BlueBrixx
BlueBrixx Steam Locomotive BR 92 Set 102531
BlueBrixx's Steam Locomotive BR 92 is a BlueBrixx-Specials model built from 404 blocks β a compact tank locomotive. Designed by Alex. Age 14+. Instructions are supplied as a free download after registering on the BlueBrixx website; there is no printed manual.
Where the number comes from
BR 92 is not a name the builder chose. It is a class number from one of the largest administrative exercises in railway history.
When the German state railway was formed in the 1920s it inherited the locomotive fleets of eight separate state railways β Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, WΓΌrttemberg, Baden and others β each with its own numbering, its own classes and its own names. The same type of engine could carry three different designations depending on where it happened to be standing.
The 1925 renumbering put all of it into one system. Class numbers were grouped by purpose: express locomotives in the 01β19 range, freight from 41, and tank locomotives from 60 upwards. The 90s were shunting tank engines, and the various Prussian T 13s were gathered into Baureihe 92.
It is why German locomotive classes are numbers rather than names, and why enthusiasts can tell you what an engine did from two digits.
No tender
A tank locomotive carries its water in tanks alongside the boiler and its coal in a bunker behind the cab, rather than in a separate vehicle.
That costs range β far less water and coal β and buys two things. It is shorter, so it fits on tight curves and in small yards. And it runs equally well in both directions, because there is nothing trailing behind that needs turning. On a branch line with no turntable, or in a yard where every movement is a reversal, that is worth more than range.
In the BlueBrixx range
Sets 101001 (V200), 102921 (Big Boy) and 104004 (US Shunting Locomotive) are the other locomotives, and 101043, 102535 and 102788 the station buildings.
Specifications
Pieces: 404 Β· Designer: Alex Β· Series: BlueBrixx-Specials Β· Age: 14+ Β· Instructions as free download, no printed manual
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