Das Heizhaus - Strasshof - Austrian Railway Museum (pic heavy)

[Stefan88]

For anyone spending any time in or around Vienna, a trip to the railway museum near Straßhof (Strasshof) is always worth a visit. Take the Schnellbahn/S-bahn line S1 towards Gänserndorf and alight at Silberwald, coming from Vienna you will pass the museum on your right. What ever you do, don't alight at the station for Strasshof - the museum is a good hours walk from there!

 

The museum is located on the site of a former steam depot, probably one of the last built dating from the 1950s. When steam was abandoned in the early to mid 70's it became the HQ and museum for the 1 österreichisches Staßenbahn und Eisenbahn Klub (1.öSEK - 1st Austrian Tram and Railway Club). Entry cost is pretty low, €6 last time, and steam and diesel workings are held through the summer as well as some specials that usually begin at Wien Nord (Vienna north station by the Prater) and end up at the museum. More details can be found on their website - http://eisenbahnmuseum-heizhaus.com/index.php/Home-436.html?language=en

 

 

Austrian license built Uerdinger railbus 5081.15

 

 

Coupled together with railcar 5042.14 from the late 30's, and immediately behind it the Blauerblitz (blue lightening, class 5045 & 5145) set based here, one powercar has recently had new axles fitted and has been back in service for specials since last year after several years of being out of action.

 

 

 

In the foreground is a class 78.606 4-6-4 with electric railcar ET10.02 (former ÖBB 4041.02) looking very worse for ware.

 

 

 

 

 

Inside the shed everything tends to be tightly packed, and combined with blistering sunshine breaking through the glass in the roof can make photo taking difficult.

 

Express locomotive of the kkStB (kaiserlich-königlichen Staatsbahnen - Emperors-kings State railways) class 310.23, this used to be a regular fixture on mainline steam specials in the 80s and 90s.

 

 

 

Südbahn class 109.13 from 1910 - still works steam specials

 

 

Steam railcar (really a locomotive with a luggage compartment) DT1.07

 

 

 

Rack locomotive 197.301 from the Erzbergbahn (Erzberg - literally iron ore mountain - had a standard gauge rack railway to haul the ore hoppers up and down, and is where the last standard gauge steam operations were until conversion to diesel powered adhesion in 1978)

 

 

ÖBB 1080.01 - one of the first generation of mainline electric locomotives from the 1920s, the last of these were withdrawn in the early 90s.

 

 

ÖBB 1245.04 - built at the start of the 30s, these were in regular use until 1995.

 

 

 

1062.07 - this was a class of electric shunters built in 1955 based on the chassis and running gear of the older class 1061/1161 from the 30s. In use until 1995, this preserved example is occasionally used for specials in a 'Westbahn Pendler' formation (Vienna West mainline commuter train with the locomotive in the middle and 2 four wheel coaches on either side). These aren't held very often, presumably the top speed of 50km/h and having to move it along a long section of mainline with heavy international traffic to reach Vienna plays a big part in that.

 

 

Another 1st generation electric locomotive built in the 20s, 1670.25. These were withdrawn in 1984 with 2 examples preserved in running condition.

 

 

The first post-war electric locomotive to be built in Austria, class 1040.01 - based on the class 1245 from the pre-war period. The last 2 examples were withdrawn in 2003.

 

 

Tucked away in the back were a couple of crocodiles, first 1189.05 - the Austrian version of the famous Swiss crocodile.

 

 

And a German crocodile (former ET94), a ÖBB 1020.47 - this is the last of 3 built by the ÖBB after the war and as such was never originally an ET94.

 

 

Unfortunately the museum suffers from 3 issues: a lack of covered areas, not enough man-power and far too much stock. The last of which is partly as a result of the ÖBB completely abandoning their historic division some years ago and 'dumping' all their stock on museums. The 1öSEK is also responsible for looking after some of the exhibits from the Technical Museum in Vienna, so again some of the covered space has to be given to these and forces other stuff outside. As a result the museum has the unfortunate nickname of Schrotthof (Schrott = scrap).

 

At the turntable are a couple of snow ploughs and several steam engines.

 

 

12.10 - the last of its kind (though the same series was built in Romania, of which one was imported to Austria for preservation and is still in use). Unfortunately for this one it has denkmalschutz - monument protection - and as such the original boiler can not be replaced so it can never be restored to working order.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another sad sight, former world speed record holder and prototype of the 1044 class, 1044.501-3, quietly rusting away outside the shed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A class 2045 diesel that seems to be getting a repaint.

 

 

And on the outer extremeties of the site is 2045.20, the one that used to belong to the historic wing of the ÖBB now looking pretty sorry for itself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A former fireless steam locomotive from the ÖMV oil refinery outside Vienna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the day I visited trips up and down the site were offered in this former ÖBB works trolley

 

 

And lastly the former Presidents coach

 

[Vecchio]

A very nice collection of photos - Next time I spend a few days in Vienna I have to go out there and take a good look. It is a shame - I was only once there - at a time my children were rather small - so I didn't find enough time to look around. And it is even more a shame as I used to live for 3 years approximately 10km form this site - in Bockfliess....

[Stefan88]

I'm guilty of that too, lost count how many times I've flown in and passed the museum in Groß Schwechat on the train from the airport to Vienna over the years, yet I've still not visited it.

[EddieB]

Quite a few years since I last visited Strasshof - the collection has grown considerably with withdrawn diesels and electrics since then.  

 

Like Stefan, I still need to visit either of the extensive standard and narrow gauge collections at Groß Schwechat, despite passing by several times.

 

There's also a collection of similar size at Ampflwang.  I sympathise with Vecchio that these places are not family friendly (although Ampflwang has an outdoor playground) in that they need several hours to do justice and better contemplated on one's own!

[EddieB]

Strasshof opened as a railway museum in 1984.  Before that, the "Heizhaus" site had been used as a store and dump for steam locomotives.  When I first visited Strasshof in 1978, scheduled standard gauge steam had finished in Austria, with the exception of the "Iron Mountain" at Vordenberg, although operable examples of classes 52 and 93 were nominally "on the books" at places such as Bruck-an-der-Mur.  The dump at Strasshof consisted mostly of those classes, together with a large number of class 52 tenders, but already some locomotives were being removed elsewhere for cutting up.

 

Here is a photo from August 1978.  The first loco - 77.250 - has survived and has been restored to working order (I later found it under repair at Ceske Velenice, but that's another story) and appears to be based in Liechtenstein.  Sadly most of the other locos visible in this photo were scrapped.

 

[Bill Jamieson]

Like Eddie, I visited Strasshof before it was a museum, in fact while it was still an operational depot. However although the shed building was full of locos, there wasn't much sign of activity (it was a weekday afternoon) and that, combined with all the stored/dumped locos outside, gave it a very unsettling, almost eerie atmosphere. For the record, mid-afternoon on 30th August 1974 there were 12 Kriegsloks and 3 class 93 2-8-2Ts plus the preserved GKB No. 372 at the depot (so it already had a museum function back then). The stored locos comprised predominantly Kriegsloks (17) and class 93 (10) but there were some more interesting specimens - Pacific tank No. 77.250 (also seen by Eddie), 2-6-0T No. 91.107 (now preserved) and 0-8-0Ts Nos. 92.2234 and 392.2510. Some of the stored 52s and 93s probably saw further use, e.g. 93.1414 was definitely operational from Gmünd the following year, but for most of them Strasshof would only have been a staging post en route to the then Czechoslovakia for scrapping.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[EddieB]

I didn't go all around the depot in 1978, so I didn't see either 91.107 or GKB 372 (in fact I've never seen either - 91.107 is at Gross Schwechat and 372 remains at Strasshof, but was being overhauled on not on display when I last visited).  However both 92,2234 and 392.2510 were photographed within the same line of withdrawn locomotives.  92.2234 remains at Strasshof (but was unrestored when I last went there), while 392.2510 was last reported at Ampflwang, but only as a donor for spare parts.

[Bill Jamieson]

Eddie, here are shots of GKB 372 and 99.2234 on my 30:8:74 visit. Despite what I've just said on the Rheine-Enden thread, I did sometimes photograph dumped locos (even with telegraph poles in awkward positions!) if it was something particularly interesting. There was a cloudless sky on the day of my visit and the sun was in about the worst position for photography outside (and I wasn't able to get a decent shot of 77.250) although there was plenty of light inside the shed.

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

[EddieB]

Sadly 92.2234 wasn't a pretty sight in August 1978 (first two), nor in August 2000 (last).

 

 

[melmerby]

Matbe some nice folks will do a "Barry" on those poor locos at Straßhof and get some of that stuff back in working order.

Unfortunately AFAIK Austria doesn't have the same sort of preservation base as the UK with plenty of preserved lines to run them on.

 

Keith

[EddieB]

Matbe some nice folks will do a "Barry" on those poor locos at Straßhof and get some of that stuff back in working order.

Unfortunately AFAIK Austria doesn't have the same sort of preservation base as the UK with plenty of preserved lines to run them on.

 

Keith

On the contrary, Austria has a well-established preservation movement, with operators such as Brenner & Brenner and ÖGEG running trips on the main line, the Ampflwang-Trimmelkamm section.and steam events based on the museum depots.  Austrian preserved locos often attend events in neighbouring countries too.  There are other museums, museum depots, and plenty of plinthed locomotives - it seems that Austria can put something on display without attracting the attention of metal thieves and graffiti morons.

 

(See here for ÖGEG activities this year: https://www.oegeg.at/)

 

Brenner & Brenner operate out of several bases, frequently stabling their active steam locos at various points around the system.

 

Then of course there are one or two narrow gauge railways that run a regular steam service.

[melmerby]

On the contrary, Austria has a well-established preservation movement,

Please list, or link to, this multiplicity of preserved lines that makes them comparable to the UK's 200+ Standard gauge & Narrow gauge sites (not including miniature lines.) most of which have operating lines

 

Keith

[EddieB]

Please list, or link to, this multiplicity of preserved lines that makes them comparable to the UK's 200+ Standard gauge & Narrow gauge sites (not including miniature lines.) most of which have operating lines

 

Keith

Ok, let's put things into perspective.

 

Population of Austria = 8.5 million (84,000 km²)

Population of UK = 64.1 million (243,000 km²)

(Population of London = 8.7 million)

 

So we're dealing with a territory roughly a third of the size, with a population of around 13%.  It would be impossible to conceive of a comparable number of preservation centres to the UK - or indeed just anything else for that matter.  Nevertheless, some 55 museums and museum lines (taken from the last Platform 5 book) isn't bad for a country of its size.  

 

Secondly, Austria has a legacy of private railways and systems, many of which combine heritage and timetabled service trains and most are narrow gauge.  While there was a brief period of pruning its branch lines, ÖBB never suffered from a comparable "Beeching Axe" - closing so many lines that could be revived by preservationists.

 

Despite a comparatively small number of Austrian steam locomotives preserved in Austria (around 300), a number of "Austrian style" locomotives have been imported from neighbouring states since the end of steam, many of which are maintained in operational condition.  There are of course, moderate numbers of electrics and diesels also preserved (or saved, awaiting restoration), not to mention trams.

 

As in so many countries (UK included), more steam locomotives were reserved than could be restored in a hurry.  Strasshof probably lags behind some others in terms of what it has been able to refurbish from its extensive (and ever growing) collection.  It probably doesn't it that its catchment area includes the preservation sites at Gross Schwechat.

[Stefan88]

As I mentioned previously, another big problem over there is if a locomotive gets monument protection (Denkmalschutz) - if it has this it can't be restored to working condition as none of the original parts can be replaced (i.e. boiler can't be replaced/overhauled).

 

Unfortunately they have had a bit of a Beeching spell lately, with the ÖBB dumping most of its branch lines and narrow gauge lines to the local authorities - in some cases as in Salzburg state this has worked out well with lots of investment going in to the Pinzgauer Lokalbahn (narrow gauge) where they are running half hourly services during peak times, in Oberösterreich the state has paid subsidies to the ÖBB to keep operations going on all the branches. But in Niederösterreich the effect has been devastating - the state authority is very anti-rail and as a result there has been carnage, branch lines abandoned, narrow gauge lines torn up and turned in to cycle paths, 100 year old narrow gauge electric locos and rolling stock sold for scrap to Romania, they even blocked some of the preservation lines from getting their rail operating licenses renewed for unreasonable periods of time for no apparent reason.