I am looking for a nice Orient express set of cars (ho scale) and the choice seems pretty slim right now

I have looked at the LS Models, which seems pretty nice, but putting a set together (era 3 or 4) seems to be almost an impossible task to figure out if they come in the same livery and then to find someone who carries them. (For the first time Modellbahn listed item in stock that were not there )

Any hint or advice would be appreciated.

You might be right.

Can you confirm that I am making a good choice with the LS Models as far as quality and details? I never bought any so far.

Since we are in a Märklin forum here, I assume that most members are accustomed to and/or like sturdy, "playable" models made preferably of metal and without heaps of finicky plastic add-on parts that fall off even when only being looked at. Having said that, I am not so sure that LS models are really the right thing for us and you. Sure, they certainly have a lot of details, but is this really a pleasure if you can only hold them carrying gloves? And the prices are truly elevated.

I think that traditional models by Rivarossi, Jouef or Märklin are a good choice if you want to run the stuff and not only look at the cars in a showcase.

I only have this LS Orient Express coach in my collection (for personal nostalgia reasons). It looks nice but will remain my only purchase of this brand:
https://eyro.ch/onlinesh...fo.php?products_id=10047

The 42754 set is up on the Catawiki auction site. I have this set and it is nice: https://www.catawiki.com...ss-set-of-carriages-ciwl

A Great find but era 1 is a little too early for my « mixed » layout, I will be running era 3 and mainly era 4 on mine.

I have a set of LS from the Nord set, and a CIWL dining car. I had to get different wheels for them, (Thank you Jacques Vuye). I also had to get different couplers. Even with that they are not great with S bends, as in moving onto a siding. They are beautiful models. They come with a variety of attachments, for example a folded diaphragm for the end car. I have had buffers break, and other small pieces.
I put the RAPIDO Easy Peezy battery lights in the dining car. It looks great, but eats batteries as I keep forgetting to turn it off.
They look wonderful behind the SNCF 241.

That loco deserves some nice coaches :) Personally, I was lucky and purchased the 42795 and 42796 when they were released, so when the 39241 arrived I had the coaches. Had originally assigned the coaches to a different locomotive, but to swap to the 241, was a no-brainer.

Have actually considered some LS model's CIWL coaches for my DSB E 991, but haven't purchased anything yet.
The reason for that is the Nord Express route from Paris to Copenhagen.

As seen in this movie: note that the movie was recorded one or two years before the Dsb E class entered service, so don't know if it actually was used on that train, but it's a nice possibility. Watch from 4:30
https://www.danmarkpaafilm.dk/film/til-danmark-over-de-store-broer

Edited by user 22 September 2022 17:42:48(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

I bought my LS SNCF Nord set in Paris some years ago. I did not know I needed to have the wheel sets changed. It was through this forum I learned what I needed. Jacques Vuye made the needed changes for me. He compressed the gauge somehow. I also got Rocco “Universal couplers”. That helped immensely. I still have problems going onto a parallel siding. R 2 and R3 curves are no problem.

I too love to mix CIWL and DSG coaches as on the Nord Express. I wish Marklin would do the coaches for it. Early to mid 1950’s would be lovely. At present I mix assorted tin plate 24 cm models.

The Marklin CIWL set of the wood cars painted blue looks very nice behind the 241.

I have those coaches in brown from the set with the Baden IV h loco, which is one of the sets I use with the 241. But that Baden loco is so nice that I hate to see it sit in the siding while watching its coaches being hauled by the 241.

I considered the blue ones but I have had a fair number of issues with these converted Trix coaches and I was not ready to buy another set. Someday I will work on fixing the fine details that I broke working on the lighting, once I gain confidence that I have those interior lights sorted once and for all.

Maybe Märklin will take pity on me and finally produce a Nord set, although they mostly seem to do nice coach sets as Insider items these days and I think they might be done with 241 variants.