~BR 003 Steam Locomotive, Sound DB IV

New Piko item for 2023: For use on lines with a maximum wheelset load of 18 t, a total of 298 class 03 unit express locomotives were built for the Deutsche Reichsbahn between 1930 and 1938. The design was based on the class 01, whose wheelset running mass was more than 20 t. To reduce the overall mass, the class 03 had a lighter ingot frame and a smaller boiler and cylinder. While the first 122 machines were initially approved for a maximum speed of 120 km/h, this was 130 km/h for the later units ex works. In 1959, the DB's stock comprised a total of 145 examples of the class 03. Nine years later, this had been reduced to 45 of the locomotives now designated as class 003, the last three of which were finally z-delivered in 1972.

Arthur Honegger once dedicated a musical composition to the elegant Pacific steam locomotives. With the 03, such a machine rolls into the PIKO assortment. The high slender boiler and the airy bar frame with a clear view also characterise the silhouette of the machine in the model. The filigree chassis with fine spokes and very plastic balance weights looks particularly graceful. The new construction has matching add-on parts such as bells, pumps and lamps. Numerous attached boiler pipes complete the outer impression. The drive including flywheel mass accommodated in the tender ensures ideal driving characteristics.

The factory digital versions of the model have switchable lighting in the engine and on the driver's cab, as well as a red flickering firebox. These functions as well as various sounds can be controlled with the factory-integrated PIKO sound decoder. The sound version also has an integrated steam generator ex works.

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