LGB ABe 4/4 Instructions De Service page 15

USA GB
RhB Museum ABe 4/4 Railcar,
DCC Interface
RhB Museum ABe 4/4 Railcar,
Sound and Onboard Decoder
RhB Museum ABe 4/4 Railcar,
Onboard Decoder
THE PROTOTYPE
The Bernina Railway Company was
founded in 1905, one year after the
Albula line of the Rhätische Bahn
was inaugurated. Initially, plans
called for a railway operating during
the summer months only. Construc-
tion started in 1906, but because of
inclement weather, work was inter-
rupted during the winter months.
The first three partial sections of the
line opened in 1908. The "Bernin-
abahn" from St. Moritz via Pontresina
and the Bernina Pass to Tirano final-
ly was completed in 1910.
To keep the maximum gradient at 7
percent despite the challenging ter-
rain, the line winds its way through
numerous curves, tunnels and
across bridges. Near Brusio, a circular
viaduct is used to gain elevation.
From the onset, the line was operat-
ed with electric motive power. In
1911, the railway purchased 17 electric
railcars. These railcars were used as
locomotives to haul passenger and
freight trains. Often, they could be
seen double-heading heavy trains. A
number of these historic railcars
continued to operate until the 1990s on
this challenging line. Today, a few of the
railcars serve as a motive power reserve.
When the Bernina Railway merged
with the RhB, the railcars were
repainted from their original yellow
livery to the then-current RhB color
scheme. In recent years, they carried the
standard red paint of the RhB. During
the winter of 2000, railcar ABe 4/4
was repainted and lettered in its his-
toric livery. Today, it operates as a
museum railcar on special occasions.
THE MODEL
This detailed model features:
- weather-resistant construction
- factory-installed onboard decoder
for MTS and analog operation
(only 2x392 and 2x393)
- Interface for installation of DCC
decoder (only 2x390)
- six opening doors
- engineer figure, can be placed in
either cab
- two traveler figures
- two power control switches
(2x390: one power control switch)
- track or catenary power operation
(only 2x392 and 2x393)
- two protected gearboxes with
seven-pole Bühler motors
- eight powered wheels
- two traction tires
- twelve power pickups
- digital electronic sound (only
2x392):
- drive sound
- fan
- whistle
- braking sound
- standing sounds
- station announcements (with
Multi-Train System)
- volume control
- remote control of sound features
(with Multi-Train System)
- voltage stabilization circuit with
surge protection
- automatic directional lighting
- two multi-purpose sockets with
circuit breakers (only 2x392 and
2x393)
- length: 635 mm (25.0 in.)
- weight: 3900 g (8.6 lb.)
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