Category Archives: Trolleys and Railcars

Buying Marklin Z direct from the distributor

As a bit of an experiment I decided to buy what I consider to be a quick sell-out of the recently released railbus 88171 directly from Walthers. It was bought partly on impulse and partly to ensure getting one of these before they are sold out; they are already sold out at the factory even before arriving at Walthers in Milwaukee, WI.

My experience with Walthers apart from visiting their store/warehouse in person a few years ago is limited to ordering from them through the dealer network, I have never bought directly from them before.

Walthers policy is to charge full list price so as not to compete with their dealer network which is a good policy, but why do they sell to the public at all? The hour I spent in their tiny showroom in Milwaukee was full of customers some buying hundreds of dollars worth of items, and I guess they were as happy to pay full list price as Walthers was to charge them full list price.

The Walthers warehouse and showroom is not as appealing as the catalog much of which has to be called up to the counter to be seen. And the warehouse is a fairly unremarkable building, but I have to say the salesman at the counter were friendly and knowledgeable thereby offering a good place to find everything featured in their thick catalog and in stock.

Ordering from Walthers website was easy enough showing items currently in stock with prices. No problems at all placing an order! The downside was the order took a little while to ship from their warehouse (credit card is not charged until item ships), the small little item arrived in a big sturdy box, but the the Marklin railbus was not properly secured with wrapping thus separating from the plastic box entirely, luckily it did not scratch!

For collectors of Marklin Z it is probably best to order through a dealer at least for discounts, but also for individualized attention and guidance. Plus MHI releases are only available to dealers who are part of that subscription program thus not available directly to the public through Walthers. And some of the best stuff in Marklin Z are MHI’s!

Siding: Marklin’s 88171 Uerdingen VS 98 railbus is SUPERB with fully realized interiors and interior lighting with LED’s. Paint and lettering is crisp on this highly detailed model. Paired with the motor car (88166) available as an upcoming release this will be one of those must haves for collectors.

Marklin’s Steam Railcar “Kittel”: 88145

Wow!

I have been waiting patiently and other times impatiently for Marklin 88145, there were times I didn’t even think I would receive one, but last week I took delivery of one from the dealer Frank Daniels (zscalehobo.com). I can only wonder if the release was smaller than Marklin planned with some pre-orders not filled including a second one I ordered as soon as it was announced many moons ago. Note: pre-orders maybe filled, I haven’t received word as of yet that more are not on the way.

88145 is a further milestone in Marklin Z with prototypical accuracy, excellent running performance due to a brushless motor, and extremely fine detail work including many add-on parts. Add-on parts are always part of the finish detail work on Z locos, but the 88145 includes added details only found with the small firms of FR and Modellbau Z whose quality handmade products are unmatched but equaled with Marklin 88145. The add-on parts include cabin chimneys on roof along with top cap for boiler, but also grab-on rails fore and aft (nod to my recently deceased Father-In-Law who was a sailor) with platforms and accurate detailing on one end with buffer beam detailing including hoses, step-ups and coupling.

The paint scheme is crimson with lettering for DB thus an Era III locomotive but built in 1905 with firebox designed by Eugen Kittel. Two class Kittel CidT 8 steam powered rail cars were used on provincial railroads in Germany until their retirement in the early ’50s. A rather remarkable little rail car with but 4 passenger bays this locomotive would have hauled a freight car or two thus offering a dual purpose on less profitable routes.

As for the model — 88145 will prove to be a very big deal in Z modeling! And under the hood just as complex in design and fabrication as the outer shell! Parts diagram includes numerous mechanical and add-on parts thus confirming the necessary amount of assembly labor involved in this release.

The only point of comparison to be made with small high end manufacturers is add-on parts are made of injection molded plastic rather than etched nickel silver, but it is hardly a discrepancy worth noting as these parts are perfection! Running performance although not tested on all track by this reviewer could be assumed to be rather poor through turnouts or dead spots (due to lightweight and short wheelbase), but continuous rail there is no loss in power or performance witnessed.

All positive! The new Marklin 88145 is superb, but it maybe a once only production: the price tag on this release should have been comparable to other locos on the market with similar workings and detail work, instead it sold for at least half maybe 3 times less than comparable locos on the market: assembly labor alone must have been very high.

I would like to see Marklin continue with outrageous models such as this one, maybe a second line like the “Fine Art” series from a few years back that did not take hold.

A quick note on the carton: loco was delivered in the current white carton with loco housed in a two part plastic sleeve similar to ones used in the HO line to protect the delicate add-on parts, mine arrived with pristine paint and nothing broken. *Even the box was thoughtfully designed! Lastly: box has a “Made in China” sticker attached to it which makes perfect sense to me, Chinese labor is very good with fussy and intricate assembly of tiny parts and this model is exceptional in every way, it maybe the best Z loco in terms of detail work and craftsmanship.

Siding: I am a long time collector of Marklin Z, all periods in Marklin Z are represented in my collection. A few fears ago Marklin produced Z in China much to the consternation of fellow collectors, with very few exceptions “Made in China” did not resonate with me as poor quality or less collectible than “Made in Germany”, Z products continued to arrive during this time-frame that more than satisfied this collector. And I suffer from extreme pickiness! First time I have admitted to that in public. We may only have the Marklin 88145 because it was made in China which may turn out to be one of the most sought after models by Z-scalers in years to come.

A perfect boxcar for the loco and timeframe is a G 10 from set 86391 or 86392 (not pictured).

Siding: Faller’s 282781card-stock building is depicted in this post, it includes two kits glued together.

The 1935 NIEMAG GLEISBAUKRAN is monumental!

Crane, maintenance of way railcar, or a crazy thing with lots of hooks? All of the above, but what stands out is its sheer size and without a description who knows what it is?!?!

The railcar with the big boom installed over a million window cabin is for track construction, assembled track sections could be offloaded from a flat car, traverse through the car above the cabin and placed on other side for installation.

Winding drum and machines are modeled inside the cabin. I chose to paint the machine in dark brown with weathering along the lower part of cabin as a disused railway vehicle on a siding.

Constructing the model was relatively easy compared with others by Behnke although I found the cabin to be a tight and difficult fit on the chassis. The mistakes I made with this kit was installing the cabin higher on the frame than it should be, but I found the fitting too difficult, it did not readily slide into place. The second mistake was installing the hooks too low in the boom, they should have been attached higher inside the boom frame to realistically allow track to slide through channel above cabin. One day I will receive buffers for this and maybe then correct the hooks, but in the meantime it is a pretty cool contraption!

 

Shapeways: New Directions in Z Modeling

3-D printing is all the rage these days, any manner of thing seems to be offered by this new technology. And now Z items are available through the company Shapeways. I hadn’t even thought about searching for such things but a few months ago I came across the Shapeways website. My Wife and I had a day off in some far off land so I had time to check out the 12 pages of Z gauge offerings by a number of designers, and I found it very enjoyable and ordered one. The item I ordered was a German class 701 catenary maintenance locomotive, it arrived packed in a sturdy box by the time we got home from our trip.

It is interesting to order from Shapeways, items are printed on demand with the disclaimer that the order maybe cancelled if Shapeways feels the item is too delicate to print so presumably not everything is available. The item I ordered was printed, and I am very happy with the finished shell. The plastic is translucent with a slight texture that will take paint well. Because of the translucent material lighting the loco will be disappointing unless a solution is made by masking (later problem to work through).

The locomotive came in two parts including the main shell and service platform. Detailing and design is quite excellent including warning beacon lights and roof top observation window. Shell has the same specs as the standard Marklin railbuses so adding a chassis and motor will be easy. A small hole is included in the roof to accommodate the single arm pantograph. Challenges for completing this project include painting and thus masking for three separate painting phases: safety yellow, gray and silver. Note: I find it easier to paint the dark color first inside and outside shell, finishing the roof as the final paint is what I do. Brushing the silver hardware for windows and black paint for buffers plus any touch-ups before following up with the final matte clear coat. Much easier to airbrush using water based paint diluted to flow through the airbrush used. Attaching the work platform permanently with 5 minute epoxy only, but the cool loco is designed for a pivoting work platform secured with a screw.

The prototype well depicted by the 3-D printed model as can be seen with two paint schemes by Marklin and Trix, and the roof observation hood as seen in the third photo of the prototype:

photo: Trix N scale class 701

photo: Marklin HO class TVT 6219 Esn

photo: prototype class 701

Notes on Shapeways products for Z: many curious items are offered including autos and loads as well as buildings, locos and rolling stock. These are projects that need to be completed and some that are offered will be more successful than others.

Book Review: Buses, Trolleys & Trams

Buses, Trolleys & Trams thrived for a time in the 20th century throughout cities of the world, today buses are the main mode of transport alongside subway systems in certain cities and monorails too. At one time a rich variety of transport for the people could be seen traveling down the streets of any city each had their day, horse buses supplanted by steam trams supplanted by electric and petrol. By the end of World War II interurbans reached their end of life for many reasons: politics, auto ownership and road construction, and the high cost of maintaining infrastructure. All good things come to their end in the name of progress, but it is fun to think back on other days when very interesting vehicles transported people to work, shopping errands, sightseeing, and otherwise. Can we bring back some of this charm and excitement from yesteryear, at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Maine we can certainly try. Featuring the largest collection of trolleys and buses from around the world the Seashore Trolley Museum is also the oldest of its kind. A destination for some but for all others who visit the great state of Maine consider a stop here before heading up to Acadia National Park. Here you will see the only surviving “Liberty Bell Line” trolley from PA or a double decker trolley from Scotland. And you can ride the trolleys all day with the price of admission.

https://www.trolleymuseum.org

Buses, Trolleys & Trams, The Hamlyn Publishing Group LTD, 1967 is one of the very best anthologies on trolleys, trams and buses written with flair by Chas. S. Dunbar the book is supplemented by beautiful photos and illustrations. It is also an easy to locate book and attractively priced.

FullSizeRender-41FullSizeRender-43

Book Review: Riding the Bell

FullSizeRender-10

Okay so you think you have seen this book reviewed on this site before, and you are right! This book deserves a second nod because it covers some important local railroad history in my neck of the woods in Lehigh Valley, PA. And the author is a friend and passionate fan of trolleys, buses and the “Liberty Bell Limited” that served the three connecting cities of the Lehigh Valley, PA with runs to Philadelphia. The Liberty Bell was owned and operated by the Lehigh Valley Transit Company, it met the same fate that other trolley systems experienced namely the car in every driveway and our robust expansion of the highway system. The author Ron Ruddell spent 10 years patiently researching the material and writing a lively text that accompanies numerous photos and illustrations. Some densely populated cities in the United States have brought back the trolleys but here in Eastern Pennsylvania a trolley system that provided transport to rural and city dwellers is long gone, books like this help us preserve the history of the interurban rail systems in cities like our’s in the Lehigh Valley.