Baureihe 646 – Stadler GTW

The Deutsche Bahn Baureihe 646 or Stadler GTW is an articulated railcar for local transport manufactured by the Swiss company Stadler Rail.
GTW stands for “Gelenktriebwagen”.
The basic concept is rather unconventional: the rail car is driven by a central “power module”, also known as a “powerpack” or a “drive container”, powered on both axles. Two light end modules containing the cabs and the passenger compartment, each with a bogie, rest on the power module, which produces useful traction weight on the driving axles. Power is either generated by onboard Diesel engines or through overhead wires on the electric versions.

The Deutsche Bahn bought 44 Diesel-powered train sets of the 1st generation in the early 2000’s and classified them as Baureihe 646.

Disclaimer: This moc is for experienced builders! Some of the connections are very exotic and not stable at all and will require a lot of patience to get right. Since this is a digital version, I wasn’t able to incorporate all of the details from the real moc. Instead I created this simpler and more generic version for you to modify it at your own likings.

Minimal radius: R104
Custom parts: Ball bearings

Credits: Collaborative effort with “UrbanErwin”. He came up with the design idea for the front ends, from where I’ve built the rest.

Any criticism and feedback is much appreciated.