Railways past and present - Kranichstein Railway Museum

[NGT6 1315]

Evening ...

 

Well, chaps, without much preamble - me and my girlfriend spent this afternoon at the Kranichstein Railway Museum in Darmstadt, and of course I would like to share the images I took with you .

 

The trip to the museum started at Niederh?¶chstadt Station once again where we first caught the shuttle to R?¶delheim - though the damaged signal box is supposed to be back on line by tomorrow, which is why today was most likely the last day of that quite interesting backup service. After that we changed for a line S5 suburban service and dropped off at Frankfurt Central Station where we first obtained something to eat, then to board the RB 15455 service bound for Heidelberg for the next leg to Darmstadt Central Station. There we changed yet again for the "K" bus line and rode to Luisenplatz in order to catch the number 5 tram to Kranichstein.

 

 

 

Darmstadt's principal public transport operator is called HEAG mobilo and comprises two subsidiaries - HEAG mobitram for tram operations and HEAG mobibus for bus traffic. The 38 kilometres long tram network is built to metre gauge and is operated mostly with ADtranz and Alstom-built ST 13 and ST 14 low floor trams as well as SB 9 trailers. Also, ten ST 12 high floor trams from Waggon-Union and AEG are part of the HEAG fleet. This here is ST 13 set 9870 with full body advertising for the Darmst?¤dter Echo newspaper on the number 8 line to Arheilgen at Luisenplatz, which is a central transfer point with a triangle-shaped track layout allowing short changeover times for passengers.

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, ST 13 car 9874 with a SB 9 trailer up back was working the number 2 line to B?¶llenfalltor.

 

 

 

This here is car 0780, a ST 14 type which was first built in 2007. Externally, the ST 14 closely resembles the ST 13, the most noticeable differences being the revised headlight clusters and new destination boards which aren't very well legible on photographs due to their refresh rate.

 

 

 

This here is car 0787, another ST 14 unit.

 

 

We then rode out to Kranichstein - the reversing loop for the tram being located a few walking minutes away from Kranichstein Station and the adjacent museum which is located in a former locomotive depot. As the museum is run by a volunteer association they still have quite a bit of work to do - the man who guided us around telling us that it can take as much as ten years until a locomotive has been restored to a presentable condition with weekend work only. However, it certainly is worth the effort, as the museum has restored some engines to operating condition already - these being a class 23 2-6-2 passenger engine, a former Prussian G 8 0-8-0 freight engine (which was on an excursion in the Worms area today) and a Henschel-built "Elna" type 0-8-0T for the steam buffs, as well as several small diesels.

 

 

 

This here is a former DRG type VT 135 diesel railcar which was later taken over by the Bundesbahn as VT 70 921 and then passed on to several smaller local railways.

 

 

 

Next to it was 38 3999, a former Prussian type P 8 4-6-0 passenger engine. This one is one of those exhibits waiting to be fully restored, as evidenced by the missing motion and headlights. However, it's still unclear when this project may be finished.

 

 

 

And another item to make steam fans drool - 01 1056, a magnificent three cylinder 4-6-2 express engine.

 

 

 

 

This cute little diesel railcar is a Hanover type unit first built in 1932 in several standard gauge and 750, 900 and 1,000 mm narrow gauge variants by the Wismar Carriage Works. It has a A1 wheel arrangement and two Ford 40 or 50 hp motors - however, as no suitable reversing gear was available at the time only the one in the direction of travel is operating. The distinctive shape of the hoods is the reason why this type of railcar is also known as "Schweineschn?¤uzchen" or "pig snout."

 

 

 

Inside the roundhouse several steam engines were stabled, but tightly confined spaces made it very difficult to take photos of them. This here is DME engine 184, a 0-8-0T type.

 

 

 

Returning outside, there was E 16 08, a 1'Do1' type electric express engine. The E 16 was built between 1926 and 1927 as well as 1932 and 1933 for the Bavarian Region of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft. This class is quite interesting insofar as it is one of the few types equipped with the Buchli type transmission. Power transmission is made via a enclosed cogwheel and connecting rods to the driving wheels on one side of the engine only - the wheels on the other side of the engine being fully visible. Unfortunately, lighting conditions were somewhat adverse - oh well.

 

 

 

This here is 97 210, a former Austrian class 69 0-6-2T rack engine built in 1893. However, it had the rack drive unit removed in later years.

 

 

 

Another operational engine of the Kranichstein Museum is V 12, a MaK-built C-coupled diesel-hydraulic locomotive formerly owned by the Gelnh?¤user Kreisbahn (Gelnhausen Local Railway).

 

 

 

K?¶f 4290 is a small diesel-hydraulic B-coupled shunter - earlier variants of this engine having mechanical transmission only and being simply known as K?¶ - the added "f" referring to the hydraulic transmission ("Fl??ssigkeitsgetriebe" in German).

 

 

Eventually we returned to the city, for which we caught the number 5 tram to Luisenplatz again, followed by the number 2 line to Central Station and the S3 line to R?¶delheim.

 

 

ST 14 tram 0785 waiting at the Kranichstein stop.

 

 

Having arrived at R?¶delheim we had to wait several minutes for the shuttle to arrive and I took the opportunity to snap one last image...

 

 

 

S-Bahn EMU 423 327 working the S5 line to Friedrichsdorf.

 

 

Well - I hope you enjoyed this little gallery .

[BoD]

Interesting photos Dominik

 

What is the strangish loooking green loco next to K?¶f 4290?

[jonhall]

Interesting photos Dominik

 

What is the strangish loooking green loco next to K?¶f 4290?

 

It's a fireless, the 'boiler' is no such thing, just a resivoir for steam that is supplied by external supply.

 

Darmstadt Railway Museum is quite interesting, they even have a ferry wagon for Gemany-Britain use, but sadly I didn't twig what it was until after I got home.

 

Jon

[NGT6 1315]

Interesting photos Dominik

 

What is the strangish loooking green loco next to K?¶f 4290?

 

 

Thanks .

 

Forgot to mention that one - this is a 0-4-0 fireless steam engine called "Olga" which was built in 1911 and initially operated at the BASF chemical plant in Ludwigshafen until 1932, then to be sold to another Ludwigshafen based company called Raschig where it served until 1978. The German term for this kind of engine is "Dampfspeicherlokomotive", by the way.

 

Edit - I only just saw you beat me to it, Jon .

[Robert]

Great Pictures Dominik - thought I'd tag a few of mine onto the end of your thread. I visited a couple of years ago.

 

[NGT6 1315]

Thanks, Robert - good addition . I'd have loved to have taken a better shot of the 103 which is among the exhibits in the museum's open air area, or perhaps even have taken a look inside the cab, but as you could see from my image of E 16 08 lighting conditions were far less than ideal today.

 

I admit I am now starting to consider buying one of Roco's E 16 models some time in the future...oh dear .

[70000 Britannia]

Fascinating collection of motive power at the museum - love the "pig snout" and also the 2 K?¶f shunters. I've got a couple of these - Trix ones with a digital chip as standard - and they are lovely runners. Quite a novelty to see one pulling bogie tank wagons (6 of them on the flat!!) when they are only 2.75 inches long.

 

The BR01 is a handsome locomotive and the little 0-8-0 #184 is fascinating.

 

Darmstadt looks a clean and tidy place - the tram system really does add a character to the European towns and cities. Slowly, gradually we're getting more in the UK. Edinburgh is right in the middle of a big project and nearby, Manchester is extending the system significanly. Don't know if you are familiar with the Blackpool promenade system - they're in the middle of a sea front coastal defence rebuild and they re-laying the tram lines. Then new trams will be launched when complete.

 

Good report ..... as usual Dominik.

[NGT6 1315]

Fascinating collection of motive power at the museum - love the "pig snout" and also the 2 K?¶f shunters. I've got a couple of these - Trix ones with a digital chip as standard - and they are lovely runners. Quite a novelty to see one pulling bogie tank wagons (6 of them on the flat!!) when they are only 2.75 inches long.

 

 

One interesting thing about the K?¶ and K?¶f types is that they were explicitly meant for shunting and very short freight trips in and around stations only, and were barely suitable for mainline use with their top speed of only 30 to 45 kph. Therefore, they were designed to be actually piggybacked on flatcars when they were to be transferred over larger distances, which is why they are built to only half the height which the German loading gauge would permit. Also, early types were not even equipped with pneumatic brakes - having only a foot brake with a pedal in the cab, much like in a car. However, later engines did have pneumatic brakes fitted, and these were then capable of 45 kph. The Deutsche Reichsbahn of the GDR also kept K?¶ and K?¶f type engines in its inventory, and while these, too, were partially fitted with pneumatic brakes, the engines themselves had no pneumatic braking gear so that only the train could be thus braked.

 

 

 

Darmstadt looks a clean and tidy place - the tram system really does add a character to the European towns and cities.

 

 

Yes, I do like Darmstadt. Quite a bit smaller than Frankfurt with some 142,000 inhabitants rather than 665,000, but all the neater for it. By the way, if you should plan to visit Darmstadt some day, the HEAG Historic Association has some pieces of operational rolling stock from the original steam-powered tramway in its inventory - including a 0-4-0T engine. Historic steam tram service is provided on Sundays throughout the summer season, and during certain events.

 

 

Don't know if you are familiar with the Blackpool promenade system - they're in the middle of a sea front coastal defence rebuild and they re-laying the tram lines. Then new trams will be launched when complete.

 

 

Yeah, I know the Blackpool tram - fascinating system it is.

 

Thanks for your comment!

[Dampflok]

Here's a picture of a K?¶f out on the mainline - crossing the double-deck bridge over the River Mosel at Bullay in April 1971:

 

 

Certainly somewhat dwarfed by the wagons! Might be a useful prototype train for running on layouts though!

 

Cheers, Geoff