Category: Historical Articles

Interesting articles on Marklin collecting, operating, and the general history of Marklin.

Hans-Peter Porsche TraumWerk: A Dream World for Railway and Toy Fans

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Since its opening in June 2015, the Hans-Peter Porsche TraumWerk has delighted its guests with a model railway of around 400 square meters in size, legendary vintage cars and a huge collection of rare toys. The TraumWerk resides in the upper Bavarian municipalities Anger/Aufham in the region Berchtesgadener Land.  Here Hans-Peter Porsche, grandson of the legendary company founder Prof. Dr. H. c. Ferdinand Porsche,

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Sail first class with Marklin toy boats and submarines

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Engage your eyes with nautical treasures as we set sail on a journey through some of Marklin’s finest sea-fairing vessels.  Around the turn of the last century Marklin began producing a wonderful array of tin boats and submarines.  The broad range included early battleships with real cap-gun canons, steam paddle boats, large ocean liners with huge smoke stacks, and war-ready

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Roof Vents & Trucks: Restoration of a Model Nr. 351 Passenger Coach from 1946

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A common sight to any Marklin 00 collector: broken trucks and missing roof vents on a beautiful 350-series coach.  Over the years, Zinc diecast parts suffer from “Zincpest” making them brittle and prone to breakage.  The thin supports of the roof vents and two posts that secure the side trucks to the stamped metal frame are extremely vulnerable to breaking.  In

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From Germany with Love, Train Sets Shipped Home during WWII

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As discussed in previous articles, the Marklin factory continued production during WWII. American soldiers operating in the area are said to have visited the factory specifically.  Not only were they there to collect intelligence, but also indulge in some toy shopping for those back home.  The Marklin factory had an in-house showroom with all the latest models running and many

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220 Volts to the Present: From life threatening danger to safety

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  During the late 19th century and into the early 20th century, Märklin toy trains used one of three power sources – clockwork motors, live steam and electricity. In time, the first two methods with their inherent limitations were displaced, but not entirely replaced, by electric motors. So it was that in 1895 Märklin offered its first electric motor driven

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