I have been waiting for a 39853, Class ET 85/ES 85 Rail Car and Control Car set for a while now, and if I remember correctly they were scheduled for production in the 3rd (4th?) quarter of this year.

The Märklin website now says temporarily unavailable, check with your dealer. My dealer just keep saying it will be a while.

Has anyone received one of these yet?

Thanks!

There is a lengthy and controversial discussion on the German Stummi forum with regard to this model: It seems to have two major flaws - one of them has something to do with the flimsy, non current-conducting or otherwise problematical pantographs, the other with a certain part on the outside of the underframe that apparently collides with the lanterns of some switches/turnouts.

The criticism is so loud that Märklin seems to have stopped delivery of the model and is internally debating what to do. For the time being, they have decided to set the signal to "temporarily unavailable".

Thanks everyone for a lot of useful information on this model!

I expected it to be later than European delivery, because I did order it from a US dealer. Usually I get things through US dealers several months after delivery elsewhere in the world, which is fine.

I would rather wait until they have sorted out any issues, rather than have to return it. So hopefully a delay is actually good news.