFF and On again. Stay with any of the Marklin power packs. The Grey and Yellow are for Turnouts/Switches (Euro/USA). If you have rectangular boxes (likely Blue) 7072 with Red/Green buttons, they are used for Turnout/Switches. If you do have some Turnouts, with the black 'blob' on the side, they can always be manually controlled. If they also have The boxes with Yellow/Green an Yellow/Red are for On/Off functions, like separate track section, especially if you have a Turnout (so you can 'park' 1 locomotive and run another). More help here: https://www.marklin-users.net/forum/topics/4-Small-scale https://ajckids.com/pages/marklin-z-scale http://www.zscale.org/ (see first topic, if you locomotive (a.k.a. 'Engine') doesn't run.
Gerberg’s is available online at: http://guidetozscale.com/ with modest updates to the printed version.
Welcome to Z scale! I hope to inherit my dad's collection. But not too soon! SJ Z-man has already directed you to some very helpful sites. As a fellow newbie, those sites are very helpful, as is this site! Scott