Passau Railway Friends
The Passau Railway Friends (PEF for short) are a registered association founded in Passau in 1978 , which has set itself the task of maintaining and using historic railway vehicles in working order. In 2007 the association had around 190 members.
For years the association operated a lively special train service on branch lines in the Passau area. The two lines of the Ilztalbahn (Passau – Freyung) and the Passau – Hauzenberg line were severely damaged by the flood of the century in 2002 and consequently closed, which significantly restricted the club's range of activities. The Ilz Valley Railway has been in operation again since July 16, 2011. The Passau – Hauzenberg route is currently being worked on.
Some routes such as Hengersberg-Kalteneck and Vilshofen-Aidenbach have meanwhile been dismantled, so that in the Passau area only the Waldbahn with the branch to Hengersberg, the Vilshofen-Blindham route as well as the Rottalbahn and Ilztalbahn are available for special trips. The special trips are mostly made with the Uerdingen rail bus (VT 798).
Railway depot Passau
The association's property is located on the site of the former Passau depot at Haitzingerstraße 12 and covers an area of around five hectares. The reason is composed of three parts:
The open-air site consists primarily of the track area, which is used for shunting purposes. The control of the points and signals on these tracks is taken over by the neighboring Passau interlocking, as is the route protection.
Hall I (VT hall) is located directly at the entrance to the site, where the rail bus set and various other vehicles are stored. Hall I also houses the main workshop with warehouse, the turning shop for the manufacture of spare parts, a generously dimensioned spare parts warehouse and an office with an attached club archive for administration. The social rooms such as the kitchen, meeting room, showers, toilets and overnight accommodation are also located in Hall I.
The hall was originally built by the Deutsche Bundesbahn for the maintenance of its rail bus sets and is therefore equipped with a pit, a compressed air system and appropriate ventilation devices. This hall is still used for building purposes today.
Hall II (passenger train hall) is located at the other end of the site and, with two tracks with a length of around 100 meters, provides the opportunity to park passenger cars. The hall serves as a shelter for vehicles belonging to the club and outside of the city. A warehouse with spare parts for the vehicles belonging to the association is also connected to this hall.
Since diesel and electric locomotives did not have to be turned around like steam locomotives, the old turntable was removed. It was replaced by the "Orange Passenger Hall" because it was now possible to carry out the revision of the passenger coaches located in Passau. The hall is connected to the compressed air system from Hall I. In this hall there is the club's own lifting device with a load capacity of 64 t for axing vehicles.
vehicles
All vehicles are maintained and repaired by the club's own technicians in their free time. The examinations and reports are each carried out by an independent expert in order to ensure operational safety.
Traction vehicles
Steam locomotive 64 344
The steam locomotive 64 344 has been with the PEF since November 2009 . The locomotive has a top speed of 90 km / h and an output of 950 hp. It was erected as a memorial in Waldkirchen an der Ilztalbahn from 1968 to 1988. In 1988 it was brought to Plattling and from the Historisches Eisenbahnverein Plattling e. V. (HEV) looked after as a monument locomotive.
The locomotive is currently being prepared as an exhibit.
Rail bus
The association owns two class 798 railcars , a corresponding VB 98 intermediate car and a VS 98 control car. All vehicles of this set are operational and are therefore allowed to run on the networks of DB AG , ČD , ÖBB and other companies. Another sidecar of an ÖBB rail bus is currently being refurbished.
V 40
A Krauss-Maffei ML 400 C locomotive was acquired to enable shunting tasks to be carried out . This locomotive is equipped with a radio remote control and an automatic shunting coupling in order to be able to maneuver with fewer personnel. The V 40 has a top speed of 45 km / h and an output of 400 hp.
V60
In order to be able to maneuver higher train loads, it was decided to buy a stronger and larger locomotive. The locomotive was acquired by PEF in December and then transferred from Kornwestheim via Regensburg to Passau. The V60 has a top speed of 60 km / h and 700 hp. The PEF currently have two V60s, the 363 815-2 locomotive in traffic red paintwork and the 362 761-9 in ocean blue-beige paintwork.
V90
In January 2018, locomotive 295 078-0 of the V90 series was transferred to Passau and handed over to PEF. The locomotive was parked at AW Chemnitz for years and was reactivated that same year. With a MaK 8M 282 AKB with 1400 hp, it is currently the most powerful locomotive in the fleet and is suitable for heavy shunting and mainline services that the V60 may not be able to handle. The locomotive is equipped with a shunting coupling and radio remote control.
Köf II
In July 2010, the PEF were able to acquire a class 323 shunting locomotive with road number 323 552 from Saal near Regensburg. The locomotive has been refurbished since summer 2010 and can be admired in the workshop, already repainted. The locomotive has been operational since 2011.
Köf III
In December 2006 a Köf III (332 052-0) was purchased from the Regensburg depot to relieve the V 40 . The locomotive was put into service at the Passau depot in 1963 and was stationed there until it was closed in 2000. The locomotive was acquired by the DB in a pitiful condition, the machine could not be used because important levers and fittings were removed from the driver's cab or destroyed. However, it was possible to get the vehicle back into drivable condition within a few weeks. The machine received a general inspection in spring 2007 and is now ready for operation.
Wood grouse
The rod shunter was built in 1954 for the Peine steel works. With an output of 28 hp, it is the weakest locomotive of the railway enthusiasts, but with a weight of just 10 t it is also the lightest. The locomotive was restored in the 1990s as a youth project. It was nicknamed the wood grouse because of the driving noise that sounds like a courting grouse. It has a manual gearshift and a Scharfenberg clutch .
Skl work car
To maintain the branch lines, which the association had operated for several decades, a type Klv 53 motor vehicle was procured. The work trolley is equipped with an Atlas crane for lifting smaller loads. There is also a trailer owned by the railway enthusiasts to transport loads. This combination can drive a maximum speed of 70 km / h and has a route approval.
The Skl and its trailer were sold to Granitbahn in 2018 and are used there for construction work on the route.
Light rail locomotive
Since there are a few meters of field railway track in front of the Halle der Eisenbahnfreunde, a narrow-gauge locomotive was also purchased. In 2006 a passenger car was built on the chassis of an old lorry, which is now used to travel the approx. 90 m long route.
Vehicle material
Zigzag sleeping car
The last surviving sleeping car of the type WLAsugt 20 is from the Passau Railway Friends. This type of sleeping car was in use from 1950 to 1980, with twenty single compartments on either side of a zigzag central aisle. The car was given the original ruby red paint, but is technically in the last operational condition with translating windows , rubber bulge transitions and Minden-Deutz bogies . The car is currently being restored as true to the original as possible.
Climate snow plow
The climate snow plow consists of a converted steam locomotive tender from 1964. It has been restored since winter 2005/2006 and is used to clear the company premises in winter.
Low side car
The low side car also comes from the ÖBB and was purchased to transport construction material on the branch lines around Passau. The car has been repainted and completely restored since summer 2006.
Former rolling stock
Saloon car
The saloon car originally came from the ÖBB , where it belonged to the department for psychological aptitude tests. Before that, it served Hermann Göring as a mobile office. Today there is a large salon 11 m long in the car, which can be set up either with a table lengthways or with several tables across. The car offers space for 20-30 people. The car also offers three cabins with office equipment (sofa, desk and cupboard) and a shared shower.
The car was sold to blues pianist Axel Zwingenberger in 2017 .
Caravan and workshop trolley
The three-axle vehicle was originally purchased for maintenance work on the branch lines around Passau and has therefore been converted into a railway company car today. The car is well preserved and has an interior with a kitchen, bedroom and an office and workshop room.
The car was sold a few years ago.
The model railway department
Some members of the association decided in 1983 to build a model railway in H0 gauge, which is dedicated to Passau and the surrounding area. Here, the track systems of the Passau border station with both depots of the ÖBB and DB, as well as some branch lines from the years 1955 and 1994 were rebuilt over many years. For this purpose, premises were made available in Passau's main train station. The system was partly disposed of and partly stored in mid-2011, and the premises in Passau's main train station were given up.
A reconstruction of the Hauzenberg train station in H0 gauge is currently in Hall I.