Piko 51193 H0 - BR 244 Electric Locomotive, DR, Era IV

Model of the class 244 mixed traffic electric locomotive in Deutsche Reichsbahn livery

A green body with red bogies is one of the most distinctive images of East German electric traction. This H0 scale model depicts a class 244 electric locomotive of the Deutsche Reichsbahn as it looked in Era IV, that is after the computerised renumbering of 1970. The prototype is a design from the 1930s that went on working in East Germany for decades.

The model is produced as a printed version in green livery with red bogies, with precisely applied operator markings and running numbers. As delivered the locomotive runs on DC, and the NEM 658 PluX22 interface allows a digital decoder to be fitted without modifying the body. Once a PluX22 decoder is installed, the cab lighting can be switched digitally along with the directional white and red headlights. Two traction tyres increase the pulling power, while NEM 362 coupler pockets with close coupling mechanisms keep the gap between vehicles small.

Model specifications:

• Scale: H0 (1:87)
• Item number: 51193
• Manufacturer: PIKO
• Length over buffers: 176 mm
• Railway administration: DR (Deutsche Reichsbahn)
• Era: IV (1970-1990)
• Power supply: DC
• Decoder interface: NEM 658 PluX22, decoder available separately
• Sound decoder: PIKO sound decoder no. 56634 listed by the manufacturer as suitable for retrofitting
• Drive: powered model with its own motor
• Traction tyres: 2
• Coupling: NEM 362 coupler pocket with close coupling mechanism
• Minimum radius: 358 mm
• Lighting: directional headlights, white / red
• Digital functions once a PluX22 decoder is fitted: switchable cab lighting
• Ready to run, factory painted and printed
• Age recommendation: 14 years and up

Please note: a power pack and a powered track are required to run this model.

This model is not a starter set and contains neither track nor a controller. As delivered it runs on a conventional analogue layout supplied with direct current and operated by a standard speed controller. The NEM 658 PluX22 interface allows a DCC decoder to be retrofitted at any time, and the manufacturer lists sound decoder no. 56634 as a suitable match. Once a decoder is installed the digital functions become available, including switchable cab lighting.

Model railways - digital or analogue control?

With analogue control, speed and direction depend on the voltage fed to the track, so every vehicle in a section reacts the same way. A DCC system keeps a constant voltage on the track while the command station sends addressed instructions to the decoders in individual vehicles, which allows several locomotives to be driven independently and their auxiliary functions to be switched. This model leaves the factory as an analogue DC version with a PluX22 interface, so it works on an analogue layout and, once a decoder is fitted, on a digital one as well.

About the class 244 locomotive:

The class 244 is the former E 44, regarded as the first German mixed traffic electric locomotive to be built in significant numbers. The design took shape around the turn of the 1930s, when three works independently produced prototypes, and the solutions brought together in the production series proved so successful that they became the starting point for many later designs. The main innovation was doing away with carrying axles and adopting nose-suspended traction motors, which produced a compact, easily maintained machine with a Bo'Bo' wheel arrangement.

Construction began in 1932 and resumed after the war in 1950 and 1951 and again in 1955, for a total of 187 locomotives. The mechanical parts came from Krauss-Maffei, Henschel and the Floridsdorf locomotive works, with electrical equipment supplied by Siemens-Schuckert. The class worked the newly electrified routes of southern and central Germany and proved itself on demanding gradients such as the Geislinger Steige.

After the Second World War some locomotives went to the Soviet Union as reparations and were regauged to broad gauge; 47 machines returned to East Germany in 1952 and 1953. In 1970 the Deutsche Reichsbahn reclassified them as class 244, while the West German railways ran the former E 44 as class 144. The distinctive red bogies, painted that way from the 1960s onwards, were intended to make cracks and damage easier to spot visually. Over the years the locomotives were moved to freight and shunting duties, and the last examples remained at work until around 1991.

Prototype specifications (E 44 / class 244):

• Builders: Krauss-Maffei, Henschel and the Floridsdorf locomotive works (mechanical part), Siemens-Schuckert (electrical part)
• Years built: 1932-1945, 1950-1951 and 1955
• Quantity: 187 locomotives
• Wheel arrangement: Bo'Bo'
• Length over buffers: 15,290 mm
• Service weight: 78.0 t
• One hour rating: 2,200 kW
• Continuous rating: 1,860 kW
• Motors: four nose-suspended traction motors
• Maximum speed: 90 km/h
• Purpose: mixed traffic locomotive for passenger and freight work
• End of service: 1983 with the West German railways, around 1991 with the Deutsche Reichsbahn

About the manufacturer - PIKO:

PIKO was founded in 1949 in Sonneberg in Thuringia and has been producing model railways without interruption for more than seventy years. The brand is among the most popular in Europe, with a range of rolling stock, track and accessories in H0, TT, N and G scales. The PIKO Expert series combines a high standard of detail with modern digital technology. The manufacturer has a particularly deep catalogue of German prototypes, including Deutsche Reichsbahn vehicles, and has also built up an extensive range of Polish models for PKP, PKP Intercity and PKP Cargo.