ROCO celebrates 66 years and treats itself to a model!
On Wednesday, 8 April, our anniversary locomotive, ‘66 Years of ROCO’, was officially unveiled and christened. In glorious weather, the locomotive made its entrance to epic music and presented itself in all its splendour on platform 1 of Salzburg Central Station. Accompanied by short interviews with Karoline Edtstadler, Tassilo Gruber and Andreas Pirkner-Reithofer, the locomotive was then christened with great fanfare by our Landeshauptfrau.
It is not just the christening, but the design itself that is something quite special:
On one side: the motor, gearbox, circuit board and digital decoder. Elements that are normally hidden inside become part of the exterior.
One question is deliberately left open: does the locomotive showcase the technology of the original or that of the model? It is precisely this tension that defines the design.
The other side depicts a myth that has endured for centuries: the bull that moves Europe. According to legend, Zeus encountered Princess Europa in the form of a bull and carried her across the sea to Crete. A story of new beginnings, connection and the dawn of something new. And it is precisely this symbolism that is reflected in the Taurus locomotive: the name evokes the mythical bull, and with its 10,000 hp, it connects regions and people across Europe.
The concept was developed by our designer Markus Huber, who has been helping to shape the visual language as ROCO’s photographer and videographer for years. He has now realised a project that goes far beyond classic model design.
What began as an idea is now travelling across Austria – as a real locomotive on the tracks and soon as a model on hobby layouts.
A moment that shows what is possible when many different fields work together. The result is a locomotive that not only runs, but tells our story!
From now on, it will be travelling across Austria for the next 15 months, and the model will hit the shelves this autumn:
ROCO H0:
Item No. 7500103 – Electric Locomotive 1216 006-7 DC
Item No. 7510103 – Electric Locomotive 1216 006-7 DCC Sound
Item No. 7520103 – Electric Locomotive 1216 006-7 AC Sound