Steam locomotive 18 201 of the Deutsche Reichsbahn.

■ Unique edition "65 years of 18 201"
■ First in operational condition at the end of the 1980s with labeling as 18 201
■ Ideal complement to ROCO rolling stock
■ Crystal-clear printing and decorative line
■ Based in Rbd Halle, Bw Halle P

The express locomotive with the operating number 18 201 of the Deutsche Reichsbahn was built from 1960 to 1961 at the Reichsbahnausbesserungswerk Meiningen using parts from the Henschel-Wegmann train locomotive 61 002, the tender of 44 468, parts of H 45 024, and a locomotive of the DR series 41. A modified new boiler from series 22 with an extended smoke chamber and Giesl ejector served as the steam generator. To ensure precise speed maintenance during fast travel, the machine was equipped with a counter-pressure brake. Fast travel meant speeds of up to 175 km/h, as the 18 201 was initially approved for this maximum speed ‒ later 180 km/h ‒ but only when moving forward.

In 1967, an oil-fired main burner was installed. With the transition to the new system of computer-compatible operating numbers at the DR in 1970, the machine was designated as 02 0201-0. It had already received the status of a heritage locomotive during the GDR era. It often participated in special trains in the 1980s, either at the request of the DMV or ‒ earning foreign currency ‒ for Western tour operators. In 1985, for the 150th anniversary of German railways, the locomotive received its first exit permit to the West. At that time, it was one of the major attractions at the Nuremberg exhibition.