I often read here that 39xxx was better than 37xxx, but there is no evidence. Some 37xxx are "better" than some 39xxx models. For Märklin the second digit obviously makes no difference.

my guess is that Märklin has made a Christmas edition of a branch line passenger car set, based on the 43010, 43020, and 43030 or 43019. It seems like 48420 and 48421 are slightly different in construction and correspond to 43010 and 43020.

so personally I think the baggage car 48419 and the passenger cars 48420 and 48421 makes a nice Christmas set on their own. And next year Marklin will likely have something different, as the set is now "complete".

Good point. I'll have to have a look and compare them myself. Still will make an interesting set to go with the steam Christmas loco.

Well, the auto companies work together now, so? I don't have one Christmas car. I just can't see paying $40 plus for a 5 inch car. If my birthday were around December, no doubt my former dealer would have gifted me a few.

The criteria maybe something like the wind direction on the day of decision ;)

The 844 does indeed look nice, and the dynamic smoke is interesting.

But what do you pull with it? It is strictly a passenger loco and all Märklin has offered recently for UP are the five coaches they released with the 4014. I haul those with a Challenger but it still needs more coaches to make a credible train. Now another UP passenger loco with no additional coaches for it is sight?

I have bought more than on loco thinking that Märklin would have to eventually produce appropriate coaches for them and in most cases I am still waiting.

I for one have more European trains than American. Mainly German and Swiss. I do have a nice set of Bachman PRR brunswick brown pullman coaches I could pull with it.
Thye are lit, but from the early 90's, so not l.e.d. like the newer ones are. They also still have the old horn hook couplers. The new ones have better ones like Kadee's.
It's a 4 car set boxed individually. A baggage/open seat, diner, open seat car, compartment coach, and observation coach. I have a brunswick green Mehano analog d.c. GG1 that pulls them, but I never run them. I was only offered $75 for it all, including a 1950's or 60's Penn Line H-9 steamer. That was from a dealer who buy's collectiions.

They are the worst people to sell to. One free guess how they expect to make their money.

That is an interesting observation. It makes me wonder who actually made Märklin's Challenger models as well. When I got my Challenger I was intrigued by the finer detailing compared to my older Big Boy (37990). It has lighted number boards to the sides of the headlight, lighted front marker lights, functional rear marker lights and light on the tender top, cab windows which open and opening roof vent. I though that it was just a sign of model progress over the 20 years which separated the two models.

Then I bought a 37997 Big Boy expecting those details on it as well. But it is detailed exactly like the 37990 and lacks all of those features. Interestingly the 844 has all of those features, making it more like the Challengers than the Big Boys.

That makes me wonder if the Big Boys are made by Märklin and the challengers by someone else. It is also not current Märklin practice to release a model and then make it available the next month, rather than months or even years later. Has anyone received an ICE4 train yet?

Even though my Challenger and 37997 Big Boy were both sold in the US neither has a country of origin label on the packaging. Maybe the 844 and Challengers were made in China like some of my other high feature Märklin locos. I don't have a problem with that but it would be nice to know where an expensive new loco was made and who made it.