DB Class 55

Nicknamed 'The Black Elephant' this lovely little Fleischmann loco was bought when I visited Dusseldorf on business.  I don't think I put it on expenses ;-)

There was also an early green and gold Prussian version nicknamed 'The Green Elephant' which I had dreams about (joke) but when I found one it was going for too much money so it never entered the collection. It was an exquisite model with intricate tampo printed details but alas it was way beyond my budget.

I mentioned the DR Class 130- 132 in my earlier diesel loco pic, I've since found a photo of one and added it to extras.  

The engines were built by Robert Garbe between 1913 and 1921 and formed the largest class of state railway locomotives in Germany. The boiler was larger than that of the G 8, and the loco was deliberately designed to be heavier, so that it could haul even the heaviest trains without sanding, due to its higher adhesive weight. Because it had a high axle load, the G 8.1 could however only be used on main lines. In addition to its employment with heavy goods traffic, it was later used for heavy pusher duties as well.
A total of 4,958 engines alone were made for the Prussian state railways and, later, the Deutsche Reichsbahn. The Imperial Railways in Alsace-Lorraine were given 137 (see the Alsace-Lorraine G 8.1), 10 went to the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg Friedrich-Franz Railway, 50 to the German military railways in the First World War, 6 or 10 to the Gewerkschaft Deutscher Kaiser coal mine at Duisburg and 185 were sold abroad to Poland, Romania and Sweden).
In 1925 the Reichsbahn took over 3,121 Prussian locomotives as Class 55.25–56 with operating numbers 55 2501–5622 (less 55 3367).  Source: Wikipedia