Frontpage
Who are we?
About locomotive
Purchase of units
Gallery
Video
Legal notice
Links
Contact
History of the BR 44(Click here to scroll down to technical data)The history of the freight train steam locomotive BR 44 starts in 1923. The engine manufacturers Borsig, Henschel and the German state railway made several drafts of the heavy E freight train steam engine in 2-cylinder, 3-cylinder and compound versions. In 1924 the Directorate of the Deutsche Reichsbahn asked the manufacturers Henschel, Esslingen and Schwarzkopf to build ten 2-cylinder and ten 3-cylinder engines respectively. They were to be put into service in 1926. The 2-cylinder version was not part of the original plan, but the Directorate decided that they also needed ten simpler engines. They were named BR 43. From the very start, the BR 43 turned out to be cheaper to run than the BR 44. But the enormous force of the moveable parts and the big cylinder diameter of 720 mm fretted the bearings and made the frame crack. Consequently the 2-cylinder BR 43 was far more expensive to maintain than the 3-cylinder BR 44. Around 1935 DRG purchased BR 44 with a few constructional modifications. The 3-cylinder engine had bigger breakaway force and better mass balance, so the pressure on bearings and frame was lighter than on the 2-cylinder BR 43. The maximum speed was set at 80 km/h in order to meet the challenges of the increasing freight train traffic. In 1937 the final delivery of the series began. The engines of the initial series had 2'2 T-tenders. The final series were equipped with 2'2 T-34-tenders, which were welded and not riveted like those of the initial series. With the outbreak of the Second World War, the demand for strong freight train engines rose dramatically, and the DRG stopped the production of express train engines, which were less important for rail traffic. Only BR 44, 50 and the smaller BR 86 were to be produced. During the war, the freight train engines became still simpler due to shortage of materials and the need to save time. In 1945, DRG owned a total of 1753 BR 44 engines. The engines were built by fourteen German and foreign manufacturers, including ten 44 1231 - 44 1240 engines which were built by the Danish FRICHS in Aarhus. Out of the 335 engines owned by the DR after the war, 94 were converted to oil firing and 22 to coal dust firing in order to make them more economic in operation. This also eased the firemen's work. After the war, in 1949, ten more engines were built by VEB LEW 'Hans Beimler', Henningsdorf (formerly BORSIG). Now the total number was 1989. 1242 engines remained with the DB and 335 with DR.
Life story of the 44 225The steam engine 44 225, constructor's number 11 279, was finished at Schwarzkopf in Berlin on July 3rd 1939. On July 4th 1939, the 44 225 was turned over to DR in Dresden and was put into service at BW Zwickau on July 19th 1939. Between the 16th and 21st of September 1965, the 44 225 was converted to oil firing and put into service at BW Nordhausen. From December 31st 1976 till February 27th 1982, the 44 225 was placed at BW Sangerhausen. From here it was sent to Meiningen from January 25th till February 27th 1982 to be converted back to coal firing. After this it was used by BW Cottbus as a heat engine, until it was scrapped on January 23rd 1994.On February 19th 1994, the 44 225 was bought by Lausitzer Dampflok Club, who sold it to RENT A LOK ApS in Denmark on March 1st 2008.
The modifications to 44 225In order to get a contemporary and modern steam engine, while maintaining the engines looks, we have put together the optimizations that meet all demands. This will result in fitting in equipment for burning bio fuel for obvious environmental reasons, extensive thermal insulation, mount roller bearings in the motion parts and counterbalance the engine in order to make it run smother, to reduce the load on the machine parts and possibly increase the maximum speed. The final change will be fitting in a Lempor Ejector, as this, in short terms, decreases steam consumption, and lowers the back pressure in the engine.This will not make 44 225 state of the art in modern technology, but it will show that an old giant with relatively small funds can be competitive, and perhaps even beyond what the now aging diesel locomotives can.
|
