The Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works (german: Dampflokwerk Meiningen) is a railway repair shop in

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

, Germany. It is owned by

Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...

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. 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 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, central h ...

made at Meiningen; the only part that could not be made in Britain.

History

In 1863 the Werra Railway (''Werrabahn'') built a locomotive repair shop opposite

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

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 locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s 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 ''

Einheitsdampflokomotive The Einheitsdampflokomotiven ("standard steam locomotives"), sometimes shortened to ''Einheitslokomotiven'' or ''Einheitsloks'', were the standardized steam locomotives built in Germany after 1925 under the direction of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gese ...

n'' 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 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

this rose to 87 per month. On 18 April 1945 the factory was occupied by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

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 The German DRG Class 95 was a ten-coupled tank locomotive with a 2-10-2 wheel arrangement, which was procured by the Deutsche Reichsbahn (also referred to later as the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft or ''DRG'') in 1922 for hauling heavy goods tr ...

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 plough A snowplow (also snow plow, snowplough or snow plough) is a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, used for removing snow and ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes. Although this term is often used to re ...

s for the DR in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

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 A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating wikt:streamline, streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "High-speed rail, bullet trai ...

, 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 The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...

, 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 A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

'' locomotive was delivered. ''Tornado'' is a new British steam locomotive built to the same plans as those of the

LNER Class A1 Class A1 in the London and North Eastern Railway's classification system may refer to any of the following British steam locomotives : * The GNR Class A1 or "Gresley A1", a class of 52 Pacific locomotives designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, includ ...

('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. The Locomotive Works is also building a new narrow gauge

for the Mecklenburg line, ''Molli Spa Railway'' (''

Bäderbahn Molli The Molli (''German: Mecklenburgische Bäderbahn "Molli"''; short: MBB; also: Molli Bahn or Mollibahn) is a narrow-gauge steam-powered railway in Mecklenburg, Germany, running on gauge track. It operates between Bad Doberan, Heiligendamm and Kü ...

''), the first new steam engine in Germany for 50 years. In 2010 the company gained much notoriety in Australia after the newly built boiler for NSW locomotive

3801 3801 (pronounced Thirty-eight o-one) is a 4-6-2 steam locomotive operated by the New South Wales Government Railways between 1943 and 1974. It is arguably Australia's most famous steam locomotive, being the only one to have visited all mainla ...

had to be returned and reconstructed on two separate occasions after manufacturing and size related defects were found

Images

Image: Dampflokwerk02.jpg, A wheelset turning lathe Image: Dampfspeicherlok Genthin Henkel Werk.jpg, Meiningen fireless locomotive Image: Adler_Wiederaufbau 2007_re_vo_Meiningen_09_2007.JPG, ''ADLER'' rebuild, 2007 Steam Festival Image: Schneepflug_Meiningen_01092007.JPG, "Meiningen" snow plough in the workshop, 2007 Steam Festival

Events

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.

References

Literature

* Meininger Heimatklänge 4/2005 * Meininger Dampf Zeit 1914- 2004 90 Jahre Dampflokwerk * Das Dampflokwerk Meiningen - Eisenbahn-Kurier-Special 50, Freiburg 1998

External links