LGB "Rhätia" Class G 3/4 Steam Locomotive G Scale - L26273
LGB "Rhätia" Class G 3/4 Steam Locomotive G Scale - L26273
The "Rhätia" was delivered from SLM in Winterthur as road number LD1 in 1889 as the first locomotive of the Landquart-Davos Railroad of that time. With a performance of 250 pounds per square inch, this locomotive weighed 30 metric tons and had a maximum speed of 45 km/h / 28 mph. It corresponded to the level of technology for that time and it was used in normal train service. Yet, soon the small class G 3/4 locomotives were pushed into less challenging service until they became unnecessary after complete electrification of the RhB network at the start of the Twenties. In 1928, road number 1 was retired and intended for a planned Swiss railroad museum. In 1970, the locomotive came to the museum railroad of Blonay-Chamby in Western Switzerland, where it was kept in storage. In anticipation of the 100th anniversary of the RhB, the locomotive came back to the RhB in 1988. It was overhauled and restored to operational condition there and was used to pull special trains at the anniversary in 1989. In the following years, special trains were also regularly pulled by the "Rhätia", until it was stored in 2014 due to a deadline for maintenance and servicing. There have been many calls for donations to restore the locomotive again, also some with appropriate models – this locomotive can thus continue as a testimonial to the beginning of the RhB.
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