Pullman n-Wagen, BD4nf-59, control car, DB Ep. III, silver, DC

Prototype
For use in local transport as well as to reinforce express trains, the Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) procured a total of more than 4,800 cars in three basic designs between 1959 and 1977:

Pure second class, first and second class, as well as control cars with luggage and second-class large compartments.

The family of cars was assigned the classification letter "n". A prototype car already featured the unpainted exterior skin responsible for the nickname "Silberlinge" with a brushed peacock eye pattern. The omission of paint reduced the weight by about two tons.

With a total weight between 27 and 30 tons, for example, the second-class cars were at least 5 tons lighter than the pre-war express train cars of the 1936 design. The initially installed axle generator type D62 limited the maximum speed to 120 km/h. The technically permissible 140 km/h could be achieved with a different axle generator design or by cars powered electrically from the traction vehicle. In 1969, the DB procured a total of 180 units of the Bnrzb724 design, which can be easily converted into ambulance cars in case of emergencies.

A notable difference from the previously manufactured cars is the almost vertical roof closure ("steep roof"). The first control cars had a transition possibility at the driver's cab end to the next car, which is why the driver sat in a drafty small room ("rabbit box") on the right side of the aisle. From 1972, the DB received control cars with a modern "Karlsruhe head". To make local transport more attractive, the DB had several sets modernized internally and painted externally in pebble gray-orange starting in 1984, deploying them with a matching 218 under the product name City-Bahn.

The success of the product prompted the DB to modernize additional cars starting in 1990 with newly upholstered seats, modified luggage racks, and a new exterior paint job. A variety of different variants of the types referred to as Re-Design cars emerged, initially painted in the then-current mint turquoise-light gray. From 1993, the DB received control cars with a driver's cab side reminiscent of the VT 628, known as the "Wittenberger head".

In 2019, 60 years after the commissioning of the first Silberlinge, cars are still in daily operation.

• Scale H0 models of the n-Wagen Silberling
• Multicolored interior
• Separately inserted benches
• Control car with separately switchable end, driver's cab, luggage compartment, and passenger compartment lighting. High beam for the Wittenberger control car
• Spring-loaded bellows
• Freestanding grab bars
• Step plates at the ends of the cars and at the entrances as perforated etched parts
• Replication of the wheel disc
• Multi-part bogies with replication of the block or disc brake system
• Axle bearing plates and half-axles for friction-free eight-point current collection
• Coupling hook in a guide-controlled standard pocket
• Optional AC wheelset available under item number 41200
• Minimum radius = 360 mm
• Length over buffers = 303 mm

...the control cars are delivered with a multiprotocol (DCC/MM) digital decoder along with a PowerPack to control all prototype-accurate lighting functions. The control cars can also be used on analog direct and alternating current systems (alternating current without light change red/white) and are suitable for three-rail and two-rail tracks – thanks to the plug slider, the configuration can be quickly changed.

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