Hornby's Smallest Loco | German Shunting Tractor | Unboxing & Review

[@Akkarin-wq8rr]

3:23 A quick translation of the name from a german here : DR is the abbreviation for the Deutsche Reichsbahn, the east german state railway, followed by 'Battery Towing Vehicle in green paint scheme with red chassis'. Ep. IV is short for 'Epoche IV' meaning Era 4 (referring to the german version of that system, so 1970 - 1990)

[@SamsTrains]

Many thanks for this - much appreciated! Thanks for watching, Sam :)

[@haeckmaen]

The prototype is still being used in ICE workshops so there is a very interesting livery variation in ICE colours (white/red stripe). By the way Hornby is also doing this one in the 1:120 TT range (Arnold branded) in several liveries including ICE.

[@SamsTrains]

Ahh fascinating - still going strong then, great stuff! Thanks for watching, Sam :)

[@AmauryJacquot]

Arnold has announced one version in ICE workshop colors

[@VirgotheDrusky]

in derail valley, this thing is called a BE2

[@Toyota-AE86]

In Poland, this shunting tractor is called "Adolfik"

[@SamsTrains]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing :D Thanks for watching, Sam :)

[@TidmouthSheds]

Hmmm, ummm… I don’t know how to feel about this one.

[@bahnspotterEU]

That doesn’t even make sense. It’s from East Germany…

[@mateuszgrzybek4419]

​@@bahnspotterEUbut still Germany

[@steffenrosmus9177]

Yep, still the part where the most NAZIs live​@@mateuszgrzybek4419

[@emilpryssander4960]

that shunter is a beast, we have one at work (asf 111) and it can pull 200 tons on flat rails topping out at 6 kph. fun thing about it is that it is analog relay controled so it makes alot of klunking noises and very fun to see in model form And you are right it is tiny even in real life

[@SamsTrains]

Oh wow awesome!! That must be so much fun to work with! Thanks for watching, Sam :)

[@drmsig.r1000]

What is it like seeing that thing work?

[@lindaoffenbach]

How cute. These are known as Kleinlokomotive, meaning "Small Locomotive". They perform light shunting on railways both at stations and industrial lines. Can't remember ever to have seen this type but if it reads "Deutsche Reichsbahn" then it would be either pre-war / interbellum (unlikely considering the design) or from East Germany (who continued its railways as DR after WW2). Anyway, what a charming tiny thing. Of course it will need electrofrogs on a 2-rail. A very surprising smooth runner. We have no experience with Rivarossi but she looks well good actually. Value for money would be given a 4 star by us Sam. Quality is excellent, she runs superbly, details are as good as possible for the size we thought, and cab details are just unrealistic to expect on this one, and of course a flywheel can't be expected either despite the claims. Cheerio.

[@DSuer-mf2vy]

It is of course (built from 1966 onward until the end) the ("accu shlapp far tsoig", try it, Sam!) of the Deutsche Reichsbahn of GDR/DDR (German Democratic Republic/Deutsche Demokratische Republik).😀

[@lindaoffenbach]

@@DSuer-mf2vy Ahah, that would be written in actual German as Akku-Schlepp-Fahrzeug, i.e. Accu Towing Vehicle, made from 1966 to the very end. Indeed from the DDR according to Google. Thanks a bunch 🙂

[@SamsTrains]

Thanks Linda for the extra info and sharing your thoughts - it's definitely a unique one! Check out the Bachmann Wickham trolley - the mechanism there is tiny, and if something similar had been used here, a cab interior wouldn't have been out of the question! Thanks for watching, Sam :)

[@lindaoffenbach]

@@SamsTrains Hi Sam. We've looked that one up and ended up seeing a review by you 4 years ago hahah. RRP then was £ 89 but you got it at about half that price. Having watched your review, we don't think the overall quality can be compared; the trolley looks cheaply executed. The Rivarossi is just much more substantially looking and excellently made. How has the motor in your example of the Wickham trolley fared? At the time you didn't show the mechanism, but we did see a solidly high quality motor in the Rivarossi. Apples to apples of course. We prefer a far superior motor over cab details but that's a personal choice of course. But then again, we don't know how your trolley has fared over the years. We'd love to know.

[@Buurtspoor]

These were often used to haul cold steam locos on to a turntable. Being small they fit on the turntable along with the loco.

[@countottovanshanoo822]

And similar are still used with electric engines, so they can use the turntable in round houses where overhead wires are not a great idea.

[@SamsTrains]

Awesome! I'd love to stage that some time! :D Thanks for watching, Sam :)

[@drmsig.r1000]

​@@countottovanshanoo822that's cool!

[@davidbugler4597]

Expensive, yes, but if you're developing a minimum-space layout with just one loco it could seem more do-able. This is a similar consideration to 0 Gauge, where generally layouts have fewer locos but with a lot more 'presence' and detail. I think for this reason it should score another half-star on the 'value for miney' scale. Great review, though.

[@tbrooke3016]

The cab blanking plate is screaming out to be up-detailed. I'd love to resin print some interior detail especially given how easy it is to get the false floor out. £80 is quite pricy but it is so unique. With a dcc stay alive crammed in it would be an epic inglenook sunter for an industrial scene

[@yakuza1333]

Perhaps the top half of a driver as well?

[@tbrooke3016]

@@yakuza1333 absolutely, its such an easy modification that would be really effective

[@JohnBoyAdvance]

i love it. 10/10 would call mine Barry.

[@Ensign_Redshirt]

if you want cute and tiny the 009 Bachmann Quarry Hunslet is a contender, and that does have a flywheel ;)

[@RHaenJarr]

We have quite a bit of those, or very, very similar ones in Poland. They're often used for shunting electric locos in and out of unpowered roundhouses and sheds, if I remember right. One is often sitting next to a roundhouse in Szczecin Port Centralny. If you look up the location on google maps right now, you can find the loco in 3d view in front of the big PKP Cargo shed.

[@maidsandmuses]

Indeed. Are they pink or is that a very rusty/dusty white? (That 3D view is a bit buggy though; there's a locomotive balancing at a right angle perpendicular across the turntable! 😂😂. Clearly the turntable was rotating whilst the composite images were taken )

[@RHaenJarr]

@@maidsandmuses I think the loco used to be orange and just never was repainted until it became somewhat pink-ish from the sun. And yeah, noticed the turntable anomaly as well. At least that's proof it's still being used!

[@SamsTrains]

Ahh very interesting that they're further afield too! Thanks for sharing!

[@ItsjustJust516]

The IRL of the BE2 in derail valley

[@darreno9874]

Nice little loco, a bit expensive but the lack of a fly wheel when Hornby advertise there is one and have done similar things before is fraudulent, I understand adverts are an invitation to treat but stating there are features and not delivering is very poor. It demonstrates contempt for its customers

[@legominecraftrailway7404]

I would love to see this running alongside the big boy. I just feel like that would be so funny to look at.

[@robinforrest7680]

Excellent ! Imagine how it would behave on Peco electrofrog points… £80 is a lot of money but it’s pretty good overall. £40 would have been more reasonable.

[@NWRJ_WStudios]

I'm really surprised about how small it is Sam, although If I find one for a good price I'll probably pick it up. Cheers Jasper & Willow

[@SamsTrains]

Me too - it's amazingly small isn't it?! Thanks for watching, Sam :)

[@johnlong3214]

It needs the top half of a couple drivers adding, one facing each way, you could do it Sam. 🎄

[@ianjeffery6744]

With a live-frog point or two, this would make lovely motive power for a minimalist box-file layout!

[@SamsTrains]

Oh sure, with live points it'd be perfect! Thanks for watching, Sam :)

[@ianjeffery6744]

@@SamsTrains It would go well with the little Liliput railcar/draisine you also featured in the video!

[@stefanwosinsky1935]

The ‘Deutsche Reichsbahn’ was the east German railroads. In the west you had Deutsche Bundesbahn. The Deutsche Reichsbahn is not to be confused with the Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft, which ran from 1922 to 1945. From 1945 you had DB in the west and DR in the east, in 1990 it became Deutsche Bundesbahn or ‘die bahn’

[@JonnyJKF]

I love how as soon as you start praising that rail bus it starts protesting and when you start getting frustrated with it, the little tractor effortlessly glides into frame its single headlamp giving a cheeky little wink to the camera as it cruises past.

[@wahiba]

A 5 pole motor will have a quite cylindrical rotor which acts as a flywheel. Industrial size electric motors rarely have a separate flywheel so it is nota default feature of electric motors. As this loco does not have a 'micro' motor a small flywheel would be pointless, and a large one would not fit in. If you find an Underground Ernie Trolley now there is a small four wheel powered chassis.

[@danthemanwiththepants4048]

This isn't what I meant when I said I was looking forward to more N scale 😂

[@cirseltoo]

£100 at full price is not expensive in its target market- which is NOT the United Kingdom...

[@bryantan863]

This model from Hornby/Rivarossi is tiny but the performance is pretty good. Of course it will stop at the points sometimes but it still performs damn well. Overall, it is a pretty good model Sam. By the way, are you planning to do the Hornby 2mt next?

[@SamsTrains]

Yeah sure - overall a great little thing with decent performance! Thanks for watching, Sam :)

[@thedappercook]

Sam, you do know its NOT offensive to try and pronounce a name you dont know right? No one would be offended for trying. Beautiful loco.

[@vornamenachname727]

10:48 Hooks so you can lift the roof/cabin off for repairs, when its in the workshop. Quite a lot of german locos of this era have this feature.

[@SiqueScarface]

The original EL16 Akkuschleppfahrzeug is basically a mine railroad loco (the EL8) fitted with a large cabin for shunting work.

[@traintimeboy]

Sam: this is my smallest loco Bachman gandy dancer: am I a joke to you? Sam: Yes

[@SeanLamb-I-Am]

It seems like it's basically an N scale mechanism installed in an HO scale body. Yeah, there should be a flywheel, especially since Kato has been able to add flywheels into N scale locomotives since the 1980s.

[@PeterHendricks59]

Looking at the slot the coupler is fitted into I think you will find that in real life the coupler is raised, transferring some of the towed loco's weight to the tractor, multiplying its tractive effort.

[@redrooster12000]

Some of these "Rangiertraktor" are still used in eastern Germany´s locomotive sheds or depots, in different colors, often as "Baureihe 383".

[@georgelehman7047]

make a vert short WB wagon with pickups for it! 2 or 4 wheels, with a compatible coupling at the engine and standard coupling at the back. this would be interesting for the performance, plus would be fun to watch!

[@tankmicr00man]

Yes please Sam!

[@jonjacob1962]

Just imagine this thing as a T gauge... it would be SO TINY...

[@bbej2016]

Arnold(hornby) do a TT120 version which is really tiny.

[@MrSlartybartfast42]

would be the ideal choice of shunter for a shunting puzzle layout

[@jackstrains4468]

Thats tiny! Lovely looking little loco there sam! Great video as always!

[@SamsTrains]

Thanks a lot Jack - really glad you liked it! :D Thanks for watching, Sam :)

[@gregmacdonald927]

Grand wee thing! It’s wide stance reminds me of the weird Fiat Multiplas of the late 90’s/early 2000s. Think the addition of a driver int he cab would have gone a long way to making up for the lack of cab detail internally.

[@JK-uu8zm]

Hi Samuel ! You're more and more looking into 1/87 scale ! Make it so !

[@AKIOTV]

"ahku-shlep-faar-tsoig" is my best guess at pronouncing it. Any Germans feel free to improve.

[@odenviking]

DR was the former east geraman railway company. nice to see that your are testing new models from rivarossi. 🌲🌲🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪😀😀😀

[@gunnardannehl372]

Very cute little shunter, seen a real thing at a heritage railway here in Germany. Even then seems small. For the price of the model - I sometimes ask myself if Britain is the place to be for buying models. Here in Germany you pay for example for a good loco of the german class 50 (may becomparable to class 9F british) between 350 Euro (analog) and 550 Euro (digital fitted) so the 100 Euro for such a small model here in Germany is not a real shock for me ;-) Should i consider collecting british locos in future???

[@Ianshandle999]

Price difference = quality difference

[@YourLocalRailfan]

Imagine railfanning and seeing this bean lol

[@jonatkinson1971]

Can you imagine this in N scale?😂

[@numptypootis8012]

I love a bit of a novelty little model, hopefully if these are back in stock and aren't too expensive I'll have to get myself one to go with the Gandy Dancer and Plasser Theuar crane

[@PaulSmith-pl7fo]

Hi Sam. What an unusual model! I'm astounded that they fitted a DCC decoder socket in the body. That there is no flywheel is evident from the drawing. The loco is so small I think it would fit into the wagon you coupled it to! I was heartened to hear that you were so impressed with Rivarossi mechanisms as I hadn't heard any reviews - I just hope that this also applies to their N gauge locos.

[@ThomasOfSodor_1]

100th comment 🙃 It’s crazy how such a small loco can move by itself, Hornsby needs to take some notes!

[@j0nn032]

It’s so cute. Rivarossi have really outdone themselves on the performance this year.

[@BrakeCoach]

Hi Sam, model trains in mainland Europe seem to be much expensive compared to the UK or the US. It probably has to do with taxes and labor cost and the like.

[@astridvallati4762]

The FS had a small tractor named " Sogliola" ( the Sole as in fish) which was even smaller...a chassis with 4 wheels, and an upright cabin the width of the chassis, but only " wardrobe" size. Some modelers have made one, in HO ( 1/87) using a motorised Bogie unit.( Japanese). Without electro- frog points, performance suffers, but if one builds a " Sole" then track work will be top notch anyway. DocAV

[@lellopesce]

Yes. Rivarossi HR2878. It has a longer wheelbase, but much smaller chassis.

[@maidsandmuses]

@@lellopesce That is one odd-looking wardrobe on wheels 😄

[@SubodhGaikwad-km7ix]

I love this lots of love from india ...sams train God bless ....jesus love yu and merry Christmas.....God bless for new year ....

[@SamsTrains]

Thank you so much for the kind words! Thanks for watching, Sam :)

[@cektito87]

I think the smallest Hornby loco is the Rivarossi Breuer Traktor.

[@SamsTrains]

Yeah I think so - seen photos of those, really want to get one! Thanks for watching, Sam :)

[@cektito87]

@@SamsTrains thank you for your answer Sam! I have one, in Italy they were very common and called Sogliola (Sola Fish). I have to warn you, the engineering of this little critter is marvelous but unfortunately it lacks an important thing: a 3-point suspension, in Italy we call it “appoggio isostatico”. One of my friends created one, drilling a little bit the chassis, using a brass tube on a driving axle and a brass wire as a fulcrum. Basically, I don’t remember if you are analogic or DCC, but if you don’t put inside a capacitor (200 uF), it’s not much more than a layout ornament.

[@OlivierGabin]

Translation of the German name : "Tractor Vehicle Battery-powered in green painting, with red colored drivetrain". DR is for Deutsche Reichsbahn, here the GDR state railway company. This little one was used (and, maybe, may still be used) in large factories to shunt wagons between workshops, typically from a storage track to a loading bay.

[@SamsTrains]

Thanks very much for this Oliver! Thanks for watching, Sam :)

[@theBlack--]

these are still in use, they were also used as worksshunters they are also limited to 6 kph

[@thegeek0017]

Watching this tiny German shunter zoom in and out of frame is one of the greatest delights of my day

[@fhwolthuis]

That's impressive performance for such a dinky loco 👌❤️

[@m10cachilles43]

Sam, looks like you could print yourself an interior to replace the existing cab blank. Maybe fit a driver (well half a driver) as well?

[@paolomargini7904]

When I was a kid (1961) there were two brands in Italy. One was Lima, the other Rivarossi. I had an oval of the first, which was cheap: coaches without interior and glazing. Rivarossi was the dream. Later, in boarding school, where in the studying time we were allowed to read only "official" textbooks, I managed to secretly keep a Märklin catalogue of the same kind that Sam hates and rips in pieces, and I literally consumed it with my fingers - and with my eyes.

[@IbilisSLZ]

Some extra info: It was also exported to Poland in 1970s (it was painted orange here, it was nicknamed „Adolfik” - „little Adolf”... probably because of country of origin), Czechoslovakia and Hungary. It was produced in LEW Hennigsdorf factory in Eastern Germany. Instead of buffers there were plates made out of hard wood. Btw. if you think it's a bit too big of a model and need more compact alternative: Arnold (so also Hornby) made 404 001-0 - the same (almost - other livery) model, but in TT scale (which is quite logical as it's scale very popular in former Eastern Germany, because of Zeuke/BTTB/Tillig history).

[@tunasandwich1826]

Interesting name choice

[@IbilisSLZ]

@@tunasandwich1826 I guess it was a bit to cope with what happened during war and how much suffering they brouth... well typical polish dark humor in those times.

[@cablecar3683]

When putting this into Google Translate, "Akkuschleppfahrzeug" is apparently pronounced as Ah-ku-shlep-far-zoig in German, and in English means "Battery towing vehicle"

[@jerrysshowroom681]

17:42 Let's ask Jeremy Clarkson what makes the Rivarossi locos the best crawling locos.... ....in the world.

[@DaiElsan]

Akku =battery, schlepper =tractor, fahrzeug = vehicle.. there might be one of these at the Chemnitz railway museum, next time I visit I'll check.

[@SamsTrains]

Thanks a lot for the translation! Thanks for watching, Sam :)

[@DaiElsan]

​@@SamsTrains Sam, watching from Wechselburg, Eastern Germany. Expat. Love the channel.

[@skrattedieratte]

Being from the DR it is from the GDR and therefore not from THE German National railway from ONE of them, until they merged into the DB AG in 1997. Until then there were two, even with reunification

[@michaelwhiles5282]

Model Railways Direct - Bachmann Class 37 - 50 % off - don't bother all gone , most unhelpful when I called - CLICK BAIT ???? Sold Out - Notify me when this product is in stock - NO POINT WILL NOT BE AT SALE PRICE - ever feel done by a retailer ????

[@kimcason8764]

Another great Review Sam. Sadly it's Not for this OO or 1/76 nutter, but its a0 Cute little Schlepper..!! If it were OO, I could be Tempted. 😢 I started watching your review and your Views were over 6k. I think it Pevish, not to give you a Thumbs up, if you watch Sam's work. 😊 Come on Guys Tick that 👍for Effort alone. It was only just over 700 👍 You got one from me just for the Details in this Great Review..! Well Done Sam. 😎

[@tim3172]

In German, you pronounce every letter (it's the opposite of French; where letters are meaningless.) So, if it's Deutsche it's Doitch-uh bahn. Porsche is Porsh-uh for the same reason. Apart from W in German being V in English and V in German being F in English... i.e. VW is "FolksVahgen"... U with the double dots (umlaut) being oo, like uber being oober... and the ß being an S set, Eszett, or "sharp S"... Au is "ow" like Audi is "ow-dee" as opposed to ah, like Australia. that's all you need to know to pronounce like 90% of German words properly.

[@klbird]

Obviously the Rivarossi shunter is HO 1/87 while the Hushton is 1/72 so it looks larger.

[@briancooper562]

BEMO make some very small tractors for HOm, HOe and HO both electric(ET) and diesel (DT)powered and also hybrid duel power prototype models. (HOm will run on TT 12mm track) (HOe runns on N

[@jasonschlencker8108]

Great vid Sam. It is just so cute. If it was sold at about 50 Pounds or $75 to $100 AUD many people would buy it. Being green and red it should be a Christmas special in my opinion. Regards, Jas. VK4FJGS Rocky Qld

[@alanhaynes4576]

Rivarossi were excellent until Hornby got their GREEDY hands on the company.

[@johnmarkbrailsford24]

Perhaps Hornby or Bachmann should consider complementing this little gem with a model of the North Staffordshire Railway battery locomotive No. 1 (now preserved) - especially as a version appears on recent episodes of "Thomas and Friends" as 'Stafford'.

[@falconeye577]

Points YOU NEED TO HOT WIRE YOUR POINTS MAN Until you Hot Wire your Points you need to make a Run In Circle with no points

[@bluebear6570]

Deutsche Reichsbahn was either the pre-WW Ii German National Railway or, aftzer Ww II, the German Railway in the GDR.

[@dgattenb]

Kato N gague do a pocket line line loco for 30 quid.. that has 2 bogies... that has a flywheel ! so no excuse from hornby !!

[@wilde1909]

That my favorite model you’ve review. Come on a D for something that’s so much fun and brings a smile to one’s face.

[@edscoble]

Can you make your content inclusive by formatting the auto captioning into closed captioning please? it is extremely hard to watch it relying only on the auto captioning sadly (I'm Profoundly Deaf)

[@scottfw7169]

A locomotive which is designated as a shunter Has Got To run through points without interruption, even with insulated frogs - period, Not Negotiable. I would grade it as a Fail.

[@marklewis1337]

beyond cute but I can't see it for less than £130, which is, of course , crazy! And as per all the other comments about live points, points are kind of a shunter's thing so you either have them or can't use it.

[@davidgapp1457]

I'm not entirely sure why we aren't using super-capacitors instead of flywheels. Anyhow, if the trade-off is between a decent 5 pole motor and a flywheel, I'd rather take the motor. As for the interior detail, it's hard to be too critical. I suppose you could stick in the torso and head of a couple of opposing drivers, but I suspect this is a one-person driver vehicle.

[@ricomon64]

Tiny? Maybe, but it looks huge compared to Hornby/Rivarossi's Breuer Traktor. The Breuer is so small it comes in a two pack. ...presumably in case you lose one. I have a set of them. The body is only about 1/2" long, although the chassis is much longer.

[@SiqueScarface]

Rivarossi actually offers an even smaller H0 model, the Sogliola 206.

[@CaseyJonesNumber1]

If it's used in a realistic manner for it's intended purpose, ie. shunting things around a yard at slow speeds (which is really all it would do in real life, surely?), especially over points, then it really fails in that purpose if it stalls on the dead frog points. Running at the speed you had it going with five wagons, would have the batteries depleted in no time at all! Only by using live frog points would it certainly make a viable shunter.

[@bramelsheretan]

great review as always. I have a question... Question, do you actually play with the trains and layout? If so, why not put a video up of you enjoying the layout

[@franktuckwell196]

What you need is the two man pump action track inspectors unit. Yet still not supplied with any driver, so only half the job done, yet again.

[@stuartaaron613]

SAm, you should see about getting a German KOF diesel to add to your tiny locomotive collection.

[@grahamallen1970]

Hornby smallest....err nope arnold Hornby version of same loco in tt120😮

[@ianbriers5019]

If time and money was no problem I would love to build my version of king cross and some pancreas international train station in N Paul birnham New Street I love to complex track arrangements you can in N gauge

[@tomlawton7087]

I see from teh exploded diagram that this takes a 6-pin decoder; I wonder if a stay-alive could be fitted, as well!

[@ianbriers5019]

I like N gauge. I love to see some reviews on this cage. On this particular model imagine it on that scale 😮 don't think nit would work 😅

[@r.a.monigold9789]

Can a rail engine be "cute"? Like it or not, I say it's CUTE. Thanks, Sam.

[@alexflemming5982]

Die deutsche Reichsbahn in this case probably refers to the East German railways

[@Ianshandle999]

There is an even smaller rivarossi oil refinery version of this, even smaller as no cab body, just standing platforms

[@1maico1]

I think it would work ok on my track which has live frogs and no dead sections.

[@Karagianis]

They should do an LNER Y11 class for a British version! :D

[@YvonneBennie]

Are you seriously running on track lad on carpet or carpet tile? At one point I could see a carpet fibre sticking up. You are asking for trouble.

[@blakeosaurus2477]

If you like rivarossi performance try heisler geared steam locomotive

[@michaelwhite8031]

If lights can be put in this model, why can't they add lights to the TT Loco''s ?

[@joshuaW5621]

This looks like it would be fit for maintenance on branch lines and spurs.

[@SamsTrains]

Yeah absolutely! :D

[@brenstratters2026]

I would suggest that the price includes the smile factor! 😁

[@CoalChrome]

It's nice seeing Rivarossi has figured out performance because the old ones suck

[@KayoMichiels]

Flywheel... you could say it technically has one since the electric motor is so big compared to the loco that the mass of the rotor acts as the flywheel...