Plandampf (scheduled steam) means the hauling of regular trains by

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s, often in conjunction with

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

of the same era. The idea came into being in Germany in the late 1980s. At the beginning, only the additional costs for the steam service were to be borne by the operator. The background was that there were still many operable steam locomotives on the territory of the former

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, the infrastructure was still in place in many places (e.g. sheds, water cranes, coal handling systems, sanding systems) and the usually low maximum speed permitted the use of steam locomotives. Scheduled steam events are becoming increasingly rare because the necessary infrastructure for steam operation is being lost in the course of modernization of routes. The planned steam at the beginning of the 1990s in East Germany was still relatively common. After modernization, train speeds increased, and the timetable was designed accordingly, so steam locomotives could not meet the speed requirements. Another factor was stricter safety requirements, such as automatic closing of doors. Most planned steam events involve passenger trains but there are also a few freight workings. In southern Germany, the

Bavarian Railway Museum The Bavarian Railway Museum (''Bayerisches Eisenbahnmuseum'' or BEM) is a railway museum based in the old locomotive sheds at Nördlingen station in Bavaria, Germany. It is home to more than 100 original railway vehicles and has been located ...

(BEM) established itself as a scheduled steam operator from 2016. It has a stock of sufficiently large locomotives ( BR 01, BR 44, BR 50, S 3/6 and BR52), its own route and customers with suitable freight volumes.Plandampf im Ries 2019

References

{{reflist Preserved steam locomotives of Germany Heritage railways in Germany