As antique as the Glaskasten is, it does fit into at least three eras, provided you’re Epochen conscious. The box for my Märklin Austrian set indicates that the Lok and the two freight cars are representative of about 1953. The three manufacturers offering these models have all chosen to model the engine with the jackshaft. It does make for a more interesting sight as the little engine makes it way around a layout.

These tiny engines are not toys. They are operating scale model with much delicate detail that is not meant to be handled by a child, unlike earlier much more user-friendly engines offered by the three manufacturers..

The 9/88 issue of Eisenbahn Magazin did a side-by-side test of the Trix and Roco Glaskästen but it is beyond the scope of this article to go into details. In the comparison, the Trix model comes out ahead. If any readers are interested in the test report (in German only), please send me a SASE.

In 1988 Trix became the first company to offer a model of the Glaskasten. The model, catalog 22 401, carries the road number 98 308 and is lettered according to Epoch II.

Roco offered a model of the Glaskasten shortly after Trix brought out theirs. At the time, the engine was part of a Bavaria set, catalog 43030. This one is lettered according to Epoch III..

43256 – PtL-2/2, Royal Bavarian Railways, No. 4510, green, Catalog 1990/91

43257 – 98.3, DR, 98 304, black, 1990/91

43255 – 98.3, DB, 98 307, black, 1990/91

DC only, Matching car set 44014 (Epoch I), also book on Glaskasten is Roco 84001.

Märklin (needs road number information; I'm working on it)

When Märklin began working with Trix in the early 1990s, the former became the third company to offer a Glaskasten. Since that day in 1990, there have been analog, digital and Delta versions of the little engine. The first engine was the analog 3387 in black, DB road number 98 308, and in the catalog from 1990 to 1995. Then came the digital 3687, also in black, from 1991 to 1993. It carried road number 98 307. Next came 3686, a PtL-2/2 in green and black with the road number 4531. This item was in the catalog from 1993 to 1996. For 1997, the Märklin/Trix collaboration produced the Wedding Train. The Glaskasten in that set was 3387.10. For 1999, Märklin appealed to the export market, specifically the Austrian segment with the set 29871. The set contains a Delta Glaskasten Koll No. 3387.20 and two detailed box cars with sliding doors

I sit here with my Koll's 2000 book in hand. Koll's number for your Lok appears to be 3387.20. 3387.10 was the Lok used in the Marklin/Trix Wedding set of 1997.

It appears that 3686, the Green version of the Glaskasten was never offered as a conventional Lok, as near as I can tell.

A black version was offered as 3387 and 3687.