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Saxonia (locomotive)
Encyclopedia
The locomotive Saxonia was operated by the Leipzig-Dresden Railway Company (Leipzig-Dresdner Eisenbahn-Compagnie or LDE) and was the first practical working steam locomotive
built in Germany
. Its name means Saxony
in Latin
.
. Schubert had been inspired by the English-built locomotive, Comet
, procured for the LDE, and he analysed and improved on what he saw. He used the same dimensions but, unlike Comet, two coupled axles were driven, therefore providing increased tractive force, and a carrying axle was added at the back to improve ride qualities.
The development and construction of the locomotive was carried out in the Maschinenbauanstalt Übigau
at Dresden
, an engineering works that had been founded on 1 January 1837. From the beginning Schubert was the head of the company. The construction of the engine was a technical and economic risk for the firm. For a start, it had no technical experience at all; furthermore there were no orders for a locomotive.
The Saxonia was intended to open the Leipzig-Dresden Railway, the first long-distance railway line in Germany, on 8 April 1839. But the English, who until then had a monopoly within the railway industry, begrudged success to Schubert and his locomotive. The first train to run on the railway was hauled by the two English locomotives Robert Stephenson and Elephant. The Saxonia – driven by its creator, Johann Andreas Schubert –- followed on behind. This journey was sabotaged several times.
The Saxonia clearly continued to be used successfully, however, because in 1843 it had clocked up 8,666 kilometres. There is no definite information about its wheareabouts, however, it must have remained in the LDE's fleet until 1856 because its name was not reassigned until then.
The Übigau works built a second locomotive of the same arrangement, named Phoenix, delivered 1840-04-12.
From a technical standpoint the Saxonia reflected in the main its English counterparts. Only a few details exist about the design of the boiler
. The boiler barrel had rivetted longitudinal seams, the vertical boiler had a curved, cylindrical top. A flat plate on top of the vertical boiler provided a platform for the steam whistle
and spring balance safety valve. On top of the front section of the boiler barrel was the tall, narrow steam dome
. The grate was designed to be moveable.
The steam engine was designed as a two-cylinder inside drive with a simple inside lever valve gear (Hebelsteurung) without a steam expansion stage. The engine drove the second coupled axle.
Both coupled axles as well as the carrying axle were fixed rigidly into the frame
. The wheel spokes were made of forged bar steel. Later cast wheel spokes were fitted. Because it had an inside drive the second axle had to be designed as a crank axle, which is remarkable, bearing in mind the manufacturing technology of that time. A technical innovation was the trailing axle which had been intended by Schubert mainly to improve the locomotive's riding qualities.It was subsequently determined to be superfluous and was removed in 1840. From 1842, however, the operation of twin-axled locomotives was banned on safety grounds, so the trailing axle had to be refitted.
The brake was initially a screw-operated band brake
which acted on the two driven wheels from the top. Because this did not prove suitable due to high wear and tear, it was later removed.
Like the Adler
, few original design documents existed at that time from which the replica could be built. The basis of the new design was drew heavily on a blueprint of the original drawings from 1838. The dimensions and technical data were derived from the book published in 1839 by NNW Meissner. One problem that soon came to the fore was that building a replica using the original manufacturing techniques was, for various reasons, not possible. In building the boiler current regulations had to be followed. The steam engine was a major headache. Originally the Saxonia only had a simple lever valve gear which did not enable any kind of steam admission control. For the replica Saxonia a Stephenson valve gear
with open rods was planned.
The design and manufacture of the replica boiler was entrusted to the VEB Dampfkesselbau Übigau in Dresden
. For this firm it was a special honour, almost exactly 150 years after it had produced the original boiler, to be asked to deliver its modern replica. All other components for the Saxonia were, by contrast, given to various Deutsche Reichsbahn facilities. The final assembly of the Saxonia was carried out at the Halle
repair shop (Reichsbahnausbesserungswerk or Raw). The manufacture of components was taken on by the Bahnbetriebswerke (Bw i.e. locomotive depot) at Dresden, Oebisfelde
, Berlin
-Pankow
and Weissenfels as well as the refurbishment shop (Aufarbeitungswerkstatt) at Wilsdruff
.
The tender was built in the facility at Waren (Müritz) of the Neustrelitz
Bw. Originally a wooden frame made of foreign hardwood was planned, largely as in the original. Trials with a replica buffer beam showed, however, that a wooden construction of that nature had a strong tendency to crack. For that reason the tender frame was made, in the end, of welded steel with a wood cladding.
On 1 October 1988 the new locomotive was fired up for the first time at Raw Halle. 14 days later she demonstrated she was fully operational during a trial run to Eisleben
. On her handover journey on 12 January 1989 she even attained a speed of 70 km/h between Halle and Leipzig, as well as demonstrating smooth riding qualities and good steam generation.
The depot at Leipzig Hauptbahnhof
Süd was the home stable for the new Saxonia. On 8 April 1989 she led the impressive parade of locomotives at Riesa
to celebrate the opening of the Germany's first long-distance railway.
The locomotive is owned today (2009) by the DB Museum at Nuremberg
. It underwent a full inspection in 2008 at the Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works
and is still fully operational.
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
built in Germany
German Confederation
The German Confederation was the loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies of separate German-speaking countries. It acted as a buffer between the powerful states of Austria and Prussia...
. Its name means Saxony
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
.
History
The Saxonia was built by Johann Andreas SchubertJohann Andreas Schubert
Johann-Andreas Schubert was a German general engineer , designer and university lecturer.- Life :Schubert was born on 19 March 1808 in Wernesgrün in the state of Saxony in Germany...
. Schubert had been inspired by the English-built locomotive, Comet
LDE – Comet
The German locomotives Comet, Faust, Blitz and Windsbraut were four of the first locomotives on the Leipzig-Dresden Railway . They were four-coupled engines, that Rothwell and Company had built in Manchester between 1835 and 1838.Comet was the first locomotive to be delivered to Saxony...
, procured for the LDE, and he analysed and improved on what he saw. He used the same dimensions but, unlike Comet, two coupled axles were driven, therefore providing increased tractive force, and a carrying axle was added at the back to improve ride qualities.
The development and construction of the locomotive was carried out in the Maschinenbauanstalt Übigau
Maschinenbauanstalt Übigau
The Maschinenbauanstalt Übigau was a German engineering firm based in the present-day district of Übigau in the city of Dresden, Germany.- History :...
at Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, an engineering works that had been founded on 1 January 1837. From the beginning Schubert was the head of the company. The construction of the engine was a technical and economic risk for the firm. For a start, it had no technical experience at all; furthermore there were no orders for a locomotive.
The Saxonia was intended to open the Leipzig-Dresden Railway, the first long-distance railway line in Germany, on 8 April 1839. But the English, who until then had a monopoly within the railway industry, begrudged success to Schubert and his locomotive. The first train to run on the railway was hauled by the two English locomotives Robert Stephenson and Elephant. The Saxonia – driven by its creator, Johann Andreas Schubert –- followed on behind. This journey was sabotaged several times.
The Saxonia clearly continued to be used successfully, however, because in 1843 it had clocked up 8,666 kilometres. There is no definite information about its wheareabouts, however, it must have remained in the LDE's fleet until 1856 because its name was not reassigned until then.
The Übigau works built a second locomotive of the same arrangement, named Phoenix, delivered 1840-04-12.
Technical description
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
. The boiler barrel had rivetted longitudinal seams, the vertical boiler had a curved, cylindrical top. A flat plate on top of the vertical boiler provided a platform for the steam whistle
Steam whistle
A steam whistle is a device used to produce sound with the aid of live steam, which acts as a vibrating system .- Operation :...
and spring balance safety valve. On top of the front section of the boiler barrel was the tall, narrow steam dome
Steam dome
A Steam dome is a vessel fitted to the top of the boiler of a steam locomotive. It contains the opening to the main steam pipe and its purpose is to allow this opening to be kept well above the water level in the boiler...
. The grate was designed to be moveable.
The steam engine was designed as a two-cylinder inside drive with a simple inside lever valve gear (Hebelsteurung) without a steam expansion stage. The engine drove the second coupled axle.
Both coupled axles as well as the carrying axle were fixed rigidly into the frame
Locomotive frame
A locomotive frame is the structure that forms the backbone of the railway locomotive, giving it strength and supporting the superstructure elements such as a cab, boiler or bodywork. The vast majority of locomotives have had a frame structure of some kind...
. The wheel spokes were made of forged bar steel. Later cast wheel spokes were fitted. Because it had an inside drive the second axle had to be designed as a crank axle, which is remarkable, bearing in mind the manufacturing technology of that time. A technical innovation was the trailing axle which had been intended by Schubert mainly to improve the locomotive's riding qualities.It was subsequently determined to be superfluous and was removed in 1840. From 1842, however, the operation of twin-axled locomotives was banned on safety grounds, so the trailing axle had to be refitted.
The brake was initially a screw-operated band brake
Band brake
A band brake is a primary or secondary brake, consisting of a band of friction material that tightens concentrically around a cylindrical piece of equipment to either prevent it from rotating , or to slow it . This application is common on winch drums and chain saws and is also used for some...
which acted on the two driven wheels from the top. Because this did not prove suitable due to high wear and tear, it was later removed.
Replica locomotive
On 11 October 1985, a working group was established by the East German government's Ministry of Transport for the construction of a replica of the locomotive. The aim was for its inaugural journey to form part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of the opening of the first German long-distance railway from Leipzig to Dresden on 8 April 1989.Like the Adler
Adler (locomotive)
The Adler was the first locomotive which was successfully commercially used for rail transport of passengers and goods in Germany. The rail vehicle was constructed and built in 1835 from the british railway pioneers George and Robert Stephenson in the english town Newcastle...
, few original design documents existed at that time from which the replica could be built. The basis of the new design was drew heavily on a blueprint of the original drawings from 1838. The dimensions and technical data were derived from the book published in 1839 by NNW Meissner. One problem that soon came to the fore was that building a replica using the original manufacturing techniques was, for various reasons, not possible. In building the boiler current regulations had to be followed. The steam engine was a major headache. Originally the Saxonia only had a simple lever valve gear which did not enable any kind of steam admission control. For the replica Saxonia a Stephenson valve gear
Stephenson valve gear
The Stephenson valve gear or Stephenson link or shifting link is a simple design of valve gear that was widely used throughout the world for all kinds of steam engine. It is named after Robert Stephenson but was actually invented by his employees....
with open rods was planned.
The design and manufacture of the replica boiler was entrusted to the VEB Dampfkesselbau Übigau in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
. For this firm it was a special honour, almost exactly 150 years after it had produced the original boiler, to be asked to deliver its modern replica. All other components for the Saxonia were, by contrast, given to various Deutsche Reichsbahn facilities. The final assembly of the Saxonia was carried out at the Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
repair shop (Reichsbahnausbesserungswerk or Raw). The manufacture of components was taken on by the Bahnbetriebswerke (Bw i.e. locomotive depot) at Dresden, Oebisfelde
Oebisfelde
Oebisfelde is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Oebisfelde-Weferlingen. It is accessed by Bundesstraße 188.- Geography :...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
-Pankow
Pankow
Pankow is the third borough of Berlin. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was merged with the former boroughs of Prenzlauer Berg and Weißensee; the resulting borough retained the name Pankow.- Overview :...
and Weissenfels as well as the refurbishment shop (Aufarbeitungswerkstatt) at Wilsdruff
Wilsdruff
Wilsdruff is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, with 13,743 inhabitants. It is situated 14 km west of Dresden . Near Wilsdruff there is a facility for high power broadcasting, the transmitter Wilsdruff....
.
The tender was built in the facility at Waren (Müritz) of the Neustrelitz
Neustrelitz
Neustrelitz is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the Zierker See in the Mecklenburg Lake District. From 1738 until 1918 it was the capital of the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz...
Bw. Originally a wooden frame made of foreign hardwood was planned, largely as in the original. Trials with a replica buffer beam showed, however, that a wooden construction of that nature had a strong tendency to crack. For that reason the tender frame was made, in the end, of welded steel with a wood cladding.
On 1 October 1988 the new locomotive was fired up for the first time at Raw Halle. 14 days later she demonstrated she was fully operational during a trial run to Eisleben
Eisleben
Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as the hometown of Martin Luther, hence its official name is Lutherstadt Eisleben. As of 2005, Eisleben had a population of 24,552...
. On her handover journey on 12 January 1989 she even attained a speed of 70 km/h between Halle and Leipzig, as well as demonstrating smooth riding qualities and good steam generation.
The depot at Leipzig Hauptbahnhof
Leipzig Hauptbahnhof
is, at 83,460 m², Europe's largest railway station when measured by floor area. It has 24 platforms housed in six iron trainsheds; a multi-level concourse with towering stone arches; and a 293 metre-long facade...
Süd was the home stable for the new Saxonia. On 8 April 1989 she led the impressive parade of locomotives at Riesa
Riesa
Riesa is a town in the district of Meißen in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is located at the river Elbe, approx. 40 km northwest of Dresden.The world's first 110 kV power line was inaugurated between Riesa and Lauchhammer in 1912....
to celebrate the opening of the Germany's first long-distance railway.
The locomotive is owned today (2009) by the DB Museum at Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
. It underwent a full inspection in 2008 at the Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works
Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works
The Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works is a railway repair shop in Meiningen, Germany. It is owned by Deutsche Bahn and has specialised in the maintenance of museum steam locomotives since 1990, having extensive experience in maintaining steam engines. Today, customers of the factory include...
and is still fully operational.
See also
- Royal Saxon State RailwaysRoyal Saxon State RailwaysThe Royal Saxon State Railways were the state-owned railways operating in the Kingdom of Saxony from 1869 to 1918...
- List of Saxon locomotives and railbuses
- Leipzig-Dresden Railway
Sources
- Heinz Schnabel: Die SAXONIA, Original und Rekonstruktion. In: modelleisenbahner 3/1989. transpress, ISSN 0026-7422
- Heinz Schnabel: SAXONIA. Beschreibung und Rekonstruktion einer historischen Lokomotive. transpress VEB Verlag für Verkehrswesen, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-344-00351-8
- Fritz Näbrich, Günter Meyer, Reiner Preuß: Lokomotivarchiv Sachsen 1, transpress VEB Verlag für Verkehrswesen, Berlin, 1983
External links
- There is a relevant English-language forum at Railways of Germany