Hornby's Smallest Loco | German Shunting Tractor | Unboxing & Review 

In Poland, this shunting tractor is called "Adolfik"

3:23 A quick translation of the name from a german here : DR is the abbreviation for the Deutsche Reichsbahn, the east german state railway, followed by 'Battery Towing Vehicle in green paint scheme with red chassis'. Ep. IV is short for 'Epoche IV' meaning Era 4 (referring to the german version of that system, so 1970 - 1990)

that shunter is a beast, we have one at work (asf 111) and it can pull 200 tons on flat rails topping out at 6 kph. fun thing about it is that it is analog relay controled so it makes alot of klunking noises and very fun to see in model form And you are right it is tiny even in real life

These were often used to haul cold steam locos on to a turntable. Being small they fit on the turntable along with the loco.

How cute. These are known as Kleinlokomotive, meaning "Small Locomotive". They perform light shunting on railways both at stations and industrial lines. Can't remember ever to have seen this type but if it reads "Deutsche Reichsbahn" then it would be either pre-war / interbellum (unlikely considering the design) or from East Germany (who continued its railways as DR after WW2). Anyway, what a charming tiny thing. Of course it will need electrofrogs on a 2-rail. A very surprising smooth runner. We have no experience with Rivarossi but she looks well good actually. Value for money would be given a 4 star by us Sam. Quality is excellent, she runs superbly, details are as good as possible for the size we thought, and cab details are just unrealistic to expect on this one, and of course a flywheel can't be expected either despite the claims. Cheerio.

I love how as soon as you start praising that rail bus it starts protesting and when you start getting frustrated with it, the little tractor effortlessly glides into frame its single headlamp giving a cheeky little wink to the camera as it cruises past.

We have quite a bit of those, or very, very similar ones in Poland. They're often used for shunting electric locos in and out of unpowered roundhouses and sheds, if I remember right. One is often sitting next to a roundhouse in Szczecin Port Centralny. If you look up the location on google maps right now, you can find the loco in 3d view in front of the big PKP Cargo shed.

I would love to see this running alongside the big boy. I just feel like that would be so funny to look at.

if you want cute and tiny the 009 Bachmann Quarry Hunslet is a contender, and that does have a flywheel ;)

The prototype is still being used in ICE workshops so there is a very interesting livery variation in ICE colours (white/red stripe). By the way Hornby is also doing this one in the 1:120 TT range (Arnold branded) in several liveries including ICE.

Watching this tiny German shunter zoom in and out of frame is one of the greatest delights of my day

The original EL16 Akkuschleppfahrzeug is basically a mine railroad loco (the EL8) fitted with a large cabin for shunting work.

This isn't what I meant when I said I was looking forward to more N scale 😂

i love it. 10/10 would call mine Barry.

With a live-frog point or two, this would make lovely motive power for a minimalist box-file layout!

Looking at the slot the coupler is fitted into I think you will find that in real life the coupler is raised, transferring some of the towed loco's weight to the tractor, multiplying its tractive effort.

10:48 Hooks so you can lift the roof/cabin off for repairs, when its in the workshop. Quite a lot of german locos of this era have this feature.

Some of these "Rangiertraktor" are still used in eastern Germany´s locomotive sheds or depots, in different colors, often as "Baureihe 383".

The cab blanking plate is screaming out to be up-detailed. I'd love to resin print some interior detail especially given how easy it is to get the false floor out. £80 is quite pricy but it is so unique. With a dcc stay alive crammed in it would be an epic inglenook sunter for an industrial scene

It’s so cute. Rivarossi have really outdone themselves on the performance this year.

Hi Sam. What an unusual model! I'm astounded that they fitted a DCC decoder socket in the body. That there is no flywheel is evident from the drawing. The loco is so small I think it would fit into the wagon you coupled it to! I was heartened to hear that you were so impressed with Rivarossi mechanisms as I hadn't heard any reviews - I just hope that this also applies to their N gauge locos.

in derail valley, this thing is called a BE2

It needs the top half of a couple drivers adding, one facing each way, you could do it Sam. 🎄

Expensive, yes, but if you're developing a minimum-space layout with just one loco it could seem more do-able. This is a similar consideration to 0 Gauge, where generally layouts have fewer locos but with a lot more 'presence' and detail. I think for this reason it should score another half-star on the 'value for miney' scale. Great review, though.

When I was a kid (1961) there were two brands in Italy. One was Lima, the other Rivarossi. I had an oval of the first, which was cheap: coaches without interior and glazing. Rivarossi was the dream. Later, in boarding school, where in the studying time we were allowed to read only "official" textbooks, I managed to secretly keep a Märklin catalogue of the same kind that Sam hates and rips in pieces, and I literally consumed it with my fingers - and with my eyes.

would be the ideal choice of shunter for a shunting puzzle layout

Thats tiny! Lovely looking little loco there sam! Great video as always!

It seems like it's basically an N scale mechanism installed in an HO scale body. Yeah, there should be a flywheel, especially since Kato has been able to add flywheels into N scale locomotives since the 1980s.

I love a bit of a novelty little model, hopefully if these are back in stock and aren't too expensive I'll have to get myself one to go with the Gandy Dancer and Plasser Theuar crane

The IRL of the BE2 in derail valley

make a vert short WB wagon with pickups for it! 2 or 4 wheels, with a compatible coupling at the engine and standard coupling at the back. this would be interesting for the performance, plus would be fun to watch!

I'm very pleased you've reviewed this, Sam. When I saw this on the website I thought it's so Sam Trains and may have mentioned this in a comment on previous video of yours.

The FS had a small tractor named " Sogliola" ( the Sole as in fish) which was even smaller...a chassis with 4 wheels, and an upright cabin the width of the chassis, but only " wardrobe" size. Some modelers have made one, in HO ( 1/87) using a motorised Bogie unit.( Japanese). Without electro- frog points, performance suffers, but if one builds a " Sole" then track work will be top notch anyway. DocAV

Translation of the German name : "Tractor Vehicle Battery-powered in green painting, with red colored drivetrain". DR is for Deutsche Reichsbahn, here the GDR state railway company. This little one was used (and, maybe, may still be used) in large factories to shunt wagons between workshops, typically from a storage track to a loading bay.

Excellent ! Imagine how it would behave on Peco electrofrog points… £80 is a lot of money but it’s pretty good overall. £40 would have been more reasonable.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

This would be amazing for my future planned shunting layout.

DR was the former east geraman railway company. nice to see that your are testing new models from rivarossi. 🌲🌲🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪😀😀😀

I'm really surprised about how small it is Sam, although If I find one for a good price I'll probably pick it up. Cheers Jasper & Willow

Oh, I remember when Ic82 looked at this thing. it had odd “Swingning/compensated” buffers if I remember right… You should look at couplings Sam. Between all the various ones in all the various scales, it would be an interesting topic. My favourites in 00/H0 are exactoscale(when fettled), and Sergents couplings. In the smaller scales, microtrains z scale couplings are fabulous and easy to use! (edit for clarification), it was a different shunter, but around the same size and probably a similar mechanism.

great review as always, if you plan on doing another rivarossi review i recommend either one of their hudsons or one of their heislers since i believe you've never looked at a geared logging engine on your channel before

I remember when I used to watch this channel a lot when I was 10 years old, I've come back for the nostalgia!

Awesome video today Sam the locomotive looks really cute nice modle

That my favorite model you’ve review. Come on a D for something that’s so much fun and brings a smile to one’s face.

Hi Sam, very impressive, there is a battery loco I used to see in use moving five coach electric units for the wheel lathe at Northam depot near Southampton, this one is remote control and has not cab lol. This ASF one looks very cool

Some extra info: It was also exported to Poland in 1970s (it was painted orange here, it was nicknamed „Adolfik” - „little Adolf”... probably because of country of origin), Czechoslovakia and Hungary. It was produced in LEW Hennigsdorf factory in Eastern Germany. Instead of buffers there were plates made out of hard wood. Btw. if you think it's a bit too big of a model and need more compact alternative: Arnold (so also Hornby) made 404 001-0 - the same (almost - other livery) model, but in TT scale (which is quite logical as it's scale very popular in former Eastern Germany, because of Zeuke/BTTB/Tillig history).

As an Italian modeler I loved the e424 with the asf

Great video Sam, as usual, may I ask a question about your layout on carpet, how do you avoid voltage drops, do you have extra feeders?

Great review sam 👏 👍

Sam, looks like you could print yourself an interior to replace the existing cab blank. Maybe fit a driver (well half a driver) as well?

I like your model train videos Sam keep up the good work

Awesome video Sam's trains

Perhaps Hornby or Bachmann should consider complementing this little gem with a model of the North Staffordshire Railway battery locomotive No. 1 (now preserved) - especially as a version appears on recent episodes of "Thomas and Friends" as 'Stafford'.

There is an even smaller rivarossi oil refinery version of this, even smaller as no cab body, just standing platforms

A 5 pole motor will have a quite cylindrical rotor which acts as a flywheel. Industrial size electric motors rarely have a separate flywheel so it is nota default feature of electric motors. As this loco does not have a 'micro' motor a small flywheel would be pointless, and a large one would not fit in. If you find an Underground Ernie Trolley now there is a small four wheel powered chassis.

I wish my electric tractor had the nem pockets, that mest be new in the last couple years. I love these little locos

Fantastic video! Interesting prototype too! Did you buy a Hornby 50 in the end?

That's impressive performance for such a dinky loco 👌❤️

Look at that Little Engine, It is So Tiny. Nice Model Sam, great review. Anyways, still patiently awaiting the Heljan BR class 28, and the OO9 scale reviews. Also, the Couplings for that German Shunting Tractor are the exact kind of couplings for OO9 scale locomotives.

Hi Samuel ! You're more and more looking into 1/87 scale ! Make it so !

This model from Hornby/Rivarossi is tiny but the performance is pretty good. Of course it will stop at the points sometimes but it still performs damn well. Overall, it is a pretty good model Sam. By the way, are you planning to do the Hornby 2mt next?

This little shunting tractor is adorable, I like it.

Awesome video Sam

Grand wee thing! It’s wide stance reminds me of the weird Fiat Multiplas of the late 90’s/early 2000s. Think the addition of a driver int he cab would have gone a long way to making up for the lack of cab detail internally.

You should compare it to one of those: Modellbahn Union Draisine Klv 12 They should be very similar in size, and thos Klv have build in capacitors as small energy storage instead of a flywheel, which works actually kinda nice, it just can't turn the direction instantly.

Rivarossi actually offers an even smaller H0 model, the Sogliola 206.

The ASF implies this was an industrial locomotive in East Germany, as ep. IV is the 1970s and 80s and DR was the East German railways while DB was West Germany's rail operator. These were confined to yards and usually pulled locomotives and multiple units that weren't able to move in their current situation.

should try with electrofrog points I suppose the "flywheel" could be a capacitor somewhere the SAME machine is announced in N scale by Arnold with DCC control (HN2638 and friends) and also seems to exist in TT scale

the interior detailing is pretty much spot on. there seems to be nothing inside at window level.

Fantastic video Sam's trains 😊👍🤩😎😀

Akku =battery, schlepper =tractor, fahrzeug = vehicle.. there might be one of these at the Chemnitz railway museum, next time I visit I'll check.

Imagine railfanning and seeing this bean lol

Hi Sam, model trains in mainland Europe seem to be much expensive compared to the UK or the US. It probably has to do with taxes and labor cost and the like.

great review as always. I have a question... Question, do you actually play with the trains and layout? If so, why not put a video up of you enjoying the layout

Arnold(hornby) do a TT120 version which is really tiny.

Looks so cute and small. It's so adorable. I might get one to. Keep being awesome my friend. Ur trains are the best. I got a black 5 but the wheels were stuck and I fixed that but the tender drivin is being stubborn. So yeah. Any suggestions how I show fix it

Only thing I can think of that is both small enough to challenge the title and self-powered, might be that Gandy Dancer pump wagon thing

I saw this 32 seconds after it was uploaded but I had to stop a lot since I'm in school, Worlds smallest loco ever for a very small loco it's I wouldn't say very good but it's pretty good at it's job(small but strong). The next Hornby/Rivarossi I think you should try is the Cab-Forward, It’s like the big boy just backward, works like a Big Boy, and has lots of space inside for any changes like DCC and maybe a DCC speaker, every single wheel is powered even the tender and I mean EVERY WHEEL it's not to complex very simply(as long it's not overly modified kind of like mine). (I'll more than likely have a video on my Cab-Forward on my channel here maybe at like 3-5 pm today)

There are 2 things I would change if I had a team designing this. 1. Tint the windows black so you can’t easily see a flat floor. 2. Add a capacitor/keep alive circuit to it so it doesn’t cut out at all.

That's.... Small to say the least. Great video as usual Sam! Zach

Great video as always Sam. What a tiny lil guy that thing is. I'm surprised that it is dcc ready. For something that small it was unexpected. When do you eat plan on making another el cheapo video? They make me laugh. Thanks for the video Sam.

Being from the DR it is from the GDR and therefore not from THE German National railway from ONE of them, until they merged into the DB AG in 1997. Until then there were two, even with reunification

I think it would work ok on my track which has live frogs and no dead sections.

Great fun and arguably worth it at a reasonable price.

BEMO make some very small tractors for HOm, HOe and HO both electric(ET) and diesel (DT)powered and also hybrid duel power prototype models. (HOm will run on TT 12mm track) (HOe runns on N

This loco is adorable. Might i surgest you to review a Digital Roco NS Sik shunter. Its a loco barely larger then this with sound, lights and automatic couplers.

I hope you get the Arora miniature HO SD60F

hi, if you like atypical shunter, rivarossi also offers "sogliola"' shunter HR 2877 😉😉

This doesn't fit in with my layout at all, but I still want one! I think a driver figure, or more precisely half a driver, on that flat card would look good

Hi Sam , Yes nice review, it is quite small and neat, ( could we see a similar 3D model 😅,) as you say good for a factory, All the best Brian 😃

Arnold makes the equivelent of these in N gauge, I have a couple and they are soooo small, maybe only 2.5cm long!

Very cute little shunter, seen a real thing at a heritage railway here in Germany. Even then seems small. For the price of the model - I sometimes ask myself if Britain is the place to be for buying models. Here in Germany you pay for example for a good loco of the german class 50 (may becomparable to class 9F british) between 350 Euro (analog) and 550 Euro (digital fitted) so the 100 Euro for such a small model here in Germany is not a real shock for me ;-) Should i consider collecting british locos in future???

I think Hornby/Riverossi did an even smaller one, the DSB traktor 57 which was nicknammed "klædeskab" due to it looking like a closet.

Have you ever reviewed the cheaper hornby 67s?

You could install a capacitor in the loco to keep power up to get over dead spot. But would need to be bipolar.

This looks like it would be fit for maintenance on branch lines and spurs.

It's nice seeing Rivarossi has figured out performance because the old ones suck

Talking about small locos? Maybe try fixing Lafayette? You have a resin printer and it can definitely print a replacement gear. I’d love to see it running under it’s own power.

If you like rivarossi performance try heisler geared steam locomotive

I'm really impressed something so small can do what it does, Might not be worth £80 but you are paying for the novelty of having such a small model.