Trix 15444 - Express Train Passenger Car Set Profi Club

Prototype: 5 different German Federal Railroad (DB) express train passenger cars as the train composition D 265 Basle - via Wuppertal - Hagen in Era III. 1 type D4üm-60 passenger train baggage car, 1 type A4üm coach, 1st class, 1 type AB4üm coach, 1st/2nd class, 2 type B4üm coaches, 2nd class, and 1 type WR4ü dining car.
Model: All of the cars have close coupler mechanisms. Interior lighting can be installed in the cars. The cars come individually packaged and marked.

Total length over the buffers 972 mm / 38-1/4".
 

This car set is being produced in 2010 in a one-time series only for Trix Profi Club members. Ask ajckids.com how to become a member.
 

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 general for a considerable increase in travel comfort in both car classes for long distance service. This was achieved with better lighting with fluorescent lamps, upholstered seats that could be pulled out for lying on, adjustable head cushions, reading lamps, additional rest rooms, as well as practical interior fittings that made it possible to keep the car interiors cleaner. The car bodies for all of the 26.4 meter / 86 foot 7-5/16 inch cars looked pretty much alike and were welded using lightweight rolled side sills so that the outer skin of the cars was an integral part of the load-bearing elements. After the first prototypes were also delivered for long distance service, regular production began in 1952 for different types of the new express train passenger cars. New UIC rules regarding rigidity required a modification of the car body from 1960 on so t