The one-off “Der Münchner” (“The one from Munich”) was the first locomotive to be built in Bavaria. It was ordered from Maffei for the initially privately operated route between Munich and Augsburg and later became the property of the state railway. A further 24 examples were also built by Kessler and Meyer under the designation A I.

Like the “Adler” they had the wheel arrangement 2-2-2 and a two-axle tender. Not only were parts from England used, the pear-shaped firebox is also a clear sign of the English influence. The power was provided by internal cylinders on the driving axle without wheel flanges, which, like all axles, was mounted inside the outer frame. Initially, wood was used as fuel, until later coal was used.

For the production of the 24 series locomotives, interchangeability of the parts was required, which was a novelty at the time. With the same external dimensions, the new locomotives had a 0.3 bar higher boiler pressure, larger cylinders and were slightly heavier. The unification brought with it a reduction in speed to 40 km/h, but greater traction was more important.

Although the first example was scrapped in 1871, some were sold and others rebuilt. During the conversion, the leading axle was exchanged for a second coupled axle. The last locomotive with the wheel arrangement 0-4-2 was retired in 1878, which was four years after the last locomotive in its original condition was scrapped.

The “Adler” (eagle) was the first locomotive to be used commercially in Germany. It was built by British railway pioneer Robert Stephenson and was used together with its sister locomotive “Pfeil” (arrow) from 1835 to 1857 on the Ludwigsbahn between Nuremberg and Fürth.

After some consideration of a two-axle locomotive weighing between 6.5 and 8 tonnes, the “Adler” was finally made larger and heavier in order to be able to pull a larger load. The wheel arrangement 2-2-2 was used, which is also known as “Single” or “Jenny Lind”. Thus, the middle axle was driven and had no wheel flanges to be able to drive through tighter curves.

The locomotive and the two-axle tender were each built on an outer frame made of wood, which was fitted with sheet metal. The power was provided by two internal cylinders on the driving axle designed as a crankshaft. The entire train was only braked using the right wheels of the tender, since the locomotive itself, like the wagons, had no brakes.

Replica of the “Adler” in April 2010 in Koblenz-Lützel

Urmelbeauftragter

In addition to the frame, the inside of the spokes of the wheels was also made of wood to better absorb shocks. The basic structure of the wheels was originally made of cast iron, which was later replaced with forged iron due to its brittleness. Wood was also used to coat the boiler, which, like the tender, was painted green. In contrast, the running gear was painted red, as was the case with most later German steam locomotives. Although the “Adler” could reach around 65 km/h without a train, the line speed with a passenger train was between 24 and 28 km/h.

In 1935, for the hundredth anniversary of the railway in Germany, a replica was built, which was partly used for propaganda by the political leadership at the time. It was also used for the 125th anniversary on the original route, which was a tram line at the time and is now partly used by the underground. The replica was again repaired in 1985 and ran at the 150th anniversary.

After that, the locomotive was parked until it was restored in 1999 for the next time. After a fire in the locomotive shed of the Transport Museum in Nuremberg destroyed the replica of the “Adler” along with other historical locomotives, the remaining material was used in 2007 for a fundamental new construction, some of which was even closer to the original than in 1935.

Schematic drawing of the “Pfeil”

Die Lokomotive, October 1933

There are also other replicas, such as a non-operational engine from the 1950s. There are also two motorized replicas. On the one hand, this is a half-size locomotive for the Nuremberg zoo and a locomotive for the Görlitz park railway with a gauge of 600 mm.

The “Beuth” was the first locomotive that was developed and built by Borsig completely without foreign prototypes and is therefore considered the first completely German locomotive. It was manufactured as a one-off for the Berlin-Anhalt Railway. However, it formed the basic variant for 70 other, almost identical locomotives and was therefore also the first series-built locomotive. It also had some design features that differed from the Stephenson models and were later found on other locomotives.

In contrast to the outside frame and inside cylinders, the “Beuth” had a frame that was inside the wheels and outside cylinders. This design made larger cylinders possible, which in turn made it possible to build more powerful locomotives. The firebox was located below a steam dome, which was also used to extract live steam. Later locomotives got a separate steam dome. 

After the locomotive was presented at the Berlin trade exhibition the year it was completed, it was used on the Anhalter Bahn from Berlin to Köthen. Its service life lasted until 1864, after which it was scrapped. Therefore, a replica was built in 1912, which is now on display in the German Museum of Technology in Berlin.

The subsequent models from Borsig were primarily used in northern Germany, as there were strong competitors further south. However, they also took the “Beuth” as an example and also used some of their technical innovations in their own designs.

The name of the locomotive is an allusion to Christian Peter Wilhelm Beuth, who was once the head of the Prussian trade academy. He had doubted that August Borsig would ever have a successful career. Borsig tried to get back at him by naming this important and pioneering locomotive after him.

Between 1845 and 1847, the Eastern Counties Railway received a total of 17 express locomotives of the 2-2-2 wheel arrangement, which were numbered 51 to 67. They can be divided into two batches, both of which had a driving wheel diameter of six feet. There were a few derailments in the early days because the profile of the tires was horizontal and not conical.

No. 63A

Locomotive Magazine, January 1907

While the first ten had a 13 ft 8 in wheelbase from the start, the last seven were only built with a 12 ft wheelbase. On the latter, the trailing axle spacing was later increased by two feet and nine inches. Soon they received a larger boiler with a higher pressure and a roof for the cab.

The first locomotives that the newly founded Great Eastern procured in 1862 were express locomotives with the 2-2-2 wheel arrangement. They had outside cylinders and double frames made of wood and iron. The 31 locomotives came from four different manufacturers, including Schneider et Cie from France.

Locomotive Magazine, November 1908

From 1872 some were modernized and received a new boiler. Two of them were even rebuilt to a 4-2-2 wheel arrangement. Different designs of the cab were also used. The number 54 was scrapped in 1874 after an accident. The remainder remained in service on the main express trains for over 25 years and were retired between 1883 and 1894.

Archibald Sturrock had a total of twelve 2-2-2 express locomotives built by three manufacturers in 1860 and 1861, which had a driving wheel diameter of seven feet. They were at the same time generously sized and very handsomely proportioned, so that they are sometimes described as Sturrock's masterpiece. The long firebox, which was raised compared to the boiler barrel, is clearly visible. The leading axle was now directly under the smokebox. This arrangement was adopted for all further GNR three-axle passenger and express locomotives.

Daniel Gooch used the Star class, more precisely the “North Star” locomotive developed by Robert Stephenson, as a basis for developing a new broad-gauge express locomotive. He stayed with the 2-2-2 wheel arrangement and a driving wheel diameter of seven feet, but installed a larger boiler.

In the years 1840 to 1842, seven manufacturers made a total of 62 locomotives. The names of the locomotives did not follow a uniform scheme. In addition to names that began with “Fire”, there were also those that came from Greek mythology or from animals. From 1865 they were counted to the Priam class.

The “Fire Fly” is said to have traveled the almost 31 miles from Twyford to London Paddington in 1840 at an average of 50 mph, which was a record at the time. Later, the locomotives were fitted with new cylinders that were 16 by 20 inches instead of 15 by 18 inches. The decommissioning took place between 1864 and 1879. A working replica of “Fire Fly” was completed in 2005.