BR 403 | Gauge H0 - Article No. 37779

Electric Express Powered Rail Car

Prototype: German Federal Railroad (DB) class 403 electric express powered rail car, 1st class, in the paint scheme as the Lufthansa Airport Express for use between the Düsseldorf and Frankfurt am Main Airports. 4-part unit. 1 class 403 003-7 powered end car, type Avm, with compartments. 1 class 404 102-6 intermediate car, type ARm, with a general-purpose area, open seating area, and dining area. 1 class 404 002-8 intermediate car, type Apm, with an open seating area. 1 class 403 004-5 powered end car, type Avm, with compartments. The train looks as it did around 1990.

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Electric Express Powered Rail Car
Electric Express Powered Rail Car

Most Important Facts

Article No. 37779
Gauge / Design type H0 / 1:87
Era IV
Kind Powered Rail Cars
For Clubmembers only. Find Dealer

Highlights

  • Heavy metal construction.
  • Prototypical tooling changes.
  • 2 controlled high-efficiency propulsion drives, each with a flywheel, in the open seating intermediate car.
  • World of Operation mfx+ decoder with extensive operation, sound, and light functions included.
  • Factory-installed cab lighting with LEDs.
  • Factory-installed interior lighting and table lighting with LEDs.
  • The stewardess' station announcements and greeting can be called up in different train route sequences.
  • Product description

    Model: The model is a 4-part unit. The model has the new mfx+ digital decoder and extensive sound functions. It also has 2 controlled high-efficiency propulsion drives, each with a flywheel, in the open seating intermediate car. Both axles in both trucks are each powered by a motor. Traction tires. The model has factory-installed interior lighting, cab lighting, and lighted table lamps. The triple headlights and red marker lights change over with the direction of travel. They, the interior lighting, and the cab lighting will work in conventional operation and can be controlled digitally. The lighted table lamps can be controlled separately in digital operation; they change between on and off by means of a random generator. The lighting is maintenance-free warm white and red LEDs. Station announcements and the stewardess' greeting in the Lufthansa Airport Express can be called up in different train route sequences by changing the direction of the train. There is an additional stewardess' announcement for the next stop. The model has special multiple-conductor current-conducting couplings with guide mechanisms between the cars. The model has a power pickup changeover feature with power picked up in the end car at the front of the train. The model has many separately applied details. The roof equipment is finely detailed. The pantographs work mechanically but are not wired to take power. There is a reproduction of a Scharfenberg coupler (non-working) at both ends of the model. Minimum radius for operation is 360 mm / 14-3/16".
    Train length over the couplers 118 cm / 46".

    This model can be found in a DC version in the Trix H0 assortment under item no. 22379 exclusively for Trix Club members.

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    Spare parts for our articles can be found here in our spare parts search.

    The 37779 electric express powered rail car is being produced in 2015 in a one-time series only for Insider members.

  • Publications

    - Summer New Items 2015 - Product programme 2015/2016
  • Prototype information

    Class 403, "Lufthansa Airport Express" The scheduled use of the "Lufthansa Airport Express" between Düsseldorf Main Station and Frankfurt Airport began on March 27, 1982 at the initiative of the German Transportation Ministry. "Flying at elevation zero" through the scenically attractive Rhine Valley quickly developed into a showpiece of integrated transportation. This cooperation between Lufthansa and the German Federal Railroad was soon viewed as a prototype, and it was based on the conviction that the different transportation carriers should cooperate for economic and ecological reasons. In any event it turned out well that the DB at the start of the Eighties had three four-unit class 403 (powered end cars) and class 404 (intermediate cars) powered rail car trains standing around unemployed for the most part. They had been purchased in 1973 for the Intercity system that was purely first class at that time. However, with the introduction of second class in the Intercity system in 1979 they had become unemployed. These 200 km/h / 125 mph fast trains with all wheels powered had soon acquired the nickname "Donald Duck" due to their characteristic shape. Their visual affinity to an airplane was finally realized on these trains starting on March 27, 1982. These trains "flew" off from the Düsseldorf maintenance facility under the flight numbers LH 1001-1008 as the "Airport Express" with four pairs of trains from Frankfurt Airport to Düsseldorf Main Station (from March of 1983 even to Düsseldorf Airport) and back in a contract with Lufthansa with intermediate stops in Cologne-Deutz, Cologne Main Station, and Bonn Main Station. Before that, the trains had undergone a thorough rebuilding at the Bad Cannstatt maintenance facility in accordance with the airline company's specifications. In the process, they exchanged their unique paint scheme in white-red-black for Lufthansa's product colors of melon yellow / light gray. The goal was to keep from having to increase the uneconomic flight service on the extremely short routes of Cologne/Bonn – Frankfurt and Düsseldorf – Frankfurt. This goal was reached in full. In 1991 for example, more than 218,000 passengers used the "train to the plane" between Düsseldorf and Frankfurt. Had it been necessary to accommodate all of these passengers in Boeing 737 airplanes, it would have meant around 3,000 additional flights. Despite low operating costs (lower than comparable flights on short routes) and relatively high passenger counts, the Lufthansa Airport Express was cancelled on May 23, 1993. One reason was the considerable corrosion damage on the 403 powered rail cars that would have required extensive, costly repairs.

  • Digital Functions

    Control Unit Mobile Station Mobile Station 2 Central Station 1/2 Central Station 3/2*
    Mobile Station 2**
    Headlight(s)
    Pantograph Sounds
    Electric locomotive op. sounds
    Warning Sound
    Table Lamps
    Sound of squealing brakes off
    Conductor's Whistle
    Doors Closing
    Station Announcements
    Whistle for switching maneuver
    Greeting
    Direct control
    Brake Compressor
    Sound of Couplers Engaging
    Operating sounds

    * New features of the Central Station 2 (Part No. 60213, 60214 or 60215) with the software update 4.2

    ** New features of the Mobile Station 2 (Part No. 60657/66955) with the Software Update 3.55

Warning

ATTENTION: adults only