Märklin is among the oldest producers of model railways in the world. Founded in 1859, they have produced various styles of models while always taking advantage of the latest technologies available.
Starting from AC three-rail trains, they have expanded into digital control with their systems going way beyond the basic DCC control with which most of us are familiar. Their MFX system takes digital control to a whole new level - merely placing the locomotive or other fitted stock on the track starts a communication process between it and the control system, effectively introducing itself to the controller.
In advancing the digital control concept beyond mere DCC, Märklin have accepted that there will be legacy systems both of DCC and Motorola formats and have maintained backwards compatibility for those systems.
Märklin's Central Station 2 and Mobile Station controllers fully address this issue; both of these systems are capable of controlling anything from N Scale to G Scale, 2-rail or 3-rail, MFX, DCC or Motorola formats straight out of the box! They also openly support computer and WiFi control with Apps for Android and Apple, and tools such as RocRail and JMRI. Hornby, Bachmann, Graham Farish, Dapol, Fleischmann, Roco, and Piko DCC products can also benefit from this system.
With the Central Station 3, Märklin has launched the next generation of layout controls onto the market. Developments such as extension to DCC format, the introduction of the World of Operation mfx+ or the comprehensive expansion of operating sequence technology were all easily handled by the CS2. But new developments in computer technology and electronics were crying out to be applied within the model railways.
And Märklin's answer to this is the Central Station 3. The developers at Märklin focused on the following criteria when working on developing the new generation of control devices:
The answer to these specifications was two new units at once:
Why two units? Because there are major differences in the requirements a railway modeller has for their model railway controls.
Up to twelve locos can be run in parallel with the Central Station 3, without losing the overview. Two of them are controlled with the rotary knobs, as previously.
Are you one of the modellers who only want a single central unit to control your layout? If so, the MN60226 is the right one for you - only one of these units is permitted on the entire system. If you use the Central Station 3 plus, you can use as many additional units as you want. If you don’t need this possibility to start with, you’ll surely benefit from the lower price of the CS3 compared with the CS3 plus.
Compared with the CS3, the CS3 plus has a further added characteristic: it can have the feedback modules MN60881 or MN60882 directly connected to it. With both CS3 versions, it is possible to use a terminal MN60145 to connect the L88 feedback module (MN60883) and, if you wish, further feedback modules as desired.
Incidentally, we are already working on the option of upgrading a CS3 to a CS3 Plus. Both units require a switched mode power pack for power supply. Modellers with a 230 V mains supply will use the familiar versions MN60101 or LGB51095 (only for gauge 1 or G-gauge), or for other gauges, MN60061.
Click the image for a closer view.
Apart from the differences so far, the Central Station 3 and Central Station 3 Plus are identical. Both of them have the following characteristics:
Central Station 3 is the centre of attention as far as updating the current range of Märklin locos and solenoid accessories or other Märklin controllers is concerned.
The user interface is also treading new paths. The two rotary control knobs familiar from Central Station 2 are still there on Central Station 3, but all other control commands are given exclusively via the new colour display. The arrangement of the individual control levels has been completely redesigned. Compared with the Central Station 2, it is a completely different control concept, but it’s intuitive to use, and then you can enjoy the advantages and the convenience of the new control steps.
Central focus is the layout, which is used to monitor condition of the layout and control turnouts and signals to ensure smooth operation of your trains. At the bottom edge of the display, there is a strip you can use to reach the locomotives’ control panels if required. At the top edge, there’s a further menu strip, which leads to the other operating levels, such as the memory. This level will only be required in exceptional circumstances during operations and thus will be seldom selected in practice.
While the CS2 could only show a much-simplified diagram of the track layout, the CS3 is now able to illustrate even curved sections of track. The current setting of turnouts is also shown in colour. Red indicates the setting ‘reverse’ (branch), while the ‘normal’ setting of the turnout is shown in green. Illustration of the signals is much more detailed and displays their aspect more clearly.
The zoom function, which you can use to enlarge or reduce sections of the layout at will, is very useful. Anyone used to using a tablet PC or a smartphone will be able to use this function straight away by intuition. And if you want to use this function in conjunction with an additional PC or with apps for tablet PC and smartphone, you won’t be disappointed with the CS3 - Märklin are working on these right now.
Click the image for a closer view. Note: the image text is in German, but can be set to English.
On the CS3, the locomotives on your layout are managed in a Locomotive List, which includes all the relevant information for the operation of each loco; mfx and mfx+ locos log themselves in automatically as usual, and for other formats there are supporting input aids such as the search function, database support and the loco card-reader available. MM2 and DCC vehicles can also be entered manually. To access the Locomotive List, you just swipe across the lower edge of the touch screen.
The model you want will be fished out of the Locomotive List and with another swipe to left or right is assigned to one of the two controllers. So you want to trigger a loco function? A window can be opened separately for the left-hand and right-hand controllers which will display the function keys applying to the loco currently active on either one of them. The number of elements shown depends on the extent of the functions available on the respective locomotive. The maximum is 32 functions, which can be controlled by the current decoder generation in mfx operation.
Click the image for a closer view. Note: the image text is in German, but can be set to English.
32 functions for each locomotive? That sounds rather a lot. But these functions are also able to trigger complete operating sequences which have previously been defined as such. As a railway modeller, operating sequences such as preparing a loco for service, the departure from a station, the ‘decoupling waltz’ (decoupling stock with Telex couplers from a loco including the necessary movements), the sequence of operating sounds heard in the depot and similar events can be defined once and then called up at any time to suit the current state of play. This option is optimally supported by locos fitted with mfx and mfx+ decoders.
The functions currently active are indicated by the different coloured function symbols.
Locomotive speed is displayed by a bar diagram. The speed can be altered either by swiping a finger up and down this display or by the classic method of using the rotary controllers.
On the CS3, the mfx+ models have a special feature. For these models, there are special control panels, which give a picture of the actual locomotive controls with realistic features, such as replenishing fuel and keeping an eye on the boiler pressure. Since such a locomotive in this particular operating mode demands the model railroader’s full attention, only a single mfx+ model can be run on the screen, as was earlier the case with the CS2.
Click the image for a closer view.
The CS3 is backwards compatible: If you already use previous Central Station controllers, you can continue to use them. However, with the CS3 you should only use the Central Station 2 from hardware version 4.x. Users of the CS3 plus by contrast can combine with a CS2 with hardware version 3.x or earlier. This only applies when no further CS3 is integrated into the entire system. All these restrictions only apply when the respective terminals of the units are used for the supply of power to different power sections on the layout.
If further CS2 units with hardware versions prior to 4.x are used purely as controllers, then this arrangement is not a problem. One thing to remember: the CS3 only accepts booster MN60175. As they have no mfx feedback facility, the earlier boosters MN6015 and MN6017 are less and less useful as power supply units on the modern model layout - and mfx+ operation with these old boosters was totally impossible. That’s why there is no connection provided on either version of the CS3 for these obsolete units.
For connecting extra units such as the booster MN60175, further Mobile Stations, feedback module L 88 (MN60883) or to connect a MN60216 CS3 plus, there is a connection provided on the CS3 as standard. If more connections are required for these units, a MN60145 terminal can be used to increase the number of connections. Each terminal added in series increases the number of terminal points by four. Theoretically, a series a hundred metres long could be built up in this way. And if that were not enough, then further terminals could be integrated with each further CS3 plus or CS2.
For OO, HO or N Scale layouts, to supply CS3, it is only advisable to use switched-mode power packs like MN60061. Gauge 1 and G Scale modellers have the alternatives of switched-mode power pack MN60101* or LGB51095*. With up to 5 A current to the layout, even power-hungry double-headed trains with illuminated cars are no problem.
We’re sure you have many happy hours of model railway fun ahead with the Märklin CS3. Find everything you need to control your set-up at Gaugemaster, or contact us if you have a question about using the CS3, CS3 plus, or any of our other products.
*The last two power packs are only approved for use on these larger gauges. For safety reasons, such potentially high currents are not suitable for OO or any smaller gauges as this could damage your locomotives and rolling stock.
This article has been written by our staff here at Gaugemaster, drawing on thousands of hours of modelling experience. Each article has been written to make it easy for everyone from beginner to expert to learn and expand their own knowledge base. If there is something you would like to see covered, feel free to contact us to suggest a topic - we’d love to hear from you.
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