Trix 22880 Mode D'emploi page 4

Information about the prototype
In the early part of 1907, Maffei was given the contract
to build a Pacific compound locomotive for the Bavarian
State Railroad. Based on the Baden "IV f" built by the same
builder, Maffei developed the Bavarian S 3/6, which was
fated to fascinate generations of railroad fans by virtue of its
timelessly elegant appearance that was chiefly character-
ized by the four-cylinder compound running gear.
The first unit left the builder in July of 1908. Another six
locomotives followed it in the same year. By 1911, Maffei
delivered another 16 mostly identical units in three builder
series (a to c). Departing from these first 23 locomotives, 18
units (Series d and e, Maffei 1912/1913) were equipped with
driving wheels with 2,000 mm / 78-3/4" diameter instead of
1,870 mm / 73-5/8". This also caused the boiler to sit higher
on these units. Starting with Series f (three units, 1913/1914)
however, the builder returned to the original driving wheel
diameter. By 1918, the Series i closed out this first purchas-
ing period. With the exception of the 18 "High Steppers", the
remaining 71 units all had "wind splitter" streamlined cabs.
The second purchasing period began in 1923 and did not
end until the State Railroad era in 1931. Maffei delivered the
Series k with 30 units in 1923/24. The Series l and m followed
in 1927/28 (20 units) as well as the Series n with only two
units in 1930. The last 18 units of the S 3/6 as the Series o
were built by Henschel in 1930/31 under license because
Maffei went bankrupt.
4
The locomotives were initially based in Munich, Nürnberg,
and Ludwigshafen and they ran in heavy express train
service. After World War I, 19 units had to be surrendered
as reparations. On the DRG the remaining locomotives with
small wheels were given the road numbers 18 401-434,
18 461-478, and 18 479-548. The units with large wheels
were given the road numbers 18 441-458. In addition to
the great Bavarian maintenance facilities, the locations
at Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Halle / S., and Osnabrück were
also home bases for the Bavarian flagship locomotive. The
most famous train assignment during the State Railroad era
was surely the FFD 101/102 "Rheingold". After World War II,
these locomotives migrated for the most part into ordinary
passenger service. From 1953 to 1956, 30 units from the last
three series were updated by the DB from the ground up.
By 1962 the last of their non-modernized siblings were in
storage. Only road number 18 505 remained in operation at
the BZA Minden as an experimental locomotive until May of
1967. Today it can be admired at the DGEG Railroad Museum
in Neustadt / Weinstrasse.