Now, which other large-scale Passenger Car producers deserve a mention in this round-up? To my chagrin I find that I have omitted to include Marklin (Maerklin or Märklin) who are still a major force in Spur 1 even though their major thrust is in the narrow gauge market covered by their subsidiary LGB. As might be expected the majority of their Gauge 1 passenger coaches are based on European outline practice especially that of the DR (Deutsches Reich) prior to 1945 and DB (Deutsche Bahn) from 1949 onwards.

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There are currently about ten or so stockists in the UK and many are unlikely to stock the full range (especially Gauge 1 which is still something of a niche product) but will probably be prepared toorder for you if you can wait. The best approach is to first consult the current Marklin On-Line Catalogue which can be downloaded from their Online Shop (along with previous issues) by clicking on this button link:

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Then visit the Passenger pages by selecting English as your language and then Products - Gauge 1 - Wagons - Passenger cars (or Sets) to establish current availability.

You will often find the term MHI and wonder what it stands for. Apparently this indicates a "Marklin Dealer Initiative" which means that the model or models are Limited One Time Series and not necessarily to be repeated. I assume the practice is for Marklin to secure "firm orders" from designated retailers before committing to a production run. The dealers take the risk of having a red-hot in demand item that attracts a rush of interest or conversely a product that could languish on the shelves for a long time before being sold off at a discount. You are unlikely to get a discount off the RRP in such circumstance. The "Limited Run" tag does not necessarily mean that a popular item will not reappear at some stage in the future at Marklin's discretion but it will probably appear in a slightly different guise or numbering scheme to preserve the potential cachet and value of the original model.

Also see if you can purchase a particular model locally - retailers are far more likely to have older items in stock and if they don't will almost certainly be prepared to order it for you.  If you still fail to locate the particular product you are interested in type the details in your browser search field and see what pops up. eBay and Amazon (and possibly a main dealer such as Reynaulds)  is likely to feature predominantly but someone, somewhere could well have it for sale (such as member of the G Scale Society or G Scale Junction. You might also care to revisit Module 14  concerning where to source your large-scale items.

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