Take a look at this thread....starting at post #9

https://www.marklin-user...-Pictures-of-the-DB.aspx

Now this is where it gets difficult.

As a general rule of thumb baggage cars were coupled behind the locomotive in the 1920’s. There were even instances when a freight car was the “first” wagon in a passenger train, but these freight cars were built specifically for this purpose. It didn’t matter which end the cupola was, and some baggage cars had it in the middle.

http://www.eisenbahnstif...mp;num=1145&thema=64

As far as the “rule” goes it was not that no passenger car was allowed, but more that no passenger carrying car was allowed. In effect if the first car of the train was empty of passenger, then in effect the rule was being complied with.

Hard to say whether the mail car was at one end of the train and a baggage car at the other. This may have just been happenstance with the number of major terminus stations on the trains route rather than a conscious decision in train make up.

As far as “lantern” holders are concerned this is where modelling fidelity gets in the way mass production. Marklin have elected not to model this feature on most of their wagons, but the likes of Brawa does, so really the Marklin models without the brackets are wrong.

Now I love the exception to the rule type things. The first unit trains of OOt hopper wagons in the 1920’s in fact had the baggage car at the rear of the train because the drawbar weight of the train was greater than the baggage car could handle!

John