Lenz BR66
Hello, I purchased Lenz' BR66 last Friday and I have to say I am more than impressed. When you take the loco out of the box you notice that it's superbly detailed. Put it onto the tracks and you see that it runs as well. Warm white LED headlights, sound not only digitally available, but also while running analogue! Everything inside the loco is not clipped together but there literally hundreds of screws. You know I am running DC on Marklin tracks. There is no problem to attach a Roco silent slider (German: Flüsterschleifer) to the loco without any grinding or so. One (small) disadvantage: the decoder is fixed to the loco; it cannot be exchanged. But I think you don't want to exchange it. There is only one (let me call it) inaccuracy in the instruction sheet of the loco: They tell you the loco will not run through radii of 360mm unless you remove the front steps and the piston protection pipes (Kolbenstangeschutzrohre). You rather have to remove some material from the front steps to allow the NEM pocket moving freely. Unvisible in normal use. The loco is fantastic.

I've been drooling over the pictures and description of that loco on the Lenz website for a while. I just can't justify buying one; it's too obscure and rare a prototype, and the wrong era for me, to boot. I wish they had done a BR64 or BR65 or something instead. Nevertheless, it's an impressive and wonderfully executed loco--I wish Fleischmann and Roco were making them that way. Jurgen

Looks like Lenz are developing a BR64 and more. See link below and click on Lokomotiven. http://www.lenz-elektronik.com/lenz_null/null_loks.htm

Hello! So they boldly go for locos where no one has gone before In this special case the word "lately" is missing, because there already was a Piko BR66. The body was not too bad for the late 1960s/early 1970s, but the motor and the chassis were more than horrible.

Martin- This locomotive is currently selling for about $220. Do I understand correctly that this locomotive not only has a DCC decoder but also has sound? Richard.

Sound is very limited and a bit disappointing... If I remember rightly it's just a whistle.

It has a bell and a whistle. I took the plunge and ordered it. I'm curious though, how were bells on locomotives used? Were they used while shunting, while approaching the station? What is the difference between using a whistle and using a bell on a steam locomotive?

Hi Richard: For the most part the whistle was used when approaching unprotected grade crossings or when entering tunnels (one blast). I'm not sure when bells were required, but I think in many cases German locomotives didn't even have bells. I read somewhere that locos used in commuter services sometimes had to have them installed, so maybe it was local ordinances which required bells. Jurgen

Lenz BR66 Bells
Hi, The only time I heard the bell being used was between Aalen and Ulm where the line ran alongside the road with no barrier between the two. It was only for a short distance. Malcolm

AFAIK the bells were used when locomotives were running with road traffic or places where road & rail shared the same bridge ?

I remember seeing one of Bw Hofs 01s Rebuilt with a new boiler with a bell fitted? I can recall personenzug at Paderborn Nord having the bell sounding( BR 50s ) arriving and departing the bahnhof and when crossing over half barrier level crossings en route to Schloss Neuhause. What memories! Grusse, David

For a picture of this fine Lenz engine 66 002, Martin Silz purchased (and I got before my camera, I was in awe as well), see (static): http://www.osterthun.com/2.StaticGisbert/Lenz30201a.JPG and also in the Betriebswerk: http://www.osterthun.com/2.StaticGisbert/Lenz30201c.jpg Frits Osterthun

I got 66 002 yesterday. Arrived courtesy of eBay with slight transit damage which I have fixed. Lovely model although potentially a touch fragile compared to Fleischmann or Roco locos. Runs very well indeed (as do my 2 Lenz V36 locos) but I'm not sure about the limited sound effects. Having fitted the speaker, I wonder why they didn't fit the range of running sounds common to every other steam loco fitted with Loksound. Anyway, overall a delightful model.

All Bavarian locos had bells and whistles. Wrt usage, the bell was rung when approaching ungated crossings and continuously rung until the loco had crossed. The whistle was used as well if there was poor visibility (tunnels, curves or bad weather) or lots of noise e.g. when crossing a road when motor vehicle sounds might drown out the bell. It was not generally left to the driver, bell and whistle boards were clearly placed. Whistles were also used as signals e.g. at stations on branch lines to announce the arrival of a train. I imagine the DRG was similar.

Odd enough, Paul, but my Brawa Wurttemberg T 5 (Era 1 version) has no bell on the boiler, however function F3 gives a bell sound, which is lovely to the ear! Frits http://www.osterthun.com/2d.models60-79/pics~60-79/BR75.0/T5.JPG