Brawa 48909 - Tank Car DB, era 3, Optimol

In 1939/40, theKoeln-Deutz and Uerdingen Car factories each constructed a quadruple axle tank Cars in a lightweight design. The development was primarily driven by the military since it was necessary to transport enormous amounts of crude oil and fuels for replenishment purposes. As was the case with all war designs, the lightweight design was fully utilised in order to maximise the potential of the available steel quota. However, it soon became apparent that this was done to the detriment of the durability. At this point, both manufacturers were developing Cars with self-supporting tanks. Whilst Deutz left it at puffer beams, the Uerdinger design also boasted solebars manufactured from bevelled profiles that were intended to contribute in absorbing longitudinal compression forces. The main data of both versions was identical: The length over buffers amounted to 12.40 m, the bogie pivot distance amounted to 6.60 m and the tank contained 63 m3.