Locomotive station
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The part of a train station where locomotives are treated and serviced is referred to as a locomotive station , locomotive station or locomotive station . In contrast to the depot , the locomotive station is not an independent office.
history
The first locomotive stations on the main lines emerged with the specialization of workshops around the middle of the 19th century. They were created when locomotives had to be stationed in places where there was no independent depot. This was the case at important en route stations, terminus stations on branch lines, in urban centers at the terminus of suburban trains or at stations from which trains regularly had to be pushed.
Most of the terminal stations and operating centers of the branch lines were equipped with locomotive stations, where the operating and reserve locomotives and mostly also the locomotive personnel were stationed. Thanks to the possibility of staying overnight, it was possible to use the first train from the terminus early in the morning and the last train to end there, without the need for expensive nocturnal empty runs. For the travelers, this had the advantage that, despite the low driving speed, long journey times and low train frequency, they had the opportunity to get to the next city and back on the same day.
The locomotive stations were indispensable for the operation of the steam locomotives, because the machines were maintenance-intensive and needed a frost-proof storage facility. But as early as the 1930s, savings were sought and the first locomotive stations were closed. At the latest after the switch to diesel or electric locomotives with shorter travel times, a larger operating radius and longer maintenance intervals, most locomotive stations lost their function and the systems, if they could not be sold or otherwise used, were demolished or abandoned to decay.
Today there are locomotive stations only at smaller railway companies, narrow-gauge and museum railways. For example, use the Harz narrow gauge railways in addition to their depot Wernigerode Westerntor emergency response centers - and thus as Lokbahnhof - Gernrode and Nordhausen. Here, too, smaller locomotive stations such as Hasselfelde and Benneckenstein were given up a long time ago.
Structural systems of the locomotive station
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The central structure of the locomotive station was the locomotive shed , mostly with a rectangular floor plan and stands for two to six machines. For the parking and maintenance of the locomotives, the shed was equipped with work pits, smoke exhausts, furnace heating and, if necessary, a pulsometer system. Other rooms such as the workshop, overnight rooms, sanitary facilities and an office were mostly attached to the shed. The elevated tank for the water supply was also often integrated into the locomotive shed. Occasionally, locomotive stations also had larger mechanical systems such as cranes or axle sinks , especially when the way to the next operating or repair shop was very long or very time-consuming because of different track widths .
Depending on the task of the locomotive station, there were often other structures in addition to the locomotive shed, for example wash houses, storage sheds for petroleum, coal stalls, material stores and service buildings. In Bavaria, the official residence was often built directly onto the machine house.
With very few exceptions, locomotive stations were located at a station head parallel to the station tracks and were connected to the main track or a passing track. The coaling facilities, the coal store and a water crane are located at the entrance to the engine shed . Since mainly in the Lokbahnhöfen tank locomotives were treated, were hubs required only in rare cases.
organization
At the state railway, each locomotive station was assigned to a depot as an operational point. Most of the depots looked after several locomotive stations as a higher-level agency. Locomotives that were stationed in a locomotive station only came to the responsible railway depot if certain deadlines such as washing out, pipe blowing or extensive repairs were due. Minor repairs and investigations were carried out by the locomotive staff or by fitters from the depot on site in the locomotive station.