Last regular use of steam locomotives
This article describes the last use of steam locomotives in normal, regular operation of the state and private railways . Museum operation and special train rides with steam locomotives are still taking place today at some of the railway companies described , but are not considered a normal offer of the railway company and are therefore no longer a regular train journey .
Official end of the steam era
At the beginning of the 20th century, only steam locomotives were able to provide high performance and high tractive forces for heavy trains . The railway companies therefore accepted the disadvantage of a maximum of 10% efficiency as well as the expense of maintenance in the depot . However, the electric drive and diesel drive began to be used initially for lower tractive effort. With the progress of these technologies, equivalent performance with less maintenance and higher efficiency could be achieved up to the middle of the 20th century, which had an impact on the operating costs . This was also necessary because the railroad was in competition with other modes of transport such as the automobile and aviation . This forced the railway companies to introduce electric locomotives , diesel locomotives and railcars and to part with the steam locomotive. From the 1950s onwards, the use of steam locomotives decreased worldwide and was largely replaced by diesel and electric traction , especially in industrialized countries .
However, the steam locomotive was the defining symbol for the railway . Their special way of working, which was based on the direct effect of steam on the driving wheels of the vehicle , and the characteristic working noises such as the emission of steam made them many friends. Musicians were inspired by it. The composer Arthur Honegger created his work Pacific 231 . The refrain Trulla, Trulla trulla-la of the folk song Auf de Schwäbsche Eisebahne is also the onomatopoeic reproduction of the steam emission. The literature was expanded to include a genre of non-fiction books such as those by the author Karl-Ernst Maedel . Museum and tourist trains with steam locomotives still attract visitors today. Therefore, the end of their regular operations was followed in public and also referred to as the end of the steam locomotive or as the steam locomotive farewell .
Germany
German Federal Railroad
At the end of October 1977, the German Federal Railroad ran regular steam locomotives on the Emsland route for the last time . Operation during this period is considered to be the end of the steam age for the Federal Railroad.
Since the electrification of the Emsland line was delayed and there were too few diesel locomotives for the trains being driven, the oil-fired steam locomotives of the Bahnbetriebswerke (Bw) Emden and Rheine remained in operation until the end of the 1977 summer schedule. Only when the Black Forest Railway was electrified could diesel locomotives of the DB class 221 of the Villingen depot be relocated to Emsland . The head office of the DB decided that October 26th was the last day of operation for steam locomotives. The diesel locomotives bridged the time until the catenary was completed . It was not until September 29, 1980 that electric locomotives could be used.
Last trips
On 23 October 1977, a continued special train of DGEG of Rheine on Salzbergen , Lingen , Meppen after Emden and back with steam traction. Many railway enthusiasts and photographers attended this trip. It was the last run of DB steam locomotives from the normal fleet over the entire Emsland route. 042 113-4, an oil- fired machine from the 41 series , and the 043 196-5, which is also oil-heated and belongs to the 44 series, were used . The 043 was then kept ready for use in the Rheine depot , but without providing any further train services.
On 26 October 1977, the last out of DB steam locomotives train took place: Along with a diesel locomotive of the class 290 promoted the locomotive 043315-1 afternoon a transfer freight from the port of Emden in the yard Emden. At about the same time, 043 903-4 transferred an auxiliary train car from Oldersum to Emden. This run of 043 903-4 is considered the last scheduled run of a DB steam locomotive. Around 16 o'clock both were machines in Bw Emden off. Today the steam locomotive 043 903-4 is on display in front of the Emden main station.
The locomotive 043 196-5 arrived at the Rheine depot at midnight on the same day. That is why it is considered the last steam locomotive of the Federal Railroad to be taken out of service.
The restart of steam locomotives on the Deutsche Bundesbahn
The DB's ban on steam locomotives came into effect on October 27, 1977 at 00:00 . However, in the Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck depot , a steam locomotive (044 377-0) used as a heating locomotive drove regularly on Fridays to purge, coal and collect water from the round locomotive shed to the steam locomotive treatment facilities. Up until the 1980s, several steam locomotives remained parked in the Rheine depot and rusted to themselves. In 1983/84 some were brought to the Offenburg depot as spare parts donors, others were given to private interested parties, such as 01 1081 , which was first set up in a sanatorium as a technical monument . Later she came to the Ulm Railway Friends .
In 1984, in the run-up to the 150th anniversary of the German Railways , the first acceptance runs of reconditioned steam locomotives on DB tracks in southwest Germany took place. First the replica of the legendary Adler drove , then also the class 23 (23 105) steam locomotive, which was put into operation in December 1959 as the last new DB steam locomotive , and later a class 01, 50 and 86 steam locomotive each on the Deutsche Bundesbahn as so-called Museum locomotives. At the initiative of Horst Troche , the first trips with passengers took place at the end of 1984. The DB officially ran its handful of steam locomotives from spring 1985 as part of a nostalgia and special trip program on railway lines in the Nuremberg area, and later throughout Germany. Since then, private steam locomotives and museum railways have also been allowed to carry out special trips or so-called plan steam trips with their own steam locomotives on DB routes. This is still the case today on all routes operated by DB AG, which was founded in 1994.
Factory and private railways in West Germany
The steam operation with tender steam locomotives at Werkbahnen ended in western Germany on December 31, 1992 at the Eschweiler Mining Association in Alsdorf near Aachen. Steam locomotives were also seen there during the short period of the absolute DB steam locomotive ban in heavy shunting service as feeders for DB diesel locomotives. Fireless steam locomotives are still used today in chemical and power plants.
German Reichsbahn
The Deutsche Reichsbahn in the GDR could not do without steam locomotives for a long time despite an extensive range of diesel locomotives (series 106 , 110 , 118 ) and extensive imports from Romania ( series 119 ) and the Soviet Union (series 120 and 132 ). The second oil crisis in 1979/80 even led to a brief renaissance of the steam locomotive, with parked locomotives being reactivated. In order to further reduce the foreign exchange requirement for Soviet oil, the Reichsbahn also started an extensive electrification program, the electricity for which could be obtained from domestic brown coal . It was not until 1988 that the regular steam operation of the Reichsbahn could be stopped on regular gauge tracks. The last locomotives of the 50.35 series were used by the Halberstadt depot . On October 29, 1988, the 50 3559-7 covered a circuit Halberstadt – Magdeburg – Thale – Halberstadt for the last time as an official farewell trip.
However, until the beginning of the 1990s, the DR continued to have individual standard gauge locomotives in reserve in addition to its extensive fleet of traditional locomotives . The steam operation on the DR narrow-gauge railways remained unchanged . Only on the Harzquerbahn were diesel locomotives of the 199.8 series to replace steam operation in the medium term from 1989, all other routes remained completely under steam. Completely privatized in the meantime, the former DR narrow-gauge railways are still almost entirely used by steam locomotives in daily traffic.
Deutsche Bahn AG
After the two German state railways DB and DR were merged to form Deutsche Bahn AG at the beginning of 1994, there were still regular steam coverings, primarily in the Berlin area. The 52 8134, along with the 50 3545, 52 8075, 8079, 8087 and 8117 locomotives, was one of the last "State Railways" standard-gauge steam locomotives in Germany that were capable of full train service. In addition to being used as a heating locomotive, the machine was also used in front of special trains. Well known was the regular train E 3001/3008 from Berlin to Lübbenau on Saturdays , which was marketed as a cucumber train and ran until September 1994. After the deadline for Schöneweider 52 8075, 8079 and 8117 and the defective shutdown of 52 8087, the machine was then used several times before the Sunday excursion train between Berlin-Lichtenberg and Rheinsberg / Mark.
The locomotive was also given the new EDP number 052 134-4 at Deutsche Bahn. On November 6, 1994, it had the honor of being the last operational locomotive of the Berlin-Schöneweide depot to transport the E3154 / E3159 train pair to Rheinsberg / Mark for the last time. The E 3159 arrived in Berlin-Lichtenberg at around 8 p.m. With a long whistle that echoed under the road bridge at the station entrance, engine driver Klaus Hollenbach ended the steam age of the DB AG.
The 52 8134 was the last state railroad standard gauge steam locomotive in the regular stock in Germany, which carried a scheduled passenger train. For the remaining days, the 8134 was still used as a heating locomotive in the Schöneweide depot, until the fire in it was finally extinguished on November 13, 1994 at exactly 11:59 p.m. at the end of the boiler deadline, thus sealing the end of normal-gauge steam operation in Germany.
The two narrow-gauge railways Lößnitzgrundbahn and Weißeritztalbahn belonged to Deutsche Bahn AG in the course of 2004 and used steam locomotives there as planned (Weißeritztalbahn until 2002, see Elbe flood ). Since then they have had a new operator and no longer belong to DB AG.
With the Meiningen steam locomotive works , Deutsche Bahn AG maintains a repair shop that not only takes care of the main inspections and repairs of steam locomotives from Germany and Europe in various gauges (narrow gauge and standard gauge). There, diesel and electric locomotives with rod drives as well as railway cranes, snow plows and wagons are repaired. In the Meiningen steam locomotive works, a class 99.32 steam locomotive was rebuilt from 2007 to 2009 and put into service with the Molli bathing railway: The locomotive with the number 99 2324-4 was handed over to the operator on July 10, 2009. This makes it the youngest newly built steam locomotive in the world. In addition, a Saxon narrow-gauge steam locomotive ( class IK ) was built from grants and donations in 2009 on the initiative of the Free State of Saxony's engineering association .
There are currently around 1,500 steam locomotives in many series and gauges across Germany. Of these, around 1,200 can be rolled and around 300 can be operated, of which around 150 are ready for use. The latter can be experienced at special events both on the DB route network and on private railways in front of special trains or in freight train service and occasionally in front of construction trains.
The last German steam locomotive with locomotive number 50 3501 (DB AG, Section Workshops and Repair of Rail Vehicles) still in the subordinate active operating service of Deutsche Bahn AG is currently in use as a works locomotive in the Meiningen steam locomotive works . In addition to various workshop trips, also outside the factory, such as load test drives, training for locomotive personnel and towing operations, it is mainly used in front of special trains together with an operable car set available in the museum (apron car of older design including dining car).
In addition, since 2013, as the owner of the machine, after a general refurbishment, the DB AG still counts the operational express steam locomotive 01 150 - mainly used for historical special train traffic - in its active vehicle inventory register. Thanks to its modernized design, such as double main air ducts , PZB 90 train protection, digital radio and TV (reversing) at 80 km / h, the locomotive can also be used as an emergency reserve in normal railway service. For legal reasons, the locomotive has been left to the EJS (Eisenbahnstiftung Joachim Schmidt) for maintenance and operation of the machine since 2013.
See also → List of steam locomotives in Germany
Age after the rail reform
The rail reform enables private rail transport companies (EVUs) to have non-discriminatory access to the rail network of DB Netz AG. Many steam locomotives are set by the associations at the relevant EVUs and can thus be used on the DB AG network. In addition to the usual special trips, the associations can also market steam locomotives for the provision of regular transport services. Despite the high operating costs for coal and water, the use of steam locomotives can still pay off financially under exceptional circumstances. This is the case, for example, if a diesel locomotive would first have to be laboriously transferred, or if the train services only occur irregularly, so that a diesel locomotive to be rented would have to stand still for a long time. There have therefore been some construction work in recent years; which were covered with steam. The use of the steam freight locomotive 50 3610 in front of coal trains in the summer of 2010 between Horka and Hoyerswerda also attracted a lot of attention . The line between Horka and Hoyerswerda is currently not electrified, so that diesel locomotives usually have to be used for the heavy coal trains running from Poland to the Ruhr area. Since the trains ran very irregularly, it would have been more expensive to keep a diesel locomotive of the required performance class available for such a long time. The steam locomotive, on the other hand, was readily available and could remain parked on site for a longer period of time as it was not needed for any other purpose.
Luxembourg
After it was founded in 1946, the fleet of the Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL) consisted exclusively of steam locomotives with the exception of one railcar ( Z 121 ), only a few shunting diesel locomotives were available. In addition, 50 new steam locomotives were purchased. In 1948, the first diesel railcars were acquired with the Z 100 railcar series, and the first line diesel locomotive was put into operation in 1953. In the second half of the 1950s, a large number of line diesel locomotives were purchased, and the first line sections were electrified in the same part. This made the last steam locomotives superfluous and decommissioned in larger numbers. In 1956 the CFL still had 100 standard-gauge steam locomotives in stock at the end of the year, but by the end of 1961 there were only 22 class 55 units . In the end, however, the 55 series machines were only used as operational reserves; these reserve operations ended in May 1964. After that, all 21 machines that remained were retired on June 16, 1964.
Narrow-gauge steam locomotives were in operation until the closure of the last narrow-gauge line ( Luxembourg – Remich narrow-gauge railway ) in 1955.
Austria
The Austrian Federal Railways have been using mainly electric locomotives on their main lines since the 1960s, but for a long time still operated secondary lines, especially narrow-gauge ones, with steam locomotives. Diesel locomotives were mainly used on the non-electrified railways. Regular steam operation ended on the standard gauge of the ÖBB on December 31, 1976, with the last train between Hohenau and Gänserndorf (Northern Railway) pulling 52 3315. Thereafter, in the first half of 1977, steam locomotives of the 93 series were used to replace a scheduled diesel shunting locomotive in Gmünd, Lower Austria. Steam operation on the Erzbergbahn (Vordernberg-Eisenerz), which was used in mixed cogwheel operation, was stopped on April 12, 1978. On the narrow-gauge railways, the - at least occasionally - steam operation of the ÖBB did not end until the mid-1980s, on the cogwheel railways (Puchberg-Hochschneeberg, in Lower Austria and the Schafbergbahn) much later, only in 2005 with the sale of the Schafbergbahn . Here the Salzkammergutbahn GmbH, as the current operator, continues to use steam locomotives in regular operation.
Switzerland
The last regular steam-powered lines of the Swiss Federal Railways were the Wehntalbahn , which was converted to electrical operation on May 28, 1960, and the Cadenazzo – Luino railway line , which was partly on Italian soil , on which electrical operation began on June 11, 1960 .
The last regular steam train of the Swiss Federal Railways took the SBB C 5/6 2969 to Winterthur on November 30, 1968, where the locomotive was later set up in front of the factory of the manufacturer SLM . The narrow-gauge Brienz-Rothorn Railway (Kursbuchfeld 475) and the Furka Mountain Line Steam Railway (Kursbuchfeld 615) are the only Swiss railway companies today that are not electrified and use steam locomotives in regular operation.
Belgium
The last scheduled voyage under steam took place in Belgium on December 22, 1966 . The locomotive used for this, 29.013, was retained as a traditional vehicle.
Netherlands
State railway
At the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) the steam locomotive operation was stopped on January 7, 1958. The last locomotive in service was today's 3737 series 3700 locomotive .
Factory and private railways
Even after the end of steam traction with the NS, some factory locomotives remained under steam. The last use of a steam locomotive on Dutch soil took place in Eygelshoven. After the “Julia” colliery was closed on December 20, 1974, the LV 15 locomotive operated by the “Laura en Vereeiging” company was used in 1975 to demolish and dismantle the colliery facilities. It is the former NS 8811; today the locomotive is owned by the Stoom Stichting Nederland .
literature
- Märklin Magazin 5/87: Ten years of fire out! - The use of steam ended in Emsland
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Website steam locomotive farewell 25 years ago , accessed on August 22, 2008
- ↑ a b Chronicle of the Railway, Part 2 Heel Verlag
- ↑ Railway in Ostfriesland website timetable , accessed on August 22, 2008
- ^ Website of the steam locomotive friends Rheine, article: Article steam locomotive farewell, Rheine 1977 , accessed on August 22, 2008.
- ↑ There is a piece of railway history in Emden. Retrieved October 29, 2018 .
- ↑ Jörg Sauter: The express train locomotives of the Ulm Railway Friends p. 243
- ↑ VDMT: May 11, 2014 - In memory of Horst Troche , accessed on October 26, 2017
- ↑ http://www.gerdboehmer-berlinereisenbahnarchiv.de/Bildergalerien/19881029-hlb/19881029.html
- ↑ Berliner Zeitung, August 24, 1994, see WITH NOSTALGIELOKS TO LÜBBENAU AND RHEINSBERG The “cucumber train” is now under steam again
- ↑ Vehicle inventory ( Memento of the original from August 31, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the Meiningen steam locomotive works
- ↑ Entry on 50 3501 on eisenbahn-museumsfahrzeuge.de
- ↑ Ed spring Mayer: Railways in Luxembourg , Volume 2, Herdam Fotoverlag, Gernrode / Harz 2009, ISBN 978-3-933178-24-4 , page 129
- ↑ Ed spring Mayer: Railways in Luxembourg , Volume 2, Herdam Fotoverlag, Gernrode / Harz 2009, ISBN 978-3-933178-24-4 , page 154
- ↑ Ed spring Mayer: Railways in Luxembourg , Volume 2, Herdam Fotoverlag, Gernrode / Harz 2009, ISBN 978-3-933178-24-4 , page 252
- ↑ Ed spring Mayer: Railways in Luxembourg , Volume 2, Herdam Fotoverlag, Gernrode / Harz 2009, ISBN 978-3-933178-24-4 , page 263
- ↑ Ed Federmeyer: narrow-gauge railways in Luxembourg , Volume 2, page 369
- ↑ Michelle Feer: How a student gets the largest steam locomotive in Switzerland running. Video series «NerdZZ». In: NZZ Online. June 5, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2017 .
