it doesn't do it for me and this is not only Märklin, there is too much stuff going on, I rather see a website split into categories such as gauge, I'm not interested in Z-N or 1 gauge and all this glossy display of real life locos and the model doesn't do it either, in real life the model isn't anything like it, comparing the 2, they may have copied the details more but everything else becomes irrelevant especially freight locos.
on one side too much information and on the other side not enough information. its a world of dreams and fashion. look at car advertisements these days, there is nothing about the car anymore, its your navigator which is the most important achievement to get from point A to your nearest pub. or to have fun and go to places your average person would never go, or buying a 4 wheel drive car and using it to see if you can beat some mountain bike riders, or driving up a cliff top, it doesn't tell you if it has a spare tyre or how big the fuel tank is. advertising these days is so abstract you wonder what is it all about.
I like the simple things, you're looking for a particular thing, open the website and here it is, not going through information and information overlapped by other information and pictures and more information.
suppose it's the world we live in including mobile phones, so we can search the latest arrivals from Märklin, new items, released items, who has got what and the list goes on, all I can say its boring by going up and down and sideways on your screen to get to the object you wanted in the first place but this is all called fun these days and 21st century technology. it surprises me people still live at home why not just live on the street and have your best friend with you at all times: your mobile phone, can't do without it and this brings me back to images and more images, information and more information, we used to have images of the inside of a loco, not anymore, to be quite honest I can't see the purpose for all of this what I would like to see from a loco, (displayed in a video) what can it do, can it go up a hill ? has it Telex coupling and how does the Telex coupling perform, are 2 rubber tyres enough to pull a descent load behind it, are the locos for sale suitable for a layout, like long distance express trains, in most cases this is irrelevant because we don't have the room for it but we are filling up our display cabinets with locos and carriages because someone is bringing out a new loco more often than ever before. as children we had a deprived childhood, toys was a luxury and who ever got a train for Christmas was very lucky indeed, today its not about getting one train, you need at least a dozen otherwise your satisfaction quota hasn't reached the 21st century requirement level.
this is why this website is so pleasant, you can look, you can search, you can ask questions and usually get answers straight away, a glossy website doesn't offer any of these important tools and this website is as popular as ever, it had a few updates and a new look face but its the content which matters and I'm not convinced the new look Märklin website does it for me.
Roco's website has one advantage, you can opt for locos made from different railway companies, e.g. DB, ÖBB, SBB, BLS, SNCF etc etc. and this enables you cut out all the other locos you're not really searching for, regardless, steam, diesel or electric, this is what I call a consumer friendly application and who cares , its all forgotten within a week.
old fashioned
John
