The demand for heavy freight locomotives prompted the DB to build a total of 43 locomotives of the E 94 series between 1954 and 1956. This included the E 94 178, which was renumbered as 194 178 after the DB's series numbering system was updated in 1968. During the major inspection on January 8, 1976, the locomotive was painted in the colors Ocean Blue and Ivory, which became valid for the DB in 1974. However, the color scheme, featuring a light contrasting area at the front, did not convince due to its vulnerability in that area. As the only locomotive of its series with this paint scheme, it was also nicknamed "Blue Mauritius." PIKO has scaled this special locomotive down to 1:87, taking into account all the unique features of the prototype. Thanks to the PluX22 interface, the PIKO model is prepared for the easy installation of a decoder.