Märklin 037983 H0 Steam locomotive 2-8-4 "Berkshire""Southern Pacific" 313 mm

The special "Coffin Berkshires"
There are not too many steam locomotives in the USA, which, like the "Big Boy" for example, have become a myth. The powerful Berkshire was certainly one of them. They were a child of the Golden Twenties and stood for the spirit of the dawn that the United States had captured after the First World War. At that time the economy was booming and the railways had to transport more and more goods to all parts of the country faster and faster. The thousands of "Mikado" steam greeners were often no longer sufficient for these tasks. This was the birth of the first super Power steam engine in 1925. Developed by LIMA Locomotive Works, they brought a massive increase in performance to the tracks by installing a two-axle trailing bogie and the associated enlarged firebox. And because the first operational section of these powerful locomotives led through the Berkshire Mountains on the east coast of the USA, the representatives of this type were named "Berkshire". With a power of up to 4000 hp and maximum speeds of well over 100 km/h, these machines promoted by LIMA as super Power locomotives, with over 600 built copies conquered many US railways. A really original-looking version were "Berkshires" delivered for the Boston & Maine Railroad in 25. They had so-called caffeine preheaters, which were placed in the smoke chamber U-shaped and head-above. Where Coffin was derived from the manufacturer company and not from the actual meaning (coffin). Ten of those unusually looking "Berkshires" ended their career at the Southern Pacific Railroad in the years after 1945. Unfortunately, no copy of these caffeine locomotives was available. Nevertheless, even today one can still experience two of these giants under steam. The Michigan-based "Berkshire" 1225 advanced even to become an international film star in 2004. She played one of the main roles in the animated children's film "Der Polar-Express", which also captivated millions of viewers in Germany.

Model: Steam locomotive with the wheel arrangement 2-8-4 "Berkshire" of the Southern Pacific. Jet black basic color Operating number 3505. Operating condition between 1945 and 1950. One of 25 locomotives built with the distinctive Coffin pre-heater.

With digital decoder mfx+ and extensive light and sound functions. Regulated high-power drive with flywheel mass in the boiler. Four-axle driven, three of them via coupling rods. Traction tyres. Locomotive and tender to a large extent made of metal. Serially installed smoke unit with speed-dependent, dynamic smoke emissions, can be switched digitally. Front lighting changes depending upon the direction of travel with one lamp each at locomotive and tender conventional in operation, can be switched digitally. Driver's cab and number board lighting as well as fire box flicker can be switched digitally separately. Lighting with maintenance-free warm white and red light emitting diodes (LED). With buffer storage. Adjustable close coupling with kinematics between locomotive and tender. Kinematic close coupling on the tender with NEM. Engine driver and fireman figure sitting in the driver's cab. Pipes for the area below the cab are included as separately insertable parts. Length about 31.3 cm.

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