Piko 21777 H0 - BR 110.3 Electric Locomotive, DB AG, Era V, DCC with Sound

Model of the Class 110.3 electric locomotive in Deutsche Bahn AG oriental red with sound decoder

The 1990s were the decade in which the long-serving Class 110 took on the new Deutsche Bahn AG colours — oriental red with a light panel on the cab front — and increasingly found itself at the head of regional trains rather than expresses. This H0 scale model shows exactly such a machine in a version matching Era V. The 110.3 sub-class is distinguished by its more streamlined cab front with a pronounced vertical crease, known among German modellers and railwaymen as the "Bügelfalte".

The model comes from the PIKO Expert range, where refined bodywork goes hand in hand with extensive digital equipment. The sound version leaves the factory with a PIKO sound decoder to PluX22 standard and the largest possible speaker, giving a clear and full soundstage. Cab lighting is switched digitally, while head and tail lights change with the direction of travel. Two wheels with traction tyres assist adhesion, the couplings sit in NEM 362 pockets with close-coupling mechanisms, and the livery and lettering are applied with precise printing.

Model specifications:

• Scale: H0 (1:87)
• Item number: PIKO 21777
• Manufacturer and range: PIKO, Expert series
• Length over buffers: 189 mm
• Railway administration and era: Deutsche Bahn AG, Era V
• Power supply: DC
• Decoder: factory-fitted PIKO sound decoder, NEM 658 PluX22 interface
• Drive: electric motor, two traction tyres
• Coupling: NEM 362 pocket with close-coupling mechanism
• Minimum radius: 358 mm
• Lighting: directional white/red head and tail lights
• Digital functions: switchable cab lighting
• Sound: factory-fitted sound decoder with the largest possible speaker
• Ready-to-run model, factory painted and printed
• Age recommendation: 14 years and over

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

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

Model railways – digital or analogue control?

With analogue control, speed and direction depend on the voltage fed to the rails, so every vehicle in a section responds identically. A DCC system holds the track at a constant voltage and superimposes commands addressed to the decoders of individual locomotives, so several trains can run independently on the same track while the operator retains control over lighting and sound. With its factory-fitted sound decoder, this model is intended primarily for digitally controlled layouts.

About the Class 110.3 (formerly E 10):

The E 10 family grew out of the post-war Deutsche Bundesbahn standard electric locomotive programme, which set out to rationalise the fleet on a rapidly expanding electrified network. Prototypes appeared in 1952 and series production ran from 1956 to 1969. Krauss-Maffei, Krupp and Henschel built the mechanical parts, while Siemens-Schuckertwerke, BBC and AEG supplied the electrical equipment. More than four hundred locomotives were completed.

The 110.3 sub-class consists of the machines from E 10 288 onwards, which received a new and more streamlined cab front with a vertical crease. The design was taken over from the high-speed E 10.12 built for the Rheingold express, and that characteristic crease gave rise to the nickname "Bügelfalte". From 1968, with computer numbering, the whole family carried the Class 110 designation, within which the 110.3 sub-class was identified.

For most of their careers the locomotives worked express and semi-fast trains, and in Era V, under Deutsche Bahn AG, they gradually moved to regional and suburban duties. Oriental red was introduced from 1987 and gave way after 1997 to traffic red. The last regular passenger workings of the Class 110 took place in 2020.

Prototype specifications (Class 110.3 / E 10 electric locomotive):

• Manufacturers: Krauss-Maffei, Krupp, Henschel (mechanical parts); Siemens-Schuckertwerke, BBC, AEG (electrical equipment)
• Build years and quantity: prototypes from 1952, series production 1956–1969, more than 400 units of the whole E 10 family
• Wheel arrangement: Bo'Bo'
• Length over buffers: 16,440 mm (streamlined cab front version)
• Service weight: approximately 85 t
• Hourly rating: 3,880 kW; continuous rating: 3,700 kW
• Motors: four traction motors
• Power system: 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC
• Maximum speed: 150 km/h (later reduced to 140 km/h on part of the fleet)
• Duties: semi-fast and express trains, later regional and suburban services as well

About the manufacturer – PIKO:

The German brand PIKO was founded in 1949 in Sonneberg, Thuringia, and now looks back on more than seventy years of model railway production. It is among the most frequently chosen manufacturers in Europe, with a range covering H0, TT, N and garden-scale G — from starter sets to vehicles for demanding collectors. The PIKO Expert series, from which this model comes, combines a high level of detail with modern digital technology, including factory-installed sound decoders. PIKO is also a leading producer of Polish prototype models in PKP, PKP Intercity and PKP Cargo liveries.