| I was very happy when we arrived in Munchen Hbf to see several classic German locomotives, in addition to some original Class 401 ICE sets. This is a Class 111, introduced in 1974, and so well-known that it made it into the strategy computer game "Railroad Tycoon II," one of my all-time favorite games. In real life, these locomotives were so successful that 227 were built by various contractors until 1984, and the only ones scrapped to date (two of them) were totalled in accidents. These locomotives have 4990 horsepower, and can reach a maximum operating speed of 160Km/h (99 m.p.h.), although they dont generally work too many express trains anymore. Originally, they werent used in express service, and werent even rated for 160, but from 1980 onwards they were upgraded to support the even-faster (and older) Class 103 express locomotives, although both the 111 and the 103 have now been mostly replaced in this role by the 101 and similar newer classes. |