Hi, I have just treated myself to a brand new Märklin 26609 "Glaskasten" 4 piece passenger train with two coaches and a guards van. It is absolutely superb, except for one thing. I find that even on a flat surface, it struggles to maintain traction on some of my C track 24130 R1 curves. Inclines are a complete no-no unless I go hell for leather and even then I end up with wheel spin and it stalls! I must admit that my inclines are a bit steep, because I tried to cram as much into my layout as possible. Having said that, my tracks are completely clean. Has anyone else bought this set and if so, what are your experiences of the loco? It sounds as though I may be forced to use the set only on the flat. I don't like the idea of rejigging large parts of my layout to accommodate this little loco as it would involve an awful lot of work. Alan

I have just done some calculations on my table and it would seem that my steepest gradients are approximately 2.8%. That doesn't seem to drastic to me.

I have the 26559 set which is almost identical. This train with the little Gaskasten loco always runs on my inner R1 track which also includes a few curved turnouts and it behaves perfectly.

I have no gradients on my layout so I can't really test it's grip on a slope.

My 26609 make it up 1.7% with straights and R4 curves. This doesn't help you. Just for information to potential buyers.
How about removing one of the cars?

Hi Alan, make sure your wagons are free running. Some new wagons I've received recently have considerable friction from the wheel flanges rubbing against the wagon floors. I've corrected that by filing away part of the detail on the underfloor.

Hi Ray, I have removed all sets of wheels as, yes they were definitely binding. A little oil applied to the axles and all is well. Unfortunately, while doing this, I inadvertently broke a couple of the very pieces on the roof of the coaches. They really are so delicate. Also, I managed to disturb the copper straps which protrude from the bottom of the coaches and touch the axles. Anyway, a little bit of ham fist adjustment later and all was well. The coaches light up with no flickering. The loco now will pull the consist all the way round the layout as long as I maintain full speed up the gradients. I think that I shall adopt the age old technique of raising the table on one side to reduce the incline. Anyone got a pile of old beer mats?


Hi Ross, I definitely like your idea of two locos providing the extra power. However, at the extra cost, I think the option of leveling out my table is the one that I will pursue for the moment. Alan

I have the 26559 set, same as others (identical but no sound).

It runs fine on my 3% inclines. Don't have any R1 curves but certainly no problems on the flat.

My only issues are 2 things:

1) centre hole slider causes shorts on K track wide radius turnouts and DKW. I am in the process of replacing the slider.
2) loss of ground contact on the wide K track DKW when going straight, due to the dead areas. Looking at a powerpack to bridge these gaps.

Ah, the ground contacts on the car axles would be why the traction appears to be worse then.

I am not happy with Marklin that they re-released the exact same set with sound and lights.

Just tested mine on a 5% slope...no problem. Could be that old trusty M track?

Hi Alan - thanks for that info.

A friend from Germany often recommends Joes to me and that price is almost identical to what mine was ordered for. I generally order from North American dealers however due to the high cost of shipping between Europe and the US, especially if I have to return things. But the big disadvantage is how slow Märklin items are to arrive here in NA compared to other locations. I have had that train and the TGV record train on order for 13 months now and AJCKids has no idea when either will become available here. The last time I bothered to check they thought maybe sometime next month and I guess it will be later than that. Actually I am starting to wonder if I will ever see either one of them, since Märklin has shown them out of production for two months now.

I will take your advice seriously though about how delicate it is, having broken something on one new loco just unpacking it and getting it on the track!

Cheers