ETS diesel switcher 111

 On this cold and sunny winters' day a new diesel switcher joined the layout. It is an ETS diesel engine  no. 111, modelled after the CSD 704 engine, nicknamed "Lego". Since most of the ETS trains I originally obtained were 2-rail versions, I previously had to convert them to 3-rail operation. That was not necessary for this one. Unmodified, it skids on the Merkur tracks. The sun that returned and this joyful engine, just puts a smile on my face.

Lionel pre-war train with some modern Merkur power

Here is a small video of a string of Lionel 800 serie pre-war cars pulled by a modern tin-plate Merkur engine. But first the ETS beer train passes.

Converting a ETS 102 from 2 to 3 rails operation

I just finished converting my small electrically ETS 102 rectifier from 2 rail to 3 rail operation.
 This engine is from 1996 and it used to ran fine on brass ETS rails, but now that I have finished my new layout with Merkur rails, I decided to convert it to 3-rail operation. Therefore, I needed to disassemble the engine. This involves sliding the roof of, loosening the two top-light LED's from their fittings and removing two screws that hold the engine-block to the bottom plate.

The new 3 rail pick-up assembly is from Merkur. A small pine wooden plate was made in which the 3-rail pick-up assembly fits tightly, which in turn fits tightly in the underside of the engine.

A connecting orange wire was soldered between the electrical pick-ups of the left and right wheels. The connection between the wheels and the engine was disengaged by cutting though the print-plate and soldering a new grey wire between the loose connection and the 3 -rail pick-up.

Below, you see the new grey wire to connect the 3-rail pick-up and below the soldering point is the broken connection to the wheels.

 

And after assembly the engine run fine on 3 -rails with DC power from an ETS transformer.