Gauge: H0    Era: III   
 
Prototype: 6 different German Federal Railroad (DB) express train passenger cars of different designs as express train D265 Basle SBB - via Wuppertal - Hagen, authentic for the route segment Cologne - Hagen. 1 type D4üm-60 baggage car, 1 type A4üm-61 compartment car, 1st class, 1 type AB4üm-63 compartment car, 1st/2nd class, 2 type B4üm-63 compartment cars, 2nd class, 1 type WR4ü(e)-39 dining car. The cars look as they did around 1963.
 
Model: The baggage car in a chrome oxide green paint scheme is new tooling. The cars have prototypical detailed frames with shoe brakes and axle generators. All of the cars are ready for installation of the 7319 current-conducting couplings or 72020/72021 current-conducting close couplers.

The baggage car and passenger cars have the longer length scaled to 1:93.5 and are ready for installation of the 73400/73401 (2 per car) interior lighting, the 73406 pickup shoe, and the 73407 marker lights. The skirted dining car is scale in length and is ready for installation of the 73150 interior lighting.

The train route signs and the sequence number for the cars are imprinted on the baggage car and passenger cars. A 2nd class express train passenger car comes already equipped with factory-installed red marker lights for the end of the train.

Charlie's Tip: A pick-up shoe is already installed. Therefore, if you would like to install lights, you can use the existing pickup shoe, and use current conducting couplers, and the new LED 73400 sets (2 per car) or use the ESU 50700 strips (only one per car).

Total length over the buffers 169.0 cm / 66-1/2". DC wheel set for each car 4 x 700580.
 
Highlights:

• Authentic reproduction of the express train D265 Basle SBB - via Wuppertal - Hagen.
• The right express train to go with the class 03.10 express steam locomotive (Insider model for 2010).
• The type D4üm-60, later type Dm 902, passenger train baggage car is completely new tooling.

 
The 43969 express train car set is being produced in 2010 in a one-time series only for Insider members. If you are not a member, ask ajckids.com about availability.

 
The development of passenger car construction almost completely interrupted by World War II and its effects in Germany, and passenger car development did not start up again until the end of the Forties with the planning and construction of 16 test cars. While the first of these test cars borrowed heavily in terms of design and basic form from the prewar designs, Wegmann of Kassel placed into service three new, 26.4 meter / 86 foot 7-5/16 inch long fast train coaches with center entrance doors. The basic design and the essential features of the technical equipment for these cars were largely adopted unchanged for the different series of around 750 such fast train coaches. They also formed par excellence the starting point for the postwar development in German passenger car construction that even developed into the UIC standard (UIC = Union Internationale des Chemins de fer = International Railroad Association).

The new development in the construction of passenger cars was characterized primarily by the lengthening of the cars to a standard length of 26.4 meters / 86 feet 7-5/16 inches for all the car types. All of the new passenger cars were equipped with the Minden-Deutz design trucks with coil springs. The long, standard design length of the car also added to the design advantages of the trucks. This length resulted from the unusual pivot point distance of 19 meters / 62 feet 4 inches. Typical of the DB's 26.4 meter / 86 foot 7-5/16 inch long cars were the excellent running characteristics for the majority of the seats in the cars. This was achieved with simple running gear and was maintained over long periods of operation. In addition to the greater seat width, a claim could be made in