Märklin has issued the following letter in Germany addressing Z scale concerns. I had requested and was provided the letter in English. Below is a copy of the letter. - Rob Göppingen, Germany September 2011 Dear Mini-Club friend, For almost 40 years, our smallest scale 1:220 has been part of the Märklin range. The high level of detail despite its miniature size, the technical options and high reliability have proved fascinating from its inception right through to today. However, fears that Märklin could discontinue this model railroad series are as old as the gauge itself. Shortly before the 40th anniversary of this scale, we received more and more inquiries from customers seriously concerned about the future of this model railroad type. Extreme delivery delays and the resulting impression that the offering was being reduced added to the Mini-Club members’ worries. As a result of decisions in the past, these are admittedly problems of our own making, for which we can first and foremost only apologize to our customers. We made the mistake of assuming that other external partners would be able to produce the Mini-Club models with the same dedication and thoroughness as our own staff. However, this resulted in very lengthy processes before the quality criteria we demand for series production were adhered to and the products could finally be delivered. Undoubtedly, wrong decisions are sometimes inevitable, but it would be foolish to stand by these decisions over the long term. We therefore decided some months ago to transfer production of these Mini-Club models back in-house. We still have enough employees from earlier production who can support us in this step with their experience, as well as their enthusiasm for the product. Unfortunately, we found that on the class 232 model, the propulsion does not consistently meet our quality specifications in series production. We are working flat out on a solution. As soon as we have the replacement parts, we will retrofit our customers’ affected products. If models in this series reveal similar problems in the future, we will investigate the damages fairly in the interests of our customers. However, until these replacement parts are available, we ask those of you who are affected for your patience, and thank you for your understanding. For the start of new production, we will need a certain run-up time, which could result in further delivery delays. We are aware that this will further try the patience of our loyal Mini-Club customers. However, please rest assured that we will do everything possible to eliminate these delays as quickly as possible. We will report on and document the progress of these measures via our media such as Märklin TV or the We would therefore like to use this open letter to thank all those involved in the Mini- Club for their years of loyalty and support. The scale is by no means an undesirable appendage to our range, and has been internally supported with much enthusiasm and dedication. We have just approved the new items strategy for the coming years in this gauge and are already looking forward to the interesting and innovative ideas we want to bring to fruition in the years to come. For us, the Mini-Club remains an important pillar in which we can continue to demonstrate what the art of German engineering is able to create, even in miniature. We hope you continue to enjoy Märklin's smallest products. We will of course keep you informed of further developments relating to the Mini Club. Lars Schilling Marketing Director Jürgen Faulhaber Mini-Club Product Manager
