A tale of two coaches - 1977 to 2011

Well I can do without some things in my life, like adding small bits to model coaches which are really quite necessary to make the item look complete.

I am collecting some examples, to make DRG passenger trains as they might have been before 1950.
Firstly, the coaches lettered for Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG) are in the brown-green colour scheme.

1. Trix 23771 made from 1977 as a 2nd class coach. This was never made in another class lettering.


2. Liliput 384703 3rd class coach, made from 1998 (other productions available in 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes as 84602, 84702, 84802, 84707, 384603, 384713, 384803, 334565, 334566,334567).


3. Trix 23383. This 1st/2nd class coach is in the bottle green colour adopted by the DRG in 1939. It shows no DRG marklings, because it represents a coach as it might be running after WWII. 3rd class and baggage were also available as models 23385 and 23387. The series was also released by Marklin starting from model 42230.


Examples 1 and 3 above had Pennsylvania Railroad style bogies, where a goose-neck beam balanced the wheelsets over undulating track, with the transverse springset in the middle as a pivot point. The bogie on Number 2 was a fabricated frame which was more expensive to produce, with extra coil springing required to deal with track undulations.

Here are some photos of a pair of the coaches end to end.

In the first pic below, we have the Marklin (Trix) Hecht car on the left, released in 2011 (or therabouts).
Examples are Trix #23383-7 for era IIIa, and also released by Marklin in IIIb as #42230-5.
Naturally it has kinematic NEM coupler pockets, and close coupling.
The photo is evidence that the car has admirable detail, and did not require additional fitting of parts.

On the right, the car is a Liliput ex-Baden coach from 1907, model #384703, first released in 1998.
It is an exquisite model, with remarkable detail on the roof vents, and fine printing along the sides.
Unlike the Maerklin example, you are required to fit 8 handrails and 4 gangway (übergang) extending handles.
It too has kinematic NEM coupler pockets, which enable close coupling.
The car is a contrasting addition to the Einheits (standard design) and Prussian examples of D-zug coaches.



The second pic shows the same ex-Baden coach on the left, contrasted with a Trix 1911 Prussian coach on the right, produced from 1977 (model #23771).
The Trix has no kinematic or NEM coupler facilities.
However it is an interesting coach, which looks good in any D-zug.
Again, it required no additional fitting of parts, but still looks complete.
These cars were first produced in Prussia in 1900, and the upswept roof ends were I believe, an attempt to give the coaches a "streamlined" look.
In practice however, water would lodge in a way that when you opened the door, you were often deluged.
That was in addition to the falling rain sweeping in anyway.
The Einheits cars in contrast, had the overhanging roof at the doorways. (See photo at end of article).



The detail picture below, shows the small parts to which I have referred.
The handrails (alongside the door, and alongside the roof access ladder are self evident), but the telescoping opening handles for the gangway are not so obvious (topmost arrows).
They are not shown on the old Trix Prussian model, but are moulded on the gangway of the Marklin Hecht car (on the left of the photo).
In the Liliput car on the right, they are supplied as a part to fit, and what a drama it can be.
After you have done a few, you get the idea.
It is overall, a nicely added detail but I am glad that Marklin do the job for me.
I have not checked my other Marklin cars, to see if this detail is included.



All of these cars operate perfectly on my C track layout.

This additional picture shows the roof overhang on other DRG cars, which improved shelter for passengers entering or leaving the train.


Review by Kimball.

Edited by user 12 August 2016 09:40:58(UTC)  | Reason: Added more precise descriptions