Piko 40614 N - Wittenberg 2nd-class Commuter Car, Maas-Wupper-Express GFF, Era IV

Model of a Wittenberge-type control car in Maas-Wupper-Express livery of Gesellschaft für Fahrzeugtechnik

When cabs with a softly rounded, raked front end started appearing at the ends of German regional trains in the 1990s, the everyday look of local traffic changed for good. This model reproduces exactly such a Wittenberge-type control car in its 2nd class version, carrying the livery of the Maas-Wupper-Express operated by the private company Gesellschaft für Fahrzeugtechnik. It is made in N scale and measures 165 mm over buffers, matching the proportions of the prototype.

The window layout and interior fittings follow the original — within this family of cars the window arrangement differs according to class and role, and the model reflects that. Precisely implemented dimensions give the body true-to-life proportions, while plastic bogies produced from high-quality moulds complete the underframe. Painting and printing are cleanly executed, with legible operator markings. The car is prepared for interior lighting, for which the manufacturer specifies kit no. 46294. The coupling sits in an NEM 362 pocket with a close coupling mechanism, keeping vehicle spacing tight and the connection secure.

Model specifications:

• Scale: N (1:160)
• Item number: 40614
• Manufacturer: PIKO
• Length over buffers: 165 mm
• Railway administration: private operator — Gesellschaft für Fahrzeugtechnik (GfF), era VI
• Vehicle type: local traffic control car, 2nd class
• Intended for direct current (DC) model track
• Coupling: NEM 362 pocket with close coupling mechanism
• Minimum radius: 192 mm
• Interior lighting: prepared for retrofitting, kit no. 46294 available separately
• Plastic bogies from high-quality moulds
• Ready to run, factory painted and assembled
• Age recommendation: 14 years and up

Please note: this car has no drive of its own.

It is an unpowered trailer intended for locomotive-hauled consists, so it does not move by itself and needs no decoder. To run it you need a powered track, a controller and a locomotive. The minimum radius is 192 mm, worth keeping in mind when planning curves on a layout. On the prototype the control car ran at the head of a train propelled by the locomotive, letting the driver work the train from the far end of the rake — so on a layout it looks best placed the same way, at the opposite end from the loco.

About the Wittenberge-type control car:

A control car allows a train to be driven from the end where the locomotive is not. That removes the need to run the loco round or split the rake at a terminus — the driver simply walks to the cab at the other end. In German regional traffic the arrangement shortened turnarounds and simplified operation at terminal stations.

In the early 1990s the Wittenberge repair works developed a new cab front that soon became known as the Wittenberge head. Its shape drew on the cab of the class 628 diesel multiple units, and the modern driving desk was laid out as a universal one, able to control both electric and diesel locomotives without being rebuilt for a particular class. Conversions ran from 1993 onwards, using existing regional stock as the basis — among others types Bn 719, Bn 720 and Bnrz 725, as well as Halberstadt centre-entrance cars.

These cars still work German regional services today, having long outlived most of the trains they were converted from. The model represents a vehicle in the livery of the Maas-Wupper-Express, a regional service running from Venlo in the Netherlands to Hamm in Westphalia and linking the Lower Rhine with the eastern Ruhr. The private company Gesellschaft für Fahrzeugtechnik of Crailsheim specialises in providing classic locomotive-hauled rakes for replacement and reinforcement services, and it is in exactly that role that its cars appeared on this route.

Prototype specifications (Wittenberge-type control car, Bnrdzf 483):

• Cab front design: Wittenberge repair works, developed in the early 1990s
• Conversions: from 1993, based on regional stock types Bn 719, Bn 720, Bnrz 725 and Halberstadt cars
• Length over buffers: 26,400 mm
• Tare weight: 34 t
• Maximum speed: 140 km/h
• Four-axle car on two bogies, unpowered
• Universal driving desk — for controlling both electric and diesel locomotives
• Purpose: regional and suburban push-pull services

About the manufacturer – PIKO:

PIKO is a German model railway brand whose works in Sonneberg, Thuringia, have been running without interruption since 1949. More than seventy years of production have made it one of the most popular modelling brands in Europe. The range covers four scales — H0, TT, N and G — from simple starter sets to models aimed at demanding collectors. The PIKO Expert line combines high-quality detailing with modern digital technology. The company is also a leading producer of Polish prototype models, including PKP, PKP Intercity and PKP Cargo vehicles, which has made it a familiar name to Polish modellers as well.