The Märklin Diary of a 44 yr old Kid
Next: Freight Loads
The Journey Begins
My second love – Märklin; My first love - Paula
Born in ’35. Lived near Berlin.
Received Märklin 0-gauge clockwork trains in probably ’41 or ’42.
Exposed to Märklin 00 in ’44 when friends of my parents turned over their 00 Märklin to them for safe keeping during the increased bombing of Berlin.
My parents so valued the clockwork Märklin that they brought it to America when they came here in ’50.
That year my brother and I received Lionel for Christmas.
Still, the Märklin survived as it does to this day.
My R 890 Lok has a place of honor in my office.
Eventually some 2-rail DC “stuff” came into my life but it was never serious.
Then, in ’84, some serious hobby money and an ad for a Märklin starter set in a long forgotten gift catalog converged.
As is said, the rest is history.
I retired in 2000 and my boss, who knew of my love for Märklin, gave me a very substantial gift certificate for a buying spree at Matschke in Wuppertal.
In ’99 Carsten Ramcke and I started the Great Lakes Chapter of ETE and the newsletter GLEIS 1.
An avowed analogist until 2002, I plunged into digital and have never looked back.
In ’02 I also joined the staff of ETE’s EXPRESS as an editor and brought in train enthusiast Dan Driessche to do the graphic design.
In 2005, I started my low key business Kurt’s Rail Remedies.
What’s next? You tell me and we’ll both know.
Kurt’s Märklin clockwork Lok R 890 still runs and shows no signs of rust or wear.
Next: Introduction
