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This mail has had a couple of years in the making. My name is Jonn Lamberth and I live in Svedala in the south of Sweden. Like so many I had a Maerklin modelrailway as a young boy. My dream was to have a space for this hobby and to build a real layout instead of the temporary ones that returned to their boxes after a week or two of playing. Almost exactly two years ago I found your homepage by chance and you gave me the inspiration to do something about this dream now some 40 years later.
So the past summer I spent 4 weeks redesigning my garage into a storage room and a hobbyroom. I´ve just finished making the tables for the layout which will be aprox. 1,5 x 6 meters. I´ve bought some digital loks and I am just learning about the new digital technique and I´m having a lot of fun building and planning.
I had some M track but I´m building the layout with the new C track. But now to the point. I haven´t found any homepage on the web that has given me so much inspiration for this hobby as your homepage and I just wanted to tell you of my appriciation. I often visit your homepage for guidance and tips and just for the joy of it.
Thank you for your amazing homepage and for the inspiration.
Answer: Thanks for your message, it is much appreciated. I share my excitement about trains through my web site. I am happy that it has rekindled your interest in trains as well.
Keep building your layout and send pictures if you have them. I will add them to my web site. In fact, for those readers who do not have a web site and want to share pictures of their layouts, I will create a section for that purpose.
It was interesting to see a very sophisticated layout done with M-track. Just goes to show how much quality is there. You have an impressive collection of rolling stock, and I like how its run as units on the layout.
I was very impressed with your layout. It looks like a lot of very hard work and pleasure. I will be making a layout soon as soon as my basement is refinished. Thanks for some new ideas.
Your site pictures look super. I bet you have some real fun running the layout. It is a dream for me to have such an adventure layout some day. bob
It was nice to see some pictures of your layout. Succes with your Hobby. Tonnie
a very nice and detailed web site, i must say. keep up the good work!
Nice site. I' m new in model railroads, but definitely I'm going to use Marklin Digital. Regards
I enjoyed looking at your pictures. they will help me with setting up my frist model train and landscaping it. thanks.
it has very agradeable to see your layot, also I think that your homepage it was one of the better ones I ever seen in modeltrains.
I LIKE OLD LIONEL TRAINS. YOU HAVE A GREAT WEB PAGE!
WE ENJOYED LOOKING AT YOUR TRAINS. YOU HAVE AN EXCELLENT WEB PAGE. WE ARE VERY INTERESTED IN MARKLIN TRAINS AND WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN LOOKING AT YOUR RAILROAD. DO YOU EVER SHOW YOUR LAYOUT TO GUESTS? THANKS, JOHNAnswer: 'Yes'. Just send me e-mail to arrange a visit.
There's a major model train museum somewhere in P.A. I would like to take my son to it, but I can't find out where it is. Can you help me? Thanks, Jeff P.S. Nice Web Site...Answer: The best train museum (almost totally US and diesel) is Northlanz in Flemmington, New Jersey. That's the closest museum to PA. Worth a visit.
Not a comment but a question from one who's in a very very elementary stage of Euro modeling in HO DC: What's TPL and how does one use it to design a layout? Excellent site, this. Thanks. RoyAnswer: Go to LINKS and connect to the TPL home page and you will learn all about the many capabilities of the program. While you can draw a graphic of your layout and operate your layout from a computer screen with the graphic, the program is not meant for designing layouts.
Your pages are very nice. They're a "must" for every märklin enthusiast
I AM 72 MODEL YEARS OLD,THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES,FORMER PULLMAN CAR ELECTRICIAN,SAW EMPIRE STATE IN PERSON,WORKED ON TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED THANKS AGAIN ,I HAVE LIONEL #8,STANDARD GAUGE,2 NYC DIEZELS 0 GAUGE.BUT ENVY THE MTH'S AUGUST COSTANZA 36-30 201 STREET BAYSIDE,N.Y.,11361
I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR GOOD OLD TRAIN PICTURES AND HAVE NOT HAD VERY MUCH LUCK. I AM BUILDING A HO LAYOUT IN MY BASEMENT, IN THE APARTMENT MY WIFE AND I MOVED INTO ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO! MY MAILING ADDRESS IS: GEORGE F. DALEY 9570 W. 86TH ST. APT - A OVERLAND PARK KS. 66212
What an incredible amount of work you have put into both this site and your hobby! I am looking at trains because my 2 year old is in love with Thomas the Tank Engine plus I have always had a bit of the trainspotter in me. The interest was given to me by an uncle I dearly love back in England who used to take me along to see the trains and has model railway interests himself. I could always look but never touch. Probably a good strategy to keep someone interested! You are now bookmarked so I can show your photos to my son. Thanks again!
I enjoyed viewing your website and had a question I hope you will answer. You made a comment that the whistle on your K-4 sounded great. I wanted to know if this was the original Protosound package that came with the engine, or did you modify it after you bought it. I have a MTH Pennsy Torpedo, and personally, I hate the whistle because I got used to the Lionel Railsounds tender whistle. It REALLY sounds so authentic by comparison to the Torpedo, which sounds like a frog giving its last breath. So, I wondered if it was a matter of taste, or did you modify it? Please reply to stevep1@aol.com Thanks Steve P. P.S. You are very fortunate to have such an unbelievable layout. I would be very proud of it too. Thanks for sharing it!Answer: All of the MTH sounds are factory installed ProtoSounds. I have never heard the Lionel so I can't compare them. I only wish that Märklin sounds were as good.
Very nice. How old is the Layout.Answer: I started my current layout in 1972. It began with the City, Industrial and Yard connecting sections. Over the years I have added the lower and upper yards.
really cool stuff,the kid loves it
I liked the website. I'm a hybrid model railroader--some 2-rail O and a lot of scale 3-rail stuff. I'm interested in forming a hi-Rail or Lionel club in the Madison area. If you have organizational insight or information on establishing a club with a permanent and modular operation, please send it to me via land mail at 7089 Appplewood Drive, Madison, WI 53719. Thanks, ROB M
Sean, It was nice meeting you in Göppingen. I just visited your pages, and it's impressing to see your lay-out. Very nice with all the photo's. It's stimulating for me to continue building my lay-out. I will inform you, if you like, about my progress in building. How was uor staying in Germany. Our vacation was very good, only the weather: less sun, more rain. Greetings, also from Willy-Anne, Jos Govaarts
Thank you for sharing your pictures of the Marklin Museum and of your collection. What a wonderful treat. With best regards, Glenn and Sandy Stiska Marklin Z gauge enthusiasts
Very nice. Thank you.
Thank you for the very nice pictures. I have been collecting and operating Märklin for thirty some years. I have a layout, my 4th, in progress which is complete digital It measures 15 by 20 partial 2 levels. Thanks agian Bob Tufts
Excellent site. I enjoyed it a lot.
I am a Märklin friend and I have a lot of Gauge HO and a few of Gauge 1. I especially like American Railroads and would like to get in contact with Märkin friends in the USA.
Thanks for the pictures. They are great. Looking to hear from other hobbyists in the Florida panhandle / south alabama area
It's been a while since I visited your site. I'm always envious of those that have a full operating layout, I'm not even quite to the building stage yet.
Great home page!
I find the concept of sectional areas which can be used for different routes very interesting. I am currently planning a new layout and would be interested in details of turntable operation. At present I do not have a Marklin turntable, just a basic Peco one to which I thought I would connect a motor and devise a means of control. I use TPL and have fitted all my Hornby locos with decoders.
Great layout! Wish I could have one that size. Maybe someday I will....
This is an excellent site. I would like to begin a Z-scale layout. These are the first layout diagrams I have seen on the Internet. I appreciate having the opportunity to study your layout diagrams. They are very good. Will visit your website often. Thank You, Louis MacHale
A great site. I was doing a bit of "train surfing" when I came across it. I search for Revell HO and Marx HO from the 1960's period. Who knows some day I may wind up buying back the trains my mother sold when I was in the army. Again, great site and best regards, Walter Poggi
Sean, Thanks for an enjoying hour with your web pages. I look forward to seeing the real thing. Hope you enjoyed your trip. Regards, John
keep up the good work
I am 3 yrs. old and fascinated by trains. We live close to a railroad track and I love it when we get to see a train. I have real train videos and toy train videos; I watch them all the time. My Mommy prints train pictures for me on the computer.
This is a great site. Your comments are very incisive.
Amazing web site for me, a model train beginner. Thank you for all the care and dedication in providing it. I shall return.
Your layout is fantastic- how about some views of underneath where the real work lies.Most impressed and very good of you to share it with others.Answer:I would take pictures of the underside of the layout but I would be embarrassed since I have added switches and signals as the layout grew adding wires in a some-what unorganized way. My big project is organizing the wires underneath the layout.
I run a wire from every contact track back to the closest S88. That's alot of wires. Since I power the switches from a separate Titan 100 VA transformer and not from the track power, I run a wire to the first K83 and then daisy-chain the brown and red (power and ground) wires from K83 to K83. For track power I have five different transformers and boosters so I run a large guage set of wires to the block that is to be powered and then I feed the red and brown (power and ground) wires from these wires to several tracks in the block.
Sean: Great stuff. I am in the process of building a modest 10 X 6 foot digital layout. One day it may look a little bit like your great stuff.
A very special thanks for the pictures. I have traveled in Europe often and have many pictures. Just returned with movies of 2 modeltrain clubs, Marklin Museum and the Holland train show. Hope to learn how to share these with others as you have done here. Thanks again Bill Nehls
Excellent site. I enjoyed it a lot.
I am a Märklin friend and I have a lot of Gauge HO and a few of Gauge 1. I especially like American Railroads and would like to get in contact with Märkin friends in the USA.
thanks for the pictures. they are great. looking to hear from other hobbyists in the Florida panhandle / south alabama area
Sir, Thanks for a very interesting site. I enjoyed your pictures especially the ones of the NBG Hauptbahnhof. I was stationed in the area, and the pictures brought back fond memories. Victor
my 2 year old son loved your pictures!
Great pictures. We are going to South Germany in March for two weeks. Flying into Zurich as we are staying at a timeshare for 2 weeks. Any suggestions or info you could relay would be appreciated.
There are several train stores in Göppingen including a new one very near the Märklin Museum. Be sure to bring a camera to the stations. You will be amazed at what you will see. You will also be amazed at how old and dirty some of the engines are. They are used so frequently that I don't think they have time to wash them. It is strange to see the front end of an ICE train covered with bugs, mud and dirt.
Just browsing the web for track plans. I dream of building a layout one day, but it's just a dream. You have worked hard on this site - thankyou for he courtesy of letting me in.
How many years have you been collecting trains? I like to look at your trains a lot. How many trains do you have in all? I want to start collecting. I am 6 yr.old.
It is people like you sharing your ideas and interests that make waking up each morning special. Thanks for the ideas on the turntable contact track. I have been to the Marklin Museum several times but never the factory. How were you able to arrange a tour? Thanks again. Bill Nehls
Answer: I happened to be in Germany at the same time my dealer was there and he asked me to accompany him. Perhaps you can ask your dealer to arrange a tour. It is well worth it. To see an engine being assembled by hand makes you appreciate them all the more. Quite an experience for me. I couldn't believe how much detail, including painting the lines on a lok, are all done by hand. Aside from the molding of the parts and a small amount of assembling, almost every part of the engine is assembled by hand at various stations. To see a Z gauge engine assembled by hand was amazing. It was great to see them test every engine on several types of track (M, K C) over different kinds of switches. That was well worth the trip. The museum is great also, but I must confess that seeing so many of the engines I have in my collection actually being used by the DB and riding on them was the real treat for me. I told my wife that it was like being in my basement with my layout but on a life size scale.
THIS SITE IS COOL
A very good site! I like your layout and your rolling stock!
I wish their were more web sites with layout plans and pictures of finished models. I enjoyed your site. Thank you
What a delight it is to pop into your site. The rotary plow shots are great! Can't wait to see how you top that. Looking at your layout is a trip back through childhood. It's exactly the reason I'm into model railroading.
Hi, excellent site, quite enjoyable seeing your collection and about your trip to Germany. I hope to do the same some day. Happy training. Paul Q
I liked very much what I saw in the pictures of your layout. Dave H
ONE WORD "FANTASTIC!"
A great web page I enjoy it very much when I visit it I find a lot of intereseting items and photo's which I use for some of my model's.
Your site is one of the greatest site I ever seen: I wanted to go to Goppingen but I didn't know if it was a good idea or not. Now, I am sure to go there! Thanks for this great site.
Your web site is great; thanks for telling me about it.
I'm impressed. You must have just every Marklin Lok ever made. I'm just curious about one thing. You show a Marklin 3084 decapod on the turntable but it is without the Kabinentender. Did you change it? Also, the Krokodil on the factory siding. I note that its pantographs are not up and that there's no Oberleitung in place. But, then I guess that's artistic license. Again, very nice site. Also enjoyed seeing the MEA meet pictures. It's nice to put faces withg names.
It is a very good layaout, congratulations. In this moment I am learning English in the city of Indianapolis, so if you like to write me plese do it becouse I like to exchange tips of the Marklin digital sistem. In this moment I like to know how I can install a 60901 decoder in my locomotives. I have to a Brawa E69 and I buy a roco decoder, if you have a tip about this loco please send to me. Thank you very much Eduardo Palacios
Good site, was great to see the Marklin Musuem and factory. You have some very nice pieces in your collection. Always a pleasure to met another Marklin fan. There are a lot of us aren't there?
Viewing this site was an eye-opening experience for me. I didn't know how advanced model railroading has become, since the time when I had a simple Lionel O27 Gauge train set and layout back in the 1940's and 1950's. What a great job, planning and building your system, and making it available for us to see and appreciate.
Thanks for the pics of the Glacier Express. It brought back fond memories. We took the trip in the reverse direction a couple of years ago. Our most memorable sight (other than the gorgous scenery and train stuff) was looking up at one stop to see a helicopter with a cow slung under it being moved from the mountain. Found your page via the Marklin Digest; Nice looking site which I have bookmarked. Good Highballing!
Impressive site Sean with plenty to interest me as I am a big fan of Swiss railways in particular. Really impressive loco stock and your photos are great. Interested to see your Glacier Express photos. By coincidence there are some RhB photos (including the Glacier Express) taken in the last few weeks on my site. Keep up the good work. As we appear to have common interests I would like to include a link to your site if that is OK!
You still have one of the best web sites. I belong to the San Diego chapter of ETE. Thanks againfor a great web site. Rudy Pfeiffer
I enjoyed my visit to your home page. I will come again often. Harlan
Sean, Your layout looks great. Your website is fantastic. As another MML member, I appreciate that you put pictures up as soon as you get a new item. Regards, Karl.
Great photos of a great layout. The snowplough-in-action pics are brilliant! Here's somebody obviously in love with his hobby.
Incredible website. I enjoyed all the layout pictures. Humbling but stimulating experience for a novice modellbahn enthousiast. Where did you get these great display cases? Peter Pop, Malibu
I read the comments first: All has been said: very, very nice. I started two years ago with one starterset (gift from my wife) and moved already up to the attic (more space), ready to start with my third layout. I am afraid of showing my wife your site, because she can see with her own eyes what can be expected after 25 years. I visited Goppingen in 1997, but did not see as much as you did. In what year did you visited it ? (Thanks for the nice pictures) Jelle
Great site :-)
Good job on your site! I run Maerklin HO digital & Maerklin Maxi/1 gauge Delta
Thanks for making this great web site available to those of us who can only dream about a layout such as yours. I heard about this on the MML.
In my personnal opinion I think you have one of the nicest and most informative sights I have seen on the web.
Thank you for telling me about your train site, it was nostalgic seeing my work again. I don't often get to see what I did at one time. I hope it is holding up well and not any trouble. Your site is very impressive and professional. I have added it to my favorite places.
A great web page, hope you keep it going, I model ERA lll-lV-V I use Marklin(hamo) and Roco. I am also the guy that sent an E-MAIL about the Roco class 18 and the class 310 and having tsome trouble with M track at the turnouts it seems that my track maintenance had slipped and causing my problems. Thanks for you comment's it got me to looking. Many thanks again.
Wir führen alle Schweizer Modelle Switzerland HO, N HAG
The nicest web site I have ever visited!
Thank you Sean for introducing me to that fabulous device called Intellibox. I ordered one on the spot. Cheers, George
LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF, I AM 53 YRS OLD AND NOW HAVE BEEN A COLLECTOR OF LIONEL POSTWAR AND LATER SINCE 1972 OR SO. I AM GETTING THE BUG TO RE-DO MY LAYOUT AND MAKE IT BIGGER. NEED A NICE LONG RUN. LIKE SOME OF THE NEW MTH STUFF. BOUGHT A FEW ENGINES AND CLUB CARS. I BOUGHT A COMPUTER PROGRAM CALLED TRAIN TRACKER, I WAS ABLE TO INVENTORY ALL MY COLLECTION. QUARTERLY UPDATES ON PRICES TOO........... NEVER HAD A MARKLIN IN MY HANDS, ALL THE TRAINS THAT PASSED THESE HANDS AND NEVER HAD A MARKLIN IN THEM. DID YOU GET STARTED IN MARKLIN ON THE GERMANY TRIP? SORRY TO RUN ON, BUT I LOVE TRAINS TOO.
Answer: My layout began in 1972 and has grown. I am fortunate that I have the space and a wife that encourages me in my hobby interest. I never had a Lionel set but I did have an American Flyer set as a child. It was a simple oval. When my wife gave me a Marklin starter set, she also gave me a catalog. I saw switches and I bought two manual switches. Then I needed more track. Now I had room for more trains. Then I needed more switches and tracks. The rest is history.
Hi Sean I am back. Still one of the greatest Web sites. I am a Roco fan but enjoy watching Maerklin and other models and model layouts You have really outdone your self with your web page. Many thanks they help with my modelling even though I have bee modelling since 1940. If you wonder I am now 75.
What an entertaining and informative set of photos. It's nice to see a lot of Maerklin and other European HO equipment in operation--regardless of era. And the site shows the product of lots of hours and attention. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Thanks.
Your Site is simply Fantastic! I am very new to Marklin (about two years), I am 37 years old, but as a child I started in the Hobby when my uncle gave me a Rivarossi HO train set (72'). Now I am hooked to Marklin Digital and by now have collected 7 Locos and about 30 cars. I owned a Califonia Zephyr! that is the jewel of my collection. I look forward to establish contact with Model Train collectors since here in Mexico there is very little if no model Stores at all, and very few persons on this Hobby. Keep this great job on your layout Sean. Felicidades! (greetings).
Sean, Love your page and have noted your various comments on the MML. I am new at this. I just got my 1950's Märklin loks & track over here from my mother's attic in Scotland. 35 year hiatus. I am already 100% digital having converted all my old locs with Uhlenbrock decoders which I actually like for these more venerable guys despite the obvious deficencies. I have also bought a number of new digital loks and am loving my rebirth. I am having a basement built for my new layout and will start about the middle of the year. Right now I have co-opted the dining room table (10' x 4') but this only lets me set up 25% of my stuff which includes all the 1950/60 elements like turntables and cranes. Since my company is HQ'd in Medford, NY, I am on the Island every week. Do you accept visits from eager novices anxious to suck up the knowledge of experts. If so I would love to see your layout in person. I am in the midst of designing a 24' x 17' setup - does that sound familiar and would like to minimize neophyte mistakes. Did you catch Carsten when he was in Islip on the 16th? I was in VA and could not make it. Alan
Answer: I would love to have you and others visit my layout. Just e-mail me when you would like to come. Carsten Ramke did come and visit. He gave me some really great ideas on how to improve my layout. He even volunteered to help in the changes and additions he suggested.
Brilliant! Impressive! Great! Like it very much. I got quite some inspiration from here. Stop by if you're landing at Schiphol Airport Regards, Marout
it is a very good site and i'm very pleased because I saw a lot of photos. I'm impressed with your layout and I believe that it would be very interesting to videorecord a trip one of your trains and add it in your site. thanx for the hospitality.
So far I'm impressed by what you've done and collected. I'm also very interested in Hag and have several Loks,some purchased used, and many cars including several that I purchased on a trip to Switzerland last summer. I also stopped at the Marklin museum on that trip.I am interested primarily in electric engines running from catenary and am planning to try the Sonnenfeld catenary system if I ever get the time to start a layout. The pictures of the meet on 2/17/01 were impressive.
Simply outstanding. Wished it was mine.
I visit this site often. I am more impressed with your abilities each and every time. Jim
Great site, great layout! And great trains! Where is the Ludwig train? It would be nice to see it on the side of the Tolz and Murnau trains. Please post more pictures!
I'm 8 years old and I love Marklin HO trains. I love your web site and all the pictures too. I would like to visit your lay out one day. Please email me soon. Matthew Feibert (My father watched me type this)
Great SIte!! I am a new to trains, and as luck would have it I ended up with a Marklin. At the time I really did not know what I was getting, but I am very happy now. I loved the photos of the trains you took overseas. I look forward to stopping by again as I did not have time to see your entire site. Best regards, Robert
Nice. A lot of inspiration
NICE PICTURES THE BEST PLACE FOR TAKE A GOOD TIME JUST WATCHING TRAINS.
Sean your railroad is beautiful. I am thinking of starting a Marklin layout at this time I have Lionel trains and once I can sell them I will go to Marklin HO. Your lay out sure inspires me to get into these trains. Thank you for sharing your trains with me. Best regards Jim
I found your site while browsing on the webring. I am not even a novice beginner. I purchased some ROCO sets while in Vienna over the past couple of years, and am now in the process of finishing my basement. One large room I plan on dedicating to a model train setup. Its nice to find Americans who are interested in European model trains such as yourself.
Woww! Great stuff. One of the best Marklin Websites I have EVER seen. I would give a fortune to play half an hour on your great layout. A marklin-fan from Germany!
Visitors are always welcome with advance notice. When you visit you can operate the layout as well.
The alerts you put on the mailing list from time to time about a new item you have added to your web page, I find very useful. Several times you have provided invaluable information about a loco I was contemplating ordering, enough to reassure me that I would not regret the purchase, and sometimes the loco has to be an urgent purchase while it is still available. One example is the Roco blue S3/6, I was worried about whether the wheels would be ok on Marklin track; your web page assured me it was ok and I was lucky to get one before they sold out and am delighted. The comprehensive pictures you provide are excellent because you show a loco from several different views. In Australia it is almost impossible to "see before you buy" as almost nothing is stocked by shops here, so we are very dependent on seeing good pictures of contemplated purchases.
Hi, Great site! I found your site by searching for pictures of the ICE3. In stead I found something 10 times bigger. Very nice track with so many engines and coaches. Keep up the good work, especially with the storage rack which is very interesting.I have a question though. On your layout I noticed that you have turnout by marklin M-track. I am refering to the single turnouts. Some of them have large square lighthouses and some have smaller rectangel ones. I found out that when you pass a switch with the large lighthouse and turn out with some coaches the coach hits the lighthouseon the belowside. It forms an ugly cut in the coach. This happend to me with the swiss coachset which you have as well. I can tell you that I was really [annoyed] having a cut in my new coaches.
I am curious if you have the same problem and how you resolved it. I have spoken with Marklin Deutschland about this and they say that they are aware of the problem but are not going to do anything about it. My solution was to just give away the 'older' turnouts and buy new ones. Something which was possible at that time since I didn't have that much. Nowadays it would be impossible. Did you have any other problems with the M-track? Let me know, and keep up the work! I really enjoy your site and get inspired by it. Kind regards, Martijn Meegdes
I also have this problem with long cars. To solve the problem I have replaced the older turnouts with the newer ones with small lamps. In less prominent places I simply removed the lamps and covered the opening with black tape.
Another problem with these older turnouts are the lamps themselves. They use quite a bit of current. To remedy this I simply remove the lamps in turnouts that I don't see. My keyboards (IB and IB Switch and the TPL program I use allows me to see the turnout position.
My last personal aquisition is an MTH Premier "Dreyfuss" and one "Blue Goose"...I see MTH at NUREMBERG 2002, it's a very good product in general. Your layout is...is...pfff... ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC !!! Stéphane.
I am a Circus Model Builder that has built a model of the RBBB red unit train in HO. I would like compliment you on your site and photos. Please do not take this as my being too critical but the car you show as an elephant car is actually a concession car. The elephant and horse, camel, llama,zebra cars are ex six wheel truck Union Pacific baggage cars. I obtained this information from a friend of mine, Robert MacDougal, who is a retired G.M. for RBBB, and was involved in the purchase of these cars from the U.P.I live close to the train recycle shop located in Palmetto, Fl. If I can help with photos or info on the Ringling trains please feel free to contact me. Larry Loper
Thanks Larry for the correct information on the circus cars. I have made the changes and have incorporated on the circus page some of the additional information you shared with me by private e-mail.
Corrections, criticisms (hopefully constructive), and comments about my website are always welcomed.
WOW! Way too much to digest in one sitting. I particularly liked your conversion of the 7186. I am looking to go digital, and it seems you have sucessfully converted the turntable. I am not ready for such a grand undertaking, but I hope to get there! Overall, the site is wonderful.
Your Marklin collection and layout is incredible. I am a die hard 3 railer, as you will see on our link, and recently became hooked on Marklin American prototypes. I have just purchased the Bigboy and the Western Pacific passenger set. I love that Marklin has all the bells and whistles that 0 gauge has to offer with half the space requirements. You have done a terrific job on your webpage also. Again, great job on everything that you have presented here for our enjoyment in the worlds greatest hobby.
Sean as you probably hear from many ...I'M IMPRESSED. You have not only done a beautiful job on your layouts but your web site is just a wealth of good information and very well done. My wife Anna & I are going to our first meeting of the HVMC and your site is one of the reasons. Thank you for this contribution. Tom
Sean, I marvel at your collection, the layout and your organizational ability to put this marvelous site together. Every once in a while I revisit this site to get inspiration. Thanks, Jim 13 February 2003
This is really incredible! I thought I'd seen the biggest modeltrain-boards but this is amazing! This is what I usually dream about :-)
If you model with Marklin then Sean's site is your best friend! The Pics are fantastic, the site is easy to get around, and I keep finding more useful info with each click! Keep up the great work -You have a wonderful layout!!!
I haven't seen all your page yet, but I stumbled over the two 103s working in tandem. When originally delivered the 103s did not have equipment for working in multiple and this would require two drivers. With their impressive power they can manage most trains on their own. It is my impression that if an extra locomotive should be moved from one location to another it would rather be towed. The equipment were added in recent years, but mainly intended for operating push-pull trains. Links to my homepage at www.hjelmenet.dk are very welcome. Erik
Muito bom Parabens por este belo trabalho
My rough translation: [Very good (Parabens ??) by this beautiful work] jjulio
Great site
Very good and interesting site (digital + Intellibox) Thank you! Yann
HI Sean: Thanks again for showing me your layout & hobby on trains. Yesterday's visit brought out the kid in me. Your collection is impressive & awsome. I can't wait to go shopping for my first set of trains for the twins (& me off course). I'll need your help in picking out the right trains. After the third baby is delivered, I'm going to take you up on your offer. Rommel
Hi Sean. You're collection is absolutely fantastic. After my visit with you yesterday with Tony, brought out the kid in me. After my baby is born in the next couple of weeks. Let's go shopping to start me (oh I mean my twins) on a fast track to collecting. I'll need your help to pick the right trains. Rommel
Très beau site. Magnifiques photos. Merci. J'ai quelques unes de vos locomotives(voir mon site). Si vous avez l'occasion d'acheter la MARKLIN 37961, n'hésitez surtout pas, elle est magnifique. C'est d'ailleur mon dernier achat. Le suivant devrait être la BR45(ref. 37450). My rough translation. [Very beautiful site. Thank you. I have some of your locomotives (see my site). If you have occasion to sell the MARKLIN 37961, do not hesitate especially, she is magnificent. This is (ailleur ??) my last purchase. The following one should be the BR45(ref. 37450)] Frank
Sean, This is my most special site to visit. I never cease to wonder how you created this spectacular site. I visit regularly just to gain inspiration. Warm Regards, Jim
Hi Sean. Thanks for the site. This is by far the most comprehensive Marklin site that I have visited. I really envy your collection and your photos are great. When I was growing up in the 70's my dad had a large Marklin collection which used to come out on rainy Sundays. after much persuasion from the kids (my 3 brothers and myself). He started collecting from the smallest starter sets and never got to set up a permanent layout. Unfortunately in 1978 while away on holiday our house was broken into and the thieves set the house alight destroying all those valuable models. My dad was never again in a position to replace them. I started collecting Lima models which were much cheaper, but really quite pathetic as far as quality is concerned. A few years ago I bought a second-hand Marklin starter set and decided to start the hobby again, but never got very far until now. I have bought my own house and have a small room in which I am hoping to set up a layout. I have always been impressed by the fanstastic quality and detail of the Marklin models and especially the Marklin 7051 crane so I actually built one out of some steel sheeting I had and it works really well. At the moment I don't have much stock as it is rather expensive, but I would like start slowly. What I can never understand is the way most people are converting from M track to C track. No doubt C track has advantages, but to me I think that M track is really attractive as opposed to C and K track and if I lived closer to you I would be very interested in acquiring your reject M track. Thanks again for the great site. Regards, Rodger D'Alton
Any time I'm feeling like a lift I get on to your site - it's like a railway Disneyland. Thanks for all the information and interesting asides. More power to you!
Great site
Sean, once again congratulations for both your wonderful collection and all the interesting info found on your site. This is at least my fifth visit. I hope you are in good shape ... Best regards
Your layout is fantastic, I wish I had one. I have 2 loks, a Marklin 3054 and Marklin 3021. 3021 is a diesel model with good speed and very powerful capable to pull 15 or more freight cars, but 3054 (103 electric class) is slower than 3021, in fact it does not start inmediately when I use my old 30V trafo (dark blue). It starts at 20 or 30 Km. Do you know why? Also, I take the opportunity to ask you why your passenger coaches are so close each other, considering than relex coupling system gets some distance between them. Where did you get layout´s photo of cities and fields? made by you? Do you recommend to paint loks in order to make it more real with rust and dust? if so, what pinture should I use, enamel from plastic model kits? Do you accept to visit your layout? Thanks in advance and congratulations again!
Thanks Ricardo for the compliment on my layout. Your 3054 may need oiling. You may want to check to be sure the rubber driving tires are not worn or missing. Since this is an older lok you may want to check the tension on the brushes (copper and carbon). Also check the brushes to be sure they are not worn too small.
My coaches are close together because they have Marklin close couplers. Newer coaches have these and/or pockets that accept these couplers. Older coaches do not.
The Background photos were purchased from dealers years ago. I don't even remember from whom. The picture of the fields and mountains are easy to get from almost any train shop. I have looked for the city photo in many vendor catalogs but have not found it. If you look carefully you will see that it is a mirror image photo - both sides are the same but in reverse. I wanted to add to it but can not find a matching background.
I have never painted any of my loks and never will. It decreases their value and selling potential. I can't, therefore, offer you any recommendations on what to use.
Yes, I do accept visitors to my layout. If you ever visit New York City I am located east of the City, just a 45 minute train ride away on Long Island.
Awesome!
My name is Eduardo and I live in Venezuela. I have seen your collection of trains in the web, I think it is just fantastic, you have almost all the models that Märklin has made also the web page is excellent congratulations!. I have been a Märklin fan for almost 20 years and I have 82 locomotives one of them is a Insider(3720), some from special editions and almost all digital and delta.I also use the Intellibox but my layout is small. I still need to buy an ICE train may be next year.... My last acquisition was the Goliath crane a very good opportunity ($430), which is like your description.I would like to know if your crane is noisy when you rise the main hook or if it is silent. My one is a little bit noisy but works fine. It is very good to share some words with Märklin collectors around the world. Best regards
You have a very good collection and it obviously helps if you have the support of your better half because it makes it that much more enjoyable for you
I am starting to build a Märklin model track myself, and I was just looking around a bit, searching for ideas for my layout... I got to this site, and I really enjoyed visiting it. I learned a lot of new things, which I can maybe use when I expand my layout. It's a great website, and I will promote it! greetz
WoW a truly wonderful site. Will be back later and often to really see it all.
Though I'm interested in DC, it was a pleasure to visit your site. Keep on railroading Michael
Fantastic layout and rolling stock!
I find this site great.
Your pictures from Switzerland and other European cities bring back many happy visits. Been to Switzerland 4 times in the past 12 years; Germany 2 times in the past 12 years. France 3 times in the past 12 years; Holland 2 times in the past 14 years. As you can tell I combined some countries. thanks for the great memories. JoeHR>
Great side! Great pictures! Great job!!! Question: Which VT11.5 sounds better: Märklin or Roco? Thanks in advance for an answer. Greetings Jürgen
You have a very huge & nice layout + other things, but I am especially interested of that Märklin digital crane goliath- do you have something special fotos of yours? Or stories- what you can do with it? Pictures of that when it is lifting up something will be nice, have you any, if you could send me via e-mail, I'll appreciate that. Greetings from Finland.
Hi, Love to see all these pictures and descriptions. I dont have a website but if i did i want it to be as usefull to others like yours. Keep them rolling. Bye,
Very nice pages and foto's. I like the cranes on your layout. I'm interested in a Roco crane 40111. Question; Can you send me more picture of this crane. Thanks.... Success with your site. Henry.
I had to comment directly. Your layout is amazing. And your website does a great job of showing it off. Very impressive!
I am quite amazed by the quality of your layout. All the hours of love must be paying now. I specially love the 10 years lok - the class 10. Keep it up and I bet you must be the envy of a lot of us. Cheers from Queensland Noel
you photo's are verry nice.
I love the way you have your website organized. You have one fantastic layout. I have started my layout and am really just getting into building. I will be starting a winter layout soon in N scale. I also have plans for a HO scale layout. I've been at my layout for nearly a year but I've had many interruptions. Anyways, I really enjoyed visiting your site and have bookmarked it to return often. Keep up the great work. Bill
I am just starting to get into the digital arena. Your wiring experince has given me some insight on how to proceed with my layout. My plans are to build the Lausanne train station then ...
My name is Eduardo and I live in Venezuela. I have seen your collection of trains in the web, I think it is just fantastic, you have almost all the models that Märklin has made also the web page is excellent congratulations!. I have been a Märklin fan for almost 20 years and I have 82 locomotives one of them is a Insider(3720), some from special editions and almost all digital and delta.I also use the Intellibox but my layout is small.Best regards Eduardo Palacios Caracas Venezuela
I still need to buy an ICE train may be next year.... My last acquisition was the Goliath crane a very good opportunity ($430), which is like your description.I would like to know if your crane is noisy when you rise the main hook or if it is silent. My one is a little bit noisy but works fine.
It is very good to share some words with Märklin collectors around the world.
You have a very good collection and it obviously helps if you have the support of your better half because it makes it that much more enjoyable for you
I am starting to build a Märklin model track myself, and I was just looking around a bit, searching for ideas for my layout... I got to this site, and I really enjoyed visiting it. I learned a lot of new things, which I can maybe use when I expand my layout. It's a great website, and I will promote it! greetz
WoW a truly wonderful site. Will be back later and often to really see it all.
Another inspirational revisit. Someday I'll call you when I visit Webb Institute in Glen Cove. jim.
I got an interesting train collection consisting of 7 locomotives and I´m impressed with it however it is complicated to define the layout and start assembling it.
I came by your web page while searching for BLS locos. Your collection is inspiring and your comparisons of model manufacturer very helpful. I too collect BLS and SBB. I construct authentic BLS dioramas and run my HO models through them, as I have much less space than you Sean! I also found some very useful reference photos of the real trains, thankyou. Sean, if you are ever in N.Z. then please make contact and visit my humble Swiss collection. Regards, Kevin
Hi Sean, Hadn't stopped by your site for a while. What a great surprise! In one word: excellent. Best wishes for 2004, Jan
Your railroad it's simple the best... good job!!! I'm just beginning on this, an old love that i'am making real.
I used to take an across the county train ride a couple of times a year. Took a train to eat a Christmas dinner in the French Quarters. Took one to dine at the Space Needle. Once just to go to Alcratz. I always took a sleeper car. It was a very nice hobby. Going over and through the Rocky Mountains is a thrill.
Thanks for the MEA meet pic.s. I bought most of my Märklin items at the shows. Until 8/97,as a MEA member I never missed a show in P'burg N.J. At that time I lived in Chester, NJ. Moved to Grapevien, Texas were MEA is active but nothing like P,burg.Moved here to central Florida coast, no dealers no nothing. Märklin Insider did a mailing to bring Märklin collector/operating together. Out of 17 mailing we got only one responce. You who can get to the MEA shows in P'burg are very lucky. I recognized a lot of faces in the pictures. Thanks Bill Van 2/24/04
Very well doucmented site, one of the better layout sites for Marklin Enthusiasts I have seen. Well Done!
What an amazing collection of European style trains you have! I just wanted to drop you a quick note to express how much I enjoyed looking at all the pictures you have posted of your layout and to thank you for sharing all these pictures with those of us that have a keen interesting in Marklin (and other European makes) trains. Thanks so much!Ken Rook
Hi Sean~ My boyfriend found 2 engines from a old train set his parents gave him as a child(perhaps from Holland?) - the only marking are a stamp on the bottom reading Western Germany - they are electric(top and bottom), to scale, and green and silver. Could you suggest a way to identify them further? Any help is appreciated! You can usually identify Marklin trains in Koll's which is a series of volumes illustrating, describing and suggesting the value of Marklin trains. Without a picture I am at a loss to help you. Send one to me and I can research the lok for you.
Great Web site.
I AM 45 YEARS OF AGE AND SO IS MY TRAIN SET I DO UPDATE FROM TIME TO TIME WILL BE VISITING GERMANY IN MAY 2004 (DRUPA) ENJOI CHRISHR>
How many locomotives do you Have?
Enjoyed the site and pictures of the Marklin trains. I had previously built several layouts myself and was an authorized Marklin dealer some years back before retiring. I still have a vast quantity of vintage 1960s thru 1980s Marklin and Fleischmann HO (AC & DC) Locos & accessories- NO Digital....Also vast quantity of HO & N building kits by Faller, Kibri & Vollmer as well as figure sets by Preiser & Merten. Those interested in same contact me: James Malarkey 42 Albourne Ave. East, Staten Island, New York 10312 E-Mail: Joanne6904@aol.com
Very nice. Congratulations. Hugo Sburlati
Really impressive web site - congratulation!! I just discovered your site this afternoon, but I certainly will return to get some hints from how to run digital - I am also using Uhlenbrock and want to run semi/fully automatic, and I already found some information I have been looking for. So again Thanks very much for splitting your know-how and experience with others. Poul
i found your site very useful for my french project on trains. thnaks loads !!!
Dear Sean, What a great railroad you've got and an amazing website - this is great work and must have been heavily time-consuming. I also have a modeltrain build of Märklin C-tracks. I started in an age of 49 and I am now 53. I decided to go digital from the very beginning, and I have locomotives from Märkllin, Roco, Fleischmann and Pico (the later is a regional two-waggon linked train, constructed of Siemens and is widely known all over Europe). The two Fleischmann locomotives I have, I have myself converted to middle-connector and build in digital decoders from Uhlenbrock or ESU (LokPilot). I use Uhlenbrock Intellibox like you do and I am very satisfied and convinced of the quality and facilities. It is a beautiful hobby - but terrible expensive and my wife is not quite as generous as yours! Kind regards John P.S. Nivaa is a village app. 26 miles north of Copenhagen - the capital of Denmark.