This really nice 3-rail AC HO gauge loco by Marklin is 3425 a K.W.St.E. Kittel steam railcar in brown livery. It has running number DW8.
In 1895 Württemberg State Railways (K.W.St.E.), ordered a first steam powered rail car (DW 1) from the firm Societé Serpollet in Paris. A special feature of this two-axle unit was the Serpollet boiler, which allowed particularly economical one-man operation. Six additional units with Serpollet boilers (DW 2-7) were delivered between 1899 and 1903 by the firm Maschinenfabrik Esslingen (ME).
However, the operating results were not satisfactory due to the poor steaming qualities of the cars. A new boiler development by Maschinenfabrik Esslingen under the direction of the chief designer Kittel in 1904 resulted in a critical improvement. Between 1905 and 1909 Maschinenfabrik Esslingen (ME) delivered nine steam powered rail cars (DW 8-14, 16, 17) with Kittel boilers to the K.W.St.E. Between 1904 and 1908 the Serpollet cars, road nos. DW 1-7, were equipped with Kittel boilers; road no. DW 1 also acquired a new road number, DW 15.
The Baden State Railroad bought eight similar units in 1914/15 with the road numbers 1000-1007. They differed in several details from the Württemberg cars: symmetrical boiler location on the center axle, a larger wheel base of 5.5 meters / 18 feet, a different window arrangement, entry steps on the front with step housings, a lower coal bunker, and a larger fuel capacity.
All of the Baden, but only a few of the Württemberg cars, were taken over by the DRG. When these units were given new road numbers in 1930, there were still 14 on the roster, and they were assigned the numbers DT 1-14. Thirteen powered rail cars survived World War II. Nine remained in the West Zone; of them seven were retired over the course of 1949.
In 1950, the German Federal Railroad still had two units on its roster: road no. DT 1 (former no. 1000) and road no. DT 8 (former no. 1007). The latter lingered on tenaciously and was even used in shuttle service until the end of 1953 on the Baden route Müllheim - Neuenburg. It was stored on January 2, 1954 and retired on March 3, 1954.
Road nos. DT 2, 3, and 9 (former nos. 1001, 1002, and DW 15) remained after 1945 on the French State Railways. The first two units were in use there until 1956 with the road numbers XDR 10.102 and 10.103 in Mulhouse as personnel powered rail cars. The former road no. DT 6 (former no. 1005) came in 1949 to the roster of the DR (East Germany) after the nationalization of the Oderbruch Railroad as road no. DT 151; however it remained in storage and was scrapped in November of 1957 in Frankfurt/Oder. One Kittel powered rail car delivered in Switzerland is preserved there in operational condition.
The loco is in good condition as you can see in the pictures, We are unable to test it as we do not have a three rail AC test rig or track, so we have not tested it but can see no reason why it would not run. It is sold in untested condition, this means that it may not run, and as such it is not being sold in running condition. However a complete external visual inspection has shown no reason why this loco would not run and the overall condition is very good. The box is in good if slightly shelf worn condition. The inner plastic sleeve is yellowing and starting to go brittle, common with Marklin products of this era
Overall this is a really nice scale locomotive and would look fantastic on a layout.
Do please have a look at my other listings, I typically have various HO and OO locos on offer as well as an extensive range of imported N gauge locos and other items.
Note: I do recommend all locos are cleaned & serviced, as they have some age to them even if the quality looks at the highest level (fairly standard advice for all locos!).