I have a HO scale Class 75 made by Maerklin as do many of you Maerklin enthusiasts. It has been marketed by Maerklin since 1984, first in the original Württemberg livery as the Class T5 from around 1910, catalogue #3312. My version is the 37132 digital representing the locomotive as it might have looked from the early 1950s.
On the railways these were a most useful prairie type locomotive being able to haul light express services, or local goods traffic. The T5 was made by the Maschinenfabrik Esslingen only after the type had been well proven by the Badische railways from around 1900.
On my layout the 37132 runs faultlessly, and I have never done a review of it. Maybe that is because without mishap it does not come to attention, and maybe because so many already know so much about this model.

Liliput have also released a class 75 model for HO which seems to be available for under 200 Euros. The model is available with a number of variations, and it also differs from the Maerklin model. My Liliput is #131186 mostly made from die-cast metal, and I guess in China.


It represents one of the Badische versions, the class VIb made from 1900-1908 by Maffei and MBG at Karlsruhe. As can be seen from the photo, it does not have the sloped front on the tanks, and also has a balancing tube between the two steam domes which coped with boiler surges. On the Maerklin model there is only one steam dome because the T5 was a super-heated engine and did not require the steam collector balance.

The model has been beautifully made and runs soundlessly on my layout. It appears to be equipped with an ESU Lokpilot v4 (the literature says v3) without sound. It has no trouble pulling a passenger train of 5 bogie coaches. It is a rather nice variation on the Maerklin model.
The two problems I have encountered are:
1. The cylindrical tank under the rear bunker fouls the trailing wheels on the tight R1 curves – so I removed it and do not have any problems. It simply unclips.
2. The slider underneath has a propensity to fall sideways on some curved turnouts, thus coming into contact with the outer rail and causing a short. I have encountered the same problem on the Maerklin steam rail-motor (Kittel #37258). My solution is to restrict the routing on these locomotives.

It is a great shame that none of this large variety of locomotives of Class 75 have survived the scrappers torch.

Wiki image of Badische VIb

Edited by user 24 September 2018 22:49:30(UTC)  | Reason: mentioned the price

Hi Anders,
Yes the problem for this loco occurs on the narrow curved turnouts.

Then I have another Liliput loco which has no problem on the narrow curved turnouts. But it has a problem on the large radius turnouts for the same reason that the slider falls sideways.

It is a natural reaction to restrict their use for these reasons. The same protocols are used on the real railways where a particular class of locomotive is restricted until and if a solution is found.

Sometimes I look carefully at the problem. Sometimes I never find a solution. It is a hobby so I do not lose sleep.

Regards
Kimball