loco-info.com
The reference for locomotives and railcars
Navigation
Random
Search
Compare
Settings
German Reichsbahn class 81
Germany | 1928
10 produced
81 004 in August 1961
81 004 in August 1961
Herbert Schambach / www.bundesbahnzeit.de

From 1927, the class 80 was the smallest model in the standard locomotive program. It was a tank locomotive with a 0-6-0T wheel arrangement, which was mainly used in shunting operations. However, since this was too weak for some tasks, a four-axle variant was developed as the class 81. Due to the standard design, this was possible without much effort and so Hanomag produced a small series of ten units as early as 1928.

The length increased by the fourth axis and the now possible higher weight were used by lengthening the boiler by one meter. Since the locomotive was to continue to be used mainly as a shunting locomotive and therefore no higher speeds were required, the wheel diameter was left at 1,100 mm to achieve a high tractive effort. To ensure curve running, the wheel flanges on both inner axles were weakened by 10 mm.

Although the standard series had been developed as a replacement for the large variety of Länderbahn types, the many existing larger tank locomotives were considered sufficient for shunting operations and further orders were therefore not forthcoming for the time being. When another lot of 60 units was ordered, the war shifted the demand to heavy freight locomotives and thus only ten examples of the series 81 remained. After the war, all remained with the Bundesbahn and were retired by 1963.

General
Built1928
ManufacturerHanomag
Axle config0-8-0T (Eight-coupled) 
Gauge4 ft 8 1/2 in (Standard gauge)
Dimensions and Weights
Length36 ft 4 1/4 in
Wheelbase13 ft 9 3/8 in
Rigid wheelbase13 ft 9 3/8 in
Empty weight114,640 lbs
Service weight148,812 lbs
Adhesive weight148,812 lbs
Axle load37,258 lbs
Water capacity2,113 us gal
Fuel capacity6,614 lbs (coal)
Boiler
Grate area19.2 sq ft
Firebox area82.9 sq ft
Tube heating area949.4 sq ft
Evaporative heating area1,032.3 sq ft
Superheater area355.2 sq ft
Total heating area1,387.5 sq ft
Power Plant
Driver diameter43.3 in
Boiler pressure203 psi
Expansion typesimple
Cylinderstwo, 19 11/16 x 21 5/8 in
Power
Power sourcesteam
Indicated power849 hp (633 kW)
Optimal speed16 mph
Top speed28 mph
Starting effort33,449 lbf
Calculated Values
steam locomotive
switcher
tank locomotive
last changed: 04/2022
loading...

We use cookies to save the following settings:

  • selected navigation structure
  • selected language
  • preferred units
  • spelling of railway company names

If you refuse the use of cookies, the settings will only be retained for the current session and will be reset to the default values the next time you visit the site.

Display of units

Here you can set the desired unit system for the technical data.

  • Metric: Lengths in meters, weights in tonnes, and volumes in cubic meters
  • Imperial (UK): Lengths in feet/inches, weights in long tons and volumes in imperial gallons
  • Imperial (US): Lengths in feet/inches, weights in pounds, and volumes in US gallons
  • Individual: Depends on the country of origin of each locomotive
Operator names

Here you can set the display of railway company names.

  • Short: Abbreviation or short form of the name
  • Standard: commonly used name, partially translated to English
  • Complete: full name in local language