Prototype: German Federal Railroad (DB) class 403 electric express powered rail car, 1st class, in the paint scheme as the Lufthansa Airport Express for use between the Dusseldorf and Frankfurt am Main Airports. 4-part unit. 1 class 403 003-7 powered end car, type Avm, with compartments. 1 class 404 102-6 intermediate car, type ARm, with a general-purpose area, open seating area, and dining area. 1 class 404 002-8 intermediate car, type Apm, with an open seating area. 1 class 403 004-5 powered end car, type Avm, with compartments. The train looks as it did around 1990.
Model: The model is a 4-part unit. The model has the new mfx+ / DCC digital decoder and extensive sound functions. It also has 2 controlled high-efficiency propulsion drives, each with a flywheel, in the open seating intermediate car. Both axles in both trucks are each powered by a motor. Traction tires. The model has factory-installed interior lighting, cab lighting, and lighted table lamps. The triple headlights and red marker lights change over with the direction of travel. They, the interior lighting, and the cab lighting will work in conventional operation and can be controlled digitally. The lighted table lamps can be controlled separately in digital operation; they change between on and off by means of a random generator. The lighting is maintenance-free warm white and red LEDs. Station announcements and the stewardess' greeting in the Lufthansa Airport Express can be called up in different train route sequences by changing the direction of the train. There is an additional stewardess' announcement for the next stop. The model has special multiple-conductor current-conducting couplings with guide mechanisms between the cars. The model has a power pickup changeover feature with power picked up in the end car at the front of the train. The model has many separately applied details. The roof equipment is finely detailed. The pantographs work mechanically but are not wired to take power. There is a reproduction of a Scharfenberg coupler (non-working) at both ends of the model. Minimum radius for operation is 360 mm / 14-3/16". Train length over the couplers 118 cm / 46".
| DCC | MFX | |
|---|---|---|
| Headlights | · | · |
| Pantograph-sound | · | · |
| Electric locomotive operating sounds | · | · |
| Door Beeping | · | · |
| Table lamps | · | · |
| Squealing brakes off | · | · |
| Conductor's whistle | · | · |
| Close The Door | · | · |
| Station announcements | · | · |
| Rangier whistle | · | · |
| Welcome | · | · |
| Direct Control | · | · |
| Air Compressor | · | · |
| Uncoupling Sound | · | · |
| Operating Sounds | · | · |
Highlights:
The 22379 electric express powered rail car is being produced in 2015 in a one-time series only for Trix Profi Club members.
Class 403, "Lufthansa Airport Express" The scheduled use of the "Lufthansa Airport Express" between Dusseldorf Main Station and Frankfurt Airport began on March 27, 1982 at the initiative of the German Transportation Ministry. "Flying at elevation zero" through the scenically attractive Rhine Valley quickly developed into a showpiece of integrated transportation. This cooperation between Lufthansa and the German Federal Railroad was soon viewed as a prototype, and it was based on the conviction that the different transportation carriers should cooperate for economic and ecological reasons. In any event it turned out well that the DB at the start of the Eighties had three four-unit class 403 (powered end cars) and class 404 (intermediate cars) powered rail car trains standing around unemployed for the most part. They had been purchased in 1973 for the Intercity system that was purely first class at that time. However, with the introduction of second class in the Intercity system in 1979 they had become unemployed. These 200 km/h / 125 mph fast trains with all wheels powered had soon acquired the nickname "Donald Duck" due to their characteristic shape. Their visual affinity to an airplane was finally realized on these trains starting on March 27, 1982. These trains "flew" off from the Dusseldorf maintenance facility under the flight numbers LH 1001-1008 as the "Airport Express" with four pairs of trains from Frankfurt Airport to Dusseldorf Main Station (from March of 1983 even to Dusseldorf Airport) and back in a contract with Lufthansa with intermediate stops in Cologne-Deutz, Cologne Main Station, and Bonn Main Station. Before that, the trains had undergone a thorough rebuilding at the Bad Cannstatt maintenance facility in accordance with the airline company's specifications. In the process, they exchanged their unique paint scheme in white-red-black for Lufthansa's product colors of melon yellow / light gray. The goal was to keep from having to increase the uneconomic flight service on the extremely short routes of Cologne/Bonn - Frankfurt and Dusseldorf - Frankfurt. This goal was reached in full. In 1991 for example, more than 218,000 passengers used the "train to the plane" between Dusseldorf and Frankfurt. Had it been necessary to accommodate all of these passengers in Boeing 737 airplanes, it would have meant around 3,000 additional flights. Despite low operating costs (lower than comparable flights on short routes) and relatively high passenger counts, the Lufthansa Airport Express was cancelled on May 23, 1993. One reason was the considerable corrosion damage on the 403 powered rail cars that would have required extensive, costly repairs.
