German Federal Railroad class 78. Metal boiler. 3 axles powered. 2 traction tires. Coupler hooks with pre-uncoupler. Length over buffers 16,9 cm (6-5/8").
From 1912 to 1939, 535 of these engines were built for passenger service. Originally they were classed as T 18 by the Provincial Railway Administration.
After the German Railway Society was founded in 1923, a renumbering program was developed which made it easier to identify the various classes inherited from the provincial railways. Thus, the earlier class T 18 became class 78 and numbered 001 to 535.
Of these 535 locomotives, 409 found themselves on the initial roster of the German Federal Railways in 1945. The last 4-6-4T to operate on the German Federal Railways was the 78 246. Based at Rottweil, it was retired in 1974.
The class 78 was a well-constructed engine as its long service life attests. Its symmetrical wheel arrangement enabled it to obtain speeds of 100 km/h (62 mph) in forward or reverse thus making it ideal for commuter runs. Märklin's model protoype, 78 355, was outshopped by Henschel and assigned to the Essen division in 1922. In 1933, it was re-assigned to Hanau where she remained until 1961 when she was assigned to Aalen. There she was the workhorse on the Stuttgart-Schorndorf branch which needed an engine capable of reverse opertaion since Schorndorf had no turning facilities.
Finally, in 1968, after 46 years of faithful service 78 355 was retired and scrapped.
