Piko 37589 G - BR 232 diesel locomotive, DB, Era VI

Class 232 diesel locomotive model in DB Bahnbau colours for the garden railway

A model of the Class 232 diesel locomotive — the heavy six-axle machine known in Germany as the Ludmilla — in DB Bahnbau colours of era VI. It is an impressive model intended for the garden railway, faithfully reproducing the distinctive outline of the prototype.

Chrome-plated ball-bearing wheelsets ensure smooth running, and the lights change with the direction of travel. The cab with its driver figure and the detailed engine room underline the level of finish. The factory-fitted PIKO sound decoder reproduces authentic operating sounds. The model provides for retrofitting cab and engine room lighting as well as a smoke generator — both kits are available separately.

Model specifications:

• Scale: G (garden railway, 45 mm track gauge)
• Catalogue number: 37589
• Manufacturer: PIKO
• Model length: 718 mm
• Era: VI
• Power supply: DC
• Decoder: PIKO sound decoder, factory-fitted
• Traction tyres: 2
• Minimum radius: 600 mm
• Lighting: lights changing with the direction of travel: white and red
• Chrome-plated ball-bearing wheelsets
• Cab with driver figure and detailed engine room
• Cab and engine room lighting: can be retrofitted (kit no. 36017, available separately)
• Smoke generator: can be retrofitted
• The model is painted and ready to run
• Recommended age: 14 years and over

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

The model is not a starter set and does not include track or a controller. To use all the digital functions — sound and independent lighting control — a DCC command station is required (for example the PIKO SmartControl or any other DCC-compatible controller) connected to powered track. The model can also be run on a conventional analogue DC layout, but only provided that the decoder has the alternative power source function enabled (analogue operation — controlled in the DCC standard by bit 2 of register CV29). It is active by default, but if it has previously been switched off, applying DC 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?

The digital DCC control system allows several locomotives to run independently on the same track. Each vehicle receives individual commands while the rail voltage stays constant, which makes realistic operation possible and allows the lights and sound effects of every locomotive to be controlled separately. In an analogue system all vehicles on a given circuit are controlled at once by varying the supply voltage. PIKO model 37589 has a factory-fitted sound decoder and is intended above all for digital operation.

About the Class 232 Ludmilla:

The Ludmilla family comprises heavy six-axle diesel locomotives built at the Luhansk locomotive works for the Deutsche Reichsbahn. The predecessors, classes 130 and 131, proved too narrowly specialised; only the Class 132 became a truly universal machine. The carbody was lengthened by 200 mm to accommodate the electric train heating that earlier batches lacked. Electric transmission was used, at the time less common in Germany than hydraulic drive.

Between 1970 and 1982 a total of 873 locomotives of the whole family entered service, of which 709 were Class 132 machines built from 1974 to 1982. After German reunification they were renumbered as Class 232. Numerous variants followed: Class 233 with a new Kolomna engine, Class 234 cleared for 140 km/h on express duties, and Class 241 — ten heavy freight machines.

The locomotives still work today in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and neighbouring countries, with DB Cargo and numerous private operators. DB Bahnbau Gruppe is a Deutsche Bahn subsidiary formed on 1 January 2010 from the merger of several construction companies within the group; it builds and maintains railway infrastructure commercially in Germany and Europe. Its Ludmillas carry the corporate era VI livery and haul engineering trains and track machine consists.

Prototype specifications (Class 132 / 232):

• Manufacturer: Luhansk locomotive works
• Built: 1974–1982 (whole 130/131/132 family: 1970–1982)
• Output: 709 Class 132 units; 873 across the family
• Wheel arrangement: Co'Co'
• Length: 20,820 mm
• Service weight: 123–124 t
• Power: 2,230 kW; tractive effort 295 kN
• Top speed: 120 km/h
• Role: universal — heavy freight and express trains, today also engineering trains

About the manufacturer – PIKO:

PIKO is a German manufacturer of model railways with more than seventy years of tradition, founded in 1949 in Sonneberg. Today it is one of the most popular model railway brands in Europe and a leading producer of Polish prototype models, including locomotives and coaches in PKP, PKP Intercity and PKP Cargo colours. The range covers H0, TT, N and G scales, from individual wagons to comprehensive starter sets and digital control systems. The PIKO Expert range combines a high level of detail with modern digital technology — with factory-fitted DCC and sound decoders in selected models. PIKO products are valued by modellers and collectors worldwide.