DRG Class 01/03 Steam Engine

After nationalization of the German railway system in the 1920s, the Reichsbahn was presented with a complex issue of logistics- each of the German state railways had produced their own domestic locomotives, and now the unified system was in possession of dozens of competing models- many of which filled identical roles, and all of which required parts incompatible with any others. To counter this, they set about designing the first Einheitsloks, or standard-series locomotives. These locomotives were designed around interchangeable parts, and were able to be serviced and maintained anywhere in the country. While older engines would be confined to operating in the immediate vicinity of their local shops, these newer designs could run anywhere, without concern for the state divides.

The first of these new standardized designs was the Class 01, a fast, strong, 2’C1’h2 (4-6-2 Pacific) locomotive intended to pull express inter-city express passenger trains. 250 were built before production switched to the Class 03, a refinement of the design, though virtually identical both visually and in terms of overall performance. A further 300 Class 03 were built, as well as an additional 100 of the further evolved Class 01.10 and 03.10 engines; these featured three steam cylinders instead of two, with the third being located centrally between the other two, facing slightly diagonally down and back toward the driver wheels.

The Class 3 engines were originally built with a full streamliner cowling; this was removed during World War 2 to expedite maintenance, as well as the fact that degraded track conditions had limited speeds to such a degree, the streamlining was of no practical use.

Several hundred of these locomotives survived the war, with many being extensively rebuilt post-war. Considered a highly successful design, for nearly five decades, Class 01 & 03 locomotives served fast express trains across Europe.

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This is a model of a German steam locomotive suitable for wargaming in 15mm scale. It has been designed to be printable on any standard FDM printer, such as the Ender 3. For rails, it is compatible with TT-scale 12mm gauge track, which is the same dimensions used by Battlefront Games’ railway scenery. Derivation from any real-world prototype has been done for ease of printing or durability in handling for tabletop wargaming.