OKl12
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KkStB 229.170, photographed at the Museo
Ferroviario Campo Marzio in Trieste on October 4, 2008;
the engine is well-kept, but has no operator’s logo or number.
The same engine, photographed on
OKl12 side drawing by M.Ćwikła; source: SK
vol.3/2003.
This JŽ 116-002 (formerly KkStB
229.91), StEG 3730/1910, can be seen at the Lublana railway museum;
photo taken on June 18, 2009.
ČSD 354.0130 (formerly KkStB 229.222), Wiener
Neustadt 5444/1918, photographed at the Heizhaus Strasshof two days later. |
In
1902 Austrian state railways KkStB (Kaiserlich-königliche österreichische Staatsbahnen) took delivery
of 17 tank locomotives with the 1-3-0 axle arrangement, built by WLF
(seven) and Wiener Neustadt (ten) and impressed into service as class
129. They were designed mainly for light passenger traffic and fitted with
compound steam engines. Class 129 proved very successful. One of its few
shortcomings was maximum speed limited to 60 km/h when running backwards, due
to the axle arrangement – an obvious disadvantage of a tank engine. Thus, in
1903, Südbahn ordered a development variant with rear idle axle
(1-3-1); this modification not only improved running qualities, but also
allowed for much larger coal and water capacities (increased from 3 to 5.4
sq.m and from 6.9 to 9.8 sq.m, respectively). Eleven engines of this type
were built by WLF between 1903 and 1907, numbered 1201 through 1211.
Their immediate success prompted an order from the state railways. First
example (classed 229) was built in 1904 and deliveries continued until 1918,
totaling 239 engines from BMMF (62), Krauss Linz (23), StEG
(66), Wiener Neustadt (39) and WLF (49). Ten very similar
locomotives were built between 1909 and 1920 by Wiener Neustadt for Eisenbahn
Wien-Aspang (EWA – class IIIa) and four in 1913 by BMMF for
Serbian state railways SDŽ (Srpske Državni Železnice – numbered
251 through 254). This gives the grand total of 264 examples. Between 1906
and 1912 all 129s were rebuilt to the same standard and re-numbered 229.401
through 417; they could be distinguished externally by longer water boxes,
protruding beyond the smoke-box door. A
variant of class 229 running on superheated steam was built in 1912 as
classed 29. It was, however, less successful and production totaled only 36
examples. These engines also served with PKP as class OKl11 and are
described under a separate entry. After WWI these successful and
comparatively new engines were divided between Austria, Czechoslovakia,
Italy, Poland and Yugoslavia. Austrian state railways BBÖ were left
with 69 examples of class 229. In 1923 former Südbahn engines were
taken over as 229.501 through 511; in 1935 those from EWA followed as
229.801 through 810. After Anschluss all were taken over by DRG
as classes 757 and 758; returned after the
war, they were re-classed once again, to 175. Last were withdrawn in 1962.
Czechoslovakia had the largest fleet: 145 class 229 engines were impressed
into ČSD service as class 354.0. Some underwent various modernizations,
including single-expansion steam engines and superheater (class 355.0 – five
examples) and conversion to the 1-3-2 axle arrangement with extended rear
water box (class 353.1 – also five examples). After disintegration of
Czechoslovakia following the Munich treaty they were divided between German,
Slovakian and Hungarian railways, to be returned after the war. Last were
withdrawn in 1968. Yugoslavian state railways JDŽ had fifteen 229s,
numbered 116-001 through 013 plus two more which numbers are not known.
Italian railways FS were the smallest recipient, with just five 229s
numbered 912.001 through 005. After
final arrangements Polish state railways PKP twenty-two 229s; after
1925 they were classed OKl12. As with many other engines of Austrian origin,
they served almost exclusively in southern and south-eastern Poland. At least
eleven saw service with armored trains, having been fitted with armor in
Kraków and Nowy Sącz. They included 229.29 (later OKl12-4), 229.46 (OKl12-8),
229.49 (OKl12-10, badly damaged in July 1920, but repaired), 229.140
(OKl12-19) and 229.230 (OKl12-21). Some of them saw action during the
Bolshevik assault; all were withdrawn from military service in early 1920s
and returned to PKP. OKl12s remained in the Kraków regional management
inventory until 1939. Their modernizations were few and included mainly
fitting standard Westinghouse brakes; large Rihosek-type spark arresters were
usually removed in service. In 1939 eighteen OKl12s were captured by Germans
and impressed into DRG service as 75 851 through 868 (OKl12). Four
fell into Soviet hands, but became German booty in 1941; three were
re-numbered 75 869 through 871, while OKl12-19 remained in the Ostbahn
service with Polish designation until 1945. Many engines of this type were
transferred to Austria. In 1945 only six OKl12s were directly taken over by
Polish authorities, but later six more followed, from Austria, Hungary and
Czechoslovakia. All were impressed into the PKP service. One engine
returned from Czechoslovakia in 1950 and three from Eastern Germany in 1955,
but all four were just scrap and were not given new service numbers. Three
ended up in the Soviet Union. Finally, two OKl12s were taken over by JDŽ
and remained in Yugoslavia, while another one, taken over by ČSD, was
not returned (it was not assigned any service number and scrapped in early
1950s). Post-war
service of these engines with PKP was comparatively short. Contrary to
pre-war practice, they were considered most suitable for lowlands and
transferred to northern Poland (regional managements in Szczecin and
Olsztyn). All were written off between 1950 and 1955, falling victims to the
campaign of withdrawing various minor types. Nine went to various industrial
establishments, although their performance was by no means suitable for this
kind of service. Some survived there well into 1960s. The last one, OKl12-11,
had a colorful life. Built by Wiener Neustadt (s/n 5126/1913), it
became KkStB 229.130 and was later taken over by PKP as
OKl12-16. In 1939 it was captured by Germans and impressed into the DRG
service as 75 863. Returned from Austria in 1948, it became OKl12-11 and in
August 1954 went to the Gosławice sugar plant. There it earned itself
a somehow contemptuous nickname ‘dzika świnia’ (literally ‘wild boar’), due
to problems with the compound engine, unfamiliar to industrial railway
personnel. Transferred to Unisław sugar plant in 1959 and to Nakło
sugar plant in 1965, this engine was finally withdrawn from service in early
1969. For a dozen or so years more it remained in Nakło, but was scrapped in
1982 (some sources give 1980). The unique occasion to save an interesting
(and beautiful) locomotive was lost: not a particular surprise for a Polish
railway fan… Four
229s have survived in Europe and one of them is an ex-PKP engine. KkStB
229.03 (Wiener Neustadt 4551/1904), then PKP OKl12-3, captured
by the Soviets, was later taken over by DRG and impressed into service
as 75 869. After WWII it was used by JDŽ as 116-037 and can now be
seen at the railway museum in Zagreb. KkStB 229.91 (StEG
3730/1910), which served in Yugoslavia as 116-002 and in 1941 fell into
German hands (DRG 75 792), was returned after the war and is now at
the railway museum in Lublana. KkStB 229.170 (Krauss Linz
7112/1916), which remained with BBÖ, was impressed into the DRG
service in 1938 as 75 743 and after WWII served with JDŽ as 116-032;
this engine can be seen at the Museo Ferroviario Campo Marzio,
Trieste. Finally, ex-ČSD 354.0130 (previously KkStB 229.222, Wiener
Neustadt 5444/1918) was after withdrawal transferred to Austria and is
now on static display at Heizhaus Strasshof. Main technical data
1) Including 239 built for KkStB; seventeen
more rebuilt from class 129. 2)1574 mm according to Austrian standards
(medium-degree flange wear). References and acknowledgments
-
Monographic article by Paweł Terczyński (SK
vol. 3/2003); -
EZ, LP, EDÖ; -
www.pospichal.net/lokstatistik
(website by Josef Pospichal); -
http://republika.pl/derela
(website by Michał Derela – information on armored locomotives). |
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