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Here's the latest news on Marklin items!
March 5th, 2005

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In this edition:

1. Additional information on New Items 2005
2. Two HO Museum cars for 2005
3. New plugs – get them in the color you want
4. New street and station lamps – very cool
5. Additional cars for the Fire Brigade train
6. Great TRIX cars to go with your Marklin train sets
7. Uhlenbrock and ESU 2005 new items
8. Marklin Central Station
9. More Marklin / Herpa news – PLEASE read this!
10. New items for sale
11. New C-Track book – in English – please order it NOW!
12. First Big Boy for sale: 37990
13. March Screenshop items posted
14. Herpa car and truck models – now in stock AND on sale!

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1. Additional information on New Items 2005

By now you’ve probably already noticed that I have all the new items for 2005 posted on my web site. Please do take a look – there are a number of items in there that are NOT included in the New Items brochure, including a special design ICE3 train.

I have extended the pre-order period for just a couple of weeks to give everyone a chance to order at the best prices of the year. Please let me know if there’s anything you’d like to order.

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2. Two HO Museum cars for 2005

There are TWO Museum cars for 2005 in HO this year. Of course, there are also (single) cars in MAXI, 1, and Z.

Many of you who have e-mailed your orders for new items may have overlooked the Museum cars – it’s easy to do since these are at the very back of the New Items brochure. Please check out the Museum cars and let me know which one(s) you’d like.

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3. New plugs – get them in the color you want

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Looks like Marklin has recognized the error of their ways and has decided to issue the new style plugs in individual colors. They will come in packages of 10 and will be available in red, green, yellow, brown, grey and orange.

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4. New street and station lamps – very cool

More important than plugs, Marklin will also be coming out this year with an entirely new line of street lights and station lamps, including a lit (non-functioning) clock. These will be VERY nice if the photos in the New Items brochure are accurate. Best of all will be the way these get mounted to your railroad table. Each lamp will have a “socket” that will get attached to your layout; the socket will get wired underneath. The lamp will then just drop into this base and light automatically. A very nice, clean design. Please take a moment to look at these new lamps – they’ll definitely be a nice add-on to your layout.

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5. Additional cars for the Fire Brigade train

While at the Nürnberg Toy Fair, Marklin unveiled a FANTASTIC add-on to their very popular Fire Brigade starter set from last year. What we have here are additional cars that will go perfectly with this beautiful set. They call it a “dealer display package” and it contains 4 each of 6 different types of cars. But, if I remember correctly, each “set” is different, so there are, in effect, 4 different add-on sets, with 4 different fire engines on flat cars, 4 different tank cars for extinguishing fires, you get the idea. I’ll have photos of these on my web site as soon as I get them. In the meantime, you might want to think if your existing fire brigade cars could use some company!

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6. Great TRIX cars to go with your Marklin train sets

When contemplating what items you’d like to order for 2005, please don’t forget the great TRIX cars and sets that are new for this year. There are cars for all eras of freight traffic, including a very nice Era I five-car set and a number of individual cars from this time period as well. There’s even a flat car with a boiler for a P38 locomotive too!

There are a couple of new flat cars with loads for the “From Coal to Steel” series, and a LONG (almost 24”) Schnabel transport car with a load.

And, if you picked up last year’s 46323 three-car hopper set, there’s a beautiful 3-car silo car set that is of a slightly different design that will complement it nicely.

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7. Uhlenbrock and ESU 2005 new items

Many of you have asked about new Uhlenbrock and ESU items for this year.

I will have this information, in English, posted on my web site shortly. In the meantime, here’s a little “something”:

Uhlenbrock will be updating their Intellibox so it will come with a built-in infrared receiver. I don’t know how much of a big deal this is, but it will certainly add to the enjoyment and ease-of-use of their transmitter.

There will also be new multi-protocol decoders coming out this year, including one with a built-in LISSY transmitter!

For ESU, they too will be coming out with a number of new decoders, including MFX decoders with sound. Installing these in your (older) Marklin locomotives will immediately bring them up-to-date and allow them to take advantage of all the latest controllers. There will also be a LokPilot2 which will replace the original, very popular LokPilot decoder. One of the biggest improvements will be the decoder’s ability to work better on dirty or “marginal” track where electrical connectivity is less than optimal. This was a problem with the older LokPilot and LokSound decoders, and I’m glad that the new versions have addressed that issue.

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8. Marklin Central Station

Well, it’s good new, bad news with the long-awaited Central Station. The good news is that Marklin, in their infinite wisdom has decided to make their new “everything” unit completely compatible with all the “old” Marklin Digital equipment, including the 6021, 6040 keyboards and 6015/6017 boosters. The bad news is that this wasn’t their original plan, so when they finally decided to make this completely backward compatible, they had to go back to the “drawing board” and do a lot of re-working the software (at least that’s the story they’re sticking to this week). Anyhow, what this means is that we will not see the Central Station now until late Summer or (by my count) sometime in the Fall. Sorry about that – please don’t shoot the messenger!

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9. More Marklin / Herpa news – PLEASE read this!

Herpa has recently announced a number of “Marklin / Herpa” train and car sets in HO, Z and N, and they are on my web site for your review. Some items are already sold out, and some (the “Z” set) will only be produced if Herpa receives enough orders.

Many of you have already ordered some of these (and previously announced items) and have been very happy to get these special sets in the past. However, it’s not always easy to get these – even if I order them the moment they are announced, and I know this can cause a great deal of frustration (both for you and for me). So, here is a brief description of what’s going on here, so you’ll hopefully have a better understanding and appreciation as to how and why these sets are sometimes so difficult to get.

The Marklin / Herpa items are what Herpa considers to be part of their "eXtra Shop" offerings. They are very limited in production quantities (usually between 500 and 1000). Moreover, these items are intended to be ordered directly from Herpa and NOT through their normal distribution channel (i.e., from Herpa, to their distributors, to the retailers). A retailer, such as me, has very limited access to these items. The North American distributor of Herpa does get the opportunity to order a few -- very few -- of these items when they are first announced and I, as their largest retailer for these sets, generally have the opportunity to get some -- but, again, "some" can often mean just a handful (or less). So, between the limited production, non-standard distribution and the timing -- many of these special sets are literally sold out within days of their announcement -- it can get pretty near to impossible to get any good quantity of these. So, to finish this long story, I do try to get these sets when they are first announced, but sometimes I just come up short.

That being said, I will continue to try and get these for everyone who is interested in them. They are, after all, very beautiful and collectible items.

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10. New items for sale

In my travels to Germany a couple of weeks ago, I picked up a couple of interesting pieces, including an electric locomotive with a “cut-away” side as well as the sought-after King Ludwig BR 18 steam locomotive in its Royal Blue livery. Please check my “For Sale” page for photos of these and other items I have for sale.

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11. New C-Track book – in English – please order it NOW!

Marklin will be coming out with a C-Track layout book, in English. Why am I pleading with you to order it now? Well, whenever Marklin comes out with an English version of a book (signals, catenary, etc.) it quickly sells out. Then, it can take another 6-12 months before the next printing (if they even ever make a second printing). So, if you’re even just thinking about getting one of these, please let me know ASAP so you’re not disappointed.

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12. First Big Boy for sale: 37990

A customer recently sent me one of the original Marklin Big Boys that he would like to sell. It’s brand new and comes with all the boxes, paperwork, etc. The last one I offered sold in a matter of hours, so please let me know immediately if you’re interested in this beauty.

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13. March Screenshop items posted

I’ve just posted the March Screenshop items. As always, these are great values, and we again have offers in HO, Z and 1-Gauge. You’ll have to look at my web site to see these great buys, but I will give you HO modelers a little “heads-up” here: if you like automobiles and want to build an “instant” auto carrier train – here’s your big chance!

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14. Herpa car and truck models – now in stock AND on sale!

I have just concluded a deal with the North American distributor of Herpa that will enable me to sell all the Herpa models that are produced. To “get started”, Herpa has supplied me with a starter assortment of their most popular and attractive HO vehicles, and I’ll soon have a list of all these on my web site.

In the meantime, I have a list below of all the items that I will have in stock – as soon as the package arrives 

So, in honor of this new “venture”, I am offering 25% off the list price of all the items listed below. As I will have only one of each (to get started), it will be first-come, first-served on these, so please let me know ASAP which item(s) you’d like to have. You can easily look up any of these on the Herpa web site: www.herpa.de They even have English web pages to help you navigate! So, here’s what I’m getting shortly:

16.95 (1 @ 16.95) 006028 White, 2-Axle: Doubles - Preston
16.95 (1 @ 16.95) 006053 GMC: Doubles Overnite Transp.
14.95 (1 @ 14.95) 006100 I.H. Schoolbus, No Name:
13.95 (1 @ 13.95) 006318 Mini Cooper USA:
62.95 (1 @ 62.95) 150231 Liebherr L T M 1045 Mobile Crane: Liebherr
38.95 (1 @ 38.95) 148122 Liebherr Front-End Loader:
46.95 (1 @ 46.95) 148931 Liebherr Excavator R 954:
17.95 (1 @ 17.95) 006349 Mack CH 613, Silver Cattle Trailer:
15.95 (1 @ 15.95) 006332 KW W-900, Logging Truck:
14.95 (1 @ 14.95) 006205 Short Ford, Doubles: Motorcraft
14.95 (1 @ 14.95) 006295 Ford Short, Van: Preston
14.95 (1 @ 14.95) 006296 Mack Short, 48' Van: Overnite
15.95 (1 @ 15.95) 006257 Tour Bus: (140584) Wild
16.95 (1 @ 16.95) 006248 White Rd Comm, Doubles: Roadway
10.95 (1 @ 10.95) 033220 BMW X3, Metallic:
10.95 (1 @ 10.95) 023023 Mini Cooper - New:
9.50 (1 @ 9.50) 022361 VW Beetle '69:
10.25 (1 @ 10.25) 023122 BMW Z4:
10.25 (1 @ 10.25) 022842 BMW X5 Sport Utility:
15.95 (1 @ 15.95) 006224 Short Mack, Doubles: N.Y.C.E.
10.25 (1 @ 10.25) 023061 Audi A4 Convertible:
11.95 (1 @ 11.95) 033138 Audi A8 Sedan:
9.50 (1 @ 9.50) 022811 BMW 3.0 C S I:
12.75 (1 @ 12.75) 022897 BMW Z8:
10.25 (1 @ 10.25) 022699 Mercedes S Class:
9.50 (1 @ 9.50) 022859 Mercedes 280 S L Convertible:
10.95 (1 @ 10.95) 033077 Mercedes S L:
9.50 (1 @ 9.50) 022286 Porsche 356 B Convertible:
10.95 (1 @ 10.95) 032551 Porsche 996 Cabrio Met.:
10.25 (1 @ 10.25) 023146 Porsche Cayenne S:
10.25 (1 @ 10.25) 022576 VW Golf IV 4-Door:
14.95 (1 @ 14.95) 045926 Mercedes E Class: Police Hamburg
10.25 (1 @ 10.25) 046015 Mercedes Vito Mini Bus:
15.95 (1 @ 15.95) 046206 Porsche Cayenne Fire Chief:
17.50 (1 @ 17.50) 046343 Mercedes Vito: Police Hessen
16.75 (1 @ 16.75) 046114 Mercedes Sprinter: D.H.L
12.50 (1 @ 12.50) 044158 VW Beetle: Police
17.50 (1 @ 17.50) 046251 Mercedes Vito Fire Truck - Berlin:
14.25 (1 @ 14.25) 043342 Jeep Cherokee: Bsb Fire Chief
13.95 (1 @ 13.95) 045599 Mini Cooper: Follow Me
24.50 (1 @ 24.50) 045698 DAF Cf Tlf: Fire Truck
21.50 (1 @ 21.50) 045803 Mercedes Atego Lf 8/6: Fire Truck
25.50 (1 @ 25.50) 046169 MAN M2000: Aerial Ladder, Fire Truck
16.75 (1 @ 16.75) 149204 Volvo Fh 12 2-A Tractor Only:
23.95 (1 @ 23.95) 149334 Mercedes Atego Boom Truck:
22.50 (1 @ 22.50) 149785 MAN Le 2000: Snow Plow
23.95 (1 @ 23.95) 149839 MAN Tga M Cement Semi:
49.95 (1 @ 49.95) 149921 Liebherr Loader: ' U S A' - Design
15.95 (1 @ 15.95) 150408 Gas Station With 2 Bowsers:
16.75 (1 @ 16.75) 150460 Mercedes Actros Lh, 3-Axle Tractor Only:
62.95 (1 @ 62.95) 150699 Heavy Haul Set: Bautrans
34.95 (1 @ 34.95) 150705 Scania R Stake Truck/Trailer With Hoist:
33.50 (1 @ 33.50) 149440 MAN Tga-A Xxl Semi: Krieger

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That’s all for now.

Phone: (914) 232-5546
Fax: (914) 232-6641
Email: RJFtrains@aol.com

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