German ''
Kleinlokomotive
A ''Kleinlokomotive'' or ''Kleinlok'' (literally: "small locomotive"; plural:''Kleinlokomotiven'') is a German locomotive of small size and low power for light shunting duties at railway stations and on industrial railways. Most are powered by ...
n'' (literally: small locomotives) like the DRG Kö II (later: Köf II) were developed as
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
s with a low weight and driving power for light
shunting duties. There were two classes, based on engine power. The Class II were engines which developed more than 40 (later 50) HP.
After tests with several trial locomotives, they were placed in service from 1932 onwards by the
Deutsche Reichsbahn
The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...
(DRG) and used on small stations for light shunting and marshalling work. They were intended to make the handling of goods traffic more economical. To do that, an appropriately trained controller had to be able to handle shunting duties using the locomotive. Accordingly, the locomotive was designed to be robust and easy to operate.
Technology
Light locomotives mainly used diesel motors (originally classified as ''Kö/Köf/Köe'' by the DRG), as their source of energy, but there were also versions with
Benzol
Benzol may refer to:
* Benzole, a coal-tar product consisting mainly of benzene and toluene
* Benzene, a chemical compound with the formula C6H6
* Benzol peroxide, benzoyl peroxide
* Benzoyl group, a functional group with the formula C6H5CO
* Benzy ...
motors, designated as ''Kb/Kbf/Kbe'', and with electrical batteries (
accumulator cars: ''Ks/Ka''), as well as one locomotive with a steam engine. The third letter, if present, indicated the type of power transmission. If there was none, the locomotive had a mechanical
gear
A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth (called ''cogs''), which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit (convert) torque and speed. The basic pr ...
system with a dry clutch. An ''f'' stood for an hydraulic drive and an ''e'' for electric traction motors, that were fed by a generator. Köf, therefore, stood for a light locomotive (''Kleinlok'') with diesel engine (''Öl-(Diesel-)Motor'') and hydraulic transmission (''Flüssigkeitsgetriebe''). Power is transmitted to the axles using a
chain linkage.
The locomotive is very small and yet of ,
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
, width, but only fills about half the
loading gauge
A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and ke ...
profile. As a result, it can be loaded onto
flat wagons
A flatcar (US) (also flat car, or flatbed) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on a pair of trucks (US) or bogies (UK), one at each end containing four or six wheels. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry ...
. This was how the locomotives were moved between yards or to depots for overhaul and repair. The top speed of made it impractical for the locomotives to power themselves over the mainline.
The light diesel locomotives were the first German diesel engines that were built in batches by several manufacturers.
They were initially divided into two power groups:
*
Class I (initially , later )
* Class II (up to )
DB had over 700 new Köf II engines newly built and further developed after the war. In the GDR, 32 Kö II were (re-)built in Dessau maintenance works for DR (among them the last ever built of 1968). More than 360 very similar vehicles were produced exclusively for industrial railways, series N3 with
chain link drive and , referred to as N3 by the manufacturers, and series N4 with
side rod
A coupling rod or side rod connects the driving wheels of a locomotive. Steam locomotives in particular usually have them, but some diesel and electric locomotives, especially older ones and shunters, also have them. The coupling rods transfer t ...
drive and . The first proper development of small shunting locomotives in the
GDR was the V 10 B, which was further developed into
class V 15. A plan – similar to the one of DB – to build a series of more powerful Köf III was subsequently discarded and replaced by the DR class V 60 project.
The DB later developed a
Köf III with up to . In 1987, the
Class 260/261 (up to 1968 called V 60) engines were reclassified as light locomotives and renumbered into classes 360/361.
The brake effort of the Kö was initially only determined by the weight of the engine driver and the maximum force he could transmit via the brake pedal. With the introduction of new, more powerful motors (up to ) and the corresponding increase in tractive effort this proved insufficient; as a result many light locos in the DB and DR were equipped with a
compressed-air brake
A railway air brake is a railway brake power braking system with compressed air as the operating medium. Modern trains rely upon a fail-safe air brake system that is based upon a design patented by George Westinghouse on April 13, 1869. The We ...
, that could also operated the brakes of attached wagons. DR engines were not equipped with their own brake cylinders so that only the attached wagons were air-braked. In the DB the permitted top speed was raised from where compressed-air brakes had been installed. These locos can be easily recognised by their air reservoirs on the front. Because the open cab gave no real protection from the weather in winter, doors and windows were added during the course of main inspections from the late 1950s.
Classifications
Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft: power category (''Leistungsgruppe'') II, Kb/Kö/Köf/Kbf 4001 to 6047
Deutsche Bundesbahn: continued production of Köf II up to Köf 6835
Deutsche Bundesbahn: in 1968 redesignated as Class 321-324
Deutsche Reichsbahn (East Germany): new models Kö 4002 to 4032
Deutsche Reichsbahn (East Germany): in 1970 redesignated as Class 100
Deutsche Reichsbahn (East Germany): in 1973, narrow gauge Kö redesignated as Class 199
Deutsche Bahn AG: in 1992 DR Class 100 redesignated as DBAG Class 310
* Class 321: Vmax = 30 km/h, foot brake, rebuilt into 322-324 stopped in February 1974
* Class 322: Vmax = 30 km/h, compressed-air brake
* Class 323-324: Vmax = 45 km/h, compressed-air brake
Preserved Locomotives
Deutsche Bundesbahn/Deutsche Bahn AG
In the 1980s numerous Köf IIs were still in service with the DB and DR (some over 50 years old. For a while, DB 323 412 and 323 415 were the oldest locomotives in the Deutsche Bundesbahn), as well as a handful of battery-operated light locos, of
classes 381 and 382. Since 1999 no Köf IIs have worked for the Deutsche Bahn AG. However many remain working for other railway companies and societies, both in regular services and as museum locomotives.
East German Deutsche Reichsbahn
In 1970 the
Deutsche Reichsbahn
The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...
incorporated 378 machines of power category 2 in its
EDP classification scheme as Class 100. After
German reunification
German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
these became Class 310 in the DB AG. Only a few of the DR's light locomotives had hydraulic power transmission; they were grouped into sub-class 100.8. Under the old numbering scheme they were classified as ''Köf''. Dead man's handles (''Sifa'') and radios for marshalling were not common. The Deutsche Reichsbahn converted many Kö to
compressed-air brakes
A railway air brake is a railway brake power braking system with compressed air as the operating medium. Modern trains rely upon a fail-safe air brake system that is based upon a design patented by George Westinghouse on April 13, 1869. The ...
, this programme had not been completed when the
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...
came down.
In 1983/84 three DR Kö II were converted to
metre gauge
Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...
working for the Halle industrial railway and the Harz Narrow Gauge Railway. They have been preserved.
Gallery
Image:German light diesel locomotive Köf II 6311.jpg, Operational Köf II in Augsburg Railway Park
Image:German light diesel locomotive Class 100.jpg, 310 426 in Bad Salzungen
File:DB Köf Class 323 871-4.JPG, Köf II at the German Steam Locomotive Museum in Neuenmarkt
See also
*
Deutsche Reichsbahn
The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...
*
List of DRG locomotives and railbuses
The railway vehicle classes covered by this list of DRG locomotives and railbuses belonged to the ''Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft'' or DRG (1924–37) and its successor, the ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'' or DRB (post 1937).
The DRG (lit. German Imp ...
*
Kleinlokomotive
A ''Kleinlokomotive'' or ''Kleinlok'' (literally: "small locomotive"; plural:''Kleinlokomotiven'') is a German locomotive of small size and low power for light shunting duties at railway stations and on industrial railways. Most are powered by ...
*
DRG Kleinlokomotive Class I
The ''Kleinlokomotiven'' (literally: small locomotives) of Class I were light German locomotives of low weight and power (up to 40 PS) designed for shunting duties. They were placed in service by the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DRG) after trials had bee ...
*
DB Class Köf III
The DB railways Köf III class (after 1968 named classes 331, 332, 333 and 335) are light two axle shunting locomotives of Deutsche Bahn AG.
History
The German national railways had already procured small locomotives of classes Kö I (up to ) ...
Literature
*
External links
Deutsche Kleinloks.de, Extensive data bank for all Köf (German)Axel Klatt's light locomotive pages (German)
{{German diesel locomotives, DRG Kleinlokomotive Class II
Diesel locomotives of Germany
Kof II
B locomotives
Railway locomotives introduced in 1932
Standard gauge locomotives of Germany
Shunting locomotives