Builder: dolfmeister
Region: Asia & Australasia
Category entered:
Year entered: 2022
Brand of building bricks used:
LEGO
Since 2026, the Brick Train Awards have accepted models created with other LEGO®-compatible construction brick systems.
About RhB Gem 2/4 211 by dolfmeister
The Rhätische Bahn RhB (Rhaetian Railway, Switzerland) ordered a series of seven Ge 2/4 electric locomotives in 1912. The Swiss Locomotive Works (SLM) at Winterthur built the mechanical part, and Brown Boveri & Cie. (BBC) of Baden was responsible for the electrical components. Delivered and put into service in 1913, they were numbered 201-207.
The engines were plagued by frequent defects, as the technology was in its infancy at the time. Thus, they were substantially rebuilt several times. No.s 201 and 202 were furnished with a new electrical system and gear transmission in 1943, and their bodywork was altered to a steeple cab design. No. 206 followed them in 1946, and they were renumbered No. 213, 211 and 212 respectively.
No. 211 was unique, as it also was given battery banks so that it could be used to shunt between the AC main line and the DC Arosa line at Chur, giving it the classification Gea 2/4. The batteries were replaced with a diesel generator in 1967, making it into Gem 2/4 until it was withdrawn and scrapped in 2001.
The Ge 2/4 have a surprising survival rate. No. 207 went into museal preservation after its withdrawal in 1974, virtually unchanged from its original form. No. 212 is on static display, restored to its 1946 rebuilt appearance. No 222 (the former No. 204) and No. 205 are both part of the RhB historic fleet. No. 222 is operational, while No. 205 is mothballed, pending restoration.
This model shows No. 211 in orange livery, which it received in about 1984. It features a single-arm pantograph and exhaust pipes on the roof, and shunter's platforms at each end.