Brawa - 63110 - Locomotive, Electric, E44 - Deutsche Bahn - 144 119-5

Specific Item Information: era:IV

Pantograph type SBS 39;
main swith type R 628;
with 8 sand boxes, indusi and extended roof;
design with small DB reflective-glazing lanterns

Prototype History: In Germany in the 1930s there was no money for new development of locomotives. Many senior folks in the rail industry were concerned they were rapidly falling behind the competition from other countries. Therefore, a group of companies developed three of their own prototype designs for electric locomotives, which were presented to the DRG. These companies were Wismar/SSW, BMAG/BEW and BMAG/MSW.

The new designs used a new technique of placing the traction motors in a so called "tram-hanging" design inside the bogies. This technique was already in use in Bavaria with some Bavarian electric locomotives like the E 73. Also, in Austria this technique had been in use since 1923 with much success. The base concept of all three prototype locomotives was the same, but between the prototypes there were many differences. The most successful design went into mass production as the E44 and went into service in 1934.

In the fifties and begin sixties the locomotives were in service in the long-distance trains, mainly in Southern Germany. The locomotives were renumbered to class BR 144 from 1968. In Western Germany the locomotives were taken out of service in 1984.

Road Name History: Deutsche Bahn AG (abbreviated as DB, DB AG or DBAG) is a German railway company. Headquartered in Berlin, it is a private joint-stock company (AG), with the Federal Republic of Germany being its single shareholder. Deutsche Bahn describes itself as the second-largest transport company in the world, after the German postal and logistics company Deutsche Post / DHL, and is the largest railway operator and infrastructure owner in Europe. It carries about two billion passengers each year.

Deutsche Bahn (literally "German Railway" in German) came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn ("German Federal Railway") of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn ("German Empire Railway") of East Germany. It also gained ownership of former railway assets in West Berlin held by the Verwaltung des ehemaligen Reichsbahnvermögens (Administration of the Former Reichsbahn Assets).

Brand/Importer Information: Brawa Artur Braun Modellspielwarenfabrik GmbH & Co. was founded in 1948 by Artur Braun in Waiblingen, Germany, to distribute model trains from other toy makers; eventually they began to manufacture their own lighting accessories such as streetlights and signals. In 1963 they acquired the complete line of motorized trolleybus and ski lift models from Eheim. They also began to expand their own line to include scenery items, and by 1993 they'd added locomotives and rolling stock to their product range. This medium-sized business is today jointly managed by the second and third generations of the Braun family: Günter Braun, son of the founder, and his daughter Katrin Braun are the company's managing partners.
Brawa range covers HO, O and N scales. The N scale range is focused on European rolling-stock, German locomotives and accessories like signals, streetlights, clocks and telephone booths.

Here is how the company describes itself:
At BRAWA, continuity and sustainable thinking and action - as the particular strengths of a family business - have a double impact. Changes are carefully considered and strategic decisions taken on the basis of a long-term vision, thus enabling the company to respond quickly and deliberately to the demands of the market. In addition, cross-generation collaboration ensures a vibrant coexistence of tradition and innovation.
In short, our future course is set and all signals are pointing towards continuity and growth. Our presence at our site in Remshalden shows our commitment to this area and highlights the sustainable nature of our company's location in the region. Sustainability is, as it were, an intrinsic value of our family business.