Hi,

I'm new to train modeling, the forum and Marklin trains. I am starting to buy items to put my track together. I really enjoy the older trains from the 50's and maybe early 60's?. I especially like the old-timer metal cars.

Based on the color of the boxes, can the approximate year of the car be determined, assuming it is the original box?

When did plastic start to be introduced into the cars?

I'm sure you all know what I mean, but I've attached some examples of boxes that I pulled from a certain auction site.

Thank you so much. I don't speak German, haha, but it is understandable nonetheless.

Hi 57 (a name is always nice)

Many of us use the box date-code as a good preliminary guide to the age of the item, but it is also fraught with risks not the least of which is whether it's even the box the item originally came with.

There are times when you just 'know' that the item and the box are a matched pair, I have twice purchased second-hand collections where I knew beyond doubt (99%) that the items had been in the family from new so I was happy to go with it, however with auction sites you have no such assurance so should take more care.

There is also the issue that sometimes item production may not have been in sync with literature production which was done externally so there can be quite wide gaps even ex-factory.

Many items also come with a leaflet and these too carry a printing code which generally will be relatively close to the box code, but not always.

The Koll's reference gets into specific details of an item to narrow it down further but even this is not infallible. Anecdotally we hear of errors or variants that have been reported over the years but still not updated or included by Koll.

Let's say you have more than one of a specific item that Koll's has identified to certain periods, but they have become mis-matched, the printing code may help you to match the "most likely" item/box combination. Ir if you have an 'orphan' item that you want to find a box for, well some people wouldn't care but others would take the view if you are going to go to the trouble of finding a box, then you might as well take the time to find one most likely to have come with the item.

It can be a fascinating area of study all in itself, if you are interested in such trivia (as some of us are). Just another aspect to the hobby we all enjoy.

Cheers and welcome.