# 8663
Marklin has included a particularly collectable catagory of rolling stock among it's many fine models. These cars are refrigerated cars based on their Era 5 # 8600 model, each having detailed and colorful paint schemes reflecting the advertising colors, logos and slogans of notable breweries. Some of these are recognizable to Americans because the company's products are imported into the United States and are advertised here. Others are not so familiar unless you've traveled abroad or read foreign magazines. Some of the "beer cars" are available only as sets such as #8663 - a collection of popular Munich breweries, or #8400C containing representatives of breweries of Berlin.
Some cars have been in the Marklin lineup for years such as #8648 lettered for Dinkelacker brewery, which I found in my 1986/1987 catalog as well as in the 2004 catalog. Newer ones are receiving 5 digit catalog numbers such as the Furstlich Furstenbergischen brewery, #86001 in the 2004 catalog. Still others are numbered using the base car model of 8600 followed by an additional three digits separated by a period, such as #8600.906, the Feldschlosschen Bier car. These variations in numbering schemes make locatng these collectables difficult. What seems to be a re-use of some numbers following an older car being discontinued, such as a Dortmunder Union Bier car and the Era 1 covered hopper with #8601 or the Spatenbrau Munchen beer car and the newer Alsace-Lorraine Era 1 box car with #8602 only adds to the difficulties. Additional examples of these beer cars show up among the rolling stock included in starter sets, such as the "gift set" themed #81567 with it's Ganter brewery car or the Distelhauser car in set #81565.
An adjunct to such a collection would be the older refrigerator (probably more like "ice box") Era 2 cars. Some of these appearing in car sets and as "Museum" or "Insider" specials. In some instances they represent the same brewery as another model of the #8600 variety.
As my collection of these cars grows, I'll be adding their pictures in a separate section of the photo classification gallery.