The LoDi system and three-rail

The LoDi system working together with three-rail track, from Märklin® for instance.

Three-rail has a very large share of the model railway market. Many customers chose it because Märklin® was, quite simply, the synonym for model railways.

Our customers value us because they know how much thought we put into keeping a layout free of trouble. So in this section we would like to pass our experience on. The possibilities in the technology keep growing, and with them come new expectations and new offerings that get more and more out of it. To name a few of the demands: where on the layout is a locomotive? How do I read and set CVs directly? How much current is being drawn?

Where did the short circuit happen?

All of this information is something we can already provide today!

We would like to help you decide on a technology that is, first of all, future-proof and easy to understand.

So many questions come up right at the start — "what do I actually need to run a reliable layout?", for example.

The most important decision a three-rail operator has to make is which data format to choose.

Märklin® locomotives from 2018 onwards, for instance, have an mSD or mLD decoder that also understands DCC. Unfortunately those decoders cannot do RailCom, which is what reports the locomotive's position. There are small RailCom transmitters, from ESU among others, that can simply be built into the locomotive.

Locomotives built before 2018 can usually only do MFX or Motorola; older models built before 2006 may only do Motorola.

Our recommendation has therefore always been to convert everything to DCC or MFX. Locomotives that only speak Motorola are best converted.

If you would rather not give Motorola up, though, you lose a fair amount of the comfort the new system offers.

We have put together a choice for you, with more information written up behind each option.

You can now decide between these two topics. Click "I want to use the latest technology!" if you want to run your railway with the newest technology. The clear advantages: locomotive positions and short-circuit detection down to the block, and settings made live from the control software.

If you would rather run conventionally, click "I want to run conventionally!". We will then take you to another information page.

I want to use the latest technology!

Do you want precise feedback with locomotive position, and to run MFX® and/or DCC? Then click here.

I want to run conventionally!

Do you want to run conventionally, with Motorola and other protocols over the traditional kind of feedback? Then click here.