Skip to main content

Other records

To marvel and admire

There are more world records and record-breaking achievements in Z gauge. We have compiled some of them here:

Market launch
When the Z gauge is introduced at the 1972 Toy Fair, it is the smallest electric system railway in the world.

Endurance record
In 1978, a Märklin series model of class 003 (item no. 8885) sets a continuous running world record across all nominal sizes that is still valid today: Without maintenance and without interruption, the express steam locomotive is in motion for 1,219 hours and covers a real distance of 720 km.

The smallest model
For many years, the Köf 2 from Z-Modellbau (from 2006) was the smallest powered Z-gauge series model. In 2020, this record-breaking feat went to Märklin, where the DB's Klv 20 small car (item no. 88025) was put on the rails. It measures just 21.7 mm in length and weighs only 8.24 grams.

The longest model
The longest Z-gauge model is the DB VT 105 articulated train from Märklin (item no. 88100). Its intermediate cars rest on common, single-axle bogies and are - as was once the case with the prototype - not divisible in operation. Thus, with an overall length of 455 mm, it holds the top performance here.

First locomotive in space
The space shuttle Columbia had a special guest on board during its IML-2 mission in 1994: A Märklin class 89 tender steam locomotive (item no. 8805) circled the earth in it at an altitude of 300 km about 236 times and then returned to earth in perfect condition. By then, it had covered around 9.8 million km in flight during this mission.

Expensive precious metal
The most expensive model, at least in terms of its material value, is probably the class 10 steam locomotive that appeared for the 25th gauge anniversary in 1997. Märklin produced this exclusive model in 18-carat gold and set three diamonds (front) and rubies (rear) in the lantern mounts.

With depth
Rainer Schlempke, a soldier in the German navy, took a locomotive on a boat and had it run on a track circle during a dive at a depth of 250 metres in the Freimesse.

Printing technology
Märklin can print in pad printing with a line thickness of only 0.015 mm. This corresponds to a versal height of just 0.1 mm for the railway inscriptions. These inscriptions can also be deciphered under a magnifying glass.