Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works

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The Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works (German : Dampflokwerk Meiningen) is a railway repair shop in Meiningen, Germany. It is owned by Deutsche Bahn and has specialised in the maintenance of museum steam locomotives since 1990, having extensive experience in maintaining steam engines. Today, customers of the factory include railway museums and museum railways from all over Europe. The factory is responsible for the safety inspections of all operational German steam locomotives.

Contents

Dampflokwerk Meiningen is the only facility in Europe capable of constructing new locomotive boilers up to modern standards of construction, performance, and safety. The newly built British steam locomotive 60163 Tornado that was delivered in 2008 had her all-steel, high-performance boiler made at Meiningen; the only part that could not be made in Britain. [1]

History

View of the factory Dampflokwerk04.jpg
View of the factory

In 1863 the Werra Railway (Werrabahn) built a locomotive repair shop opposite Meiningen station, which became a main workshop for the Prussian state railways in 1902. In 1910, construction of a new building on the present site was begun due to the lack of space at the original location. On 2 March 1914, the workshop was opened with 420 employees. From that time to the present day it has carried out the repair and maintenance of steam locomotives of all types. By 1918 the number of employees had risen to 2,200. From 1919 onwards, the shop was operated by the Deutsche Reichsbahn. After the foundation of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft in 1924, it was renamed the 'Meiningen Reichsbahn Repair Depot' (Reichsbahnausbesserungswerk Meiningen or RAW Meiningen). From 1925 the new Einheitsdampflokomotiven were repaired and inspected too, mainly those of classes 01, 02, 43 and 44. In the 1930s an average of 60 locomotives a month were repaired; during the Second World War this rose to 87 per month. On 18 April 1945 the factory was occupied by the United States Army and on 21 April around 400 employees began work again. By the end of 1946 the number of workers had risen to just under 3,000. In 1951 nine employees lost their lives when there was a boiler explosion on a DRG Class 95 locomotive in the boiler testing shop (Anheizhaus); a passer-by in a nearby street was also killed. The boiler landed in the garden of the neighbouring hospital.

In the 1960s, construction began on new snow ploughs for the DR in East Germany as well as the conversion of steam locomotives to oil-firing. At the same time the refurbishment of diesel locomotives was taken on. The number of employees hovered around 2,000. In 1961 the former streamliner, 61 002, was converted by the factory into the high-speed, trial locomotive, 18 201, which is still operational today. This engine reached a top speed of 180 km/h and is currently the fastest, operational steam locomotive in the world. In 1981 the construction of fireless locomotives and S-Bahn bogies began, whilst the repair of steam locomotives steadily waned.

After the merger of the DB and DR in 1994 into the Deutsche Bahn AG, there was a drastic cutback in the workforce. Today there are only 120 men in the factory. Since 1995, under the name of Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works (Dampflokwerk Meiningen), the factory has become a European specialist for the refurbishment of steam locomotives of all classes, the customer base of which includes railway companies as well as technical museums and railway heritage societies. In 1995 a major project was begun for a private investor. The former monument locomotive, ex-DB 012 102-4 (oil) from Bebra, now streamlined steam locomotive number 01 1102, also known as the "Blue-Lady“, was completely overhauled from 1994 to 1996 and delivered to the owner, Johannes Klings, on 1 March 1996. It is a piece of history and, at the same time, an example of the quality and construction capability of the ex DR repair shop and the present day steam locomotive works. In 2002, locomotive 18 201 which the workshop had rebuilt, was completely overhauled again and transferred to its new owner Dampf-Plus.

Today the steam locomotive works is a centre of attraction for steam locomotive enthusiasts. In June 2006 the new boiler for the 60163 Tornado locomotive was delivered. Tornado is a new British steam locomotive built to the same plans as those of the LNER Class A1 ('Peppercorn') series from the immediate post-war years, and noted for its distinctive conical shape. From April to October 2007 the ADLER , a 1935 replica of the first German steam locomotive, was rebuilt in Meiningen after it had been badly damaged by the fire at the Nuremberg Transport Museum's roundhouse at Nuremberg West locomotive depot on 17 October 2005. [2] [3] The Locomotive Works is also building a new narrow gauge steam locomotive for the Mecklenburg line, Molli Spa Railway ( Bäderbahn Molli ), the first new steam engine in Germany for 50 years. [4]

In 2010 the company gained much notoriety in Australia after the newly built boiler for NSW locomotive 3801 had to be returned and reconstructed on two separate occasions after manufacturing and size related defects were found [5]

Images

Events

001 2204-4 ex-works at Meiningen, Easter 1972 001 2204-4 at Meiningen.jpg
001 2204-4 ex-works at Meiningen, Easter 1972
Locomotive 18 201 at the 2007 Steam Festival 18 201 Meiningen 01092007.JPG
Locomotive 18 201 at the 2007 Steam Festival

Since 1995 the Meiningen Steam Festival (Meininger Dampfloktage) takes place annually on the first weekend in September. The two-day event is visited by up to 15,000 steam locomotive enthusiasts from Germany and elsewhere. Some travel there in special trains hauled by steam locomotives.
In 2007, an almost fully refurbished ADLER , which had been seriously damaged in the 2005 fire in Nuremberg, was on display.

There are regular guided tours of the factory, every first and third Saturday in the month at 10.00 o'clock. A tour lasts about 1½ hours and booking is not necessary.

See also

Related Research Articles

Deutsche Bundesbahn State railway of the Federal Republic of Germany (1949–1993)

The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained the state railway of West Germany until after German reunification, when it was merged with the former East German Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) to form Deutsche Bahn AG, which came into existence on 1 January 1994.

Fireless locomotive Locomotive powered by a reservoir of superheated steam or compressed air.

A fireless locomotive is a type of locomotive which uses reciprocating engines powered from a reservoir of compressed air or steam, which is filled at intervals from an external source. They offer advantages over conventional steam locomotives of lower cost per unit, cleanliness, and decreased risk from fire or boiler explosion; these are counterbalanced by the need for a source to refill the locomotive, and by the limited range afforded by the reservoir.

DRG Class 01

The Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft's BR 01 steam locomotives were the first standardised (Einheitsdampflokomotive) steam express passenger locomotives built by the unified German railway system. They were of 4-6-2 "Pacific" wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or 2′C1′ h2 in the UIC classification. The idea of standardisation was that it would reduce maintenance costs; i.e. if a BR 01 whose engine shop was in, say, Berlin broke down in Dresden, instead of having to ship the necessary part from Berlin and take the locomotive out of service, a part from the Dresden shop could be used as all of the engines, parts, and workings were exactly the same and produced nationwide. Thus it was a "standard" product for engine shops.

LNER Peppercorn Class A1 60163 <i>Tornado</i> British steam locomotive built in 2008

LNER Peppercorn Class A1 60163 Tornado is a 4-6-2 steam locomotive built by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust. Completed in 2008 at the cost of around £3 million, it is the first newly built main line steam locomotive in the UK since Evening Star in 1960. It is the only example of an LNER Peppercorn Class A1 locomotive in existence, the entirety of the original production batch having been scrapped. 60163 is named after the Panavia Tornado, a combat aircraft flown by the Royal Air Force. In 2017, Tornado became the first steam locomotive to officially reach 100 mph on British tracks for over 50 years.

DRB Class 50

The DRB Class 50 is a German class of 2-10-0 locomotive, built from 1939 as a standard locomotive (Einheitsdampflokomotive) for hauling goods trains. It had one leading axle and five coupled axles and was one of the most successful designs produced for the Deutsche Reichsbahn.

Bavarian Ludwig Railway First steam-hauled railway in Germany (commenced service 1835)

The Bavarian Ludwig Railway was the first steam-hauled railway opened in Germany. The Königlich privilegierte Ludwigs-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft received a concession to build a railway from Nuremberg to Fürth in the state of Bavaria on 19 February 1834.

Bavarian S 3/6

The Class S 3/6 steam locomotives of the Royal Bavarian State Railways were express train locomotives with a 4-6-2 Pacific or 2'C1' wheel arrangement.

<i>Adler</i> (locomotive)

The Adler was the first locomotive that was successfully used commercially for the rail transport of passengers and goods in Germany. The railway vehicle was designed and built in 1835 by the British railway pioneers George and Robert Stephenson in the English city of Newcastle. It was delivered to the Bavarian Ludwig Railway for service between Nuremberg and Fürth. It ran officially for the first time there on 7 December 1835. The Adler was a steam locomotive of the Patentee type with a wheel arrangement of 2-2-2 or 1A1. The Adler was equipped with a tender of type 2 T 2. It had a sister locomotive, the Pfeil.

Nuremberg Transport Museum Transport history museum in Nuremberg, Germany

The Nuremberg Transport Museum is based in Nuremberg, Germany, and consists of the Deutsche Bahn's own DB Museum and the Museum of Communications. It also has two satellite museums at Koblenz-Lützel and Halle. The Nuremberg Transport Museum is one of the oldest technical history museums in Europe.

DRB Class 41

The German Class 41 steam locomotives were standard goods train engines (Einheitslokomotiven) operated by the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DRB) and built from 1937 to 1941.

The two German DRG Class 61 steam engines were express train locomotives specifically built by Henschel for the Henschel-Wegmann train in service with the Deutsche Reichsbahn. The Henschel-Wegmann train was an initiative of the German locomotive construction industry, intended to be able to demonstrate a powerful steam locomotive-hauled train alongside the emerging express diesel multiple units, such as the Hamburg Flyer.

DR Class 01.5

The DR Class 01.5 was the designation given by the Deutsche Reichsbahn in East Germany to express train locomotives that were 'reconstructed' from those of the pre-war DRG Class 01.

The Lokomotiv-Versuchsamt Grunewald or LVA was a facility established from 1920 to 1945 at Berlin-Grunewald in Germany that conducted trials on railway vehicles. The office used the facilities of the railway repair shop (Ausbesserungswerk) at Grunewald on the Berlin Stadtbahn southwest of Berlin's Westkreuz station.

Ausbesserungswerk

An Ausbesserungswerk is a railway facility in German-speaking countries, the primary function of which is the repair of railway vehicles or their components. It is thus equivalent to a 'repair shop' or 'works'. It is also referred to as a Centralwerkstatt or Zentralwerkstatt or Hauptwerkstatt. During the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG) period between the two world wars these facilities were called Reichsbahnausbesserungswerke (RAW).

<i>Bahnbetriebswerk</i>

A Bahnbetriebswerk is the equivalent of a locomotive depot on the German and Austrian railways. It is an installation that carries out the maintenance, minor repairs, refuelling and cleaning of locomotives and other motive power. In addition it organises the deployment of locomotives and crews. In the Deutsche Bahn, a Bahnbetriebswerk is known today as a Betriebshof; the ÖBB refer to it as a Zugförderungsstelle (Zf). Many other countries simply use the term 'depot'. The smaller facility, the Lokomotivstation akin to the British sub-depot or stabling point, is affiliated to a Bahnbetriebswerk.

Bahnbetriebswerk (steam locomotives)

A Bahnbetriebswerk is a German railway depot where the maintenance of locomotives and other rolling stock is carried out. It is roughly equivalent to a locomotive shed, running shed or motive power depot. These were of great importance during the steam locomotive era to ensure the smooth running of locomotive-hauled services. Bahnbetriebswerke had a large number of facilities in order to be able to carry out their various maintenance tasks. As a result, they needed a lot of staff and were often the largest employers in the area.

DR 18 201

The German express locomotive, number 18 201 of the Deutsche Reichsbahn in East Germany, appeared in 1960–61 at Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works as a conversion of the Henschel-Wegmann train locomotive 61 002, the tender from 44 468 and parts of H 45 024 and Class 41. It is the fastest operational steam locomotive in the world.

The Henschel-Wegmann Train was an advanced passenger express train operated by the Deutsche Reichsbahn in Germany, which ran non-stop express services between Berlin and Dresden from June 1936 to August 1939. Both the DRG Class 61 steam locomotive at its head as well as the coaches were streamlined.

Saxon VIb V

The Saxon Class VIb were four-coupled, tender locomotives in express train service with the Royal Saxon State Railways. In 1925, the Deutsche Reichsbahn grouped these engines into DRG Class 34.8.

Meiningen station

Meiningen station is a junction of four railways and with its facilities is one of the most important railway stations in southern Thuringia, Germany.

References

  1. ↑ Glancey, Jonathan (August 2, 2008). "New steam locomotive unveiled: £3m Tornado unleashed 40 years after age of steam". Guardian. Retrieved 2008-08-11. The one part of the locomotive that no British company could make was the boiler. In the end the all-welded, high-pressure boiler was made by the German state railway's steam locomotive works at Meiningen.
  2. ↑ "Nürnberger News dated 24.10.2007". Archived from the original on 2008-01-13. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  3. ↑ Photo gallery on the theme "Adler in steam again" [ permanent dead link ] from the Thüringer Allgemeinen newspaper of 24.10.2007
  4. ↑ Thüringer Allgemeine dated 3 July 2008
  5. ↑ Brown, Warren (2011-10-25). "Driven loco by a spare part bungle". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2020-05-27.

Literature

Coordinates: 50°34′55″N10°25′14″E / 50.58194°N 10.42056°E / 50.58194; 10.42056

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