is it not a powered seperate railcar?

I am just a new member here but have been lurking for some many months. I have gained some very useful information and hav ehad some laughs but there is some tension here between some members. I notice that a member Lutz sounds and acts like a Marklin employee. there is nothing wrong about Marklin according to him.
I think that he is very wrong there. Marklin make some big mistakes and tend to ignore there most prolific customers.
He can give some nice information but often he gets the Sh*ts with some people and gets very Sarcastic. Sound like a Hun with a Pole up his ass. get rid of that pole and you may be a very nice member.
xxxxDown

THank you very much for the welcome.

John. I have not heard of this country but the guy sure sounds like a real live wire. I think we now have another two Scottish members so our new friend is without doubt on his own.
Have you seen anything in the new items list that you fancy buying this year. I quite like the Br 64 and will wait to see how others find it then maybe place an order.

David

Oh I make big mistake in making my profile , I live in Kazakhstan in the main city Astana. my partner is a oil expert and works for Government. he was born here but had English father we have no models but enjoy looking at books and on internet. one day soon we hope we can begin collecting and make a railway.

ooops Apologies I failed to realise we had a new lady member. Why not get your husband to join us as well and with our help you can start on a layout. Do you have any Model Railway dealers where you are.

David

Hello,

I just posted some photos of the RailTop RAm (AC)

http://hag-info.ch/hag/forum/ph...ad9597d55628206ee2#20615

You can see how the model looks on the tracks from the 29859 starter set, as well as the design of the interconnecting gangways and the ground and third rail contacts.

Please note: 1:87 with minimal overhang and connecting gangways and NO movable skirts.

This is what Maerklin could have attained with a little better R & D.

Regards

Mike C

I expect a new Gottardo in another livery (i believe i saw one at a magazine) and i hope these problems will be solved cause it is a very nice model.

Where do I begin?

The pictures that I posted on the Hag German Group show the RailTop RAm on Maerklin C1 Radius track. I posted some new ones today on C3, where the train looks much better.

The fact that the RAm can run on R1 without movable skirts and with a working design for a gangway design is impressive, even if the baffles look a little hyperextended.

Are you seriously going to tell me that this looks worse than Maerklin's gaping hole with the green connector?

RailTop did exactly what I was expecting from Maerklin, the bogies were designed to turn without contacting the coach body, and the baffles were designed to look ok on radius 1 and look good on wider radii.

I am still hoping for a RailTop model of the RAe as well. I hope that they will be able to get back on track soon. Right now, my RAm is one of maybe ten in the world and it is a gem.

Don't get me wrong, I have the Maerklin RAe. I love the fact that it is a metal model. Have you noticed that not ONE unit has sold for over the price without VAT on eBay??????? That does not bode well for a model that could and should have been able to get a higher price out of the starting gate than a 37343 Re 4/4II TEE.

I actually like Maerklin's model better than the Lima one that I used to have. The design of the skirts is a little better than Lima's and the Lima baffles were problematic as well. But, the Maerklin model could have been SO much better.

F*&king up the little things has become a Maerklin symbol. For example, the incorrect windows on the SBB Baggage car, the doors on the first batch of Lightsteel coaches, the footstep on the Re 4/4I, etc. If each of these little things would have been better designed, the models would have been so much nicer. Don't even get me started on the brittle C-Track.

The RAm is my first RailTop Lok, and I like what I see.

I am not saying you have to buy one, 'cause you can't right now, but don't try to tell me that the Maerklin baffles are more suitable than the RailTop ones.

Je ne sais pas c'est quoi que tu fumes, mais je pense que c'est le temps d'arreter.

Oh, BTW check out the photos of the model on R3!

Respectfully yours,

Mike C

Hello David,

the 39540 trainset is the RAe 1051.

Regards

Mike C

Can anyone tell me if this set, Maerklin 39540, has engine/electric operating sounds?

I realize it has sounds but not clear from Maerklin information if these are the sounds of the engine or only the whistle and the station sounds.

Does anyone know if the table lamps light up?

What's the story Lutz and others??? I know many of you could care less about non-steam operating sounds but this is high on my list even if electric.

Despite all the hate mail about this model I think the cars while not scale look pretty good and if it has sound and the table lamps light up I might acquire one.

They are currently selling in Germany for a best price of around 499 E and here the price varies. Doesn't appear the price took a huge nosedive due to the wires and space between cars.


THANKS!

The average price that this unit lists on eBay is about EUR 490,-, which coincidentally is the lowest retail price announced with the VAT removed. The list price for this unit was supposed to be EUR 699,-.

In Switzerland, the average retail price is SFr 999.-. There are no discounts available from full price from Swiss dealers. Best deal you can get here is a 7% reduction for the VAT.

In USA, the price has gone from earlier listings of $899 to $949 to about $799 to $849.

I have yet to see one set sell on eBay for anything close to original retail price.

Don't get me wrong, I like this unit and bought one, but I am so frustrated that Maerklin could not have taken the time to get it right and make this a model to rival the VT11.5. The metal finish is excellent, but they failed in designing a few small details.

Look closely at the Roco and RailTop/LSM RAm trains to see how they designed the bogies so that they could pivot without hitting the car frame. Look at the VT11.5 to see what the interconnecting gangways should have looked like.

For the price that they charged for this one, they could have done a little better engineering job.

This model has only a whistle and a station announcement. There are no motor noises and it once again uses a mfx decoder with a separate sound module and not a mfx loksound that can be modified.

Regards

Mike C

A member of the Swiss HAG forum (where this model was discussed in a controversial manner too) has attempted the following solution visible in his pictures:

http://hag-info.ch/hag/f...wtopic.php?p=20854#20854

Hahahaha,

I loved this comment by another member of the HAG forum:

"...Sehr gut gelungen, so sieht es schon richtig gut aus. Schicke doch einmal der Märklin Entwicklungsabteilung ein Foto..."

I hope that the author indeed sends this picture to the Märklin factory so that they wake up and smell the coffee.

In the meantime, I received my Gottardo piece of junk from my dealer. It's still in its box; I haven't had the courage to take it out and test it on R5 or R9 yet. Hopefully, it will look a bit decent on R5. However, depending on the results, this piece of garbage will have to be put on sale. Anyone interested?

Armando,

I wrote already a several weeks ago I'll take it. Since you dislike it so much, $350 should be fine.

Regards,
Arthur

I don't like it but the approach is a little bit more prototypical than installing plastic gangways like those of the RAm .
Imagine Marklin installing a piece of wool like this
There is much better to do...( so much better )

How did I get dragged back into this issue????
My point was purely that Maerklin could have done a much better job on the design of this unit. I never said it had to be 1:87 or should be limited to Radius 4 and 5.
I would like to hear a Maerklin design engineer defend the model at a seminar, to justify why they chose those solutions over other (potentially better) ones.

That does not mean I do not love my model. It just means that it is not the "model to end all models" that it could have been.

I would have to rate it an RA-e or a RB+e

Regards

Mike C

Received my Gottardo last week. I noticed the writing on the side of one of the head cars is a bit faded. Is this something that can be fixed easily? Model was was made in Hungary was the entire run produced there?

As you know , there are two Marklin plants . Two Marklin Factories in Europe . They were three untill last year : two in Germany ( Goppingen & Sonneberg )and one in Hungary ( Gyor ) not so far from Goppingen , near German border . + TRix factory in Nuremberg ...some models have been also produced at Nuremberg sometimes..Today all has been concentrated in Goppingen and Gyor ( Hungary ). Sonneberg has been closed . So PA 1 model may come from Germany or Hungary . The main is that it comes from a Marklin Factory not from an outsourced subcontractor....Many other models come from Marklin hungarian factory , they are doing pretty good job ( I just think about the 230F steamer ....)On some fairs there were a special stand from Marklin-Gyor showing products that they have been making..
The Hungarian people is quite "technical minded" , In Hungary you find such a strong tradition of engineering ...( excuse my poor English ). They were just unlucky to live in a communist system during 45 years...( which is another subject ) ...

I bought one last week and think it is great despite the one side having green connectors.

Mine had a small sticker on the box that said made in Hungary. It was a white sticker on the outside of the bx

I really think it is a pretty nice model overall, Made of heavy metal. I have not run it yet.

to lutz no fing comment as get into trouble if I give the answer it deserves.

Not in that photo. they do not look happy at all.

Nev. I know we had an agreement here but it is getting very difficult. The mother in the photo is wearing a Marklin top... maybe she is not his mother !!! Who is the guy at the back ??? There is a hand appearing from the left.... Looks like a job for Miss 8 to track down another lady in red.

Thanks to Roland for the explanation and as Ron says perfect English.
There have been many things made in Hungary over the years and all seem to be fine so I dont see a problem with M stuff being made there.

Just a brief comment : I sent an email to Vollmer and had a reply in 4 hours in perfect English which was very helpful. Top marks to Vollmer.

David