Sorry Frank, I don't see your photos.

Edit: There they are! Sorry for my impatience!

Hello all,

here are a few more:

regards
Frank

Hello all,

Again thanks Roberto, luckily the outcome for your 0050 is in the end good!
Maybe you want to show it here?

regards,
Frank

great photos...I too was interested in how Marklin made their models in the 1930s and 1940s and so I thought the only way I would know for sure is to try and do it myself. Unfortunately I don't like to comment on how they painted the locos / what kinds of paints they used because to me that is the most important aspect to determine fakes from originals. the exact alloy of metal can be made and exact molds can produce perfect castings but paint is a whole different story. I like to think of the paint as the "skin" / "face" of the train because it is really tells a lot about the character of the train.

Anyway Marklin used the very expensive method of Zinc diecasting to produce the metal parts like the outer frame, inner frame and wheels of the locomotive. This method allows for very precise castings with very little shrinkage (almost none) and few other faults like air bubbles (oh no!). It basically involves the creation of several steel mold pieces which are machined and then fitted together with some holes in them (gates / channels) where the hot metal is injected at elevated pressure to fill all the mold cavities. The steel mold itself is heated also as to minimize interference with the hot metal. Of course now we have a solid steel box with a beautiful Zinc casting inside and we have to get it out. The mold must be designed as such to not destroy the casting inside when it is removed. This requires many complicated techniques involving "draft" (sloping of flat edges) and multiple part molds in areas of undercutting. Of course any through-holes in the casting would also have to be drilled out later. If one looks closely at the SLR 700 shell one can see where the hot metal was injected on the underside (there are 6 little cylinders present which have been milled off). There are also parting lines from the mold pieces just under the hand railing, cleverly hidden to not draw attention.

My theory is that the wheels were done in a similar way but were perhaps put on a lathe in the pre-war years to get better edges on the wheel flanges.

Other tinplate parts such as the R 700 housing (outer shell) were stamped metal out of sheets of tinplate and special punches / forms were used to shape it and add detailing.

We don't know much about the production of these locos but all of this information I have found just by looking at what I have and seeing how it could have been done. I have a few factory photos of the production process but none from the 1930s for 00 scale.

Best regards,

Paul

BTW I said in the beginning that I would try and do it myself...I never actually got around to producing all the parts but did learn a lot of information from expert metal casters, especially those who operated foundries in the 1940s and 1950s.

I find the original more attractive with the 2 nipples sticking out

yet another angle:

regards
Frank

Thank you a lot, Frank - lovely comparison topic with great pictures !!!
Do really enjoy it since I too do own the steamer & passenger cars from set #0050 ...

BTW, it's so nice a topic it rather deserves a place at our "Collectors Corner",
what do you think ?

John

Really great pictures, Frank...it is interesting to see this comparison.

Of course I would go for the "old" quality any day rather than the newer stuff, but they two give off a similar feeling.

Best regards,

Paul

Thanks Thomas for your remarkable story.
It's often the story that makes the difference between the old stuff and the newer stuff.
Thanks for sharing! Maybe you also want to share a photo of your old loc?
(since we're back in the collector's corner we want the 'real' stuff )
Let's add a little Tender-ness:
regards Frank

Hello all,

Yesterday Grandfathers loc has been sold so I can't present more photo's of the beautiful past of the Märklin history (referred to this LNER R700) and the differences compared to the more modern locs.

Please send your replies about striking differences on the already presented photo's. For instance: on the 'green loc' there is this stamp 'made in Germany'; on the replica from 1985 you can see the W before Germany just a few years before the iron curtain came down..

Please expand this thread if you for instance possess both a very old version (or even a prototype) of a loc and a more modern version of the same loc.
Maybe you want to compare the RS 700 and it's replica from the 0050 box?
Etc etc.

Let's make this thread a resource of photo's from (particulary) the magnificent old locs Märklin made and newer versions or replicas!
If you want to start your own thread about a similar topic please post a link to it in this thread. Thank you!

Wish you all a magnificent Christmas time, and a very good start in 2012!

regards
Frank