1999 release. https://www.lokmuseum.de...te=&SID=406965090609

Gotta search in German my friend ... https://www.bahnbilder.d...ok-re-460-084-7-mit.html

Ah Frank, you are the man! Funny, I thought I would ask you personally, but as a last resort, so posted here first for the benefit of all... I did see the Lokmuseum page but with no picture I moved on without seeing the date of 1999. I don't even know how to search "in German". Does that mean to write a question in German into Google or Safari search or rather use a German search engine? Big world out there. I'm really happy to see the real thing though, Danke!
I played with it tonight for quite a while, noticed that the lights are yellower than the modern LED's in the Green Cargo loco and also it got very warm. So probably filament bulbs and maybe a bit dry. Since it is 22 years old I will open it up and oil it (with Labelle). Hopefully I'll never need parts for it. Interestingly Marklin chose to do chrome on the plastic body as the real loco looks like polished aluminum, eh, maybe when it was new it was very highly polished. Cool loco I think, with all those flags.
BTW got it from TrainZ. They occasionally have good deals on previously owned stuff. But I think I got lucky with this one.

Hi. Great locomotive.

You mean it was a wrap? That has been done on many of the Marklin event locomotives and models of the prototypes are out there. I believe the wrap process was one article in Trainini.

For the Marklin z scales, many of these type of locomotive use the same motor a 211903. This is the heart of the thing, and the other parts seldom fail. These motors are still available and very easy to install. You should be able to keep this one going for a long while.

Great find. I have purchased from Trainz before also and have had good luck except for the time one of my packages took a detour to Florida. This doesn’t happen often, I’m glad to report.

Best wishes.

Dwight

Update. 211903 is officially discontinued and no longer available from Märklin. There's been a run up of orders from the corners of the earth. When I have people from DE ordering from me you know it's a frantic search for remaining stock.

I pulled the body and it is pretty interesting inside. very heavy construction, definitely a 5 pole. At first I thought it didn't need oil as there was oil around the edges of the chassis but the gears and worms gears were bone dry. I imagine over the years in storage the little bit of oil succumbed to the law of gravity. So a few drops of Labelle 108 and it its running a tiny bit smoother (quieter) and without heat build up. The lighting may be LED actually. The lights are covered and fixed in place in a way that you cannot see the emitters but it is too tight for rice grain bulbs IMHO.
It will be a shame if we have to start parking older Marklin locos due to a lack of parts. Certainly a good reason to not leave them running for days at train shows. But a burnt wire or something will be a loss. I for one have no plans to start buying up spare parts. It goes against my belief that spares should be available for those in need and not gathering dust in someones drawer. I'm sure there are plenty of spares, just not available! Who knows Frank, a lot of Z scale modelers (or their kin) may be selling stocks of parts in a few years. Maybe you will get to sell or install the same motors more than once? Anything would be better than having them go to landfill.

I have TOO Many Re 460s :) But I have to say...out of all the different locomotives I have from Marklin, something about the build and design of these models - make them amazingly tough and reliable. When I say many...I mean probably more than 10...all bought from ebay over a decade or so...none have failed though they may have arrived in various states of performance. Whenever I have doubts about places of my layout not having enough current or being dirty or just having a bad day - the last resort is always to run a 460 over it. If the Re 460 can't go by, nothing else will.

With inclinations and track that is honestly...not too well laid..again my Re 460s are the most forgiving. I have 460s with melted boards (decoder installation) and others where the lights don't work (decoder installation gone wrong)...but they all still run.

So while they may not be my "favourite" locomotive from Marklin, they do really have a special place in my heart for being my trusted able locomotive workmen

Speaking about photos and catalogs, I also just like to share with you about a book I have my Thomas Zeeb called Collection at Modellplan
https://modellplan.de/os..._info.php?info=p81_.html
Although it is in German, it is a treasure trove of all the Marklin Z releases including all the variants. If you have any size of Marklin Z items and would like a reference bible - then this book is highly recommended.

Hello there, I think the downloadable copy would probably be more updated and practical for the reasons that you have mentioned.
However if like me, you also like the feel of print and would like to sometimes browse a book instead of google an image - then I really cannot highly recommend this book enough.

At 9.90 - I literally cannot think of something else more valuable to add to your collection if you're a Z scale fan. This should really be a z scale bible - and included with every starter set or be a Marklin Insider's 5 or 10 year reward. The book (I have) is 800 pages long!

It begins with introductions about the variants in different elements like wheels, couplers and pantographs. It then goes on to detail every single set, car and locomotive with colour photographs. In areas where there are more releases, it details the differences (in German). I've shared a few photos here to give you an idea. Will probably upload a video to review. But you can get the idea here...book itself is over an inch thick!

Hello. Great discussion.

Yes, you are right that is a great reference.

I believe the way this work is, you must purchase the paper book before you are eligible to purchase any of the updates. Apparently the company verifies your purchase of this volume before they let you purchase anything else. I believe a record is kept by them, or you might have to submit evidence of your purchase. I am not certain how this works.

Anyway, the updates are more like a database computer program and it is not translated from German. I am not certain how it works if your PC could translate it, you would have to get in it first before this could happen and it is all German. I don’t know if they are considering an English version, they did not give me an indication they were working on this or were interested.

This being said, this is an excellent book and well worth the price. I got mine a few months ago,but had to wait three or four months to get it. ( shipping times from Germany have improved recently, but I am not certain how a heavy weight book like this one will fare, it may still go by ship) To order from them,you have to create an account on their site, and I messed this up, but received the book anyway. The book has been useful for the work I have been doing on the Wiki, but there are times when I expect to find information in the book, but it is not there. Special models, sets or industrial models or sets, are not listed. I have noticed some of the info in the book, is not consistent with what is on Locmuseum. Locmuseum for example counts motor changes as different versions, while the book doesn’t seem to mention motors. It does have ERA information though, nice, but small photos of side views, and at 800 pages, who complains. Still a great tool for us z fans. 1972 to 2015 covers many Marklin z models, it is amazing when you pick up this heavy book.

If someone purchases the book and updates, please let me know how it works.

Be wishes

Dwight