Magnificent Marklin Collection

I was looking around the Tinplate and Marklin Forums last night and I saw this.... Possibly the largest Prewar Marklin collection there is. This is (from what I can tell from the forums) only one collector! And not all of the collection is being shown!

This is currently on the 4th floor at Sotheby's in NYC. It's a closed sale, meaning that this probably will go to a very high roller. People with way plain old ridiculous amounts of cash. My guess is that this is a $10 million plus collection, just from what I am seeing here.

What a marvel this must be to see all of these toys running.

Oh yes, before you continue perusing all of these pics, let me give credit where credit is due: I absolutely did not take these pictures. These came off the Marklin forum, the link is above. The guy that took these was "Mechman".

If I feel well enough (had some surgery a few weeks ago and still just barely sea-worthy), I may go into NYC to see if I can see this collection. Apparently Sotheby's would prefer this not be photographed.

Looks like a "once in a lifetime" viewing of prewar Marklin though. What an amazing collection....
Marc

Martin's Fabulous Collection

Ok, this collection isn't the biggest but it is probably one of the best I have ever seen. Add the 199 layout and I am just blown away. Thanks again Martin for sharing these!

Marc

Martin's Horde

All original, not refurbished, best of the best prewar trains. My living room floor sucks compared to Martin's!

199 Dealer Layout

Martin also sent me a pic of his 199 Dealer layout. Good things come in small packages. I love these little layouts. I can only imagine the personality of their creators. Damn this is great innovation packed into a small space!

marc

199 Continued...

Another shot of the 199 Layout.

Kachinga, Kachinga!

Martin sent me this awesome pics of his 400e's. Yes, the top is an original crackle black 400e. It in fact does exist. Wouldn't you have just loved to been in the Lionel factory when the guy figured out how to do this crackle black paint? I would have really loved to see this technique on some other trains of the time as well as rolling stock. I have a crackle black MTH 400e and it is really nice, I can't imagine how nice an original prewar Lionel flavor is.

Thanks for sending Martin! Martin and Rob Lear sent me a few other pics I'll post shortly!
Marc

Lionel/MTH Catalog Still MIA

Well, the clock is still ticking. Here is the advantage of the Internet vs. old time paper communication. In the old days, Lionel or toy train companies could wait until the Quarterly, a Bulletin or a new catalog to come out to trumpet new achievements. Albeit with 4 to 6 months inbetween Yorks, catalogs, whatever. The old days are gone and when announcements are made, the clock is ticking.

So where is the new catalog? Yes, I know it is a Herculean effort to bring out a great quality catalog with the finest trains available to man in a period under 2 years. Yes, it is difficult to choose products that will sell and weed out others that won't. Yes, I know MTH needs Lionel's approval to move forward. My guess is that there are more chefs in the Lionel/MTH kitchen than at a Golden Corral Buffet in Florida on a senior citizen's half off night.

I would still like to see a little more cohesive communication from both companies. Perhaps a teaser of a few of the items in the catalog in one of MTH's newsletters? Perhaps an actual update to the rapidly aging/mediocre website that was hastily set up to highlite the new found venture? How about something a little less scripted than the Taylor "interview" by Bob Keller of CTT? By the way, I have always really liked Bob Keller's writing. I do hope he gets another shot at a real interview or review that isn't quite as scripted.

So how about it MTH and Lionel? Guys, here's the deal (and I've said it before): web marketing and sales is probably one of the best ways to reach massive numbers of customers in a very personal way. Really, it is great because it panders to the instant gratification monster in everyone, especially train people. But you can't throw a website out there and then ignore it for months or years. It just doesn't work like that. As a matter of fact, it actually works against you and quite heavily. Look at it this way, you're working with one of the worst economies in decades; you need to keep the attention of your consumer base beyond eBay. MTH Mega Stores are terrific but they are few and far between, even here on the East Coast. You need to keep people intersted. Please, get the catalog out and hire some people that can really keep your websites interesting.

Marc

Leland Revisited

Here's one advantage I have over traditional printed media. When I find some interesting things even after I finish writing I can go back and post after the fact.

To the left is what I spoke of concerning attention to detail. MTH wrapped the end of each track to make sure the pins would NOT get bent or damaged. The pin color also matches the track - nice touch MTH!

Here's a tighter shot of how the track comes together. Again, this track is really top shelf. I hope MTH further utilizes this system. Maybe some switches?












I attempted some tight shots of the power car. The couplers between cars are really interesting. They are just metal rods that go into each car. No, these aren't Proto Couplers or anything like that. I'm not sure anyone would ever need it to be that sophisticated. Once you see how dang easy these are to use, using standard gauge couplers (with the height differences and different standards) is just a lesson in frustration. It's one of the few times gravity will be a couplers friend.

Marc

Here in the Northeast this morning, the station master has piled all the freight inside the station, out of the rain, snow and wind.

I'm a great fan of tinplate lithography and this charming little IVES #200 Freight Station is another great example of prewar tinplate litho. My research indicates that IVES assigned the catalog #200 to two different accessories, this freight station, as well as the massive #200 power house, another heavily lithographed accessory. This would make a good tinplate trains trivia quiz question!

Jim

More from Jim's Train Table

HPIM1682
Originally uploaded by mrkuffler.

Absolutely nothing better than seeing a table of incredible standard gauge engines. I am partial to the 1912 and 42's. There's just something special about them. Looks like some brass #7's are trying to sneak into the picture as well. What's your favorite standard gauge engine?

Marc