In this article, we present DB AG's striking class 152 "AlbatrosExpress" electric locomotive. The locomotive stands out with its sky-blue albatross design and has an interesting prototype history:
Information about the prototype
Starting at the turn of the millennium, DB needed suitable replacements for the class 150 locomotives scheduled for retirement. Production finally began in September 1995, and the first locomotive in the series, 152 001, was delivered on September 10. It was handed over to DB at a ceremonial launching in Munich-Allach in December 1996 and subsequently underwent an extensive test program. According to Siemens AG, three more locomotives were delivered at the beginning of the second half of 1997 and underwent further tests. The Bundesbahn approved the project on July 31, 1997, so series delivery began in March 1998. The machines were put into service at the production facilities in Munich and Uerdingen.
1998 saw the birth of the "AlbatrosExpress" - today's densest seaport-hinterland network via rail to and from German seaports. In 2008, its 10th anniversary was celebrated. To mark the occasion, five class 152 locomotives were given a special "AlbatrosExpress" design.
Construction
The series was based on the ES64P prototype developed by Siemens. However, it was that the machines could only be used for freight transport and so a maximum speed of 140 km/h was considered sufficient. For this reason, the use of full-suspension traction motors was dispensed with and a much simpler and less expensive traction drive was used. This is considered to be relatively low-wear, since modern three-phase motors are operated at low speeds. In the Maffei tradition, power is transmitted between the body and chassis via heavy and deep trunnions and Flexicoil springs. Otherwise, the modern machine was created with three-phase asynchronous traction motors and two internally ventilated disc brakes.
The partially redundant design of the highly stressed parts of the transmission contributes significantly to the high reliability and user-friendliness of the series. Each bogie has an independent electrical unit consisting of three input rectifiers with a regenerative four-quadrant structure, a DC link and two inverters (one per motor). This ensures that if a component in the gearbox breaks, the entire bogie is not damaged, but the available traction is reduced.
Information about the model
High-volume manufacturer Roco has produced a prototypical H0 model of the class 152 electric locomotive of Deutsche Bahn.
Highlights:
■ "AlbatrosExpress" advertising design
■ Finely detailed model with free-standing handle bars
■ In digital operation with switchable high beam and individually switchable head or tail light
The striking exterior of the locomotive hides sophisticated technology inside the model.
It has a standard coupler with KK kinematics and can run through a minimum radius of 358 mm with a length over buffers of 225 mm. At the same time the model is equipped with a 5-pole motor with flywheel and has 3 powered axles. 2 axles are equipped with traction tires. The LED headlights include 3 lights at the front and 2 lights at the rear of the locomotive, both are in operation depending on the direction of travel. A corresponding decoder is installed in the digital versions via the PluX22 electrical interface - in the analog version this can be retrofitted without any problems.
Video of the electric locomotive BR 152 from Roco
On our YouTube channel we present you the locomotive again in more detail! Experience the BR 152 in action on the layout and see the high-quality details up close.
Buy electric locomotive BR 152 from Roco at MSL
At Modellbahnshop-Lippe you will find this special locomotive in all three versions at an absolutely fair price. As a registered MSL customer, you can expect an additional price advantage of 3%.
Get the BR 152 now:
Roco 79169 | AC with sound
Roco 73168 | DC analog
Roco 73169 | DC with sound
Want more..? Here on the blog you can read even more interesting posts, e.g.: Tutorials!
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