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Post by husafreak on Mar 18, 2019 19:34:52 GMT -5
I want to build a small German/Austrian scene, NOCH Cortina. I am not too concerned about making a historical document but rather a scene that might have happened in time. I want to have two trains running. One a passenger train and the other a freight train. I want trains that could have possibly run together around the turn of this century. I want to run Marklin trains. So I am looking at the Marklin website. And before you know it I am completely overwhelmed! Now they do have some sets. Buying a set is great because I know those cars will look correct together. But picking an engine and a bunch of cool cars blindly might have me combining engines and cars that would never have run together or in the same time frame. I don't want it to look ridiculous to a seasoned observer. I'd rather choose wisely. I'm not sure how to do that.
I did notice that the Marklin site is out of stock on almost everything, expected in the second quarter 2019, is that pretty normal? Do most of you Marklin fans end up buying from the manufacturer as available? Or do these trains become available online at the various retailers?
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Post by ztrack on Mar 18, 2019 20:16:16 GMT -5
If you are going with Marklin, check out the Era they list. Marklin lists the appropriate Era for each of their releases. The Era corresponds with a time period. So by sticking to one Era, you will be very good to go. But of course, there are always exceptions. You can easily mix two Eras as it will represent a transition from one to the next. Here is more information on the Eras: www.maerklin.de/en/products/product-information/eras-overview/If you are not opposed to used trains, we have over 800 new and used Marklin Z items in stock on our Resale site: www.ztrackresale.comWe are happy to assist you in picking out items that would run together in the Era you choose. Rob |
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Post by zscalehobo on Mar 19, 2019 8:29:21 GMT -5
Rob provided the answer on eras and a good place to shop. What's been happening lately for brand new releases is that Marklin takes pre-orders at initial announcement. In many of these cases the items will not be available on Märklin direct site unless it was not popular or it was over produced. 88001 is an example. It was announced 2 years ago. It just released to customers this week. Here is what Märklin site says today: www.maerklin.de/en/products/details/article/88001So that page just recently went from "coming soon" to "article not produced any more." Meaning if you didnt pre-order with a dealer you are not going to be guaranteed to get one. The 88145 Kittel was another one of these that came and went during pre-sale phase. Moral of the story ... If there's NEW Märklin you want, be sure to get a pre-order in ASAP. But you will also need patience as their releases can delay (88145 was about 1 year late). Frank Daniels z.scale.hobo www.zscalehobo.com |
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Post by husafreak on Mar 19, 2019 9:59:00 GMT -5
Thank you. The Eras feature is pretty much what I needed. And thanks for giving me some insight into how Marklin sales works.
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Post by BAZman on Mar 20, 2019 0:34:28 GMT -5
I'll bet your just drooling for this Saturday/Sunday's Train Show  Sorry though that it will be all US trains But . . . lots to talk about ! I'll have a PC there, to look up . .. whatever. Just make sure you tell the ticket guy you are with the Bay Area Z scale layout. We set up Friday after 1. Mostly 4-6. Gates are fully open. |
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Post by husafreak on Mar 20, 2019 18:54:48 GMT -5
What’s a good time to show up Saturday morning? I’m working Friday night...
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Post by husafreak on Mar 21, 2019 11:19:56 GMT -5
I’m seeing a lot of variation in the length of individual engines and rolling stock. And looking at videos I think long cars look funny on very tight layouts like the NOCH Cortina. I don’t know if long cars are less able to negotiate the many curves on a layout like that though. Anyway I am curious what you all think about that as I continue my search for the perfect train set.
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Post by husafreak on Mar 21, 2019 11:21:44 GMT -5
And while we’re at it how about the effects of trains that are very long, with either lots of long cars or short cars or all mixed up.
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Post by zscalehobo on Mar 21, 2019 11:47:30 GMT -5
Cortina inner loop makes use of R145mm curves. I did a YouTube video showing a long passenger car on R145s. Set tested is Märklin 8107 zscalehobo.com/marklin/8107.html |
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Post by husafreak on Mar 21, 2019 14:10:49 GMT -5
My thoughts exactly.
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