Marklin Z 82591 American Hopper Car Set

I am thinking about getting above set to add to my existing Pennze ones. Obviously would need to replace and relocate trucks, change to MTL couplers to make it look reasonable, but the questions still remain in my mind about how would they look when placed next to each other...

Is there anybody out there who has both and could comment before I part with my hard earned cash?
thanks Chris

 

Go to this site:http://www.platelayer.com/video.asp (Svein Martin Holt`s site)

And take a look at the video called "zmod action"

 

thanks Henrik,
great videos and that is exactly what I am aiming for
they look absolutely fine together, from a distance
however inspiring this video is though, it is difficult to see comparison between the Marklin and Penzee close up
Chris

 

If you wanna go all out...after you move the trucks out then also move the 2 end discharge doors toward the ends as well. The slope of them should match the slope at the end of the car.

 

Chris, thanks for pointing out the discharge door business (I have missed this...)
I must admit, the more I look at it the more I think that I am better off sticking to Penzee and forget about Marklin.

 

The Marklin is a beautiful set on its own. I run both MTL & Marklin so I will have them running on different lines...and one day I'd like to convert to MTL couplers on all my Marklin (big project...)

I have 3 of the 4 PRR Penzee hopper sets...

 

thanks Michael,
I am still dithering - indecision is key to flexibility :angel:
Chris

 

I have 24 C&O Marklin hoppers ( 82590 ) and also 50 Pennsy Marklin hoppers ( 82591 ) which have all been converted to MTL couplers, and yes Michael, BIG job but well worth the effort. The sight of 25 hoppers following around behind the Marklin A-B-A F7 set is a wonder to behold and the fact that Marklin have cheated on the ends of the wagons and placement of the bogies (trucks) doesn't matter to me. If anyone is wondering, I have two fleets so that I have an empty fleet and a loaded fleet.
If MTL releases the two bay hopper in Pennsy colours then my credit card will get a hammering as I wont be able to resist buying the odd fleet or two.

Satisfied block train runner.

 

I have just hammered my credit card as well mg:
as soon as they arrive I will post "before" photo comparing Marklin with others and then will keep you guys posted about the progress of the conversion
(just don't expect the kind of speed that some guys on this board are capable of :lightning: I am a slow builder)
Chris

 

package has arrived and here is the promised "before" photo:

on the left Penzee H43 and on the right Marklin H35
H43 is 19" higher and 28" longer than H35
Marklin's hopper body is surprisingly reasonably accurate dimensionaly and should make a good conversion to MTL standard. The only dissapointing thing are the missing vertical ribs (there are 10 of them on the model instead of 16 - each digit of the road number should be separated by the rib) see http://prr.railfan.net/photos/PRR_267317_H35.jpg

Which unfortunately is not the case with Marklin's boxcar - in the fit of enthusiasm I got one for the conversion also and ... just as well it was only one
they are simply wrong as can be seen from this photo:

 

Chris,

Great comparison! This is why I am starting to like TrainBoard more than the Yahoo forums.

John

 

John, thank you for your kind words
I read all three Z forums (Yahoo groups, Z Central and Trainboard) - each to his own, but I must admit that Trainboard is my favourite.
Chris

 

I thought about it as well Rob, but decided that this is one job too many - new wheels, trucks, , move trucks, couplings, discharge doors.
Tampo prints on these hoppers are very nice. Where would I get decals to replace them?
And apart from me and everybody reading this forum, nobody will notice anyway
:embarassed:
No I will accept this one compromise
Chris

 

well, photo size permitted on:
Z Central Station
is even better, so I have decided to continue this thread there
if you are interested, you can have a look:
Marklin Z 82591 American Hopper Car Set

Chris

ps I still like the Trainboard most, for the technical content and the advice/support available here, but I also enjoy facilities on ZCentral.
As for Yahoo group ... :zip:

 

I for one still intend to use all of my Marklin "close enough is good enough" American rolling stock but i wont be buying any more unless they bring out wagons in true scale. There is an ever increasing range of other manufacturers bringing out quality and scale US gear that is better and cheaper.

 

Chris,
Do you have the book on PRR hoppers?

I was wondering about the way data is on the Marklin car, I see it matches the builders photo, but I wonder if that style of data is an oddity?

 

Yes I have the book, and the body (with the exception of doors and ribs) matches overall size reasonably accurately. Of course Marklin wheels mean that it is too high overall.
Having had a look at the diagrams, I can see that one of the three shoots (central one) is again of reasonable proportions, shape and size. The two outer ones are beyond redemption. I have decided that modifying the existing floors is not going to be effective and my plan at the moment is to butcher three floors into one (using only central shoot and building the new coupler platforms/trucks fixing) and than use it as a master to create new floor using silicone/epoxy castings
Wish me luck as I have never done it before :shade:
As to your question "...that style of data is an oddity?.."
I am not sure I exactly follow you (sorry)
Could you please explain?
Chris

 

I had almost totally purged Marklin cars from my roster. I only had a couple of passenger sets, and one of the PRR hopper sets. I originally bought them with plans of modifying the trucks/couplers so I would have 5 more road numbers of PRR hopper. I currently have all four of PZ's Pennsy sets (Multiples of each), Several FR 2 bays, Uncle Will's 2 bays, and, now, through various aquisitions, 4 of the Marklin PRR hopper sets. I have well over 100 PRR PennZee hoppers, so I decided that it wasn't worth modifying the Marklins. Instead, I just use the 20 of them that I have behind a pair of GG-1s in an all Marklin consist. The hoppers aren't prototypical, but they are nice running cars. And as long as there is nothing else around to point out their flaws, they make a nice train. I also have the Marklin A-B-A that was originally intended to pull the hoppers, but I can't stand the color of it. I even prefer MT's green PRR F7 to it. Marklin got the GG-1 pretty much right, but those F7's are just GREEN.
Dan S.

 

Chris,
If I may, I would like to suggest an alternate approach. The marklin cars are a very good weight and have excellent running characteristics, and the metal "floors" have a lot to do with this. Thin resin castings quite often want to warp and flex, as well.
It appears that the outer chutes have been made steeper in order to clear the Marklin truck placement. The open end of the chute is approximately correct, it is just the angle that is off. It might be more reliable to make a filler piece to correct the outside chutes, make a mold of it, and then you can then cast those and attach them to the bottom of the cars.
Just an idea.
Dan S.