Love your reviews but when you enthuse over the details on new British models I often think, "if only Sam had seen new Roco or other german models". For years their detail has been absolutely exquisite and you can only truly appreciate them with a magnifying glass. Absolutely nothing that is on the prototype is missing from the model. But no, they don't waste their time and money on working buffers.

The German railways not only had "glass boxes", they also had funky looking "glass trains" (ET91 - Gläserner Zug) built in 1935 and featuring large panoramic windows to enable passengers to view the mountains of southern Germany and Austria. Marklin/Trix made a H0 scale model of it.

Yes, what a weird little Loco. I first noticed this in the Roco Catalog in 1988. It came stand alone as an ÖBB livery, but in Bavarian Livery, as you have, it was part of a set that included four Branch Line 2 axle coaches. It was later (1991) that they released it in Bavarian Livery as a stand alone unit. It came with hoop style couplers as NEM pockets were still in the future. These units were good runners for the time, but we all know: 'time stand still for no model train'. PS: Love your sense of humor - we all need that today! And yes, the grey panels were used to keep the Loco from sliding back and forth.

Hey Sam, Your particular Deutsche Reichsbahn version of the Glaskasten was manufactured by Roco from 1990 - 1996. Roco first issued the Glaskasten as part of a Deutsche Bahn set with 4 wagons in 1988. Different versions have been issued over the following years updated with 8 pin decoder interface and in 2014 the first DCC Sound version (Esu Loksound) was issued. Later versions still available new from retail shops in Germany. An interesting fact is that Roco has never updated the Loco to have working lights, not even the expensive later sound versions.

Roco did manufacturing work for several US model manufacturers (Atlas, Life-Like, E-R Models, motors for early Athearn Genesis, etc.) throughout the 1970's-2000's, so I have some familiarity with them. On most, the detailing was decent for whenever they were manufactured, but all were very smooth and quiet runners. My favorite is the USRA 2-8-8-2 articulated steamer. Roco produced the first run in Austria for Life-Like's top-tier Proto 2000 range. It's smooth, strong, and nicely detailed, with the only downside being very plasticky construction. Roco sold some in Europe under it's own name before the production and tooling were moved to China by Walthers (who bought up Life-Like). A Big Boy it ain't, but if you have a hankering for a Big McLargeHuge 'Merican articulated at a reasonable price, the Roco/Proto 2-8-8-2 is worth seeking out.

I absolutley love your videos, Sam! I understand you and your main audience may prefer videos about british trains, but me, as a foreigner (Spain!) would love to see more videos featuring trains from other countires, like this!

This is a quite old model from Roco, just as you figured out already. I can't date it exactly, but definitely somewhere early 90's. But this brand (Roco) is definitely something you should have another look at. More recent models will likely give you some perspective on for example Hornby. Or maybe YOU will never get impressed, because despite Roco's otherwise high attention to details, they usually still don't do sprung buffers. 😂

The level of detail that is being praised on modern UK model locomotives was already pretty common on Roco & Fleischmann models a few decades ago, as you just noticed. Bear in mind they were pricey at the time; that level of detail did come at a cost! Those 80's/90's Roco & Fleischmann locos were generally very good runners also. Same goes for the tracks & accessories like turntables & signals; in level of detail & finish then a few decades ahead of what is now also available in the UK. Back then both Roco & Fleischmann had a reputation of being the premium makers of mass-produced highly detailed high quality consumer model trains. Then there were the small limited edition hand-made models of the likes of Fulgurex etc. who took the level of detail (& prices!) even higher.

The idea behind the little 'glasskasten' was simple economy - they were designed for one man operation on 'bimmelbahnen' or light secondary railways, primarily in Bavaria. (Prussia had a couple, I believe, and Austrrian 'aquired' one following the Anschlaus) The big bunker behind the cab was an automatically fed coal hopper, eliminating the need for a fireman, and the driver was supposed to double up as the guard and ticket collector, hence the gangway connection back to the rest of the train.

Hey Sam, iam from austria and this is the number one manufacturer here. 80% of my collection are roco locos, and every single one of them is amazing. I also have a bavarian Glas box and modified it with dcc and lights. The newer versions of it have a 8 pin dcc socket and a little compartmend for the decoder. I recomend a BR 1144 from the ÖBB. Iam a train driver here in Austria and a 1144 is my every day working place. Anyways, keep up the good work. Greetings from Austria.

Ha, finally a Roco loco. It is about time, lol, Yeah, quite normal prices used actually for Roco, Fleischmann, Märklin/Trix. Prices can go much higher even, depending on the model. If memory serves me, these were in the catalogue somewhere in the 1990s but I can't remember exactly. And we were thinking that Fleischmann, and Märklin/Trix offered something similar but not exactly sure here. For Roco, this level of detail was common place already in their 1980s range. M/T were catching up on detailing since they have always been prioritising robustness, even today. Being weighty for all aforementioned brands has always been normal as well by integrating one die-cast frame with the running plate. We collect Märklin but Roco is held in the highest regard by us, as well as Fleischmann (acquired by Roco in 2008 and since 2019 only offering N scale whilst Roco offers H0 including former designs from F). Great review Sam. Pity that the box is in such state but it could have been much worse. Lovely model. Cheerio.

Omg, I'm so happy you are reviewing a Roco locomotive!! 😍 😍

Hey Sam, the silver plastic pieces actually sit in front and behind the buffers when it is in the polystyrene packaging. The knuckle couplers are the wrong ones for it. If you fit the 'clip' couplers (Roco Short Coupling or Kurzkupplung) as you called them, you can put it better jn the box and it will not lose any other parts. I had the same one but in the Länderbahn paint scheme, which is from the turn of the century. Really good model. Needs to be run with some Bayrische Länderbahn carriages. :)

Oooh those old RoCo boxes warm my heart. I had quite a few of them. Early 80s. This box is from before the merger with whoever, which added "international" to the RoCo name. Had and still have a bunch of RoCo coaches, but could only afford Lima and Piko locos.

I can add a few more details about the original. The original comes from a series of 23 machines that were built between 1908 and 1909 by the Kraus company in Munich for the Royal Bavarian State Railway (K.Bay.Sts.B.). Two machines were built in 1910 for the Prussian State Railway. These two machines were used in the area of ​​Tonder, which is now Danish. Typical use of these machines was on local branch routes that were no longer than 15 km, with two to three two-axle passenger cars and one boxcar. The last use of this type (98 307) was until 1963 on the 7 km long route from Georgensgmünd to Spalt in Middle Franconia, approx. 30 km south of Nuremberg. Until the end, she regularly carried a beer wagon from the local brewery in Spalt with her on her train. This route was nicknamed “Spalter Bockl” by the local population. Which also prompted the brewery in Spalt to brew a beer with the same name. (In southern German-speaking areas, Bockl or Bockerl refers to a short local railway line. This refers to the route and the vehicles used there. "Bock" is also the name of a strong beer.) The 98 307, which has been preserved to this day, is currently in the steam locomotive museum in Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg in a non-functional condition. A second machine is in a cut-up state in the DB Museum in Koblenz.

This lil train looks like he got squished, and modified. And the lil train looks chill but energetic at the same time and i love it

Sam two years ago I started with a Roco and over the years my love for them has slowly made me distance myself from the British stuff, I think it being all new and exciting learning the continental railway’s history helps, but they are such a joy to work on and you can get most parts needed from their website. They do release old tooling but they update them over the years , circuit boards , motors LEDs so you see the evolution, which is great for sourcing parts as you can make some things fit if needed. Amazes me that Fleischmann now Roco has been doing high quality models like this for 30 years whilst in OO gauge the standard hasn’t been great. Even sourcing spares is a ball ache. Keep up the good work. I do enjoy the ho reviews , saved me having to subtitle none English ones 🤣

As your Audience is mostly British, I would suggest, try the S160 "Rattle Snake" from Roco, which is quite new. It will look quite small compared to your 00 engines as is in H0 of course, but I think, you could like it (new it was mostly at 326€, but I assume, they should now be at least sightly cheaper)

Hi Sam, yes Roco locomotives are a great option. My cousins had a wonderful layout which was continental. I loved watching them running trains around it ( usual tunnels and hills ) my uncle worked aboard then and brought them trains when he came home ( if he could afford them ) . Roco are expensive but are normally great quality. I used to travel around Europe in the 90’s and whilst uk were cheaper, the quality was not so great. The continental trains were always better than the uk / American ones, but sooooo expensive. Take a uk price and double or triple the price. I could never bring myself to buy a model as by time I got home it would have been in bits. Lol

Dear Sam! As always, I hope you are doing well. A) Your locomotive is in DRG (1920-1950) lettering, therefore, the Roco wagons you bought (set of 8) are right for the locomotive. B) The silver/grey pieces are the holders in the box for the locomotive, but if you use them, remove the couplings while putting it in the box. C) The NEM362 coupling socket was slowly introduced by Liliput, Fleischmann and Roco in the late 80's (1986-88) and also, your loco is around that period (I honestly think around 1991-92) Do keep well. Best regards, David

The 43257 Model was constructed between 1990 and 1996 ( It may have been earlier under a different catalogue number) - back then it had NEM362 Coupling pockets and flywheel. Lights at the time would have been bulky light bulbs so Roco left them off this small model. The model still makes an appearance in the range with a decoder socket and sound versions. It is due a replacement with modern lighting but still a reasonable model by todays standards - 30+ years later. The last version I had was £149 in 2021 and £250 with sound. I would expect a complete re-tooling to be considerably more. The Later Trix HO Glaskasten were better detailed and had DCC and lights, although the decoder was visible in the cab. The two grey plates slot into the polystyrene box at each end of the loco to stop the model moving in the soft polystyrene.

Sam, you surprised me in a pleasant manner with this one. I've been collecting for more than 50 years, the last 25 of them only British loco's DC (DCC) Before I switched to only British, I had a big collection of Royal Bavarian railways (K.Bay.Sts.B.). The K.Bay.Sts.B. stops to exist after WW1 in 1918. All my Bavarian rolling stock I had was 3 rail AC (Märklin) The Bavarian loco's were all dark green Painted. After 1918 all rolling stock was nationalized into the German Reichsbahn (national railways), and all loco's were painted black, like the one you have. So yours is situated between 1918 and 1945. (model made in beginning 1990's) The grey extra's are to lose the body, as the body is hold on by klips. About a month ago I sold all my Märklin stuff to a friend, with pain in the har,t as I started to collect this stuff since I was 6 years old. But it was all sitting in the closet, and had no interest anymore, so I felt it was better to sell it to be enjoyed. The PtL2/2 or Glaskasten (you translate it to glass box, but it actually means conservatory) was one of my favorite loco's. And I was so sad that I had sold it, as it's such a beautiful little thing, on the other hand if I would have kept it I could not run it as it was 3 rail. So that same evening when all the Märklin stuff went out of the door, I bought a new secondhand DC PtL2/2 one from Roco, in its original (green) K.Bay.Sts.B version. Since all runs DCC on my layout, I still have to rebuild it from Analog to digital. There is a guy on KZfaq (in German unfortunately) who show how to do this with a micro ECU decoder (59826) So you understand that I find it funny you got interested in this small German loco… Great review… Cheers, Danny PS. all broken missing parts are still available at Roco (super service) here is the link: www.roco.cc/static/frontend/Casisoft/Roco/de_DE/doc/ET/1/DE/43257_8908.pdf There is also a later DCC ready version available, with light. Other very nice Roco Bavarian S3/6 express revi

It would be cool if you did a series reviewing the best second hand locomotive bargains. Also Great review as always!

4:11 I love how when Sam doesnt know what something is, he just assumes it has Magical properties, lol

31:08 Roco is still very much around. The biggest manufacturers joint forces to escape bankrupcy: Roco joined Fleischmann, where Roco only makes H0 scale and Fleischmann now only N; Märklin and Trix joint forces where Trix is the DC side of things, and Märklin obviously AC, and mainly H0. LGB is also purchased by Märklin, brands like Lima and Rivarossi are part of Hornby now.

Funny story Sam I have only 1 Roco coach in my collection, I think I bought it about 3 years ago at a train show I've forgotten now. Cheers Jasper & Willow

Roco had a good range of models in the late 80s. I had a SBB Crocodile and a 4 wheel steeple cab. They were great runners and were better looking than anything I could buy from Great Britain at the time.

Great video Sam. What a lovely (yet unusual) model! I was actually thinking about this model last year and how funny it would be if you did a review on it. How ironic!

10:25 These ramps are a typical feature of Bavarian locomotives of this time. These ramps were also used on electric locomotives from Bavaria.The Bavarian State Railways had a rule that there always had to be two men on the locomotive for safety reasons. Since the locomotive was only operated by one person, the train crew had to be given the opportunity to enter the locomotive during the journey. This way you no longer needed a fireman.

I think that these plates are supposed to be holding the loco securely in its box. I think that there are slots for them in the styrofoam insert. When you have taken the motor out in the video, I noticed that there is quite a lot of graphite dust on the ceramic capacitor. It may be a good time to clean the commutator and look if there is anything left of the motor brushes. I really enjoyed watching this video, I'm always happy to see new notifications from your channel - your videos never disappoint. Cheers from Poland Boleslaw

90% of my rolling stock is Roco, excellent quality and runs perfectly straight out of the box. incidentally Roco used to produce track for Hornby.

The model of the loco 98 304 was not only manufactured in Austria, the original was actually located in Austria (under number OeBB 688.01), where it was in operation until 1959. The model was released with Deutsche Reichsbahn numbering (98 304) in 1990, the Austrian OeBB 688.01 numbering was released in 1988. So this is a really old model. No wonder there is no room for a DCC decoder.

hi from Belgium, old 80's Roco is definitely the best value for money 😉😉

Nice review! Roco is still around and they make very nice models.

I’ve had one of these for a few years now. Lovely little loco. Though mine was made by Trix and it had forward and rear lighting. Glad you’re expanding your locomotive collection to other manufacturers and styles. Keep up the good work 😎

Your videography in the detail chapter: just masterful. The transitions, camera angles, exemplary light placement. Perfect motion. That vertical short pan framing the roof down, just superlative. Course the models good (Rocos' Abe designed the later years of the 3 rail trix express models which were very nice models and noticeably upscale from the earlier express models) but the camera work is grabbing to say the least

Another lovely video sam very good camera work as usual as always keep it up bye for now Philip

I really do love odd little locos like this alway so fun to look at.

Absolutely amazing stuff Sam, definitely would love to see more Roco stuff reviewed, they're my favourite brand of model trains by far! The packaging is definitely an older one, I'd say early to late 90s on this one, considering the lack of any advanced circuitry inside. But yeah, I'd love some more mainland european atuff, it definitely is as diverse in quality and detail as the british market is.

This was one of the best loco’s you have shown us so far in the last few months , really interesting Engine. Nice detail

This is very odd, very interesting and very satisfying to watch. Better looking than every American loco that has dragged up Gordon’s Hill. Good stuff.

The gray pieces are retaining clips to hold the loco in box. They slide into the foam in front and back

What a great find. Thanks for sharing it with us.

I have a Roco H0e (that's OO9 for you Brits!) 0-6-0. Since it came in a starterset it doesn't have the same detail as some other Roco stuff but it's still a great runner and running gear is 100% metal and the body is 100% diecast. That's one thing i noticed, generally (especially newer) continental European models tend to have an edge in detail and quality compared to OO loco's, which is surprising considering they are larger.

"It exhumes quality-" had me in stitches. Not the saying we're familiar with but it certainly works herr, in this instance. Clnsidering this wee chap has been buried for a long time before today's video. I couldn't help but love this little engine.

The new re-releases from Roco have Dcc sound and lights now!! They are very interesting

As a viewer from germany it was a pleasure seeing a german locomotive on your channel! Have a good one!

I bought my Marklin version in 1991 in Dusseldorf for 300DM (would be around 120 pounds). Could be its AC motor but that fills the whole cab. On the positive it has switchable lighting and much smaller than your Roco version. No LED in those days. They work thru prismas from a single bulb. But even my Series 24 from 1968 had those. It conveys its electric power thru a short coupler to the wagon it's pulling. The coalbunker even has an opening lid and that reveals the bunker is a void space. Marklin bothered to make the whole valve gear from metal. And that looks far better. It's stil a smooth, silent runner (without a crawl). The powered coupling looks like a NEM pocket, although it could be just a tat smaller. It's 5mm outside but the coupling rod looks tiny at only 3mm. Love the review. Oh, and Glaskasten would translate to Greenhouse in English.

Roco appear to be in a different league to UK model companies, partly since the full scale steam prototypes have so much external detail to replicate. Interesting that they have a factory in Vietnam - going low cost without China, also that they have in cab camera systems which I think is something missing in the UK which add a whole new dimension to model railways.

Nice to see your review of the "Glaskasten". Owning quite a lot of Roco engines and other rolling stock, i can confirm that these are very well made models. Very reliable mechanism, good performance (i have the german class 103 - incredible pulling power), and with good maintenance they will generally be good crawlers too. The details on the body was usually ahead of the time, in the 1980's you could get nearly nothing better. One remark at the end: Apart from very costly hand manufactured models in Germany the sprung buffers were nearly unknown.

Nice review. Would love to see more like it especially dcc ready models.

had one of these roco glaskastens or glass boxes had to re motor it with a small coreless motor. it ran superb sold it to a friend that still has it today.

Great video. Roco make some superb locos. Got a few myself.

Hi Sam a great video and in the 80s I had over 140 British OO locomotives and I bought a New Fleishman, a German DB class 94 an O-1O-OT and it was nicknamed “The Black Buffalo” it also had working lights. This with most of my other stock was sold off to fund my passion for ‘O’ gauge, which I missed terribly and I have now bought in ‘O’ gauge at a cost of just over a Thousand Pounds with over 21 DCC functions including Smoke. From a Dealer in this country A and H models, and I am very happy to run it on my Exhibition Layout.

Note: Apparently, the Reichsbahn painted their engines' wheels and frames red to make it easier to detect issues like cracking, warping, etc. If you're getting into German steam, I'd recommend getting a Class 38 (ex-Prussian P8); not only is it well-suited to a variety of passenger and freight work, it's also the most numerous 4-6-0 in the world and had a remarkably lengthy service life (1908-1974 in German service, with examples in Poland serving until 1981!).

I was surprised to see your review of the Glass Box loco as I bought one from Rails of Sheffield about s week earlier for about the same amount Very pleased with it and so unusual.

Hi sam, ive been commenting exactly this on some recent video's. Lovely to see it actually happen. I do recommend, even though they are really pricey, to look for a larger engine like the BR 50 or the BR 01. Those two are arguably the most famous German types in the world. And speaking from experience also generally have way more features.

Sam you should make a video where you buy a hornby railroad mallard and modify it to make it a lot better

I own a second hand Roco class Br. 80 in Green Danish Railway livery, its an older model but somehow the little lass runs as if brand new! I have a few pieces of Roco stock as well. And I must say, I have never been disappointed yet! So glad to see Roco products get some attention! Loved the video as always Sam!

According the box (and that its not DCC ready) the model is from the early 90's that when Roco used those blue/orange boxes. Those grey plastic "plates" are there to secure the loco in the box so it can't move around and get damaged. There's supposed to be an exploded diagram with a parts list in the box too, but guess its missing, many of us keep those in a separate dossier, so we just open it up, find the loco, and order it, if something's broke. Its a good choice tough; Roco was a decent middle class manufacturer, with affordable and reliable models, with decent detailing, but like most brands in the EU (in this price range) they use a lot of plastic, witch is fine by OUR standards. This loco is still on my wishlist BTW. And Yes; Roco still exists, tough they are now part of a EU model-train collaboration now with brands like Fleischmann (AKA they are bit expensive now). They have different quality ranges like Hornby and their top end locos are quite expensive (I don't even take out the one i have from its box).

Looking forward to these types of reviews!

A gem of an oddball locomotive. It brings back memories of looking through the Walthers catalogs and seeing the international locomotives in addition to the North American locomotives available.

👍👍Enjoyable look at a cool , used locomotive. Would like to see more pre-owned "examinations" . That thing's neat !

The model (design) is more then 30 years old. It was introduced by Roco in 1990 and sold thruout the early 90s. It was a pinnacle of detailing back then and I'd say still OK-ish today. There is a reason why Hornby never made substantial sales outside the UK back then.

Ok, so start at 2:40, to save some part of your life on a "message that he will show you a locomotive sometime in the future." He starts at 2:40.

What a lovely thing, and a pleasure to watch!

Oh wow 😎looks amazing about to enjoy your review 👍

Love watching your videos

Nice to see a second hand loco once again. Just got a Hornby Grange second hand myself, infact. Arrived today, ordered it 2 days ago. (The Grange was £59.95, really good deal for such a modern loco with sprung buffers and all) Also not too long ago got a BR Green GWR 101 (it's a Hornby 0-4-0, specifically the one with the no rear cab wall) pre owned for 20 pounds, since it was a good deal at my local model railway shop and I was buying some coaches and had some spare pocket money to spend.

Very interesting video today Sam and really nice locomotive

I love it. That is my kind of locomotive - odd but cool looking. I am now looking at one of these on eBay. A little pricey, but who knows... Thanks for sharing this.

Yeah, this is a great looking engine. Roco is indeed still around. Some recomendations from roco are the modern Dutch Railways Sik shunter. a very smol shunter with sound and automatic couplers. (even smoller then a Glasbox) Roco also has made some great looking Swiss and Austrian crocodile locomotives which are from the same era. last but not least from the same era are the dutch railways class 600 locomotives which are basically HO british class 08 engines. Those loose couplers that came with it are not normal couplers but short couplers. if used with a carraige with a short couple meganism they will be coupled with buffers almost touching. Youre roco goods wagon set has those meganisms.

it is indeed a sweet little machine, very charming indeed! I am not a train guy but do know that steam trains are very charming! Kyosho made some live models but those were big units but everything on them was metal and worked. early cost close to and more than $10,000USD. sadly the sales was not that much and were very quickly discontinued. for those you would require your backyard to house the tracks cause of the bigger scale. Do show us these 2nd hand units, they are germs of the past and must not be lost. many will see your vid and try to find one for themselves and discover the quality of these units like you have here. These establish a good bench mark as far as quality goes. I very much enjoy vintage toys and working gizmos of the past. Living in US, we dont see this level of quality. If I were in Europe, I am sure I would be in heaven 🙂

Sam love your videos and your layout

The NEM pocket was introduced in the late 80'es. The first mention of it that I could find was in the Märklin catalogue of 1988. Other manufacturers might have introduced it earlier (and of course later). When your particular model got the "NEM treatment" I do not know, but it is not uncomming with NEM pockets on locos with no digital socket. At least not the European ones.

What great looking little engine! I love the detail. I'd build a small layout just to run this little guy.

That Valve Gear is just Chef's kiss. Just looks so good running

I’ve often thought of reaching out to you about a Roco locomotive and coaches I bought in Germany in 1990. Thinking it would be a good one to review. Whilst I haven’t used it in years it still looks superb and had working lights and is preserved in Germany

What a cutie. Great find and review Sam.

It's such a unusual Locomotive Sam. If I ever find one for a good price, I'll absolutely get it for sure. Cheers Jasper & Willow

A 5 pole motor and a flywheel in that tiny loco that's amazing

Lovely,a very gracious and fine review. You have an excellent excuse for finding some early 20th century HO scale carriages! A driver would be cool too but you might need to sort out an open window for him as it would be very hot in there with that boiler in such close and enclosed proximity!

Thanks for the review, love the loco.

I have 2 of these,,but from trix, they are good quality and always brings a smile when I run them, you are correct,the valve gea r is very delicate, but on the whole, a nice unusual loco, pete

This version of Roco's glass box was on sale from 1990-96, at least a few years too early for a decoder socket. Maybe you could make more reviews of german locos, next could be a locomotive with a link to british class 42 "Warship". The technical base comes from Germanys V200...

I have that loco, now DCC fitted. The 2 odd plastic thingys are I believe to hold the loco in place in it's packaging to prevent damage.

The grey plastic parts are supposed to hold the loco in place inside the packaging. They go over the couplings into the styropor.

All german manufacturers , Roco , Fleischmann , Piko etc , have been making exceptionally detailed and well running locos for many years . The british are only just starting to catch up !

Roco have been making models since the early 1980’s that are to a standard 00 struggles to get near now. They have a engrained ethos of design & manufacture. . Once you start with HO stuff from Roco / Marklin you can never look at 00 in the same light again. I have Roco freight stock from the early 1980’s with full nem pockets / kinematic couplers. Lima first adopting it on their class 156 in 1999, with subsequent models being fitted with a 2 prong adapter to take nem pockets.

In my experience Roco has always been a brand known for well detailed and slightly expensive models, but it is worth the price

Love the oddballs or anything interesting from the past. Keep them coming. I happen to love the SNCF electrics whose design looks like a RV camper on rails - all of the aerodynamics of a brick.

I think this is one of the old Fleischmann locos that got folded into the Roco catalogue. It's an older design, I remember seeing it in model train catalogues back in the late 90s. There has also been a few Märklin/Trix versions in different liveries, I'm guessing because the unique design has made it very popular. The Trix version even has DCC and directional headlights.

A brilliant review of a brilliant little loco. I model in N gauge and have two of these locos by Minitrix, with similar quality of detail. One is black like yours and the other is green in an old Bavarian livery. The black one came with pre-installed DCC, although I use DC. I also have the "Glass Train" railcar by Fleischmann, mentioned in a previous comment. I watch all your vids, despite them being 99% 00 gauge.

ROCO has a lot of very good looking models. I recommend the dutch models as well

Minitrix made a N scale model a long time ago, and it was one of their best sellers in the UK. Been trying to get one on EBay for years but strangely the only ones I’ve found have been from sellers that smoke indoors.

I just searched for Roco Catalog 1988 which confirms that a version of this model was on the cover of the 1988/89 catalogue. Confirms my recollection that it was newly introduced in 1988 by being given cover status. Everyone in my model railway circle was amazed that something so tiny could be made so well. Roco had a very high reputation back then which you can understand given the products UK makers were producing and wanting very high prices for in Australia. Some in the comments give later dates, but the important date is when the design was first released. Sam not even born back then. Even those modelling US outline in Australia would seek out the Roco models of US prototypes they made for Atlas in that period and earlier. Quite a few Roco/Atlas mechanisms ended up under Lima bodies of locomotives like the Victorian Railways B class and S class in order to get much better running for Australian models than the Lima ideas on mechanisms.

That's really nice sam

What a very charming locomotive. I hope i can find one stateside one day. It would look nice besides my fleischmann tank engines.

That was one careful owner. Pretty engine, and unusual central jackshaft.

Awesome video Sam's trains