South African Garden and Home – September 2019

114 SEPTEMBER 2019 | gardenandhome.co.za

COLLECTABLES

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS

DERICK KIRK

ThisCapetrainenthusiastuseshistechnicalknow-

howtobringhiscollectionto life

ABRIEFHISTORY

OFMÄRKLIN

Foundedin1859,Märklinis

basedatGöppingeninBaden-

Württemberg,Germany.Althoughit

originallyspecialisedindoll’shouse

accessories,todayit’sbestknownfor

modelrailroadsandtechnicaltoys.

In 1891 thecompanyreleaseditsfirst

wind-uptrainwithcarriagesthat

ranontracks.Inthe1930s,Märklin

producedErectorsets,Germany’s

answertotheextremelypopular

EnglishMeccano.

Importantly,thecompanyis

responsibleforthecreationofseveral

popularmodelrailroadgaugesor

scales,whicharetheinternational

standardstoday.Märklincreated

Ogauge(bysomeaccountsasearly

as 1895 oraslateas1901),thenthe

popularHOscalein1935,andthe

diminutiveZscale,1:220,in 1972 —

thesmallestintheworldfordecades.

Overtheyears,thecompany

changedhandsseveraltimesand

isnowownedbytheSimbaDickie

ToyGroup.Tothisday,Märklinis

dedicatedtoproducingthehighest

qualityandmostaccuratemodel

railroadsintheworld.

A

railroad enthusiast since

receiving his first train set as

a teenager, retired print and

coating technologist Kevin

Collecting

with Kevin McCarthy

McCarthy has been working seriously

on his Märklin train collection for over

15 years. Kevin’s astounding collection

and railway setup is housed in its own

50m^2 building on his smallholding in

Noordhoek on the Cape Peninsula. Set

on a large table, tracks wind over model

bridges through scenic villages and

green countryside.

“My love for trains grew from family

train trips when my father worked at

the South African Railways. There’s

nothing like the clatter of a train while

you watch the countryside roll by,”

reminisces Kevin.

“I’m fascinated by the history behind

these extremely detailed models.

MÄRKLIN MODEL RAILROADS

LEFT: This HO scale steam locomotive

with metallic boiler bands is a detailed

model of a German one that dates from

around 1957.