This is the Pfalz ("Palatine") set, which has
been produced of Trix for a time, and was available for Märklin in 1998.
It consists of the loco, the P2.II, two type CL passenger cars, 1 Nm1
express freight car, and one H low side car with real wood barrels.
The loco has a peculiar wheel
arrangement, 1'B2, meaning that the 2nd and 3rd
axles of 5 are powered. The model has the same, the power is on the 3rd
axle, and transferred via coupling rods to the 2nd axle. To
allow for model curves, the 2nd and 4th axles are
sliding sideways.
The cars are two axled, except the
freight car, which has a sliding 3rd axle in the middle. No
interior lights available, but interior details and close coupler guiding
mechanism in the cars. The detailing is very good, with a mix of plastic
and metal. The wood barrels are very good looking, better than I have seen
before.
| Derailment
sensitivity |
4 |
Good when
running forward, but less good backward. The wheel arrangement with
sliding axles cause some problems, and the track must have smooth
slope changes |
| Speed
characteristics |
4 |
Delta.
Very nice slow driving, start and stop, but very poor ability too
keep constant speed. "Spinning" sound. |
| Detailing
and looks |
5 |
|
| Model
choice factor |
5 |
The wheel
arrangement, and the overall looks of the prototype gives the high
rating. |
| Features,
digital functions |
2 |
|
| Playability
for children |
2 |
Plastic
cover with metal parts, many details. When I touched it the first
time, one lantern dropped to the floor, it's rather loosely
attached. |
| Fun for
children |
2 |
Not the
right choice. |
| Overall |
5 |
Must
buy |
Buy this set for esthetical reasons. The loco has this
special wheel arrangement, good proportions, and very nice detailing.
Starts and stops very nicely. Only really two drawbacks I can think of:
The speed is very unstable, very load dependent etc. And the barrel car is
a bit to short; when coupled directly after the loco, it easily derails in
sharp curves/S-curves.
| Motor |
DC,
flywheel |
|
| Decoder |
Delta (for
DC) |
|
| Axles |
5, 2
powered, 2 traction tires |
The
traction tires are arranged diagonal on the powered wheels! |
| Lights
front
Lights rear |
2 white,
direction change
2 white, direction change |
Very nice,
but rather dim.
Still nice, more bright |
| Coupler
front
Coupler rear |
Close
coupler in pocket
Close coupler in pocket |
Could be
replaced with prototypical dummy |
|
