Modellbahn Union Rail Road Bus BS300 H0

Rail Road Bus BS300 - The prototype

The BS300 was designed in 1951 as a two-way vehicle or rail-road bus and put into service with the Deutsche Bundesbahn in 1953. The vehicles were manufactured by Nordwestdeutscher Fahrzeugbau NWF, were equipped with a Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz diesel engine and had an output of 120 hp. For rail operations, bogies were slid under both sides of the bus at certain stations so that it could be "jacked up" to run on DB routes. The rubber-tired rear axle of the bus provided the drive. The BS300 reached a speed of 80 km/h on the road and 120 km/h on the rails. There were 43 seats and up to 24 standing places.

An innovative idea without a long life

A lack of flexibility in use, since the capacities could not be adapted to an increasing number of passengers, as well as the need to go to certain stations to change from road to rail, soon caused DB's dwindling interest in the Schi-Stra-Bus. The last use on the rails was in May 1967 on the Koblenz-Betzdorf route. As pure road vehicles, the buses were in use for even longer.

One vehicle, including the bogies, has been preserved to this day and is in the Bochum Dahlhausen Railway Museum.

We currently have the following models of the BS300 in stock or can be pre-ordered:

The Schi-Stra-Bus BS300 in gauge H0 by Modellbahn Union

The 1:87 scale model railway Union Gauge H0 models of the BS300 are based on the well-known Brekina models. The models were provided with a new drive, circuit board and light functions. The model has a metal chassis, front and rear lights, red taillights at the front, white reversing lights at the rear that can be switched on in digital operation, interior lighting (switchable in digital operation), 18-pin digital interface, a built-in loudspeaker for sound operation (when equipped with a digital sound decoder), current pickup on all axles, drive on one axle of the rear bogie. The AC models are factory-equipped with a digital decoder. The models are fully equipped and printed at the factory. A decal sheet for optional redesign is included. Depending on the prototype, the model is equipped with or without a sanding system and mudguards. The length including bogies is 15.4 cm.

Analogue, digital or with sound: the choice is yours

We use a decoder from Doehler & Hass for the digitization ex works or a decoder from Zimo for the sound version. We only recommend these manufacturers for the BS300 model when digitizing your own. If you want to digitize the model yourself, please note the operating instructions for the model, which you can find in the download tab for the products, and the information they contain for retrofitting with digital decoders.

It also works beyond the rails

We also have models without drive and bogies, to show bus operation on the road, in different versions in our range.