Description
This class was developed in the early 1970s when it became obvious that there was still demand for engines like the class 110, which had been introduced almost 20 years earlier. Therefore, class 111 can be seen as as a further development of that design. The engines were introduced until the early 1980s, but the usage profile changed considerably: What started out as an engine for fast and express passenger trains turned into an engine for local services. Many units were delivered in a special livery for local "S-Bahn" services in the Rhine-Ruhr area.
The main focus of the type remained with fast regional services, usage with long-distance trains such as Interregio trains became rare by the 1990s. General usage of the type is in decline by now, since the 2010s it is slowly being replaced by EMUs or newer engines of the TRAXX family. Final retirement of the class is foreseeable for the mid 2020s.
In the game this engine is the only type coming with the special S-Bahn livery (other than an EMU). This does not only change the livery, but it also uses special local coaches which can be loaded und unloaded extremely fast, improving local services with many stops considerably. In addition, the engine can be used for fast trains, if you run out of class 110 units for that.
Images and Screenshots
(© Peter Wittmann / CC-BY-SA-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons)
A class 111 in cream-blue in the early 1980ies
At the beginning of their service, the BR 111 was painted in the usual blue-cream livery of the time and used in fast main line services, as shown here.
Starting in about 1980 the BR 111 is used for S-Bahn services and gets a special livery for it. The local coaches get the same colors and can be loaded and unloaded much faster than the normal local coaches, reducing stop times at stations considerably.
With the introduction of the so-called product colors in 1987 one can choose the BR 111 for Intercity trains. However that looks a bit weird as the engine still shows the S-Bahn livery. One could argue that this is somewhat realistic, as the real Bundesbahn also used wildly mixed trains with various liveries at the same time, as repainting often took years to be completed, if ever. The livery of the engine changes in about 1996, but around the same time the Interregio livery is discontinued as well, so setting up an Interregio with a red engine needs a bit of luck.
One can also use the BR 111 for Interregio services starting in 1987. The optical issues are the same as for the Intercity usage, it looks a bit odd. The livery of the engine changes in about 1996, but around the same time the Intercity livery changes as well, so setting up an Intercity with a red engine and this specific livery of the coaches needs a bit of luck.
By the end of the 1990s, the current livery scheme with red regional trains is introduced. The BR 111 is now red, the coaches are red with white doors.
Technical Data
| Name | BR 111 |
|---|---|
| Built | 1975-2010 |
| Power | 5030 hp |
| Tractive effort | 274 kN |
| Speed | 94 mph |
| Usage | fast trains, passenger trains |
| Type of terrain | everywhere |
Load table
The engine can pull a train of about 1000t in flat terrain at 93 mph.
Links
| Wikipedia | RailfanEurope |