Roco 7510128 Electric Locomotive E.444.031 FS DCC

Electric locomotive E.444.031 of the Italian State Railways.

■ Model with PluX22 interface and PluX sound decoder available for the first time
■ Version as modernised E.444R
■ Delicately-crafted metal grab rails
■ Use: High-quality passenger service

The locomotives of the series E.444, more precisely 117 units, were put into service by the Italian State Railways as express train locomotives from 1970 on. Due to a ‘name the locomotive’ competition held by the FS, these locomotives were given a tortoise symbol and henceforth were commonly known as “Tartaruga”. All locomotives were redesigned between 1989 and 1997 and, after the maximum speed was increased from 180 to 200 km/h, were designated E.444R. In the process, they also lost their characteristic round appearance.