SUMMARY:
In 1983 the Austrian Federal Railways ordered Jenbacher Werke AG from Tyrol to order diesel-hydraulic traction cars similar to the DB series 627 with a drive output of 423 kW. After thorough testing, 100 one-piece units were supplied to the ÖBB as series 5047 and ten two-segmented motor vehicles of the 5147 series. 5047 were also sold to the Steiermärkische Landesbahnen (STLB), the Raab-Ödenburg-Ebenfurter railway (GySEV) and to the Nordfriesische Verkehrsbetriebe AG, Niebüll (NVAG). The traction units were designed in lightweight steel construction and can be used in multiple traction.
These two vehicle types (5047 & 5147) replaced the old series 5044 , 5144 , 5145 , 5146 and 5081 , which were technically out of date and at the end of their economic useful life.
5047 info page (German):
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/ÖBB_5047 This review is for the HO scale Rivarossi HR2374 ÖBB Class 5047 diesel railcar in gray / red livery with running number 5047 090-5, named Manfred.
SET UP CLOSE:
Roof detail is minimal but present - some light weathering would make the details pop. Painting is, as with most modern locomotives, excellent with no overspray. Color demarcations and lettering are crisp and readable.
Underbody detailing is present but minimal. Trucks have minimal detail but are mostly hidden. The cab ends are well detailed including windshield wipers and non-functional buffers. I'll let the pics speak for themselves.
DIGITAL:
The 5047 is digital ready with a 21-pin (MTC) interface. The decoder and speaker are easily accessible through a hatch on the bottom of the railcar. I installed an ESU LokPilot decoder, and the railcar runs well if a bit stiffly. I need to give it some more time for break-in, and I have not yet tuned the decoder’s motor parameters. Both should smooth out the stop/start a bit – I’ll update the review later once I’ve had time to accomplish this.
The railcar has the standard 3xwhite front /2xred rear lights with the front lights on F0 and the red lights separate on F2.
Note on sound – I’ve not yet located any 5047 sound files for the ESU LokSound decoder. However, I have found sound projects for Zimo sound decoders available for order online.
I’d also like to install some interior lighting and passengers – I’ll update this review once I get the lights wired and passengers seated.
CLOSING:
I really like this railcar – the paint scheme is modern, and the body style is distinctly different from both my Jouef diesel railcars and my electric railcars. I need to do some motor tuning, and I’d love to have sound installed as well. Overall, I’m very satisfied with the 5047 Manfred.
3 RAIL VERSIONS:
I have not recently seen any 3-rail versions of this railcar, although I have seen older (closed) auctions advertising AC/3-rail. It’s not clear whether these are conversions or factory supplied. This 2-rail set is digital ready with a 21MTC decoder interface.
