This model represents the very popular German steam locomotive 01, or BR01.
Characteristic for the locomotive are the 6 big wheels (3 on each side) with a diameter
of around 2 meters. This locomotive was the first standardized steam locomotive of the
Deutsche Reichsbahn and was built between 1926 and 1938 and had a top speed of 120 km/h.
There are tons of information in internet, so I will not repeat here.
For a start, just visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DRG_Class_01.
The model here is based on the BR01 2226-7 of the East German Railway (Deutsche Reichsbahn). It shows a version of the BR01 before the reconstruction activities in 1962. So, the locomotive is still equipped with the big smoke defenders and the old boiler barrel.
The big wheels and the wheels below the driver’s cab, I sourced from Big Ben Bricks (http://www.bigbenbricks.com/index.html). The wheel size for the big wheels is XXL (43.2 mm) and the wheel size for the wheels below the driver’s cab is M (24.0 mm).
There are other providers for these wheel sizes out there (e.g. Brick Train Depot). Not sure how the quality and the price is with them. I found the quality and price from Big Ben Bricks reasonable, furthermore, the delivery was super-fast. The bigger wheels were necessary in my point of view, because the standard wheels with 17.6 mm are just to small for this iconic steam locomotive. The other wheels and parts are the usual interlocking bricks you can find from “Denmark” or elsewhere.
MOC stats (locomotive & tender):
Length: 70.3 studs
Width: 8 studs (9.9 with attachments)
Height: 12.9 studs
Weight: 1100 grams
Parts: 1,848
The locomotive has an excellent driving behaviour even in tight R40 curves. One reason for the good driving ability is, that the large wheels on the left and right side of the locomotive can run at different rotational speeds. This is particularly helpful when cornering tightly, because the wheels on the inner radius want to run slower than those on the outer radius. So I decoupled both sides from each other.
Link to the instruction and sticker files:
Link to more pictures of the model:
Video:
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