Brawa - 67494 - Reefer, 2-Axle, Beer Car - Deutsche Bundesbahn - 114 339

Prototype History: The proliferation of the rail system in Europe in the later part of the 19th century provided ample opportunity for various breweries to expand the reach of their product. They jumped at the chance to move their product over long distances with ease. They also were aggressive with the advertising on the sides of these railcars. These cars were typically small (less than 40 feet) and ran on two axles.

Some cars were only for use in (slow) loose-coupled ordinary goods trains. Other types common in Ep I-III had footboards and hand grips along the length of the wagon (Laufbrettern und Handgriffen), to enable them to be used in (faster) Personenzug, where the guard needed to access the whole train.

Road Name History: Deutsche Bundesbahn was the Western Germany DB before reunification. After World War II, Germany (and the DRG) was divided into 4 zones: US, British, French and Soviet. The first three eventually combined to form the Federal Republic of Germany (the West) and the Russian zone became the German Democratic Republic (the East). German territories beyond the Oder were ceded to Poland except for the northern part of East Prussia, which was ceded to the Soviet Union in 1945.

From 1949, the new governments assumed authority for railway operations. The DRG's (or DR's) successors were named Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB, German Federal Railways) in West Germany, and Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR, German State Railways) in East Germany kept the old name to hold tracking rights in western Berlin.

Unlike the DRG, which was a corporation, both the DB and the DR were federal state institutions, directly controlled by their respective transportation ministries. Railway service between East and West was restricted; there were around five well-controlled and secure checkpoints between West and East Germany, and about the same number between East Germany and West Berlin. Four transit routes existed between West Germany and West Berlin; citizens of West Berlin and West Germany were able to use these without too much harassment by the East German authorities.

The DB started in 1968 with changing the locomotive and passenger car serial numbers to the UIC norm. In 1970 the DR followed. The DB started experimenting with the Intercity trains in a new livery (bright orange).

In 1989, the Wall fell. Train frequency rapidly increased on the existing East/West corridors; closed links which had formerly crossed the border were re-opened. On 3 October 1990, Germany was reunified; however, this was not immediately the case with the railways. Administrative and organisational problems led to the decision to completely re-organize and reconnect Germany's railways. The so-called Bahnreform (Railway Reform) came into effect on 1 January 1994, when the State railways Deutsche Bundesbahn and Deutsche Reichsbahn were formally reunited to form the current German Railway Corporation (Deutsche Bahn).

From Wikipedia

Brand/Importer Information: Brawa Artur Braun Modellspielwarenfabrik GmbH & Co. was founded in 1948 by Artur Braun in Waiblingen, Germany, to distribute model trains from other toy makers; eventually they began to manufacture their own lighting accessories such as streetlights and signals. In 1963 they acquired the complete line of motorized trolleybus and ski lift models from Eheim. They also began to expand their own line to include scenery items, and by 1993 they'd added locomotives and rolling stock to their product range. This medium-sized business is today jointly managed by the second and third generations of the Braun family: Günter Braun, son of the founder, and his daughter Katrin Braun are the company's managing partners.
Brawa range covers HO, O and N scales. The N scale range is focused on European rolling-stock, German locomotives and accessories like signals, streetlights, clocks and telephone booths.

Here is how the company describes itself:
At BRAWA, continuity and sustainable thinking and action - as the particular strengths of a family business - have a double impact. Changes are carefully considered and strategic decisions taken on the basis of a long-term vision, thus enabling the company to respond quickly and deliberately to the demands of the market. In addition, cross-generation collaboration ensures a vibrant coexistence of tradition and innovation.
In short, our future course is set and all signals are pointing towards continuity and growth. Our presence at our site in Remshalden shows our commitment to this area and highlights the sustainable nature of our company's location in the region. Sustainability is, as it were, an intrinsic value of our family business.