Florian Becker from Becker & Sohn has elaborated on the differences between the wagons offered by DB and those produced in Switzerland for this article. We are pleased with this informative work and have ourselves benefited from new knowledge.
Furthermore, the models have reached the required order quantity for production and manufacturing has been commissioned. Until June 30, 2026, the wagons can still be ordered at the pre-order price of €1,135. After this date, the price will increase to €1,295. Wheelsets in Finescale and Pur are offered at no extra charge.
Here you can find the wagons on the Becker & Sohn website: https://www.beckersohn.com/shop/Hbbis-Hbbillns-304-306-DB-Ep-IV-Spur1-Becker&Sohn-Modellbau-p825946144
Modified shackle suspension or shackle pin:
The wagons built by Josef Meyer in Rheinfelden for the SBB have an additionally damped link suspension on one side per axle. This involved not only adding an extra component, but also shifting the link stone on these wagons. This results in the asymmetrical appearance of the undercarriage that is typical for SBB wagons.
Tower mechanics on the end faces:
Unlike the DB wagons, where the doors are unlocked using levers and pushed onto the running rail, the SBB wagons use a rotary mechanism for this. This is presumably easier to handle with warped doors or rusted guides. The implementation of these differences naturally required a significantly altered front end, which also took into account the lack of horizontal stiffeners on the front. The other front end is thus the most crucial distinguishing feature of the SBB wagons compared to the DB wagons and was therefore indispensable for us.
Door lock
To prevent the doors from rolling shut accidentally, SBB has fitted additional stoppers on each door which lock when the door is fully open and must be released before closing.
Bumper & Clutch
The SBB has also used different components for the buffers, which is also reflected accordingly in the model. As is usual with the SBB, the coupling lever on the SBB version is also designed as a ball.
Other minor details:
Besides the larger described changes, which are really striking, there are many other small differences hidden in the SBB. For example, the handbrake wheel has four spokes instead of three, the capstan hooks are shaped differently, the brake changeover device is arranged differently and, according to Swiss example, etc. Listing everything would certainly go too far 😉.
Speaking of puffers:
Our wagons (both DB and SBB) are supplied with the prototypical 340 x 450 mm rectangular buffers. Due to the length of the wagon and to also allow for smaller curves without over-buffering, we offer our customers the larger 550 mm UIC buffers for exchange free of charge. This allows operational staff with tight radii to convert their wagons with just a few simple steps if necessary.
