Updated 03.01.2014

This train set has been on my wishing list for a long time.  It was produced in from 1988 to 1990, in four different versions.
The difference was with or without a yellow mail box on the wall of the post coach, and with digital decoder (Märklin 2670) or analogue (Märklin 2870)
The sets were limited to Sweden in 1988 (with mailbox), available worldwide from 1989 (without mailbox).

With some help from good friends I was very lucky to "find" a second hand 2870 set in May 2011.  The set is analogue and does not have the yellow mail box.
In June 2011 the additional 4271 post and baggage coach also found it's way to my collection.

According to Märklin Archiv, the locomotive, SJ type D, is variant 6 of Märklin 3170 (analogue) and variant 5 of 3670 (digital), the coaches are different variants of Märklin 4270.  Two additional wooden cars, 4270-1 and 4271, was offered from Märklin in 1989 as additional coaches for the train sets.  See the table at the bottom of the page.

Limited train set for Sweden 1988.World wide 1989.I bought mine second hand from Australia in 2011.

My set consists of the following items:

SJ D 101:

The locomotive has a Small Flat Collector Motor and an electro-mechanical reversing unit.  I will rebuild it to digital, with a mfx sound decoder.  This fantastic locomotive deserves the best.

SJ, Statens Järnvägar, had 333 type D locomotives, the first ones with wood body, later with steel body (Märklin 3030).  They were built from 1925 to 1943 by ASEA.
A link to a Swedish site: SJ series D

SJ C 05 3652, 3rd class:

This coach is listed as version 1 of Märklin 4270

SJ C 05 3232, 3rd class:

This coach is listed as version 2 of Märklin 4270

SJ CD 05 3233, 3rd class and post section:
               
This coach is listed as version 4 of Märklin 4270
The 3233, 3rd class and post section came in two versions:
with or without the yellow mailbox. Mine is without.

The yellow mailbox on some post coaches:

Thank you for the photo, Ian.

his coach is listed as version 3 of Märklin 4270.

I have an additional car for my set:

Märklin 4271, post and baggage coach, SJ DF01 3877:

This export model was made in 1989 for Sweden, available world wide from 1990.I bought mine second hand from Australia in 2011.

The other side of the 4271 has a different window arrangementand a yellow mailbox:

The coaches has factory fitted interior and interior light, with two 600080-bulbes in each coach.  I will replace the bulbs with 610080 or 28V T1-bulbs to reduce the light intensity and heat generation.
Every coach has it's own pick-up shoe.  These will be removed during the rebuild to digital.  All the coaches will be fed from the 4271 post and baggage coach, via a small 1-pole relay.  This way only one electric connection runs through the train, probably via electric conducting couplers, and the light may be switched on and off from the decoder in the 4271 coach.

I also need to put some people into the coaches.

The cars are very detailed, even with light at the end platforms.

A detail from the Märklin 4271:

The Märklin wooden variants, according to "Märklin Archiv" version 4.80:

Variants			Item	Type	Number	Coach classes	Produced	Remarks
Initial	2670-	2870-
3170-6	-	1	Electric wooden locomotive	D	101	-	1989 - 1990	Only available in the 2870 set
3670-5	1	-						Only available in the 2670 set
4270-1	-	-	4-axel wooden coach	C 05	3652	3rd	1989 - 1991	Sold separately as 4270, not a part of the sets
4270-2	3	3		C 05	3232	3rd	1988 - 1990	Only available in the sets
4270-3	4	4		CD 05	3233	3rd + post	1988 - 1989	Only available in the sets, with yellow mailbox, for Sweden
4270-4	5	5					1989 - 1990	Only available in the sets, without mailbox, worldwide
4270-5	2	2		BC 03	2075	2nd + 3rd	1988 - 1990	Only available in the sets
4271	-	-		DF 01	3877	Post + baggage	1989 - 1991	Sold separately, not a part of the sets

If the information about 2870 is correct, somebody must accidentally have swapped the 4270-5 with a 4270-1 in my set, sometime over the 22 years since the production.
I do not mind this small "discrepancy".

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