OKl12
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KkStB class 229 was
preceded by class 129. This 129.02 (WLF
1484/1902) was rebuilt and re-numbered 229.402 in 1906. After the war it was
taken over by the railways of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croatians and Slovenians
and later became JDŽ 116-011. Captured by Germans and impressed
into DRG as 75 798, it was returned after WWII and withdrawn in
February 1949. Source: www.commons.wikimedia.org.
KkStB 12903 (WLF 1485/1902), location and date
unknown, probably a factory photo. Rebuilt and re-numbered 229.403, it
remained with BBÖ and was withdrawn
in February 1958. Source: Die Lokomotive May 1904.
Another photo from this source: kkStB 22910 (WLF 1566/1904), probably also a factory
photo. Re-numbered 75 705 in the DRG
service, this locomotive in 1947 became JDŽ 116-029; withdrawal date is unknown.
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 the same occasion.
Polish OKl12s usually had their drum spark arresters removed.
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.
Two Soviet
soldiers talk by the DRG 75 701. This engine (Wiener Neustadt
4552/1904) was BBÖ 229.04 and after Anschluss was taken over by
DRG. Returned after the war, it was withdrawn in October 1961. Photo
from my collection – probably taken somewhere in Austria in 1945.
Factory photo of
the 229.15 (StEG
3124/1904). Later this locomotive was taken over by ČSD; re-numbered
354.006, it was withdrawn in February 1955. Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org.
Two OKl12s,
photographed in Wisła in 1937. The first one is
OKl12-11 (BMMF 264/1908), former kkStB 229.81.
In 1939 this engine was taken over by Germans and re-numbered 75 858.
Returned after the war, it was impressed into PKP as OKl12-7; withdrawn in March 1953, it was transferred to Nakło sugar
plant. The identity of the second engine is not known. The locomotive on the
right is Tr12-65. Postcard from my collection.
JŽ 116-037 (WrN 4551/1904),
an engine with long history. Delivered to kkStB as 229.04, it was taken
over by PKP as OKl12-3. Captured by
the Soviets in 1939, it later fell into German hands as 75 869, to end
up in Yugoslavia. Photo taken in Zagreb, Croatia, in January 2008 by some who
wants to be known as Suradnik13 (source: www.commons.wikimedia.org). |
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 during reverse
running, due to the axle arrangement – an obvious disadvantage for 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 all Austrian locomotive
manufacturers: 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 and 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 received twenty-two 229s;
after 1925 they were classed OKl12. One of them, OKl12-13 (former 229.414, Wiener Neustadt 4499/1902) had begun
its life as 129.14 and was rebuilt in 1913. 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. 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 even given new service numbers. Three
ended up in the Soviet Union. Finally, two OKl12s were taken over by JDŽ
and remained in Yugoslavia. Former OKl12-5 (ex 229.30), taken over by ČSD,
was not returned; it was not assigned any service number and scrapped in
1951. 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 (unfortunately
not opened to public). 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). List of vehicles can be found here.
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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