Ok101
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Factory photo of the GBadStE
class IVe, later variant (postcard from my collection). It is doubtful if any
photographs of Polish Ok101s exist.
Side drawing of class IVe (later variant with
the three-axle tender) from Lokomotiv-Archiv
Baden (see references). |
Among German locomotives acquired by PKP after WWI, the majority were of Prussian origin. Railways of other German lands, however, also had their contributions – far less numerous, but by no means less interesting. An example is provided by Badenian class Ive. In 1894, Badenian state railways GBadStE (Grossherzoglich Badischen Staatseisenbahnen) ordered from Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques (SACM, also known as Grafenstaden) in then-German Alsace a locomotive for Schwarzwaldbahn. This line, with gradients up to 20 ‰ and tight curves, was rather demanding and a four-cylinder compound was considered suitable. Prototype (s/n 4551/1894) was fitted with de Glehn steam engine and after tests (during which 811 hp were attained) was accepted for service. It was followed by seven engines from SACM, serialled 4701 through 4707/1895. Further production was undertaken by Maschinenbau Gesellschaft Karlsruhe (MBG), which supplied 75 examples between 1895 and 1901. Engines from MBG differed in several details and could be distinguished by sand domes located on boilers rather than on footplates. All 83 engines were classed IVe; first 39 were coupled with three-axle tenders and the remaining 44 with larger four-axle ones. These modern for that time
engines (first in Germany with 2-3-0 axle arrangement) remained in service
until the outbreak of WWI. Eight were taken over by military railways (Königlich
Preußische Militär-Eisenbahn)
and of these two were assigned to the Militär-Generaldirektion der
Eisenbahnen in Warschau. These two engines were in 1918 taken over by
Polish authorities and impressed into service with interim designation P8Bd
(due to the same axle arrangement that Prussian P8). With the introduction of
new designation system they were classed Ok101 and assigned service numbers
Ok101-1 (ex GBadStB 553, MGB 1400/1895) and Ok101-2 (ex GBadStB
591, MGB 1491/1898); both had three-axle tenders, classed 15C101.
It is doubtful, however, if these numbers were in fact given, as both engines
were written off between 1924 and 1926. Most probably such early withdrawal
was caused by their untypical design; four-cylinder compounds were never
favored by Polish railways. Moreover, de Glehn steam engines, while assuring
easy running and economy, demanded well-trained drivers. After WWI, two engines went to Belgium (service numbers 6118 and 6176) and thirteen to France (Etat 230.901 through 230.913). 35 were impressed into DRG and classed 3870, but their service was not long: last were withdrawn in November 1932. According to the article by Krzysztof Zintel (see references), 38 7001 (ex GBadStE 38, SACM 4703/1895) has been preserved in Karlsruhe as a sort of educational exhibit, with many parts removed. This has not been confirmed by www.locomotive.de, which gives that this engine, withdrawn in 1932 and handed over to Verkehrsmuseum in 1936, was damaged by a bomb hit in 1944 and scrapped in the 1950s. Main technical data
1)
Highest power attained during tests. 2)
With three-axle tender. References and acknowledgments
Account of this class history and design can be found in Lokomotiv-Archiv Baden by Hermann Lohr and Georg Thielmann (Transpress, Berlin, 1988). Monographic article on Badenian locomotives in Poland by Krzysztof Zintel was published in SK vol.6/2003. |
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