Bankruptcy derails toy train maker Märklin

Germany’s storied model train maker Märklin said on Wednesday it had filed for insolvency after delighting fans of tiny railways for the past 150 years.

Based in Göppingen some 40 kilometres east of Stuttgart, Märklin said it hopes to continue operations while it undergoes restructuring.

“We hope to work with insolvency regulators to overhaul and re-establish our company with its long tradition and cult status according to German bankruptcy law,” Märklin executive Dietmar Mundil said.

The beleaguered toy train company employs 1,050 people – 650 in Germany around 400 in Hungary. Founded in 1859, the firm has belonged to British financial investor Kingsbridge Capital since 2006.

click here for more on this from The Local - Germany's News In English

Columbia Historical Society HO Model Railroad Video 8

This video shows a Reading freight and Pennsy Passenger train traveling the Columbia Branch near Port Interlocking. The small building on the upper level that fell off its foundation has since been fixed, and the high fascia in this area has been lowered down. As Ken shoots more videos of both Columbia layout and the Stiegel Valley Model RR, I'll post them.

Accessories For Your Model Railway Layout

Whilst thinking of adding accessories to your model train layout you will need to carefully consider the scale of your layout. As a quick guide the following scales are some of the most common - O Scale (1:48), S Scale (1:64), OO Scale (1:76), HO Scale (1:87), N Scale (1:160) and finally Z Scale (1:220).

As you can see from the paragraph above there are lots of different model railway scales and thus you have to make sure that when you are buying any accesories for your railway that you are buying the right ones. For example you may wish to change the name plate on your locomotive or add some decals to the engine then you need to make sure that you buy the right size plate or decal if you want the engine to look great. Some of these differences are quite obvious when it comes to items to go onto your train but are less so when it comes to tree systems and sometimes buildings. For example I have first hand experience of a retailer telling me that some of the Bachmann trees were not suitable for OO scale which was not strictly true as firstly using the dimensions on the back of the packet it specifically said that they were suitable and in any case if I was building a layout which had perspective then I may have needed some N scale trees to go at the back of the layout.

Some common accessories that you may wish to consider range from fishplates, track pins, buffers, uncoupling ramps, track supports, level crossings, fencing, lighting systems for stations and buildings and underlay for your track. And that doesn't really touch the sides as there are any number of scenery accessories and buildings that you can buy or build.

A simple accesory that can significantly add to the look of your layout is a tunnel portal. You often see tunnel systems with a brick facia going into the hillside and you can buy any number of different types of these to add realism to your model railway layout. Alternatively with brick patterns available to purchase or to download you can make your own bespoke tunnel portals.
When it comes to adding lights to the inside of your buildings then the bulbs or diodes that you use can be the same across a number of scales but if you are to have the lights on view such as a street lighting system or station lighting then you will need to make sure that the accessories are the right size for your layout.

If you are really into making the models yourself then you should consider the level of detail that you like to put into your models before deciding on your scale as it is likely that at the smaller scales a level of detail will need to be sacrificed because of the size.

To summarise therefore there are an abundance of accessories that are available for model railway enthusiasts and these are available in many different scales. Whilst there may be some crossover between scales this would tend to be very limited so it is important that when visiting your store that you know exactly what scale you are working to and/or what you are trying to achieve if you buy a product in a different scale.

One of the best places I have found for buying my accessories is at On Tracks as they cater for many different scales and have a huge range of products available online.

Making Tunnels: Part 3

Part 3 of a short tutorial on making tunnels

Making Tunnels: Part 2

Part 2 of a short tutorial on making tunnels

Making Tunnels: Part 1

Part 1 of a short tutorial on making tunnels

5 Tips To Restore Your Old Lionel Trains

by Nathan Griffin

Has your Lionel train seen fresher days? Wouldn’t it be pleasant to see it chugging around on it’s track once more, beaming the same sweetheart as the day it was seen that Christmas morning so long ago?

Repairing and reconstructing your old Lionel train can be very accomplishing. You can savor in the warm glowing of memories of past, and so make new memories to go on with them!

The nice thing is, you can do this yourself with just a little patience and know-how! Once you’ve fixed it, conserving your old train’s glory is for the most part a topic of a pat of oil nowadays and so in the exact positions to keep it running smoothly.

How do you reconstruct Lionel Trains?

The introductory step in restoring an old Lionel train is to make it all cleaned up.

Rub it all off with a soft cloth to get rid of junk and stain.

You can take out rust with rust remover or sand paper. If you see green or crusty white spots, that is oxidisation, and you can get rid of it with oxidisation remover.

The final part in your cleaning is to wipe down the tracks, the wheels of the cars, and any moving parts with a light oil spray. Use Q-Tips soaked with the oil to get into smaller areas, like the wheels, and use a soft cloth soaked with the oil for the tracks. Buff it all up with a clean part of the cloth.

Put a pat of the oil on some running parts, and function it in so that they run smoothly and easily. You can utilise a toothpick to catch tiny pieces of oil for the reasonable areas.

Now that it is clean and shining, you can begin your repairs.

Make sure all the pieces of the path blended together tightly. If they don’t, and then bend the connectors back into position with moderate pairs of pliers. It might take a few attempts to get them merely right, merely you should be capable to get a hard fit.

Take the bodies off of your cars, and visit the insides. Clean them as earlier, and attend for broken functions. It Is truly simple to exchange these sections yourself. You can buy them at a Lionel trains specialization store, some hobby storehouses, or order them from Lionel trains functions catalogs. Simply unscrew them and screw in the replacement part.

Lastly, does your train move? See it after you’ve cleaned it all, because built up dirt and grime could cause the connector ‘tween the train and the track to be so hard that it keeps it from running. If its clean and still doesn’t run, check to see if the plug is working. If the plug appears Right, it may be that the transformer wants repair or substitute.

You can find detailed directions about how to make the transformer, and every of the different regions of Lionel trains at LionelManuals.com. They have a 2 CD set of full guides, blueprints, and diagrams for all Lionel train manufactured from 1906 through 1986. The set also takes on a parts and accessories catalog for your convenience.

Use the repair manuals to complete any other necessary repairs for your train.

Ready to hold your Lionel train, plainly keep it clean and furbished, oil the moving parts every so often, and it should make you many more yr of enjoyment!

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