Piko 21062 H0 - BR 119 Electric Locomotive, DB, Era IV, DCC with Sound

Model of the Class 119 electric locomotive, the former E 19, in German Federal Railway livery with sound decoder

An elegant body, a 1'Do1' wheel arrangement and performance most European railways of the 1930s could only dream of — Class E 19 was created for the fastest trains on the Berlin – Halle – Munich main line. The model reproduces one of the four machines built, in the appearance it wore in Era IV when it ran for the Deutsche Bundesbahn as Class 119. This is the digital version with sound, intended for layouts depicting German long-distance operations of the 1970s.

The model matches the locomotive's Era IV appearance: lamps carried on the characteristic posts and slender SBS 39/54 pantographs. Fine handrails, UIC sockets and a separately applied centrifugal governor complete the bodyshell, along with separate sandbox covers, axle bearing covers and battery boxes. Windscreen wipers, roof lines and insulators are separately fitted. The factory-installed PluX22 sound decoder handles traction, lighting and an extensive set of functions: alongside the direction-dependent head and tail lights, the cab and control desk lighting can be switched digitally. Drive is transmitted through wheels fitted with traction tyres, and the couplers sit in NEM pockets with a close-coupling mechanism.

Model specifications:

• Scale: H0 (1:87)
• Item number: PIKO 21062
• Manufacturer: PIKO
• Length over buffers: 195 mm
• Railway administration and era: DB, Era IV
• Power supply: DC
• Decoder: factory-fitted PluX22 sound decoder (NEM 658 PluX22 interface)
• Drive: motor driving the powered axles, two traction tyres
• Coupling: NEM 362 pocket with close-coupling mechanism
• Minimum radius: 358 mm
• Lighting: direction-dependent white / red light change
• Digital functions: switchable cab and control desk lighting
• Sound effects: set of vehicle-typical sounds
• Detailing: SBS 39/54 pantographs, handrails, UIC sockets, centrifugal governor, sandbox covers, axle bearing covers, battery boxes, separately fitted wipers, roof lines and insulators
• Ready to run, factory painted and printed
• Age recommendation: 14 years and over

Please note: a DCC command station and a powered track layout are required to run this model.

This model is not a starter set — it contains neither track nor a controller. To use its full range of functions you need a DCC command station, for example the PIKO SmartControl or another DCC-compatible controller, connected to a powered track. Running on an analogue DC layout is possible only if the decoder has its alternative power source function — analogue operation, governed in the DCC standard by bit 2 of CV29 — switched on. This function is active by default, but if it has previously been disabled, applying direct current to the track may damage the decoder. In analogue mode only basic running is available, without sound or digital functions.

Model railways – digital or analogue control?

In analogue operation a vehicle's speed follows from the voltage applied to the rails and its direction from the polarity, so all control happens at the level of feeding the section. In a DCC system the track stays at a constant voltage while the command station sends addressed instructions to the decoders fitted in the vehicles, so each locomotive responds only to its own address. That makes it possible to run several trains independently around the same trackwork and to control lighting, auxiliary functions and sound from the handset. This model was prepared for digital layouts: the factory-fitted PluX22 sound decoder makes the complete set of functions available straight out of the box.

About the Class E 19 / Class 119 locomotive:

The brief was ambitious: cut journey times on the fully electrified Berlin – Halle (Saale) – Munich main line with a machine capable of holding 180 km/h yet still able to climb the steep ramps of the Franconian Forest with a train. The Deutsche Reichsbahn based the new Class E 19 on the proven Class E 18, taking over its rigid frame, 1'Do1' wheel arrangement and spring-cup axle drive.

The order placed in 1937 covered two AEG machines (E 19 01 and 02), joined by two locomotives from Siemens-Schuckert and Henschel (E 19 11 and 12); deliveries were made in 1939 and 1940. Output rose by roughly 500 kW over the earlier class, the brakes were strengthened, an electric dynamic brake was added and the suspension was improved. The body panels were welded instead of riveted, and a fine regulator provided smoother notching. The design carried speed reserves well above the permitted 180 km/h.

The war frustrated the plans for high-speed traffic on the north-south axis. After 1945 all four locomotives passed to the Deutsche Bundesbahn and to Nuremberg depot, from where they worked express trains through the Franconian Forest and towards Regensburg. By the mid-1950s their permitted speed had been cut to 140 km/h. From 1968 they were based at Hagen-Eckesey and received the Class 119 designation. Active service ended between 1975 and 1978, the last of them, E 19 002, being withdrawn in 1978. Two machines survive today as museum vehicles, among them E 19 01.

Prototype specifications (E 19 / Class 119):

• Builders: AEG (E 19 01 and 02), Siemens-Schuckert and Henschel (E 19 11 and 12)
• Ordered 1937, delivered 1939–1940, four units built
• Wheel arrangement: 1'Do1'
• Length over buffers: 16,920 mm
• Service weight: 110.7 t
• One-hour rating: 4,000 kW (E 19.0) and 4,080 kW (E 19.1)
• Continuous rating: 3,720 kW (E 19.0) and 3,460 kW (E 19.1)
• Permitted speed: 180 km/h, limited to 140 km/h from the 1950s
• Power system: 15 kV, 16⅔ Hz AC
• Equipment: electric dynamic brake, spring-cup axle drive taken over from Class E 18
• Duties: fast long-distance trains on the Berlin – Halle – Munich main line, later express work around Nuremberg

About the manufacturer – PIKO:

Behind the PIKO name lie more than seventy years of continuous production — the works in Sonneberg, Thuringia, opened in 1949 and remains the company's home to this day. It is now one of the most popular European model railway brands, present in scales H0, TT, N and garden-scale G. The range reaches from starter sets to models aimed at collectors. The PIKO Expert series is marked out by precise printing, refined detailing and modern digital technology: PluX22 and Next18 interfaces and factory-fitted sound decoders. PIKO is also a leading producer of Polish prototype models — the catalogue includes vehicles in PKP, PKP Intercity and PKP Cargo liveries.