Out With the Old, In With the New...

In a previous post I talked about finally replacing my Marklin V200 which I had to sell many years ago due to a financial crisis.  When I purchased the 'new' Marklin V200 I have to admit that I was a little disappointed.  Although the technology of digital operation and detail level on models has come a long way in the decade or so since I first purchased the V200, I was surprised at how little Marklin had upgraded on the re-release of their V200.  The headlights were the same yellow LEDs as before, the sound functions were only modestly expanded, and the model had changed little in terms of detail.

Well, it turns out that an O-scale manufacturer in Germany has begun 'dabbling' in the King's Gauge.  Modellbahn Werkstatt, or MBW for short (http://mbw-1zu32.de/) released the V200.1 about six months ago.  The price was very reasonable, and a sale on remaining inventory last month encouraged me to place an order.  By selling my Marklin V200 on eBay I had enough money to order the MBW model complete with a Loksound XL 4.0 decoder.  Anyway, enough text.  Here are some pictures of the new model:

I particularly like the design of the V200.1 versus the Marklin prototype because of the 'beefier' nose of the locomotive.  

In the photo above you'll notice the new signal tower, which I will blog about in the upcoming weeks.

The new V200.1 makes a good impression in front of my FD train.  

Overall I'm very happy with the model.  The detail is significantly better, the sounds are more realistic, and the functions and features of its digital operation are a step above the Marklin model.  My only complaints are that the model lacks an engineer in the cab and that from a sound standpoint the bass that the Marklin model had, that throaty rumble that a diesel locomotive should have, is missing on this model.  Perhaps a speaker swap or enclosure design is in the future.