Most of you know me as a steam guy, and while steam is my first love, I do appreciate all trains. While going through the LEGO Train MOCs group on Flickr, a trio of Electrics from Europe caught my attention. So let’s take a closer look.

Swedish Da locomotive by Thomas Selander

First up we have a Swedish State Railways electric Da class by Thomas Selander. The Da was a modernized version of the D-type. The Da was built by ASEA from 1953 and 1960. They remained in service until the mid 1990s.

The Da is a bit of plain, boxy locomotive, but I like that. It’s simple, utilitarian, and humble. It just gets the job done without the need to be flashy about it. And it’s also a side rod electric, I love those. Thomas has done a wonderful job recreating the Da in LEGO. Like the real locomotive, his build is simple, but effective. It has all the right details and excellently scaled.

I also love the little scene Thomas has to display his Da. The simple catenary and electrical box perfectly compliment the locomotive. And the power functions drive is as simple but, effective as the rest of the locomotive.

Swedish Locomotive type Rc6 by Thomas Selander

Also from Thomas Selander is this stunning type Rc6.

The SJ Class Rc is the most used electric locomotive in Sweden. Rc is a universal locomotive used both in freight and passenger trains. The largest operator is Green Cargo, although SJ, Veolia Transport, Tågåkeriet, Hector Rail and the Swedish Transport Administration operate it as well.

Altogether there have been 8 versions of the Rc-locomotive in Sweden including the freight locomotive Rm designed to pull iron ore trains. Rc1, Rc2, Rc4, and Rc5 have a maximum allowed speed of 135 km/h. Rc3 and Rc6 have a maximum allowed speed of 160 km/h. Rc7 was a rebuild of Rc6 meant to haul replacement trains needed when the X 2000 trains were canceled or delayed. Rc7 had a maximum allowed speed of 180 km/h.

Engines based on the Rc design were sold to other countries. The Austrian Federal Railways bought 10 Rc2 with extra brakes for the alpine conditions, ÖBB Class 1043. and a slightly altered Rc4 has been sold to Norwegian State Railways of Norway, known as El 16.

In 1977, an Rc4 was tested in the United States for use with Amtrak‘s passenger trains. The Rc4 engine proved successful and would become the basis for the AEM-7.

Thomas’s model of the type Rc6 is excellent all around. The black SJ livery is striking with just a hint of yellow from the handrails and steps, and a touch of red from the plows. And once again, Thomas has added the perfect amount of detail, and scaled the locomotive very well.

Be sure to check out Thomas Selander’s Flickr Page. He has plenty of other excellent work to see.

DB BR 118 by Simon Jakobi

Our last electric today is this excellent DB BR 118 from Simon Jakobi.

The Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG) Class E 18/DB Class 118/DR Class 218 is a class of electric locomotives built in Germany and Austriabetween 1935 and 1955. With exception of Class E 19 it was Deutsche Reichsbahn’s fastest electric locomotive. After 1945 most of the surviving locomotives were operated by Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB), although a few passed to Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) and Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB).

After  World War II, 34 units passed to the Deutsche Bundesbahn in West Germany, to which were added a further 5 locomotives purchased from East Germany in 1952 and 2 newly built Class E 18s commissioned in 1955. Even the introduction of the first production-series Class E 10 locomotives in 1956, it was not until the after the deployment of the new Class 103 TEE production-series locomotives in 1970 that Class 118 was withdrawn from main line express services. They were then used for regional services and charter trains until being retired between 1976 and 1984.

Simon’s model of the DB class 118 is sleek and stately in dark blue (a favorite color of mine). The pantograph details on the roof are very nicely done and the complex, curving front and rear face of the locomotive has been captured well.

This is an great model of the class 118 electric. And check out Simon Jakobi’s Flickr page for his other models.