The Trans Europ Express, or TEE, is a magical name when it comes to railroading and pioneer in high speed, and international and luxury travel. Today we dive into the history around this concept and the train which made this concept a reality. We’ll look at not one but two LEGO versions of the TEE, in this collaboration article between Holger Matthes and myself.

VT 11.5 – A star is born.

In the mid-1950s, the European economy picked up speed again, and the western European countries began to establish new relationships after the devastation of the Second World War. In this context, eight European rail companies decided to introduce a joint train offer: the Trans-Europ-Express, TEE for short. The modern express train network was intended to connect the European metropolises with one another and, in particular, offer the wealthy business travelers of the economic miracle an alternative to car and air transport. For this new type of traffic system, the Deutsche Bundesbahn procured several multiple units with type VT 11.5 railcars, which were put into operation in June 1957, later also locomotive-covered trains were used. With this decision, DB made history. For 15 years the German diesel multiple units were used as TEE and shaped the image of international express train traffic like no other train set.

601 001 in Friedrichshafen Stadt, 24.04.1983 . Foto credits go to ( Thomas Reincke )

Symbol of a Europe without borders

Close cooperation with its European neighbors was of great importance to the Deutsche Bundesbahn right from the start. An example of this is the European freight wagon community “EUROP”, which was initially founded in 1951 with the French State Railways, creating an extensive, freely available European freight wagon pool. Three years later, the DB agreed with most of the European railway companies that in future only two wagon classes would be used, which would be comfortably adjusted.

Another result of the growing (western) European cooperation was the establishment of the European express train network TEE. Development began in 1954 with the founding of the Trans-Europ-Express Commission based in The Hague. The founding members were the State Railways of Belgium (NMBS / SNCB), the Netherlands (NS), the Federal Republic of Germany (DB), France (SNCF), Italy (FS), Luxembourg (CFL) and Switzerland (SBB); later the Spanish State Railways (RENFE) also joined.

Since the railway administrations were unable to agree on the introduction of a standard vehicle, they were limited to introducing the trains under the common name and logo TEE and defining several binding criteria:

Due to the low degree of electrification in the individual countries, the TEE trains should initially run as diesel multiple units.

They should reach a top speed of 140 km/h.

Only the 1st car class should be offered (at least 120 seats and no more than three seats per row).

The trains should have exclusive on-board catering.

There should be spaces for passport and customs control while driving.

The trains should be painted uniformly in a wine red / beige color dress (in Germany RAL 3005 / RAL 1001).

Some countries did not have their own vehicles built for TEE traffic. In DB’s opinion, the requirements set by the TEE Commission could only be met with a new development. That was the birth of one of the most striking rail vehicles of its time, the VT 11.5.

VT 11.5 Design

The VT 11.5 diesel multiple units were developed in Germany for international TEE transport with increased comfort. In 1957, MAN supplied 19 motor units, Linke-Hofmann-Busch 16 compartment cars and the Wegmann wagon factory eight open seating cars, eight dining cars with a dining area, bar and travel compartment, and nine kitchen cars with fully electric kitchens and another dining room. In 1958 four and in 1963 three compartment cars were additionally delivered. In the rear part of the motor units there was a small luggage compartment and two service compartments for train staff and customs or a train secretariat. As a result, seven-part (maximum possible ten-part) multiple units with 122 seats and 46 seats in the dining compartments were created, which were 130 meters (426 ft 6 1⁄8 in) long and had a total mass of 230 tons. These trains consisted of a motor unit at the ends of the trains, two compartment cars, an open seating car, a dining car and a kitchen car. The design of the trains was developed based on the pre-war DRG Class SVT 137 by the German architect and industrial designer Klaus Flesche, the long-time head of the Industrial Design department at Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg AG (MAN).

The trains were equipped and approved for Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. This corresponded to the TEE network in its original size.

A surviving motor unit class 601 at the Bahnpark Augsburg.

Technical details

In each motor unit there is a high-speed twelve-cylinder 12V 538 TA 10 diesel engine from MTU with 1100 HP. The VT 11.5 had a hydraulic power transmission with transmissions either from Voith (type LT 306r) or Maybach (K104 US/W), which helped the train to a top speed of 140 km/h (87 mph), which later increased to 160 km/h (99 mph) was raised. The bogie under the engine was driven, this makes a B’2+2’2’+2’2’+2’2’+2’2’+2’2’+2’B axle arrangement for a seven unit train. The brakes were compressed air disc brakes supplemented with a magnetic rail brake.

Both motor units worked in parallel. An electrical multiple control system enabled up to two further multiple units to be operated. The control was compatible with that of the VT 08 series.

For the power supply, among other things, the air conditioning and the kitchen car, an eight-cylinder auxiliary diesel engine from Motorenwerke Mannheim (MWM) with an output of 232 hp (with 296 hp turbocharger) was installed in each power car. This was connected to a three-phase generator. If the auxiliary diesel was not running, the power car had to be connected to a stationary power supply. The water circuit should not cool below 30 °C.

Class 601

The VT 11.5, later 601 had two motor units at the head and the tail of the train. Each one had an 809 kW diesel from MTU and a hydraulic transmission from Voith or Maybach. The maximum speed was 140 km/h (87 mph), later 160 km/h (99 mph). All coaches were air-conditioned.

Class 602

In order to run ten-unit trains with a maximum speed of 160 km/h, four VT 11.5 were rebuilt in 1970 and received 2,200-horsepower (1,600 kW) AVCO Lycoming TF55 gas turbines supplied under license by Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz in place of their original 1,100-horsepower (820 kW) Diesel engines. They were renumbered as Class 602 001–004, recognizable by the large air intakes, and used for DB InterCity service, starting with the train connection between Hamburg and Ludwigshafen in July 1974. From 1975, a mixed operation with diesel and gas turbine power heads was made possible. During test runs in April 1975, a train with two 602 and two coaches ran 217 km/h on the Hanover–Hamburg railway line, a new German record for trains powered by combustion engines (equaled only in 2000 by an ICE TD train). Since the turbines caused some problems and had higher fuel consumption, the 602, like the DB Class 210, were taken out of service by 1979.

The TEE by Holger Matthes

Holger writes about his model of the TEE.

VT 11.5 Trans Europ Express (TEE) as LEGO MOC by Holger Matthes.

The famous diesel multiple unit VT 11.5 Trans Europ Express (TEE) was on my wish list for a long time. In late summer 2018 I was able to finalize this project. It started all with the idea to use two Brick, Round Corner 3 x 3 x 2 Dome Top for t﻿﻿h﻿e characteristic nose of the engine units. A much bigger challenge was the grey-silver stripe which swings from the lower front lights up to the driver’s cabin. For a long time, I favored a solution using rigid hoses, but it didn’t work out and the hose did not “swing” (similar to the stripe of my ICE 3). So, I ended with the plate variant, at least I did not ﻿build any steps﻿.

Front view of the front motor unit.

I also realized the round bull’s-eye windows. The first one has to be located as close as possible to the beginning of the tan section. So, the arched brick helped here. We still miss an element which fits between the Brick, Arch 1 x 3 x 2 Curved Top and the larger Brick, Arch 1 x 6 x 3 1/3 Curved Top in red. But I found a solution using curved slopes covering most of that gap using Slope, Curved 2 x 2 No Studs.

I am still struggling with the right colour of the roof section behind the driver’s cabin. Originally it should be light bluish grey (same colour as the stripe). But in real live all the grime from the exhausts makes this roof look darker/dirtier. So, I also build a dark bluish grey variant. Both can be swapped easily, and this feature allows easy access to the rechargeable battery box.

Colour variants of the roof (dark bluish gray and light bluish grey).

The rest of the roof also was a nice building experience using some SNOT. I wanted to use double-cheese pieces and curved slopes. And the roof should become 7 studs wide. That did not equal out fine, so I had to use vertical tile on both sides of the middle brick column. The picture explains the rest of that SNOT nightmare …

Detailed view of the roof construction.

Each of the 4 wagons is 48 studs long (wagon body) and streamlined like the prototype. The arrangement of the windows varies, depending on whether it is a large-capacity, compartment or restaurant wagon.

Lights

For the first time I realized interior lighting for one of my train models. The fairy lights with 20 small LEDs can be bent into shape with a little effort. For the interior lighting, I use a button cell powered mini LED string lights. You can find something like this on eBay under the keywords “LED mini fairy string light”. The result is convincing and is also comparatively cheap.

The TEE at night.

The aim of this MOC was to use no custom parts (except stickers and the additional interior lighting). In addition, the train should also come through the normal LEGO curves and switches.

It look’s strange but it’s able to maneuver R40 without a problem.

Enrico Lussi

Enrico writes about his model of the TEE.

VT 11.5 Trans Europ Express (TEE).

The reason I fell in love with the TEE/VT 11.5/class 601 is because of multiple reasons. First the train itself screams a long-gone area of railroading. Second, Kraftwerk has writing an amazing song about the TEE. Third and most importantly, the TEE was my father’s favorite train. We tried to track down as many as possible to visit and photograph, the photograph on the front page (also known as featured picture) is my father in front of a surviving VT 11.5 in Bahnpark Augsburg. Together with my father I started building a 6 wide version a long, long time ago. Unfortunately, he passed away before we could finish it. Later I started building 8-wide 1:45 scale MOC’s. And after seeing Holger’s amazing built, I just had to get back to the model and re do it, this time in a proper scale (and with the correct colours), so in some way this model is a tribute not only to the amazing VT 11.5 but also to my father.

Getting through those curves. R120 of course.

Where to Start

The VT 11.5 isn’t an easy model to tackle. It has unique shapes which define the so iconic design. Transferring this into LEGO, easily gets to boxy, one of the side effects of building 8-wide. Luckily for me the VT 11.5 has enough curves and unique shapes. Holger was quick to provide help with a few tips and tricks which really help me out to get a grip on the design.

I started off reverse engineering Holger’s model in LDD and transforming it into an 8-wide model. Later I found that the nose had a shape that I couldn’t design in LDD, so I decided to build a prototype by just building in random colours which I had lying around to get the shape right, something which is really satisfying to do. Similar to Holger’s design I used the “Brick, Round Corner 3 x 3 x 2 Dome Top in red”. I also found some inspiration in Tony Sava’s amazing Santa Fe model.

The final rough scats I made of my VT 11.5 design in LDD rendered with Stud.io.

Motorization

In the real version, the motor unit only has got one powered boogie. To keep that realism and scale correct, I decided to have both motor units fitted with only one power function train motor, controlled by a Sbrick and a rechargeable battery box in every motor unit. It’s not able to go through standard LEGO curves because of the sloping on the bottom, but since we don’t use R40 in our layouts (beside shunting yards) this won’t be a problem.

Running trough Raised’s layout. Since the TEE was ran with the VT 11.5 in the Netherlands it’s historically accurate.

Interior

All my coaches have interior based on the technical drawings and pictures I could find. I decided to build a 7 car consist according to the original plans I found which include an open seating car, dining car with a kitchen, a dining car with bar and two compartment coaches. Like Holger I want to add interior lighting, unfortunately at the time of this article it hasn’t been finished yet. I hope to reveal that at a later moment this year.

Full length of my TEE. includes 2 motor units and 5 wagons. Each with their own interieur.

Special thanks go to all the members of the LLMTC (LowLug Model Train Club) and Holger Matthes for helping me out with this amazing and intericated model. And Gerard Salden for shooting almost all the pictures of my model which you see in this article.

The TEE VT 11.5 side profiel view.

Instructions

We do get quite a lot of questions about instructions for our models, normally we don’t provide instructions for our build’s ,since there aren’t any. But this time Holger went out of his way to provide instructions on how he designed the complex nose of his version. And give something extra for our readers. The instructions for the nose design can be found here.

Other Lego version’s.

Holger and I aren’t the first to build a LEGO version of the VT 11.5. Check out these links for other builders including an amazing LEGOLAND scaled version.

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=54537

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=177674

https://www.doctor-brick.de/threads/cyberrailers-lego-welt.4056/page-21#post-181682

https://www.1000steine.de/de/gemeinschaft/forum/?entry=1&id=277684#id277684

https://zusammengebaut.com/lego-moc-trans-europ-express-tee-fuhr-auf-der-zusammengebaut-2017-vor-39184/

https://www.1000steine.de/de/gemeinschaft/forum/?entry=1&id=254216#id254216

https://www.1000steine.de/de/gemeinschaft/forum/?entry=1&id=295169

And we got to mention Daniel from Sweden which did a reverse engineer built of Holger’s design.

Also check out NikoNissen who’s currently desiging a DSB version of Holger Matthes his model. Instead of the DB livery, this one is made in the danish red DSB design from the early 80’s.

Our models in action.

Both versions of our TEE have already seen a lot of action. Bellow are a couple of pictures of Enrico’s his model in action at a model railroad show in Rijswijk the Netherlands a couple of days ago. There are also two videos from both models. Holger’s version can be found here. Enrico’s version can been seen here.











More info.

The Trans Europ Express is an amazing and complicated story, and we just scratch the surface. For more information about the TEE and VT 11.5 here are some links to books, articles a video’s:

The book “Baureihe VT 11.5” has lots of background information and pictures of the prototype: https://www.amazon.de/Baureihe-11-5-TEE-Triebwagen-Stars-Schiene/dp/B003Z824QW

The book “Triebzug Legenden” has some technical drawings of the TEE: http:// https://shop.vgbahn.info/vgbahn/shop/triebzug-legenden+der+db-_3627.html

EisenBahn-Romantik, a German railroad tv show has got a great episode about the TEE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZwcIc47kQo&t=478s

The national German Railway museum has got a great article about the TEE and is one of the sources for this article: https://www.dbmuseum.de/museum_de/aktuelles/blog_struktur/201705_Blog-2599214

Thanks for reading. And check out our Flickr pages for more pictures of our models and a few WIP pictures and updates.

–Holger Matthes

–Enrico Lussi