Steam locomotive 150-X-5
Roco

Original page created on 04/10/2018; updated on 13/02/2023.

Brand - Reference

Roco 62144

Type

1 150-X-5 and tender 34-X-5

Mass (loco + tender)

236 g + 215 g

Current at slipping @ 12 V

0,37 A

Comments

The machine’s construction is quite special: the tender is driving, but the locomotive too, via a shaft drive. The tender has only two driving axles, at the ends, which have tyres: the other two take the current, and are pressed on the track by a coil spring. The wheelbase is rigid, as on the 231 E; the bo­gies are fake and don’t rotate.

A drawbar to equip the headstock is deliv­ered in the bag of parts. Its mounting is not obvious — I haven’t tried.

There are embossed licence plates to be af­fixed if desired in place of the pad printing markings.

The lighting, white only, is achieved by in­candescent lamps. There is light leakage be­tween the frame and the boiler. The light in­tensity is low, but it’s not shocking for a steam loco. On the loco PCB, there is a strap with two positions marked A and D, I suppose for Analogue and Digital. I don’t know if it concerns the lamp or the smoke generator, but, in doubt, I positioned it on D.

The loco-tender separation is quite easy: you have to disconnect a 6-pin connector under the tender, then exert a traction: the cou­pling clip gives way and the transmission shaft leaves its housing.

The assembly of the parts which constitute the end of the central cylinder and its piston counter-rod, is delicate. I don’t know why Roco didn’t directly mount these parts, since they don’t interfere with the circulation of the machine. The step under the smoke box door prevents the direct introduction of these parts. It’s therefore necessary to sepa­rate the frame from the boiler (2 screws) and remove the step to finally proceed to as­sembly. Attention: the bissel and its spring have a strong tendency to escape. Note their position before disassembly.

The counter-rods of the side cylinders are also to be mounted, provided you only have curve radii greater than 420 mm, according to Roco. I think 500 mm will be wiser.

Mounting a decoder in the tender is also quite delicate. Figure 6 of the manual is ab­solutely not complete. It indicates that you must first separate the chassis from the body by spreading its sides, then unclip the hood (it will facilitate the positioning of the de­coder). What it does not indicate is that you must then unclip the stirrup holding the mo­tor, then remove the motor to finally access the decoder socket at the bottom of the chassis.

When the decoder is plugged in, run the wires backwards bypassing the worm gear. Reassemble the motor (pay attention to the contact blades that must be positioned outside the lugs), reclip the stirrup. Stick the decoder to the stirrup.

Reassemble the case taking care of the fol­lowing points:

  • the wires must not get caught between the motor and the body;
  • the drive shaft must pass through the planned opening;
  • the gate springs must not get caught between the inside of the body and the protrusions of the chassis.

Finally, reclip the hood.

In use, the motor is not really noisy, but not quiet enough for a steam loco. The bissel tends to derail: it may need to stiffen its pressure spring. The current pickup is not excellent.

See:

Modifications

  • Lenz Standard + V2 decoder mounted (see comments).
  • Central cylinder parts mounted.

History

Construction from 1943 to 1947. Builders: see quote from Loco-Revue below. Single ex­pansion machines, three cylinders. Theoreti­cal traction force 335 kN. Speed ​​limit 80 km/h. Loaded weights: locomotive 109.8 t; tender 73.2 t, of which water 34 t, coal 10 t.

Affected to North and East.

Radiation between 1955 and 1964.

The 150-X-5 was delivered by Schneider-Le Creusot in 1945 under the number 150-X-1701. Successive depots: Audun le Roman in March 1945, Metz Frescaty in January 1949, Thionville in May 1954. Radiated on 26 April 1957. Sources: dampflokomotiv­archiv.de and Bernard Collardey via Loco-Revue forum.

Quote from Loco-Revue.

In 1926, the German railways had Henschel and Schwartzkopff build 10 heavy locomotives (20 t per axle) of Decapod type, single-expansion, 3 cylinders, numbered 001 to 009, series 44 (unified). This type of locomotive received some slight modifications and, considering its excellent performance, it was reproduced about 2,000 units, numbered 44001 to 442025, from 1926 to 1945, by 18 manufacturers, including Fives-Lille, Batignolles, S.A.C.M. Graffenstaden, Le Creusot and Cail in Denain, during the war.

Upon Liberation, S.N.C.F. recovered the locomotives under construction in the French factories. 239 machines were registered 150-X, keeping the numbers planned in the D.R. series 44 (between 819 and 1995) until their official incorporation in the park S.N.C.F. where they were renumbered 150-X-1 to 226 (partial incorporation). 189 locomotives were assigned to the Est region (ex-A.L. depots) and 50 to the Nord region. The 13 non-inventory machines remained in the Est.

In 1955, 48 locomotives were sold to the Turkish Railways (T.C.C.D.). The last ones were reformed in 1964.

Documents

150-X-5 Roco150-X-5 Roco

150-X-5 Roco150-X-5 Roco

150 X 1905

Anonymous, personal collection.

Profil 150
Loco dimensions Actual 1:87 Model
Overall length 13 817 158.8 159.0
Chassis length 13 167 151.3 151.6
Width at the cylinders 3 050 35.1 37.9
Boiler diameter 2 100 24.1 24.3
Height at the chimney 4 280 49.2 50.6
Total wheelbase 9 650 110.9 110.5
A distance 2 850 32.8 33.0
B distance 1 700 19.5 19.4
Bissel wheel diameter 850 9.8 9.8
Driving wheel diameter 1 400 16.1 16.1
Tender dimensions Actual 1:87 Model
Overall length 8 645 99.4 99.4
Chassis length 7 795 91.9 92.0
Width 3 050 35.1 35.1
Height (hood) 3 910 44.9 46.8
Bogie distance 3 800 43.7 43.9
Bogie wheelbase 1 900 21.8 21.7
Wheel diameter 1 000 11.5 11,5

Document available as a PDF.
If you are interested, please let me know by e-mail,
specifying the title of the document-s.
For conditions, see page
Loco-Revue documentary sheets. .