Piko 57546 H0 - Traxx Press diesel locomotive, Era VI

Model of a TRAXX family diesel locomotive in the livery of the private operator Pressnitztalbahn

On German lines without overhead wires it is the diesel TRAXX that has taken over the heavy work once handled by state railway machines. This model reproduces such a locomotive in the colours of the private company PRESS (Pressnitztalbahn), in a version matching era VI, that is traffic after 2006. It is built in H0 scale and measures 217 mm over buffers, making it one of the more imposing locomotives you can put at the head of a train on a layout.

The body finish is built around detailed paintwork and clean, legible printing that reproduces the operator's markings. A driver figure occupies the cab, and the locomotive has directional white / white lighting. The model is powered and pulls freight consists confidently, while the prepared decoder interface allows digital control to be added later. PIKO also provides for the fitting of its own sound decoder, so the locomotive can gain full sound at a later stage.

Model specifications:

• Scale: H0 (1:87)
• Item number: PIKO 57546
• Manufacturer: PIKO, Hobby range
• Length over buffers: 217 mm
• Operator: PRESS (private railway), era VI
• Power supply: DC
• Decoder interface: 8-pin NEM 652 (decoder available separately)
• Sound: PIKO sound decoder available separately
• Drive: powered, ready to run
• Coupling: NEM 362 pocket
• Minimum radius: 358 mm
• Lighting: directional light change, white / white
• Additional equipment: driver figure in the cab
• Age recommendation: 14 years and up

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

This model is not a starter set and does not include track or a controller. As delivered it runs on a conventional analogue layout supplied with direct current and controlled by a standard throttle. The prepared decoder interface allows a DCC decoder to be fitted at any time, and PIKO also caters for the installation of its own sound decoder. Once a decoder is installed, digital functions become available, including independent operation on a digitally controlled layout.

Model railways – digital or analogue control?

In an analogue system the controller regulates the voltage on the rails: its level sets the speed and its polarity the direction, so every vehicle on the same section of track moves together. DCC keeps the track permanently energised and sends coded instructions to decoders in individual locomotives, so each one is driven separately while extra functions — lights, sound, cab lighting — are switched from the command station. This diesel leaves the factory as an analogue model with a prepared decoder interface, so it suits a classic DC layout and can join a digital system whenever you choose.

About the TRAXX family diesel locomotive:

The TRAXX platform was born at Adtranz, developed by Bombardier and today belongs to Alstom. The idea was simple and highly effective: one body, one driver's desk, the same bogies and the same drive system, combined with different power packages — multi-system electric and diesel-electric. Operators could therefore build fleets with common handling and common spare parts regardless of whether a route was electrified. Around 2,400 locomotives of the family have been sold so far, running in twenty countries.

The diesel version arrived with the TRAXX 2E generation presented in 2006. Locomotives of this type weigh 80 t, have an engine rated at 2.2 MW and a maximum tractive effort of 270 kN. The freight variant F140 DE runs at 140 km/h, while the passenger P160 DE reaches 160 km/h and above, allowing regional services on timings close to electric traction. Users of diesel TRAXX locomotives include Metronom, which took delivery of eleven P160 DE machines in 2007, and the French freight operator SNCF Fret, which ordered 45 locomotives of class BB 476000 in December 2008.

In Germany the diesel TRAXX of class 246 also went to private operators — alongside HVLE and Start Unterelbe they are used by PRESS, the Pressnitztalbahn company, which runs freight, engineering and charter traffic. Locomotives in the firm's distinctive livery can be seen all over Germany, frequently on routes where electrified and non-electrified sections alternate.

Prototype specifications (TRAXX family diesel locomotive):

• Builder: Bombardier Transportation (today Alstom), platform developed from Adtranz days
• Diesel version: introduced with the TRAXX 2E generation from 2006
• Weight: 80 t
• Power output: 2.2 MW
• Maximum tractive effort: 270 kN
• Maximum speed: 140 km/h for the freight F140 DE, 160 km/h and above for the passenger P160 DE
• Design: body, cab, bogies and drive system shared with the electric variants
• TRAXX platform output: around 2,400 locomotives sold in twenty countries
• Duties: freight trains and regional passenger services on non-electrified lines

About the manufacturer – PIKO:

PIKO was established in Sonneberg, Thuringia, in 1949 and has produced model railways without interruption for more than seventy years. The range covers H0, TT, N and G scales and the rolling stock of the German, Austrian, Swiss, Czech, Hungarian and Polish railways. The PIKO Hobby range is aimed at intensive running: sturdy, dependable models fitted with a decoder interface so they can grow along with the layout. The higher-specified PIKO Expert range combines fine detail with full digital technology. The company is also a leading producer of Polish prototypes — PKP, PKP Intercity and PKP Cargo.