ESU 36042 – DB Club car, red

In the early days of the German Federal Republic daytrips to areas with picturesque scenery were very popular. The DB did not want to lose this business to the bus operators and therefore put club cars, also known as company cars, into service in the early 1950-ies. Instead of purchasing new coaches, four-axle passenger coaches of the pre-war design were used as the base for this new category. The semi-fast train coaches built during the late 1930-ies and the early 1940-ies of the 1936 series had mostly no interior furnishings, since that way they were better suited for transporting patients. Commencing in 1950 the DB equipped most four-axle coaches with upholstery seats and put them as C4ye-36/50 (later B4ye-36-50) into service. Various coaches without any furnishings were converted to club cars. These coaches were equipped with a bar at one end while a personnel compartment was installed at the other end. In the remaining space – subject to the particular occasion – there could be tables and chairs or a dancing floor. A combination of dancing floor as well as tables with chairs was the favourite arrangement for many events. Equipped with speakers and effect lighting, these coaches turned into rolling discotheques. In order to allow the disco lighting to take full effect, the roller blinds were often lowered even during the day. Exterior speakers have been installed as a standard and facilitated any exterior sound effects, if needed. These club cars were either added to regular train services or were part of extra trains. “When also utilising an additional dining car, the club car was usually coupled either directly ahead or behind the dining car, from where the service for the passengers was provided”. This information can be found in the vehicle encyclopaedia published by the DB in 1971. “Since the coaches were extremely popular, timely reservation at the travel service of the regional DB head office is recommended”, they say in the brochure. In the mid 1980-ies the DB took the last club cars out of service.

True to scale model of a DB club car, type WG4üpe-36-50 (WGye 831)
Decoder für DCC, Motorola®, M4 and Selectrix mode
Automatic registration at command stations supporting RailComPlus® or mfx® functionality
PowerPack storage capacitor for uninterrupted power supply
Music can be played thanks to integral MP3 player and large speaker
Micro SD card with optional music to be inserted into the module after removing the roof
Separately switched multi-colour effect lighting of the interior
Conversion from 3-rail to 2-rail current pick-up by removing the centre pick-up contact and activating a switch inside the vehicle
Loop and hook couplers with kinematics in NEM shaft
Minimum radius = 360 mm
Length over buffers = 239.7 mm