Piko - 40354 - Locomotive, Electric, BR E 16, Epoch II - Deutsche Reichsbahn - 21002

Road Name History: The Deutsche Reichsbahn, also known as the German Reich Railway or the German Imperial Railway, was the name of the German national railway created from the railways of the individual states of the German Empire following the end of World War I.

The company was founded in 1920 as the Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen when the Weimar Republic, formally known as Deutsches Reich (German Reich, hence the usage of the Reich in the name of the railway), took national control of the German railways, which had previously been run by the German states. In 1924 it was reorganised under the aegis of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG), a nominally private railway company, which was 100% owned by the German state. In 1937 the railway was reorganised again as a state authority and given the name Deutsche Reichsbahn (DRB). After the Anschluss in 1938 the DR also took over the Bundesbahn Osterreich (BBO, Federal Railway of Austria).

The East and West German states were founded in 1949. East Germany took over the control of the DR on its territory and continued to use the traditional name Deutsche Reichsbahn, while the railway in West Germany became the Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB, German Federal Railway). The Austrian Osterreichische Bundesbahnen (OBB, Austrian Federal Railways) was founded in 1945, and was given its present name in 1947.

In January 1994, following the German union, the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn merged with the West German Deutsche Bundesbahn to form Germany's new national carrier, Deutsche Bahn AG, technically no longer a government agency but still a 100% state-owned joint stock company.

Brand/Importer Information: PIKO Spielwaren GmbH is a company based in Sonneberg, Germany. With over 550 employees at production sites in Sonneberg (Germany) and Chashan (China) PIKO is one of the leading German and European manufacturers of model trains and accessories in the gauges G, H0, TT, N.

The traditional company was founded in 1949 in Chemnitz (Germany) and is managed by its owner Dr. René F. Wilfer since 1992. PIKO model railway products are sold primarily through the well-stocked model railroad stores. But also in the mail and online commerce and in toy sections of department stores you can purchase PIKO articles. In the field H0 and garden railway is PIKO full-line manufacturer and provides the interested model railroaders all he needed in the corresponding track size for his hobby, it covers locomotives and cars, to building models, tracks and complete starter-kits and its own digital system.

For friends of the gauges TT and N PIKO produces a lot of interesting locomotive and wagon models. PIKO model railroad products cover a wide variety of needs for model railroaders and are regularly tested and awarded by the domestic and international model railway press. For industrial and commercial customers PIKO has become a reliable supplier of customized printed model trains, which are often used as a high-quality promotional products or premium gifts. PIKO presents itself at various national and international exhibitions, such as the Nuremberg Toy Fair, as well as consumer fairs in Germany to the model railway enthusiastic audience. Every 2 years we celebrate in Sonneberg the "Open Day", which is visited by about 10,000 PIKO fans and has established itself into an unforgettable event and a fixed date for PIKO model railroad fans.