Marklin Gauge 1 Toy Train, ca. 1900
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GUEST:
This train is from my great-uncle. It was his as a child. He was born in 1885. I'm not sure how old he was when he got it, but it was given to him as a child and it was passed to my mother and then to me.
APPRAISER:
Well, do you know the maker?
GUEST:
I do not know the maker. All I know is it's German made. That's all I know.
APPRAISER:
Well, it is German made. And it's made by probably the best German toy train maker of all time, Marklin. Actually called Gebr¸der Marklin, the Marklin Brothers. They started in the late 19th century, and they're still making toys today. But this is from the golden era, and it is a Marklin gauge 1...
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
...passenger set, and it is, with the exception of that red car back there,,in remarkable original condition. Marklin is loved by train collectors for a lot of reasons. One is the attention to detail. You notice the lovely painting here on this tender?
GUEST:
Yep.
APPRAISER:
This is one of the better coal tenders for this period. All this is all original, in wonderful condition. They made trains, in this era they were propelled by clockwork motors. And look at the robust clock... I mean, this strong German, solid, beautifully engineered, clockwork motor. Wind it up, you turn off the brake and it would fly down the track. And also you could put it into reverse gear. I mean, it's extraordinary. This was a wonderful piece of engineering for the child. All around 1900. It's all hand-enameled tin, hand-painted, with beautiful, strong, heavy-duty cast-metal wheels. There's no Marklin mark. I notice you have the original track. What's interesting about this track, you may not notice, but it's banked so that the train will not fall off as it hits the curves, and we know it's 1 gauge because on the cross ties it gives you the numeral 1.
GUEST:
We didn't know what that meant.
APPRAISER:
The value, at auction, considering the condition overall, even though that one car has lost some paint, I would say, at auction, this train could conservatively be estimated at $2,000 to $3,000.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
I'm excited you brought it in, because we don't get a chance to see that many wonderful Marklin trains.
GUEST:
Thank you.
Appraisal Details
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