Special edition, V 80 and much more...

Shortly after the end of the sporting event, the intricately printed North America 2026 locomotive (item no. 88489), designed to replicate the Class 185.2, was delivered to specialist retailers. This model is aimed at collectors; it features different printings on each side and is particularly striking thanks to its gold-plated single-arm pantograph.

Also now available from retailers are three models based on the 1st/2nd or 2nd-class ‘Donnerbüchsen’ carriages: the 2026 Christmas carriage (80636), the freight train makeshift luggage van (87514), which lacks the typical paint smudges from the class numbers and non-smoking/smoking signs having been painted over, and the Märklin Magazine annual model 2026 (87515).

Only a few examples of the Laae 540 double car transporter (86234) were still in service in the 1970s; like the era III Off 52 version, it is offered unloaded, with two units per box. We are torn regarding the V 80 005 (88802): The exhaust silencer has been well reproduced and also features the typical spacers used to mount it on the cab roof in such a way that the roar is not transmitted into the cab.

However, we have not yet found any photographic evidence that the prototype ever operated with this equipment whilst still lacking the Bundesbahn logo and bearing the earlier lettering: the ‘Ege biscuit’ was introduced in 1955 and was apparently fitted quite quickly to the locomotives, which were state-of-the-art at the time. The silencers, however, were not retrofitted until 1957. Accordingly, the 2008 H0-scale model (36081) with the same road number also bore the logo – an indication that this is precisely how the locomotive is documented by Märklin.