Piko 57877 H0 - 185 329 electric locomotive, Black Dragons, Era VI

Class 185 freight electric locomotive model in the Black Dragons livery

A model of the Class 185 freight electric locomotive from the Bombardier TRAXX family, reproduced as machine 185 329 in the bold Black Dragons livery. This version represents an era VI setting — a time when individual liveries of operators and lessors became a hallmark of European freight traffic.

The model stands out for careful paintwork and fine, legible printing. The design provides high tractive effort and confident haulage of long freight formations, and a driver figure is fitted in the cab. The model has an eight-pin decoder socket to NEM 652 and is prepared for retrofitting a decoder and sound.

Model specifications:

• Scale: H0 (1:87)
• Catalogue number: 57877
• Manufacturer: PIKO
• Model length: 217 mm
• Era: VI
• Power supply: DC
• Decoder socket: NEM 652 (eight-pin)
• Decoder: not included
• Coupling: NEM 362 coupler pocket (without close coupling kinematics)
• Minimum radius: 358 mm
• Lighting: lights changing with the direction of travel: white and white
• Driver figure in the cab
• The model is painted and ready to run
• Recommended age: 14 years and over

Please note: powered track and a controller are required to operate this model.

The model is not a starter set and does not include track or a controller. As supplied, without a decoder, the locomotive runs on a conventional analogue DC layout — a power supply with variable voltage is all that is needed. Once a decoder is fitted in the prepared socket, the model works in the digital DCC system and requires a command station, for example the PIKO SmartControl or another DCC-compatible controller. The decoder and speaker are not included and are available separately.

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 57877 is supplied without a decoder and in this form works in analogue operation; the prepared socket allows a switch to digital control at any time.

About the Class 185 (Bombardier TRAXX F140 AC):

The Class 185 is the freight branch of the TRAXX family, derived from the Adtranz platform. The locomotives were built at Bombardier's Kassel and Mannheim plants, with the first machine delivered to Deutsche Bahn in January 2000. It is a four-axle design with asynchronous motors, rated at 5,600 kW and 140 km/h, intended from the outset for cross-border traffic.

DB Cargo bought a total of 405 Class 185 locomotives between 2000 and 2006: 200 of the single-system TRAXX F140 AC1 and 205 of the dual-system AC2, also equipped for 25 kV 50 Hz. It is the most numerous electric locomotive on the German network. Related variants carried the designations SBB Cargo Re 482, BLS Cargo Re 485 and CFL series 4000.

A large part of the fleet, however, belongs not to DB but to leasing companies and private operators — among them Beacon Rail Leasing, Railpool, MRCE and Akiem. Short- and long-term hire is now the standard operating model for these machines in freight traffic across Central Europe, and the corporate liveries of lessors and operators form a whole gallery of era VI colour schemes.

Prototype specifications (Class 185 / TRAXX F140 AC):

• Manufacturer: Bombardier Transportation, Kassel and Mannheim plants
• Built: 2000–2006
• Output: 405 units for DB (200 AC1 + 205 AC2)
• Wheel arrangement: Bo'Bo'
• Length: 19,400 mm
• Service weight: 84 t
• Power: 5,600 kW
• Supply voltage: 15 kV 16.7 Hz (AC1); additionally 25 kV 50 Hz (AC2)
• Top speed: 140 km/h
• Role: heavy freight trains, cross-border operation

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.