MTL's issue wasn't due to overseas issues. If I recall correctly they had a change of personnel responsible for the design. The project then stalled due to internal issues using the previous person's work. Just hope the detail on Marklin's new designs is commensurate with the cost. ~Paul E
I wonder if that is all there is to it. Has anyone seen an MTL print ad in a model rail road magazine since last summer or maybe even last spring. In any event it has been a long time since they have advertised. ...don
Guess it's time for a summary, too much confusing info has been around: - Marklin will release the EMD E8/E9 - It's not a Marklin design, it's an re-branded new AZL design with Marklin couplers - AZL is going to release the E8/E9 with knuckle couplers too, but with different roadnames/paint schemes - Of course it will have all the same features as current AZL locos - I assume AZL's $ price will be lower than the Marklin EUR I think that captures it Now only one other question: when is AZL releasing the E8/E9?
I really don't care who releases it, even if Mickey Mouse has a hand in it, but like you said Gerd, the question is when, and also will the price from AZL be lower than the Marklin price?
Must .... Resist .... Taking .... Bait .... !!!! (Bite Tongue - HARD!!!) Send me to Gitmo, but I'll NEVER talk!!!! .... until Hans does!
Well I do know that Märklin does releases for not only the beginning of the year, but throws something out in the summer and then in the winter. Be interesting to see what passenger set will come out. (I used to have the daylight set) Now the other question would be, which company´s passenger car sets to use, and that brings us back to the couplers. (I don´t know how they did things at Gitmo, but I do know how they did things in Oberursel )
It is fairly easy to replace the Märklin coupler guts with an MTL #901 magne matic knukle coupler on a Märklin truck. This works for locomotives and cars. I did this conversion on nearly all my DB Märklin rolling stock. For passenger trains or any train which is not changed (e.g. a coal train) only the first coulper needs to be compatible to the locomotive. Procedure: Trim off the 3 plastic rivets that holds the metal cover on the coupler pocket. Remove the guts. Install the MTL #901 coupler per MTL instruction. Put the metal cover in its original position and tip the remains of the plastic rivets with a little CA gel. Done.
I just trim the closest pin, pry back gently and insert the MTL with their spring and it works for the GG!, done several so far with out a problem. Big question will ithe E8s be marklin's selective size to go with their cars or is it an AZL to go with their cars??? JD
Well, you guys know that we try to keep the dimensions of our locomotives as prototypical as possible. The real reason we do that is that we have zero imagination. It's just easier for us to take the real drawings and shrink them to 1:220. That way we don't have to think about complex things like, should we make the hood too wide to accommodate the motor (hey, lets just find a narrow motor!) or maybe stretch out the locomotive shell to fit an old mechanism we have lying around (we are simpletons, we just make a new chassis and drive train to fit the model we're trying to make) Let's face it: We're pretty darn dumb. So with that in mind, I guess you should expect us to maintain our normal state of stupidity: we will make the E8 as prototypical as we can. We must be dumb because we do things differently than many of those big successful companies. Maybe one day we can be big and successful too. Until then, we will just keep repeating our mistakes: trying to make the best darn products we can. Best, -Robert(A) AZL PS: For the record: This message is not meant to be taken literally or seriously. It is, in fact, sarcasm. A farce. Tom foolery. A Joke. Humor. And most important: exceptionally poorly written!
There's a funny thing about Company Drawings: Those guys with the paint buckets don't always follow orders.
Dunno..talking to the old school railroad dudes who I know, railroads were fanatical about following orders . Worse than the Army. But you can keep believing what ever you think.