I’ve always like the old Märklin 4026 baggage wagon, it was a one of a kind wagon in the DB. I thought it would be nice if anyone had old photos of the prototype, if they could share them here?

Cheers….

Mike

Hi,

found one :



from :
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gepäckwagen_%28Eisenbahnwagen%29

Best Regards
Joël

Just for reference, I have stolen this blatantly from Martin Brandt in re 4026. I especially like his story of the fußball incident

"This is the Märklin model 4026 of a DB post-war four-axle baggage car. When I was a boy, I was always on the lookout for a matching prototype on DB trains and never succeeded. But there was one. Yes, one. A prototype of an "Eilzug" baggage car from the early fifties. It apparently did not have priority for DB. On many trains, a half baggage car was enough, and there were many old cars around anyway. Others were welded together as "Behelfsgepäckwagen" (e. g. the Märklin model 43992). So, in the late fifties this was Märklin's only reasonable choice for a contemporary car, and it was sold from 1958 to 1999, with little variety, like the other tin-plate cars. Even after a new baggage car with its garage style rolling doors became the norm at DB.

"A baggage car could be found at front or rear end of the train. Sometimes, swapping cars en route made it necessary to place the car elsewhere. Yes, therefore these newer types had an aisle for passengers. But this would be an obstacle to passenger flow nevertheless. Any loading or unloading operation in the middle of a busy platform also was messy. So, this was avoided whenever possible. Else, with the car in the middle, the baggage car conductor was my natural enemy. He would sit in his compartment and spot me when I was "exploring the train" as a kid. He would ask for my whereabouts and send me back to my seat. On the other hand, one day I was riding a Stuttgart - Nuremberg train right after the end of a Stuttgart vs. Nuremberg football game, with both teams having fan clubs en route. Luckily, the baggage car was in the middle, and the police separated the fans already on the platform.

"Almost all trains had a baggage car. Back then, "smart casual" was not an option, and people needed lots of luggage. This is why they often handed it in for the trip. Furthermore, you would find bicycles there, some express parcels, and an occasional person in a wheelchair. Standard wheelchairs did not fit train doors and aisles. Actually, train tables indicated trains without baggage handling, this being the exception!"