Last WW2 German Trains Still in Service
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- čas přidán 7. 03. 2022
- Incredibly, five WW2-built German Kriegslok war locomotives are still in daily operation in 2022 - find out where...
Special thanks to the following channels for access to footage. Please visit each for more fantastic Kriegslok and locomotive action!
- Metrobug: / @trainbugold
- Harrikolan Railways: / @harrikolanrailways9829
- Kaspertog: / @kaspertog
Dr. Mark Felton is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Fe...
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Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Mark Felton Productions. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Mark Felton Productions does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.
Credits: US National Archives; Library of Congress; Metrobug; Kaspertog; Harrikolan Railways
I live in Tuzla - Bosnia and Herzegovina and know of this perfectly. The reason why they use steam trains is simple. Coal mines in Bosnia are facing a management crisis caused by corrupt political party's that have been robbing coal mines for years. This resulted in coal mines being almost bankrupt and the status of miners really uncertain as well. Few months ago they had protests in capital of Sarajevo, but to little effect. Therefor the only way mines can supply coal to the coal run power plant is by using steam trains because they don't have to pay for a diesel that is too pricey (especially today after Russian sanctions where 1 liters cost almost 2 euros) and on top of that, they are running only 3-4 miles from mining site to the power plant coal accumulation and back. So it isn't that big journey either. However there is a good thing and a bad thing regarding this. Bad thing is that crews of these trains really have to put in effort and it's hard work. Good thing is that they love their trains and mechanics working on servicing these trains are second to none. They create all the spare parts themselves and are keeping them afloat and in good shape. And it has became a tourist attraction as well. Where else can you see Kriegelocks working as intended? If you ask politely, crew will take you for a ride and even let you operate it for a short bit under supervision if you really want to! Bosnian people are kind and honest. We have had really tough times upon us! We welcome everyone who is interested in us, to come and visit us!
Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm half way around the world from you and would love to do this. The odds are not in my favor though... There is something about a people who have "seem things" that makes them so very specially human in a way that the rest of us seem plastic by comparison.
Thank you! That's good information!
And I'm not surprised the crews and mechanics love their steam locomotives, that's one thing they have in common with steam crews all over the world.
There's a saying: The steam locomotive is the closest that God in His wisdom has ever let mankind come to creating life! I think there's something to that.
Thank you! I just might visit Bosnia in a near future.
I'm sure it's a labor of love to keep these old beasts chugging. An Accomplishment to be proud of actually, skill and careful operation is great to see.
wow‼️®™️
Interesting German "throw away engines" designed to last 10 years are still in service. Imagine the quality built into the "not throw away" engines.
The same can be said about the Alliies' "War Engines, the British WD "Austerity" engine and the American S160. Both built for use in Europe after the Second Front was established following a successful D-Day landing.
Robin Riddles, the designer of the British "Austerity" engine and later the CME of British Railways is reported to have said that he didn't care if they were all driven into the sea on the last day of the War, but those that were repatriated to Britain after their war service were quickly bought up by the British railway companies whose own loco stock was suffering from war damage, and minimum maintenance, and passed to British Railways on nationalisation in 1948, where many continued in service , clanking their way around the coalfields and the industrial areas until the end of steam in 1978, while the American S160's were used by many European railways as they restored their services after the chaos of war.
On the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway when I used to work there in the 1980's we had an S160 "Big Jim" from ALCO, which we had obtained when it was finally taken out of service from Katowice in Poland, and a War Department "Austerity " which had ended up in Sweden, "winterised" for use above the Arctic Circle
They might be a bit like Grandfather's Axe. Lots of maintenance in other words!
Wish modern BMW was a testament to that.
@@mrdumbfellow927 ahahaha thats exactly what I was thinking too
If you are interested in further war and elder locos which are in function, BZD = Bulgarian Zelednaja Dorogoj = Bulgarian Railways 64003 ! That is a 4-12-4 locomotive with integrated tender - search for BZD Steam locomotive 46.03, type 1-6-2 (load test) ! It is a very impressive loco and great pictures- I have never such a loco before! It was built in Poland.
Designed to work for 10 years, in service for 80 years - that's a statement of quality.
Great show Mark, thanks a lot.
Yes today items are designed for 5 years, and will last only 2. Because no updates are made available. These are some fine work-horses.
Jugoslavia Bosnia people have modified these machines to last longer ... Just like Mercedes .. the so-called Yugoslav FAP ... ;-) people don't know much about history and details but they can be found even on corrupt youtube :-)
thats because they was scared of Hitler.. they dont wanted to dissapoint him
Most of them got new boilers from a better steel in the 1950s.
@@christiankastorf4836 But not the BR 52 (except the Reko and GR locomotives of the GDR), which still have the original boilers today. The new boilers in the post-war years mainly affected standard locomotives that had boilers made of St44K steel from the factory, for example: BR 03.10, 41,…
I used to run the railway troop in Moenchengladbach (Germany) in the late 1980's. The most reliable locomotive we had was a 1937 built Deutz, which still had the Adler mounted high on the bonnet. When all our modern loco's were out of service for lack of spares or whatever, the Deutz was the 'go to' unit. It never failed to run and was always ready for work. It was also the most popular with the crews - go figure!
Hope your Deutz somehow dodged scrapping and it is still around?
Deutz has always made quality machines
Do you know what happened to it?
I served in the U.S. Army in Germany from 1972-1979. I was in Armor and Cavalry and we frequently loaded all our armored vehicles (Tanks and Armored Personnel Carriers) on to Bundesbahn railcars to travel from our barracks to the training areas in Grafenwohr and Hohenfelds. We were low priority and these trains were always pulled by slow moving World War Two steam engines. We made frequent stops along the way to allow faster priority trains to pass and it always brought great excitement to the kids who lived in the towns where we stopped. They would come running to trade what they had for of all things C-Rations. In exchange they would bring pastries, breads and other foods and even bottles of beer which I am sure they swiped from their dads or grand dads beer stash. They loved those C-Rations and chocolate candy and my platoon always had plenty of extra of both to pass out on the trip. Great fun and at 68 years of age great memories!!!!
In Grafenwoehr the Deutsche Bundesbahn used steam-engines of classes 44 and 50 during the seventies, but not class 52, which this video is about. Class 52 was active in West Germany only until 1963.
It may be a 052,which is an so called EDV -nummer.behind it is a class 50.
@@timonbeyer4399 Possible. 😉
That sounds like fun!
I had a boss who was once in an armored unit in Berlin during several of the Berlin crises of the early 1960s. Going nose to nose with the Warsaw pact armor in Berlin must have been a chilling experience!
No beer and skittles then!
@@jhughes5844 Left Germany in 1979. Participated in several Reforger exercises. Always great fun to meet soldiers who had just come from the U.S. Best job I ever had!!
Hats off to all those rail man around the World who have dedicated their working lives in blood, sweat, and tears (coal dust as well) operating these fascinating machines!
More Kudos to the German engineers who have built such solid and reliable machines…
Thank you
@Marek Glowczewsi 😂😂😂😂😂
@Marek Glowczewsi How much paper products do women in your life use (tissue/tp) ? I have seen obscene amounts wasted on a daily basis without a care in the world 🤔
It's a vocation..❤️
For the people who are confused about what's happening at 3:30 the train is on full brake, they usually slide a bit from the load, length, and their velocity before coming to a full stop, it's usually around a kilometer and a half.
this is how it is done when you want to park the train precisely .. the locomotive is used as an anchor
Long experience of Bosnian operators :-)
technically in order to stop faster you'd want to keep the wheels spinning but it is a bloody steam locomotive so I imagine the drivers workload is already full
@SeattlePioneer it's hard on the wheels. Steam locos are built with steel "tires" on the driving wheels that can be replaced, but still...
Flat spots....
A few years ago I travelled across Poland by train. Somewhere along the way we passed a truly massive train graveyard full of the biggest black steam engines I've ever seen.
there’s still some in commercial service - the Wolsztyn depot contains a museum and runs daily trains from Leszno to Wolsztyn with a steam engine
@@szymex22Better, less pollution than diesel
Do you know where were you exactly?
Im from Poland and maybe i know where it is
@@anirror Do you know where Sublice is? Have you ever been to that outside market? I'm a American and been there I couldn't believe all the awesome firecracker's and how cheap they were. We can't have firecrackers like that here in the states our cracker's are weak
@@m42037everybody in Poland knows where Słubice is… I used to live nearby but necer knew there was a cemetary of locomotives!
My grandfather was a locomotive driver in the Reichsbahn and later in the West German Bundesbahn, from the mid 1930s until the late 1950s. Never drove anything but steam engines and probably a number of Kriegsloks. My father told me he was popular with the stokers as he had an light hand on the throttle, thus saving fuel and making the stokers work a bit easier.
During the war he would drive supply trains for the eastern front. Apparently he never talked about that time except one thing: That he always had an explosive charge with him to blow the engine up if it was about to be captured.
My great-grandfather was a station master of a medium sized town in western Germany during the war and before. Never met him, but i saw the official documents and papers, some with swastika stamps, aswell as a nazi party badge. He never was nazi by heart, it was all a requirement for the job.
My grandpa in Poland was blowing up German trains going through Poland... your grandpa got lucky!
@@KrissowskiM That turned out well
@@KrissowskiM ..but NO CCCP trains in late 1939?
@@dallesamllhals9161 the resistance in 1939 was not organised yet at that moment - but we did have a regiment of regular Polish cavalry fighting all throughout the winter 1939/1940. Germans killed major Hubal - great Polish hero, a commander of that unit in spring 1940. Later resistance started to operate.
On the other hand - one must not forget that trains from Third Reich greatest ally - soviet Russia were being sent with all the resources necessary for the Germans to conquer Western Europe till the day in 1941 when Germany attacked Soviet Union.
I have no information from my grandpa if he fought against red menace and I will never find out - he has been dead since 2001... RIP my hero. He is mentioned in one of the books about resistance sector in southeastern Poland as a platoon leader in actions against German casinos (officers clubs) - throwing grenades inside and blowing up trains with supplies to eastern front... ;) but believe me - he hated the red ones same as the brown socialists!
I visited Tuzla in 2019 for the sole purpose of seeing these locomotives in action and I was not disappointed!
Was the visit eay to achieve?
@@gedhuffadine5796 Pretty much. I didn't really know where to look, so I chose some spots on google maps that looked promising and just followed the tracks.
I was turned away at the official entrances to both major locations, but a few hundred metres down the line the track is no longer on mine grounds and easily accessable.
As an American soldier, I saw these Steam Locomotives running in West Germany in the early 70's in the Railyard in Ulm, Germany. One of my Army Buddies actually was a "Steam Tractor Enthusiast" and went down to see them run and to take photos. The crews even asked him up into the Cab for a closer look. It was quite a thrill for him.
I was a British soldier based at a NATO unit in the 1960‘s the steamers that were still in use then where magnificent monsters of German engineering.
The haunting sound of that locomotive whistle and the smokestack exhaust is in many of the great WW2 movies.
Was thinking the very same thing when I heard it!
When you go don't expect them to be hauling 2,000T of coal a total train weight of 2,000T is one heck of a pull. From the brief look at the number of waggons and their size I'd guess the load was closer to 500T.
Is that smoke stack exhaust smoke or steam, or a mixture of the two?
@@minuteman4199 MM - sorry I do not know
@@minuteman4199 Mixture of both with quite a bit of smoke. Not a clean maschine
@ 3:37 note the reversing engine SLIDING to a stop! Nice way to flat spot all 10 pairs of driving wheels!
Mark from Melbourne Australia
I don't think the freight cars are connected to the brake. At 4:39 you can see that the air hoses are not connected.
Mark Fryer - I spotted that as well. As the grandson of av railroad machinist, I had to wince!
You certainly don’t see it filmed that often, and in reverse no less. As odd and counter intuitive as it looks, a good engineer learns to drive a train and spot the car-boys in all weather, knowing the weight, and moisture on the rails, holding short of front slipping or sand, and the temperature of the rail, there’s probably very little wear. (And he knew exactly where the engine would stop)
But it keeps the rails nice and shiny! 😁
Hey if it works...
On the one hand I am amazed that they're still going, on the other hand the role they are used for makes perfect sense. Hauling coal from mines to a coal fueled power plant using coal fueled engines is perfectly reasonable as it eliminates the logistics of supplying other fuel or power, which helps to offset the higher maintenance costs of these veteran machines.
I imagine these babies go chugging right along when the rest of Europe is wondering where their next liter of diesel oil is going to come from.
The way oil prices are going, we will need temporary steam engines in many countries
Good build quality even after the situation turned against Germany is impressive. The fact that the Yougoslav and Bosnian mechanics and engineers managed to keep them going for 70+ years with limited spares is astounding. They are very skilled in their craft.
The British also made simplified "war locomotives." IIRC many operated past their design lives - but not to this extent. As has often been noted about much of the machined vehicles and every type of gun, the Germans were *too* good at manufacturing things - achieving quality impaired quantity. (At the end of the war simplified rifles, etc, were finally tried.)
@@donjones4719 And the British locomotives were also Deacpods (2-10-0's).
@@colbeausabre8842 150 of the WD austerity locomotives were 2-10-0's, 935 were 2-8-0's. Apparently they both had the same power output, but the extra wheels allowed the axle loading to be lower thus increasing route availability.
Spares for BR52 are limited by money only. You can order new parts from Meiningen/Germany if you have the money
@@mbr5742 true but corrupt Bosnian politicians, or just Bosnian politicians would shut it down
You've done it yet again. Found something that most of us would never have imagined possible.
I'm no steam enthusiast, but I cannot help but admire the strength of these old machines to
keep on moving so many years after their expiry date. They sound pretty terrifying don't they.
They sound wonderful to me. They have something calming and powerful at the same time. And they remind me of a moment in my life that I will never forget. My dad once asked a train driver if we could get on the locomotive where the oven is when it was standing at the station. At that time they were already quite seldom in Germany. We already had many electric trains or at least some with diesel engines.
Unimaginable today. Many security rules would be violated. And somehow society ticks differently today
I've always loved these trains and find them very exciting.
Für mich klingen sie wunderbar. Sie haben was beruhigendes und kraftvolles zu gleich. Und sie erinnern mich an einen Moment in meinem Leben den ich nie vergessen werde.. Mein Papa, hat mal einen Zugführer gefragt ob wir in die Lok dürfen dort wo der Ofen ist, als diese am Bahnhof stand. Zu dieser Zeit waren sie schon recht selten in Deutschland. Wir hatten ja schon viele elektrische Bahnen oder zumindest welche mit Dieselmotoren.
Unvorstellbar heute. Viele Sicherheitsregeln würden dagegen verstoßen. Und irgendwie tickt die Gesellschaft heute anders
Ich habe diese Züge schon immer geliebt und finde sie voll spannend.
They sound awesome.
Because good maintenance and repair they work for long time.
Yeah, mean...they...kinda *_are_* terrifying but also...
...
...tragic...
..
....that is...if you consider what they were built for.
Just keep dem boilers in shape-and certified.
There is couple of 52 series steam trains that are still in service in Poland. We actually used many of them. There are actually 3 that are operational ( 2 Polish build and one German build in which I had a pleasure to ride) and there are 2 being restored. They were known as Ty-2 ( Polish build were known as Ty-42) and they played a huge role in rebuilding the country.
it's a crime they are still in use. Higly polluting and no way nearly as efficient as today's ones. Funny that some cars from the early 2000s are not allowed to enter cities, LOL. Imagine a ww2 steam engine functioning
@@Fedvec01 In Poland they are actually museum locomotives, not used everyday but for excursion trains in summer.
@@Fedvec01 climate cult member?
@@Fedvec01a properly fired steam locomotive pollutes less than the average diesel when ran the same amount, and if you want to do something about pollution, propose a solution to make jet engines or larger boat motors burn clean.
@@Fedvec01 So say the Carbon scammers flying their Leer Jets
When I was serving in the Belgian army in the eighties there was a small detachment working out of the barracks at the “Fortress of Kapellen” near Antwerp, they were part of the military railroads. Their duty was to take military wagons loaded with tanks, artillery pieces, etc. Back and forth from the military camp of Brasschaat to the civilian railroad in Kapellen, a traject of about 8 to 12 km through a nature reserve. They did it with an old German diesel locomotive, a spoil of war, and when you looked at the right angle in the sun you could still see the eagle and swastika emblem on the flanks of the loc overpainted in green. No idea if the locomotive and the detachment still exist, but I did a few rides along with the locomotive and it was epic. Thanks for your informative channel!!!
Between sheer age, the allied air blitz against any moving German locomotives during WWII, and the Yugoslavian civil war it’s nothing short of a miracle that any of these old beasts still run, much less do work on a daily basis.
About 4000 BR52 survived, the largest numbers in east and west germany. West germany could phase them out faster between new diesels like V100 and V200 and having a huge number of BR50s
@@mbr5742 Both BRD (Deutsche Bundesbahn) and DDR (Deutsche Reichsbahn) used them together with other types until the 70s. The early Diesels you've mentioned were not powerful enough to haul heavy freight like ore and coal trains. You find very good youtube footage from the 70s of pre-war steam locos hauling freight and passengers on unelectified main lines in both East and West Germany.
@@ottovonbismarck2443 West germany got rid of the last 52 in 1962. What you are refering to are the BR 052. Those (like the 051 and 053) are BR 50 running gear with BR52 boilers and sometimes cabs. Some (around 150) using the characteristic Wannentender as well. They look very similar until you see both side by side. An example of the 053 is at Bochum Dahlhausen train collection. Sadly not a runner.
@@ottovonbismarck2443 The unelectified track through hilliybilly land up to the coast at Emden was a rarity in the 70s. The last major steam haul in germany and using oil fired versions of the 44 and 41. Likely done because they feared the Westphalians would stand on the rails listening to the singing wire if they electrified it...
@@ottovonbismarck2443 Thank you; for what for me is very valuable insight, in the very early 1950s British Rail introduced a diesel powered Loco it was purely experimental and probably had a bus or truck engine?; it wasn't designed to pull carriages and seem to spend a good deal of its time running out of Paddington towards Reading a distance of only about 35 miles, but it was clearly the way things were going. Your point that early diesel locos would not pull heavy loads (2000 tons in this case) is central to the development of diesel locos which carry their own fuel, and later electric locos. I find myself wondering just where do electric locos get the weight needed to achieve traction?
I have no idea where you get this footage Mark, but you do us all proud. Long may you work and be successful to bring all of this to the world.
Its hard to not be a jerk after reading your reaction, but of ALL the things Felton made, you choose to write it under a clip of WWII things STILL IN SERVICE.
geeh.. i wonder what efforts Felton made. Paid a crazy scientist shady internet money to take him back in time, so could wait with his color camera untill 2022 ?
@@juliusraben3526 I think that's enough internet for you for one day.
At least in this case, these locomotives are “Well known” in the train enthusiast community as Mark pointed out - and that means people take trips to view and film them. There’re similar videos from Chinese and Indian railways also, where steam is still used.
@@TheOnlyTYRE seriously?! How can one NOT react cynical to a message like that?!
Its not like Felton found a video dairy of a tank commander of the battle of Kursk that was collecting dust since its creation. He propably got the footage from enthousiasts instead of actually going there (although he could write the trip off as business expense haha)
Never encountered a lvl99 cynical asshole on the internet before?
Gues ignorance IS a bliss
@@BeautifulGreen252 what i wrote T.Y.R.E also applies to you haha
Thank you Mark! Another Awesome video!
Sorry will try that again. Fantastic. Bloody lovely. I am a fireman at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, a party went from our railway to work the lines for a week. Something I wish I had done. Credit to the engineers and engineering, great video Mark
My dad was 15 near the end of WW2 and and he and his friend roofed their apartment building with emergency shingles. Despite the fact that they were low quality shingles that were laid by kids (all the men were fighting) they lasted 40 years.
Thats pretty long. So they are high quality instead
often times low quality doesn't mean 'bad', but 'low quality control'.
Sometimes you get lucky, and the cheap hastily made rubbish is actually very reliable
They definitely don't make things the way they used to.
@@edwhatshisname3562 yep. We can be sure about that.
The class 52 was built in almost any locomotive factory in German occupied countries during the war. Many were completed using existing parts shortly after the war and quite some were built entirely new after the war. That's why nobody knows how many were actually built. It is a simplified version of the civilian class 50, that arguably was one of the finest steam loco designs ever made in Germany. Some say it was the single finest. It was sturdy, economical, easy to operate and to service. it was strong and fast enough to haul a wide variaty of different trains and was able to go backwards as fast as it could forward. And it was able to be used virtually everywhere due to only 7.5 metric ton wheel load while most designs of comparable power were limited to main lines due to their 9-11 ton wheel load.
Almost every 52 that was service in post war Germany experienced major redesigns, not only undoing the wartime simplifications but further improving the original design improving their fuel economy and power. Improved 50s and 52s were among the last steam engines being phased out of both the German and East German state railways.
In contrast the Bosnian 52s still are mostly in their original shape, proving how sturdy and long lived the design is even without major improvements.
In an environment where workforce is cheap while modern workshop machines and tools are rare and expensive and where coal and water are cheap and available in virtually unlimited amounts while every drop of diesel fuel has to be imported, steam locos still are more economical than diesel locos. That is especially true for coal mine railways.
What was it about the 42s. My six year old brain tells me that that was the legendary German one besides of this one dry steam experiment.
@@vHindenburg The 42 was more powerful but is was no smooth runner. Even though being rated for 80km/h it was more a 60km/h machine. Its higher wheel load also made it less versatile than the 50 and 52. Most post war users tried to replace them as soon as possible.
@@vHindenburg The 42 was a war version of the heavy freight class 44, however with several new and not well developed changes. And then as usual with the nazis, they also had some more gigantic ideas like the 43 (with 16 drive wheels)…
@@kailahmann1823 Die 53er sollte die Achsanordnung 1C´ D bekommen! Meint Vorlaufachse, Zylindergruppe mit 3 Treib-und Kuppelachsen, als drehbare Einheit und die zweite Zylindergruppe mit 4 Treib- und Kuppelachsen ohne Nachlaufachse. Macht 14 Antriebsräder american 2-6-8. Sie waren geplant für einen 5-achsigen Wannentender, der später auch durch einen 5-achsigen Kondenstender, wie in der 52er ausprobiert, ersetzt werden sollte. Eine schönes H0-Modell gibt es von Märklin!
The BR53 should get a (german 1 C´ D) means pilot axe, turnable cylinder-group with 3 axes and second, fixed cylinder-group with 4 axes - 7 powered axes get a american type 2-6-8. They wereplanned with a longer tube tender with 5 axes and later with a condensation-tender wih also 5 axes as proved with the BR 52 locos. There are nice models in H0 scale from MÄRKLIN!
it cool but also a little morbid talking about German WW2 trains i cannot stop thinking abut how many people took the last ride of their lives on these things
As a (almost pensioned) railwayworker I find this a very interesting video. Also becouse 5 generations before me my family were working for the Dutch railroads. My grandfather and grand-grandfather were drivers on stream locomotives during ww2 and told me a lot of the hard times they had. Thanks.
Thankyou Dr Felton. My favourite history channel does a steam locomotive video. Some really nice footage there.
Always loved these kriegslok. Magnificent machines!
Good to know I still have a few years to see them in operation. Let’s hope they make it into preservation when they are finally retired.
Having had the pleasure (and pain) of working on commercial steam in the UK and being a lifetime devotee of Steam in all forms I cannot emphasize just how good the Fitting Staff at the works really are. Those locos sound spot on (I shut my eyes and listen to the exhaust as I can 'see' it better that way), clean beats, no sound of bad rings, no extraneous blows or leaks. Kudos to the Staff, respect to the original builders and I salute the original Design team. They are truly magnificent beasties. Can I have a go, please, Mister?....'.
I've been told that you can't be sloppy with steam by an elderly friend of mine who started out as an apprentice mechanic in the railways. He told me about a particular articulated locomotive type (Beyer-Garratt) which required a fine touch in maintenance. One of these went out of the shop one day after major overhaul, and a few days later it was back - the crews said it "ran like a dog, and even that's insulting to dogs". The mechanics went over it with a fine-tooth comb and found something (can't remember what, but it was some form of duct/pipe associated with the stack) was out of alignment by 1/4". They re-aligned whatever it was and that fixed the problem. Amazing that the equivalent of about 6mm of misalignment could cause a noticeable degradation in performance.
@@vk2ig the Blast Pipe, I'm guessing here, is critical to the steaming performance of the loco. I transforms the exhaust from the cylinders into a focused jet that, in conjunction with the chimney (stack) petticoat (a bit that goes down from the chimney inside the smokebox), creates the vacuum which draws the hot gasses from the fire through the tubes to create steam. In Steam terms 1/4" is not even in the same locale, it's miles out. The chimney and petticoat pipe together make a Venturi Tube (like a good old carburettor) and the steam exhaust is designed to form a cone that touches the venturi in the right place for perfect running. If it is not right she will never steam properly and give the crews all kinds of problems, running like a dog is just one description.
Definitely better sounding than those decrepit North Korean steamers! 🤣
@@douglasfleetney5031 This is indeed a critical alignment.
In the steam hobby groups it is debated endlessly. I designed mine from scratch and it worked flawlessly from day 1.
Maybe it was just dumb, blind, beginner's luck.
But luck favours the prepared mind.
Indeed I was just thinking that they all sound very much in beat. And relatively steam tight.
WWII AND Trains!? You sir have my attention!
Honorable mentions to the numerous German Kriegsloks, American S160s, British 8Fs and Black Fives, and scores of other wartime locomotives that have had (and still have) second lives in tourist and museum operations.
Did you watch the restoration and running of the Big Boy 4-8-8-4 ? I would love to be standing trackside and he roars past like an awakening dragon.
Traveling Tom chased 4014 around 2 years ago and has an incredible collection of videos. czcams.com/channels/6gO-fL7mzrXEwyiwgjLkqQ.htmlsearch?query=4014
Just don't look up what happened to the Jews lol
WW2 and trains…… if only you can work in Sharks for the trifecta.
@@AndyFromBeaverton I was at the museum in Los Angeles right before they started the big move back in the day!
@@alanaldpal950 I don’t know if I should be interested or concerned.
I,m very happy for this.Thanks for all.
It warms my heart to see old machines still putting in work.
It's so beautiful to watch them run after all this years. Doesn't matter what, steam powered locomotives are always the most classy and beautiful, even the working-horse kind of one.
Testament to German engineering that they are still operating today.
@@BearFlagRebel There are UK and US locomotives a plenty still surviving, the only reason these are remarkable is because they are working in a country that cannot afford to replace them
@@garrymartin6474 How many US and UK 80 plus-year-old steam locomotives are still in regular service? What makes it remarkable is the engineering. The overhauling continued the life span of the locos. The engineering had to come first.
@@BearFlagRebel No steam locomotives are in regular use in the USA on mainline railroads. The Union Pacific occasionally uses the 4-8-4 and rarely the 4-8-8-4 to haul a freight train when the locomotive is being moved. Others operate pulling excursion passenger trains.
The skills needed to keep those running is just amazing, a true art.
I find it very astonishing, that these trains still run! Great work of art on all sides. Although I am not a train-fan, I like to see things from times long ago still doing the job they were made for. Thank you very much for this report.
Your videos, research and delivery is always on point.
I have a (U.S.) locomotive engineer license and am qualified on steam. Steam locomotives, although extremely labor-intensive, have an inherent long life as long as they are maintained and overhauled regularly. Under pressure, water boils at a higher temperature than it normally would, so a catastrophic boiler failure due to poor maintenance or poor operation is usually spectacular. As long as these machines are maintained correctly and operated correctly they can have an almost indefinite life. Thank you for a fine video.
Great info.
Imagine a steam locomotive being shot up by a fighter aircraft during WWII....
@@SeattlePioneer I've seen WW2 footage ,
some erupt in several geyser where the bullets have pieced the shell , some blow in a big steam explosion , I guess it depend on the caliber too
One small addition. As far as I know, the reason the BR50 was chosen over the more powerful BR44 was that the axle load of the BR50 is only 15t rather than 20t of the BR44. This makes them more suitable for less well build or maintained tracks. BR50 is the non-simplified version of the locomotive. P.S.: Great to see the locomotives in action, thanks!
There is also the fact that the BR 44 are three-cylinder engines, thus more complicated to build and maintain.
One small addition is that there also was a simplified BR 50ük which was an intermediate sted between the 50 and 52
they did mount the 44 boiler on the 52 chassis for the BR42 after they went over the network and found they had room for some heavier, more powerful locomotives
Absolutely beautiful. Thanks Mark. 👌
As a high school student, I worked after school at Inland Steel as a mail boy. I watched the plant cut huge pieces of steel to make one side of a huge locomotive. It took 2 cranes to lift each piece. It was amazing to watch.
I understand their supernaturally long survival is due to the fact that they run on the very product the mine extracts (thus negating the need for an expensive fuel supply) but in 2022 this is absolutely astounding. Worth a trip just to see them working... the only time I had a trip on a train that was in revenue service with a steam loco pulling it, was in 1975 from Padua to Venice (and already a rare curiosity back then) even if some shunting work was still done there by a few old locos, soon retired . Great!
52s are a dozend a dime in Europe. VSM Beekbergen in the Netherlands has three runners including a rare original boilered one and are working on another (a BR 52.80 like the ones shown here). Some are currently "waiting for better times" like BR 52 6106 in Gerolstein (functional but the owner does not get her re-certified before it can earn money) and some are actively restored.
I'm just curious if they use premium coal for these engines or if they burn Coke in them. I am going to try to research it and find out.
@@patrickmichael1057 Given that the boilers of the 52 and 52.80 where designed for use of low quality coal and even lignite bricks - most likely the latter.
They do not operate the trains over long distances and they do a lot shunting work (something the engine is not the best choice for - it is a long range runner) so they will have to rewater quite often and that is also a chance to get rid of ash.
A german 52 operator ones joked that if they fed their engine the same high end coal a BR 01 gets it would stop, turn around and ask the stoker "Who's birthday is it?"
there's a main line in Poland that runs on steam between Wolsztyn and Lezsno. 4 years ago there was even a program that allowed people to operate the train during regular service.
Kriegsloks formed the backbone of most eastern bloc and even non-aligned countries’ freight hauling motive power, mostly from Poland to East Germany and around Europe after the war, as Mark had noted. the austerity of the design can’t go unrecognized, and the same can go for the American and British wartime austerity designs. Definitely an episode I was hoping to see at some point!
Question for you Mike as you seem quite knowledgeable regarding these beauties. Towards the front of the train... are those armor plates meant to protect the steam boiler from air attacks? Or is that a common feature found on all steam locomotives?
👍🏾
@@jerryjeromehawkins1712 The plates towards the front are not armor, but rather smoke deflectors. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_deflectors
@@jerryjeromehawkins1712 They're not armored plates. smoke deflectors/lifters are meant to keep smoke from shifting down towards the cab and obscuring the engineer's view. Germany had armored up a kriegslok once if my memory serves me right, but it definitely wasn't in the form of deflectors!
Back to the lifters though, they're not exactly a standard feature on every steam locomotive, usually they'd be fitted out of necessity or for the sake of experimentation. Germany made very good use of them whenever needed before, during, and after the war, however.
Ah... thanks Frank and Mike.
Very interesting! 👍🏾🇺🇸
Poland had a lot of them as far as I know.. I'm not sure about other Eastern Bloc countries, I know the Hungarian State Railways acquired a hundred from the Soviet Union in 1963, but they weren't as numerous as the 424 series or the 411 series (USATC S160).
These engines are incredible! Who would have thought they would still be operating for eighty years! Thanks for creating this documentary!
Magnificent engines. The heritage steam railway business is booming in the West, and these engines are sure to be a huge tourist attraction if marketed properly. I hope they are cherished and find an extra lease of life through tourism. Well done to the mechanics for looking after them so well.
Hats off to the folks that keep these locomotives running. It's really becoming a lost art.
Not really. Workshops in the UK maintain the many heritage locomotives. The only process not currently undertaken is the building of new boilers which is undertaken in Germany. There are some 3292 heritage locomotives in the UK though that includes diesels. A handful of new steam locomotives are being built most small apart from the Prince Of wales which as a Gresley class P2 is the most powerful locomotive ever built in the UK.
Jugoslavia Bosnia people have modified these machines to last longer ... Just like Mercedes .. the so-called Yugoslav FAP ... ;-) people don't know much about history and details but they can be found even on corrupt youtube :-)
Mark I think we all agree the History channel needs you. You’re such a bright and incredible storyteller that deserves nothing but the very best! God bless!
He's too good for them! :D
@@bigben5051 Hey, I wanted to say that!
Absolutely guys couldn’t agree more! Remember I never said he needed the history channel 😉
Good idea but HC now woke
Dr Felton does not cover things like UFOs, zombies, and aliens, so the History Channel would have no use for his content.
Remarkable. Thanks for posting this.
Even as not a rail channel Mark knows what we want and cranks the volume up for those steam sounds! Awesome video, there's a brilliant model kit of this locomotive by Trumpter that I'm putting on my model bucket list.
Back in 1990, just after the wall came down, I went to Poland and East Germany. First thing I noticed when I crossed the border to Poland were all the steam locos. And same in E.Germany. Such a feeling of going backwards in time. It was awesome.
In 1990, East Germany had no steam locos on regular schedule, with the exception of the narrow gauge systems, where they are preserved as museum pieces (all German narrow gauge steam locos are called Class 99, independently of their actual design). The last regular normal gauge steam train in East Germany ran on Oct. 29 1988. But steam locos were kept ready for so called Plandampf (scheduled steam) occasions, where they replaced the regular loco in front of normal trains, if someone footed the bill for the additional cost.
@@SiqueScarface same in Polamd, I can only remember one ride on regular connection with steam loco and it was on really remote place in the 80-ies.
WOW, 80 years on service, of these locomotives could talk about all the times they have seen by. I hope that they continue to be in service for a long time.
Thomas the talking German train
@JK he saying about us they could talk about all the stories they can tell
@@TFSIChristmas Thomas was only following orders...
@@StrikeWyvern Ah.. Thomas, the tank serving the Nazi German em*
There are a number of steam locomotives over 100 years old still in regular use. Even the famous "Flying Scotsman" built in 1923, is now almost 100 years old !
You have to post more video's. If I see a Mark Felton video I know I have to view it. Best history channel on CZcams.
Quite incredible. Kudos to the operational and maintenance crews for keeping these running.
Thanks man!
That these locos are still working is also a testament to the workers who maintain and repair them, and to the company management who are committed to this work.
Aprently the mine owners are actually very corrupt hence why they haven't been replaced.
Shows the advantage of steam technology, it is relatively easily maintained compared to internal combuston. Hats off to the mechanics and engineers maintaining these locomotives.
There are quite a few V100 and V200 diesel engines still 7n operational service. Since the steam engines shown here where rebuild in the 1960s kn east germany those are of similar age
Yeah, additionally they run no matter how bad the weather may be.
@@anonymusum In some conditions (wet autum) they have more traction problems than modern electrical engines of the same power class. Electrical motors have finer control
Maybe easier to maintain, but more often.
Two major factors that obsoleted steam locomotives: extensive maintenance requirements and the necessity of double, triple headers having a crew on each locomotive. With diesels several locomotives strung together are operated by one locomotive crew.
Diesels are also like big trucks. Sitting cold they are started up and ready to go in five minutes or less. From cold a steamer takes an hour or more to get ready to work, and that's if it's in or at an engine house where a stationary boiler can supply hot water and steam to heat the boiler up quickly.
Then, steam locomotives are filthy. Coal burners send fly ash and cinders over the landscape. Oil fired ones send oil soot out into the air as during the steam locomotive era they burned bunker oil, thick petroleum that has to be heated to flow through the pipes to the spray nozzles in the firebox. Today, museum/excursion steamers burn diesel or heating oil, much less dirty burning, simply because it is readily available.
Steam locomotives are very inefficient. The most highly developed ones built in the 1940s and 1950s might attain a peak efficiency of 6%. Overall they were less than 2% efficient. That is, they wasted 98% of the fuel they consumed. All of that steam blowing out, leaking, unburned coal or oil blowing out of the smokestack, heat radiating off of the firebox, boiler and smokebox takes burning fuel to supply. Diesel locomotives attain 25-35% efficiency. Diesel engines use very little fuel at an idle just to keep running when not working.
Shocking!! Thanks so much for the info.
Really cool.
Thank you!
Keeping history alive and working for a living, a win win situation.
Wow, Mr Felton has become my top 3 WW2 documentarian ever. CZcams has a standard bearer right here, never ever get bored with these and love the differant subjects that not many cover
Who are the other two you recommend?
@@389383 Indy?
Top 3 😂
Have you heard of " The Front" channel. They are also good.
@@garycrasto1310 Thanks I will give it a try.
Thankyou, a great mini doco on these locos.
I hope when they finally do rellace them that they are not scraped but are preserved
A brilliant video, great visuals, editing, sound, script and narration. Fascinating. Well done.
I just love the sound of steam locomotives. And to think these are archaic steam technology still functioning in the 21th century, is astonishing. Gotta hand it to quality German engineering.
There are a lot of German ww2 trains still left, especially in the narrow gauge, mostly part of the Heersfeldbahn. On the Austrian 760mm network there are quite a few of these. Like the class HF130C and a few steam locomotives. One of these HF130C is actually still in commercial use at the Pinzgauerlokalbahn in Zell am See as a shunter.
We have a Franco-Belge 0-8-0 ex-Wehrmacht loco nearing return to service on the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway, and enough ex-Zillertal & ex-SKGLB coaches to (I hope) see her and our on-hire U-class run a 2-train service
@@iansadler4309 I think the Austrians call that the 699.100 class (at least thats its ÖBB number). But when is my precious U class going back to the ZtB?
@@catpoezenpootje7868 699.01 is a bit of a problem - there are 2 of them, and ours is now an 0-8-0T not 0-8-0TT. Not sure when Zillertal will be going home, but we are taking good care of here in the meantime
*locomotives*
@@MontyCantsin5 🤓 sorry… I had too… although I get what you are saying
Great video. Always nice to see older technologies in action.
I love to learn and so naturally I love this channel !!! Cheers my friend , have a great day !
When I was on deployment in Bosnia in 2000 I got to see these locomotives when I was pulling security at a rail head in Tuzla. They also had at least one or two smaller locomotives. The Kriegsloks operated during the night while the smaller ones operated during the day.
Perfect example of great engineering, great maintenance, and doing with what you have. Great pieces of history. Thank you Dr Felton
Thanks for the video! I like that CZcams auto translates the huffing and puffing - and the whistle of the locomotives as [Music].
Such gorgeous machines. And the fact they are still in service makes it even better.
I'm born in '74,I remember this loco,was so popular in the past,in Polish notional railway. My grandad was a driver on one of.
Than you Mark!
Amazing!
Still in service almost 80 years after they were built.
You certainly dig up some great stories and videos. Thanks.
Sounds like my grandmother- still hauling arse
Thank you for the video.
Steam locomotives are so much more fascinating than any other type of locomotives. Thanks for uploading!
Despite what the Germans thought about and did in war, they have produced some of the very best engineers and scientists the world has ever seen, ever
Actually about the 10 year thing: the Class 52 steamers art the number 1 most preserved german steam locomotives, since they were well kept by the gdr-Reichsbahn, that sold a lot of them in the 90s, this is allso because of the great simplification and ease of maintinance compared to other german steam locomotives.
And there are a lot still stored out of service in the former RDA, right?
Amazing. I remember these engines coming past where we lived in Vienna in the 60s (the Verbindungsbahn between the Westbahnhof and Sudbahnhof). They pulled trains scheduled to connect to Hungary and points south. I had assumed they were American, like some of the trams at the time. Unforgettable.
The sound of the steam whistle of the Kreigslocs are iconic, and chilling at the same time
3:29 "er, sir why aren't we stopping?" "I'm giving her all she's got!"
How about give her some sand.
might be just a moment but if these were handled like this all the time, it amazing that they still are operating and not have been scrapped due to the amount of wheels and repairs theese must go through...
Magnificent machines! Hope to see more railway related documentaries from you!
If the class 52 us still going strong after all this years, this is a sign of a very takented and enthusiastic wirking maintenance crew, which is takinc care! Go on Running!
I think this is the most iconic sound on earth. I'm so glad I lived in an era where you could experience these monsters for real. The sounds, the smells and that haunting whistle at night 😁
Right.. that whistle alone just echos with a subtle intensity, thats intriguing but also reminding.
I live next to the California pacific freight train tracks :) ... man ... it is a rare therapy money can't buy
Even Germany's disposable wartime technology has better longevity than most!
Not too many 1940s vintage horses left around
Just don’t pay any attention to their armored vehicle’s transmissions…
@@Arbiter099 Yeah- the replacement cycle on those things is horrendous. Thank goodness they are at least partly self-replicating.
Although in 70 years, almost any part may have been replaced at least once or twice eversince.
@@harroldthered7050 That statement is completely overused though and only fits for late war vehicles. Some people even got as far as claiming that the reliable Panzer III chassis had a bad transmission. It's pretty much on the same level as France surrender jokes by now.
The fact that these trains still run after being built as throw away units are a testament to the skill and determination and pride of people who can make it thru almost any situation on what seems at times to be just pure will and devotion to each other.
4am, still awake, and this popped on my feed. Oh the CZcams gods know exactly what I like!
Proof that just because something is old or considered obsolete, it can still have practical use and value.
Mark, this is fantastic! Who would have guessed that these old iron horses would still be working. Great subject for a video!
Great video!
A testimate to how well built steam locomotives are. An old documentary said "theres nothing better then a pair of husky haulers heading out of town to the tune of out of beat exhaust" love double heading. Thanks Mark!
The sight and sound of those trains helps us imagine what it would have been like during the war, loading the trains at the factory, or being wounded and waiting on the platform to be evacuated, or being sent to the front, or, worst of all, to a death camp. Thank you for this video.
Thank you for the comment to the death camps these locos were unfortunately used to bring the victims.
I'm horrified to imagine that for millions. This train and its noises where some of the last sounds they heard before having their humanity stripped from them forever.
"death" camp
It's absolutely harrowing to ponder what those trains may have been hauling during World War 2. I've seen one of the box cars trains like this pulled up close in a museum and it is absolutely haunting when you know the history behind it.
@Kabuki Kitsune so its unlikely that these class 52s in bosnia hauled you-know-what trains right?
I grew up in a coal camp in West Virginia, USA. Everything in this video, from the trains, the houses and the coal tipple all look very familiar to me. I'd love to see one of these trains in person.
THANK YOU MARK.... THAT IS OUTSTANDING HISTORY...PRESENT AND PAST.
i've seen the plumes of steam they produce in footage from train being strafed by fighter pilots from WW2, but to see the sheer amount of thick steam that machine produces is insane. Really cool to be able to see one operating with quality footage.
My grandpa would LOVE this! He was a WW2 veteran AND a train engineer!
Much praise for those who keep these wonderful locomotives going year after year 👍
Awesome!
Kriegslok locomotives were used in Romania when the country was part of the Axis powers but then changed sides towards the end of WW2 and remained in the country. Romania started building a copy which was the 150 class 2-10-0. These continued in service well into the 1970s and at least half a dozen are preserved as static exhibits in museums and even on the platforms of a couple of major stations.
I wonder how many were used at Polesti in the oilfields during WW2.I have no doubt they would have been converted to oilburners due to the massive amount of oil available in the region.
The stack talk these engines make is fantastic! They sound very healthy and are probably kept up better than a good chunk of museum engines here in the states
To be fair these engines are only going 3-4 miles and are getting looked at far more often than the museum trains in the states which travels hundreds if not thousands of miles before getting looked at again.
Plus since these trains are pretty much tourist attractions it probably helps them with buying new parts cause Germany still makes the parts when the need arises.
I saw one of these when I was in southern Germany in 2014. Working and hauling passengers on a tour around the country side. Love the old iron.
Superb maintenance n incredible use, thanks
I wish more people would appreciate trains. Such beautiful vehicles