Here is a comparrison between the two sets.
Either would look good behind the BR 05.
I will be running the 42281 with the BR 05 and the 43290 behind a Steel-blue BR 03.
Main Points are:
<u>42281 </u>
Metal Bodies
4 cars in the set
Tinted windows

<u>43290</u>
Plastic Bodies
3 cars in the set
Interior lighting installed


Speisewagens -01
42281 Upper
43290 Lower


Speisewagens -02
43290 Upper
42281 Lower


2nd Class -01
43290 AB4ue-36/52 Upper
42281 B4u(e)-28/52 Lower


2nd Class -02
42281 B4u(e)-28/52 Upper
43290 AB4ue-36/52 Lower


Coupled distance
42281


Coupled distance
43290

Full size images are available on my web site.
Regards
Tony

The Glückauf-Set can use the short couplers from the Rheingold set if you want real close couplers.
https://www.marklin-user...ault.aspx?g=posts&t=8153

Here's a picture:
The two cars in front have the power conducting coupler 272140 (there's no power to conduct yet ...), the two at the back have the normal coupler:

Hi Jim

No you are not wearing your Yellow Hat today...And you are right.

There is a difference in lenght, the Glukauf being longer. I only noticed that when I was taking the pics. That was one of the reasons to take alternative pictures, the other to show the differences in colour.

As you say, both sets are very, very nice and I hope that M will produce an add-on set for the Merkur in the near future.

As a matter of interest, I have ordered a Trix 23337 Pw4U Baggage Car to go with my 43237/4328 Rheingold sets as well.

Ha Jim

Covet (or thoughts thereof) to your hearts content [}:)]

And just to rub salt into the wound, mine came to Godzone from Canada [:p][:p]

You were so close - but Glukauf is now - Oh So Far Away...

Hmm, when I get home tonight, I'll give them a run just for you

Regards
Tony the Macfire
"There IS only One - for I am he"

Hey Jim

TOOT TOOT

I also had a wee spirit, just for you, as well....[}:)]

According to the information I have/got yes; see also description in the Märklin 2007 news catalog.

Well, to be precise: Fleischmann delivered both sets using the same road numbers for both.

If it would be that easy, then you'd be correct with your "-". But unfortunately life isn't always easy - i.e. GFN AC vs. DC products differ substantial more than genuine Märklin vs. TRIX, especially when it comes to interior lights (I can explain this in more detail separately).

You'd also get an unneccessary excess dining car. I'm very confident that Märklin/TRIX will offer a second set with just two cars; one of them likely with red rear lights.

Hi Tony,
Do the 42281 set negotiate the smallest Marklin radius?

regards
Kimball

Hi Jim,

never mind - IMHO that's fully ok!

The following pics might help to understand the difference between the Fleischmann/TRIX two-rail and Märklin center-rail version(s).

I have this Merkur set and as well the cars #5840 and #5843 from the former Gambrinus set.



From a distant view there seems to be no difference - but let's have a closer look (the small part in the front is somehow important too ) - starting with the bottom side.



The car from the Merkur set has interior lights, the car from the Gambrinus set not (yet). What you see now is two wheel contacts (both at the same side) and the slider. The following two pics show them close up. The slider has Märklin part #115997 or Fleischmann part #1459.



The wheel contact has Fleischmann part #614961. For AC version cars there may be only installed two of them, as said before both on the same side (usually at the isolated wheel side). This corresponds to "ground" (i.e. brown) connection to the interior light (or decoder).

The other supply line comes by the slider.


Both these wheel contacts and the slider connect to two metal strips inside the car bottom which also act as weight. Final connection between these strips and the interior light is accomplished by (usually 4) U-shaped contact springs (Fleischmann part #688803). The current coupling contacts are directly wired to the interior light pcb.

This is for the AC version of the Merkur set. The DC version has each four such wheel contacts and (obvious) no slider and thus also doesn't need current conducting couplings. So, changing the light wiring of the DC version would be required in order to have it work in AC.

A few more comments to the cars. As mentioned already, the current conducting coupling extends the gap (by about 3mm).



whereas the distance with the regular Märklin short coupling is basically perfect. But you see also a small drawback - the Gambrinus car (Ffm 11606) carries the same waggon number as the car with slider from the Merkur set and it (again obvious) has a different train route plate (München - Kiel vs. Hamburg Altona - Frankfurt). But this is really only for the very excessive "Nietenzähler" (bolt counters)!



I also replaced the short end bellows at one side of the baggage car and at the last car of the Merkur set with the long ones in order to add the two additional cars to my train; they have Fleischmann part #125110.



The rear view of the Märklin and Fleischmann cars also unfolds another difference - the buffers. At the Merkur set they are kind of rectangular whereas at the original Fleischmann cars they are round - and too big for the Märklin short coupling; thus cause derailing. I simply eliminated this by cutting the lower part away (I still might reshape the complete buffer such that it looks like those from the Merkur set - unfortunately they are part of the car bottom; maybe cutting them completely away and mount spring buffers instead is the best).



I'll probably as well move the slider to either the dining or baggage car and switch the train interior and rear lights (maybe also the table lights [:p]) by a function decoder.



YES - Undoubted!!!

PS: I also did some (minor) changes to the decoder configuration of my BR05 which makes even more fun driving the train with that great loco![:p]

Hi Lutz,
Thanks, I think you just convinced me to stay with Marklin 3 rail coaches (one for the lighting reason), and to forget all about the temptations of buying the others.
And there are other reasons too. I just bought a Brawa coach, and the coupling incompatibility is a lot of trouble to solve. I just want to run the trains.

Of course I understand, that for some Marklinists, the hobby is for tinkering, and making solutions. That's OK too.

regards
Kimball

From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DRG_Class_05

"Mostly the 05 hauled the FD (long distance express) trains "Hanseat" and "Domspatz" on the run Hamburg - Cologne - Frankfurt. The regular top speed of the trains was 140 km/h. On this 703 km run the 05 operated trains did the longest run with steam traction in the DB network. July 1958 the 05 were replaced by the diesel-hydraulic DB class V 200".

I wonder if M is planning on producing these ???

Hi Kimball

Here are a some pics taken on the Training Track.


No Problems with the reverse S.


Station area siding turnouts. As tight as you can get.


No problem at all.


The Era I Open Platform in the background suffered from buffer lock while entering the same siding.

Regards
Tony.

Hi Sreven
I'll do that tomorrow and let you know.
Regards
Tony

Tony,

Beautiful [:p] I do not want to raise the spectre of "small radii vs. large radii" and all that, but I realized in those pictures that the beauty of the train overshadows any (overhang, swing-out, whatever - I am whispering now ) and I found that I was just transported to the moment. Thanks!

Jim (out-of-body experience)

[size=4]Make like Nike
Life's short!
Just do it............ [:p][:p][:p]

Wait to you see mine:
39050
37955
29840
Trix 23337, 34313
2205
Hmm next year is consolidation of funds as well........

Still waiting for your report.

Both sets are excellent.No problem with high speed to any curve or
S to my layout.I think that 42281 wins because metall is always special.So 42281 going with 39050 and 43290 going with 37050.

Some amateur Juhan.
I think you write yourself down a wee bit - IMHO.

Panayotis,
Like you the 42281 will run behind my 39050.
The 43290 behind my 39010
And the 43237/43238 Rheingold sets (with Trix 23337 Pw4U Baggage Car) behind my 3390 BR 01.10 once it has been converted to mfx