The DB Class 66 (German: ''Baureihe'' 66) was a class of two

Deutsche Bundesbahn The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB (German Federal Railway) 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 remaine ...

(DB) locomotives designed for fast

goods train Rail freight transport is the use of rail transport, railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of Railroad car#Freight cars, freight cars (US) or goods wagon ...

and

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self p ...

services on the main and branch lines of

(DB), the national railway of the former

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

History

The Class 66 were one of several newly designed locomotive classes, the so-called ''

Neubauloks The German term ''Neubaulokomotive'' () specifically refers to those steam locomotives which were newly designed and built, either for the Deutsche Bundesbahn in West Germany or the Deutsche Reichsbahn in East Germany, after the Second World Wa ...

'', built for the DB after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The 66s had a top speed of 100 km/h and an

axle load An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearin ...

of only 15 tonnes which made them ideally suited to such duties. They were intended to replace the former state railway ('' Länderbahn'') locomotives of DRG classes 38.10 (ex-

Prussian P 8 The Prussian Class P 8 of the Prussian state railways (DRG Class 38.10-40 of the Deutsche Reichsbahn) was a 4-6-0 steam locomotive built from 1906 to 1923 by the Berliner Maschinenbau (previously Schwartzkopff) and twelve other German factories. ...

), 78 (ex-

Prussian T 18 The Prussian T 18 was the last class of tank locomotives developed for the Prussian state railways. They were originally intended for services on the island of Rügen as replacements for Class T 12 and T 10 engines. They emerged when a c ...

) and 93 (ex-

Prussian T 14 The Prussian T 14s were German, 2-8-2T, goods train, tank locomotives operated by the Prussian state railways and the Imperial Railways in Alsace-Lorraine. They were later incorporated by the Deutsche Reichsbahn into their renumbering plan as ...

). However increasing competition from

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whe ...

s meant that no more engines were built after the two prototype, even though they fully met all expectations and were a very successful design. The Class 66 was the penultimate locomotive class to be built as part of the DB's ''Neubaulok'' construction programme.

Design

The engines were equipped with a welded, high-performance

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centr ...

with a

combustion chamber A combustion chamber is part of an internal combustion engine in which the fuel/air mix is burned. For steam engines, the term has also been used for an extension of the firebox which is used to allow a more complete combustion process. Intern ...

, roller bearings, a mixer preheater and a welded

plate frame Plate may refer to: Cooking * Plate (dishware), a broad, mainly flat vessel commonly used to serve food * Plates, tableware, dishes or dishware used for setting a table, serving food and dining * Plate, the content of such a plate (for example: ...

. Because great emphasis was placed on the working conditions for the

engine driver A train driver, engine driver, engineman or locomotive driver, commonly known as an engineer or railroad engineer in the United States and Canada, and also as a locomotive handler, locomotive operator, train operator, or motorman, is a pers ...

and

stoker Stoker may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "The Stoker", a 1927 short story by Franz Kafka * ''The Stoker'' (1932 film), an American drama/romance film directed by Chester M. Franklin * ''The Stoker'' (1935 film) , a British comedy film direc ...

, the Class 66 had a fully enclosed driver's cab, skylights, floor heating and upholstered seats with back rests. From autumn 1967 both engines were fitted equipment for working push-pull services. Locomotive number 66 001 was retired in 1967 due to damage to its drive, and stored at

Gießen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univer ...

; the second engine was retired in 1968.

Preservation

Locomotive 66 002 was bought after its retirement by the German Railway History Company (''Deutsche Gesellschaft für Eisenbahngeschichte'' or ''DGEG'') and is currently (2007) homed in

Bochum-Dahlhausen Railway Museum The Eisenbahnmuseum Bochum-Dahlhausen is a railway museum situated south of the city of Bochum in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded by DGEG, the German Railway History Company in 1977 and is based in a locomotive dep ...

References

* * * Modelleisenbahner: ''Prestige Projekt - 66.002''. Mai 2007, Seite 26 - 29 {{DEFAULTSORT:DB Class 066 66

066 66 may refer to: * 66 (number) * One of the years 66 BC, AD 66, 1966, 2066 *66 (song), "66" (song), a song by Lil Yachty featuring Trippie Redd *66, a song by The Afghan Whigs, from the album 1965 (album), 1965 *Sixty-Six (card game), a German card ...

2-6-4T locomotives Henschel locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1955 Passenger locomotives Freight locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of Germany 1′C2′ h2t locomotives

History

Design

Preservation

See also

References