[Doug]

Since June 1, 2006 Märklin has been part of Kingsbridge Capital, a London based investment company. After 147 years of being a family-owned company the shareholders decided to sell their shares.

In 2007 the acquisition of the Nürnberg besed garden railroad manufac-turer LGB, Märklin has acquired another main support and has added the one popular gauge still missing from its product pro-gram. The take-over of the firm Hübner Precision Engineering expands Märklin's 1 Gauge product range to the most extensive program in Europe for this traditional gauge."

Every year Märklin have a stunning large HO layout right at the entrance to the railway model hall. It basic layout seems the same each year, but it is re-worked and it does have new models.

Here are a selection of shots of the layout:

Something for the Märklin fans:

The Star of the German Federal Railroad, the Class 103 Intercity Locomotive

The Media Star, Fast and Powerful

Göppingen, February 7, 2008. The German Federal Railroad ushered in a new era, when the class E 03 was presented in 1965 at the International Transportation Exhibition in Munich: regularly scheduled passenger service at 200 km/h / 125 mph. In addition, the class E 03, designated as the class 103 in the German Federal Railroad's roster from 1968 on, represented a milestone in locomotive development - it was the first express locomotive to surpass the class E 19, whose design dated back to the Thirties. Reason enough to be proud of this powerful, beautifully shaped locomotive and to put it accordingly in the limelight. Hardly any other locomotive like the class 103, known for an entire generation as the Intercity locomotive, was marketed so much in the media. In TV ad spots, posters, and brochures this locomotive became a symbol for the German Federal Railroad's dynamism, a guarantee for reliability, speed, and comfort. Extensive test runs, among them regular speeds of 200 km/h / 125 mph between Munich and Augsburg, were done with four prototypes, until the class 103 was purchased as a regular production unit starting in 1970. The 145 locomotives differed from the prototypes in leaving off the decorative striping and in double rows of vents. Single-arm pantographs were installed on the locomotives from 1976 on, and the last series of units delivered had longer engineer's cabs, because crews complained about the cramped work space. The aerodynamic, six-axle locomotive had a total continuous power rating of 7,440 kilowatts / 9,977 horsepower and was the most powerful DB locomotive until the use of three-phase current technology. The high startup tractive effort as well as the electric brakes, independent for the first time of the catenary and connected in series with air brakes, drew favorable comment worldwide. The performance strengths of the 103 were reflected in the enormous number of runs and even today it is still rated as the locomotive with the highest level of service life in Germany. Its uncommonly attractive looks remained essentially unchanged during its use on the DB. In later years, the skirting and the buffer cladding were removed and several locomotives were painted in the "Chinese red" color scheme; only one unit was painted in "traffic red". The German Federal Railroad's class 103 was very popular with crews and passengers right up to the end of its regularly scheduled use, and it is understandable that a considerable number of them have remained preserved as museum locomotives. Many people today remember back as if it were just yesterday when they were young and how the 103 flew past them on the station platform.

The prototype of the Märklin model available under item no. 55103 is the German Federal Railroad's (DB) class 103.1 express locomotive in the regular production version with double arm pantographs and double side vents. The locomotive is a completely new piece of tooling. The frame and the trucks are constructed of metal. The body is prototypically divided into parts and is constructed chiefly of metal. It has an mfx digital, light and sound functions for optional operation with AC power, DC power, Märklin Digital, and Märklin Systems. The centrally mounted, powerful motor drives all of the axles in both trucks by means of cardan shafts. The white headlights and red marker lights are LED's that will work in conventional operation and that can be controlled digitally. There is a white LED light in the respective engineer's cab at the front and in the engine room. The operating sounds and the locomotive whistle as well as the acceleration and braking delay can be controlled with a 6021 Control Unit or with Märklin Systems. Additional operating sounds can be controlled with Märklin Systems. The engineer's cab doors can be opened. The grab irons are metal and there are many other separately applied details: DB signs, windshield wipers, antenna, whistle, headlight bezels, and much more. The roof equipment is reproduced in detail with newly designed double-arm pantographs that complete this successful model. The buffer beams have sprung buffers and separately applied brake lines. The Märklin couplers can be replaced by closed end skirting and prototype couplers. The minimum radius for operation is 1,020 mm / 40-3/16". The length over the buffers is 60.9 cm / 24".

The 55103 electric locomotive is being produced in 2008 in a one-time series only for Insider members and has a suggested price of EUR 2,199.00.

The contemporary car types for the TEE "Rheingold" in the sets, item nos. 58038 and 58039, are the right express train passenger cars to go with the 103.1.

The Train Sensation of the German Transportation Exhibition in 1953 in Munich, the "Senator"

High travel speeds as a result of lightweight construction

Göppingen, February 7, 2008. At the start of the Fifties, the German Federal Railroad (DB) developed two articulated powered rail car trains for long distance service. Franz Kruckenberg, who had already made a name for himself in the Thirties with fast vehicles, participated in the design. In the development of the two powered rail car trains, he was able to go back to valuable experience that had already been made with the Rail Zeppelin and the SVT 135 155: high speed resulting from largely all-aluminum lightweight construction. These two articulated powered rail car trains were presented for the first time at the German Transportation Exhibition (DVA) in Munich in 1953: The VT 10 501, built by Linke-Hofmann-Busch as a daytime train "Senator" for the DB, and the VT 10 551, built by Wegmann as the overnight train "Komet" for the German Sleeping Car and Dining Car Company (DSG). In addition to their use and paint scheme, these two trains also had design differences. While the cars for the "Senator" were equipped with single-axle running gear, the "Komet" had Jacobs trucks between the cars. The end cars on both trains each had a two-axle power truck. MAN diesel motors with originally a performance of 118 kilowatts / 158 horsepower, later with 154 kilowatts / 206 horsepower, were used in the motor cars. The maximum speed was 120 km/h / 75 mph; a planned increase to 160 km/h / 100 mph was not carried out. The power transmission was done hydraulically by means of a four-speed transmission. The "Senator" offered its passengers 135 seats in 1st class, 24 of them reclining seats.

The trains went into regular service with the beginning of the summer schedule in 1954. The daytime train, road no. VT 10 501 as Ft 41/42 "Senator" on the route Frankfurt/Main - Hamburg, the overnight train as Ft 49/50 "Komet" between Hamburg and Basle (starting in the summer of 1955 to Zürich). The running characteristics of the overnight train received a positive evaluation. Those of the daytime train were the opposite according to DB documents: "All things considered, it is apparent that the freight car characteristics cannot be removed from this train." The "Senator" was in use until June of 1956, was rebuilt several times and tested in experimental runs. In 1959, it was taken out of operation and in 1962 was scrapped. All of the cars from the two trains were scrapped except for the intermediate car VT 10 551i from the overnight train that is used by Nürnberg railroad enthusiasts as a home for their club. The experiences with the two Kruckenberg designs fed the development of the subsequent DB VT 11.5 TEE powered rail car train.

The model of the VT 10.5 diesel powered rail car train "Senator" is available under item no. 39100 and consists of two power cars, one open seating car, and a car with a galley. This train is completely new tooling and is constructed of metal. The Softdrive Sine motor powers 2 axles in the truck for power car A. The train has dual headlights and red marker lights. The table lamps for the interior lighting have maintenance-free, warm white LED's. They have constant brightness in conventional operation and they can be controlled in digital operation. The diesel motor sounds, the sound of a horn, the sound of brakes squealing, the station announcements, sounds around the train, as well as the sound of doors closing and the conductor's departure whistle can be controlled digitally. The length of the train is 69.1 cm / 27-3/16". The 39100 powered rail car train in H0 has a suggest price of EUR 599.00.

The train is offered in Z Gauge, in mini-club, under item no. 88100. The drive mechanism powers one truck in one of the powered end cars. The headlights and the marker lights are LED's. The close coupling between the cars forms an electric connection. The length of the train is 455 mm / 17-15/16", and the suggested price is EUR 399.00.

The 39100 and 88100 powered rail car trains are being produced in 2008 in a one-timer series only for Insider members.

This train is available in a DC version in the Trix H0 assortment under item no. 22797.