The ESU Product Line

By Roger Heid

Periodically, I tap into all the different manufacturers carried by Reynaulds. Sometimes I stumble across items of interest that I had previously been unaware of. This time, prompted by certain ongoing issues, I checked out the brand ESU. Most all of you who are concerned with motive stock decoders are aware of ESU.

ESU stands for Electronic Solutions Ulm, a city in southwest Germany. Interestingly enough, Albert Einstein was born in Ulm. They are a high-tech outfit designing and producing an array of interesting, innovative and very helpful items. Luckily some of them geared for digital model railroad use and enhancement.

One item of interest is their ECoS 50200 Central Station. It is a multi-protocol device, well at home in both, NMRA DCC and MM (Maerklin/Motorola). It can handle Maerklin mfx decoders without restrictions. Some say that if one uses a lot of mfx locomotives, you’re better off with the Maerklin CS2 (60215). I cannot speak for that. Unlike the Maerklin CS2, it comes with a suitable power supply. It cannot handle mfx+ decoders, though.

Another real interesting item is the SwitchPilot, a decoder for controlling turnouts, de-couplers, signals and the like. One of the remarkable features is the flexibility of the power used to feed it. You can either feed it from a Central Station, or you can use a separate power supply of either 18 Volts DC maximum or 24 Volts smooth DC maximum. How good can it get? In addition, it is also multi-protocol, therefore compatible with Maerklin decoders.

If you are a fanatic about internal rolling stock lighting, such as I am, they make some really helpful stuff. These items are narrow enough to be used for N Scale as well.

LED Interior Lighting Strips     LED  Cab Lighting    LED Marker Lights

ESU is now also making locomotives in HO Scale. Each model they offer comes in both, 2-rail DC and 3-rail AC. On the ESU web site they are hidden in under ‘Engineering Section’.

ESU Class 77 Diesel  AC or DC

I did not list everything ESU has to offer to us model railroaders. The Reynaulds website may not list all ESU items either and may not have all entries supported by pictures, but you can always access the ESU website at www.esu.eu

Go, check it out. You may be surprised about what you can find. There are some interesting items.

I noticed that I could print out the Instruction Manual for the SwitchPilot without actually having to buy one. This is nice. The manual is very elaborate and comprehensive. You can also print out the instruction manual and tutorials for the ECoS 2 Control Station.