This has been reported elsewhere, but the BR101 (yes the red loco on the red striped grey intercity trains) may soon be a thing of the past.
They have been the 200 km/h-fast standard bearer of Germany’s classic loco-hauled IC network.
(image courtesy of Wikipedia)


Märklin produced models of this locomotive within a few years of their introduction on the DBAG network mostly serving as passenger haulers.
(See one of the early models 34374)
101 001-145 were built between 1996 and 1999, so no they are not actually that old yet. But their active live has been intense, these machines have covered millions of kilometres each, and some locos just start to show structural problems.

The following report is courtesy of Alan Clark a member on a German rail forum.

"Since the end of last year, the first locomotives are being sidelined.

On 10.08.2021 locomotive 101 112 and 119 arrived in Opladen, and were pushed through the gates of metal recycling company Bender, the company that scraps most trains of Deutsche Bahn that are being withdrawn. 101 112 still looking quite complete, just its paint was bleak, 101 119 looked still fine, but lost much of its roof equipment.
Curiously, 101 112 had a special design until very recently (May 2020), you may have seen it in blue/ivory and red/ivorywrap promoting the “Wilde 13+” model train shops.
Both machines are almost 23 years old:
Adtranz 33222 = 101 112-1 > entered service on 14.09.1998
Adtranz 33222 = 101 119-6 > entered service on 28.10.1998

Half a dozen other machines are currently also in the process of being withdrawn officially. This is the beginning of a long process during which the 145 machines will go one by one. Some will survive, most will not.
Will the “locomotive” completely disappear from Germany’s IC-network? Not entirely, technically seen, the ICE1/ICE2 power cars are locomotives too, and there are still the 146.5 and 147.5 series electrics that are part of a IC2-double deck train. Also the new Talgo-trains (project ECx) will still have locomotives, but like the 146/147 these will most likely be permanently coupled to the coaches."

Kimball

One of my favourite electric locomotives! I saw quite a few when in Germany in 2019, sad to think both BR120 and BR101 will both be gone. What are they being replaced with?

BR101's at Stuttgart including the Gold BR101.







Of course, the Marklin BR101 was at Göppingen



BR101 on the way to Hamburg (we were in an ICE2)



BR101 at Hamburg



BR120 at Stuttgart

Edited by user 27 August 2021 13:02:33(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

This particular locomotive with environmental slogans #101 105-5 was produced by Märklin in 2017 as model #39375.

Kimball

Tom, you are correct.

Going back to the original image I took of this same loco at the time, I enlarged the side number:





This reveals the side number 101 058-6 :





But here is an image of the 101 105. This image was taken by Wouter De Haeck near the Rolandseck station
on the left bank of the Rhine on July 16, 2018 . The 101 pulls an IC from Leipzig to Oberstdorf :





I note the side number of this loco is down on the grey skirting, not up on the red side, as in the loco I
"photographed" in Mannheim - is that why you suspected it was not the 101 105 ?