This nice, and seemingly rare, HO gauge locomotive by Lima 208118L a SBB Ae 3/6 loco in brown livery. It has the running number 10698. 

These locos were built in the years 1920 to 1929 for the newly electrified railway lines of the Swiss Federal Railways in the lowlands. (SBB) ordered several construction lots and put them into operation in brown livery. A relatively large number of the 114 machines delivered served into the mid-1990s. With a service life of over seven decades, it was one of the longest-lived SBB locomotive series and achieved high mileage.

After delivery, the locos were used mainly in front of express trains in the Mittelland. From 1935 to 1946, the locomotives were also used in front of the city express train between Geneva and Zurich before they were replaced in these services by the Re 4/4. The locomotives continued to haul passenger and freight trains throughout Switzerland with the exception of the Gotthard route. After the introduction of the clock timetable in 1982, the locomotives were mostly used in front of regional trains in Toggenburg , Glarnerland , on the Aargau Southern Railway and in Studenland . From 1987 they also ran the regional trains on the route Herzogenbuchsee - Solothurn - Lyss . In 1993 , a year before the decommissioning, the regional trains Winterthur - St. Gallen were pulled not only by the Ae 4/7 but also by the Ae 3/6 I , equipped with light steel wagons or standard wagons I. Shortly before the decommissioning, the locomotives were still to be found in front of mail and local freight trains.

A number remain in preservation with at least two in running condition. 

The loco is in very good condition for its age as you can see in the pictures, I have not tested it but I can see no reason why it would not run, so it it is sold in untested condition, but a complete external visual inspection has shown no reason why this loco would not run and the overall condition is very good. Indeed the inspection suggested that this loco has not been run much at all. It comes complete with its box. The box is in good if slightly shelf worn condition, the box does not feature the loco number for some reason but is the correct box! 

Overall this is a really nice scale locomotive and would look fantastic on a layout. It is very rare, so don’t miss out on getting hold of this beautiful loco. 

Do please have a look at my other listings, I typically have various HO and OO locos on offer as well as an extensive range of imported N gauge locos and other items. 

Note: I do recommend all locos are cleaned & serviced, as they have some age to them even if the quality looks at the highest level (fairly standard advice for all locos!).