The Class 85 was a German goods train tank engine and standard locomotive ('' Einheitslok'') with 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 ...

History

In 1931, the DRG ordered ten locomotives from the firm of

Henschel Henschel & Son (german: Henschel und Sohn) was a German company, located in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting v ...

that were taken into the fleet as numbers 85 001 to 85 010. The Class 85 was intended for hauling passenger and

goods trains Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled ...

. They were however also employed as

pusher locomotives A bank engine (United Kingdom/Australia) (colloquially a banker), banking engine, helper engine or pusher engine (North America) is a railway locomotive that temporarily assists a train that requires additional Engine power, power or tractive eff ...

on the Höllentalbahn in the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

. Thanks to this engine, the Höllental Railway could do away with

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with th ...

operations from 1933. The running gear and the

superheated A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into superheated steam or dry steam. Superheated steam is used in steam turbines for electricity generation, steam engines, and in processes such as steam reforming. There are ...

system were taken from the Class 44. The

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centr ...

, with a few minor alterations, was the same as that of the Class 62. All the locomotives were stabled at the

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

shed. Apart from number 85 004, which was lost in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, all the engines were in operation in the Black Forest until 1961, the year the route was converted from experimental electrical operations with 20 kV/50 Hz lines to the usual

Deutsche Bundesbahn The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB (German Federal Railway) was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remaine ...

standard of . One engine, number 85 007, was still in service in

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; "''Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and tow ...

until the end of the year, but they were all retired by the beginning of the next year.

Preserved locomotives

Number 85 007 belongs to the town of Freiburg im Breisgau. It is not operational, but is maintained by the ''Bahn-Sozialwerk-Gruppe''. The engine is housed in the former locomotive shed.

References

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External links

History of the Class 85 in the Höllental, Black Forest
{{DRG locomotives 85 2-10-2T locomotives 85 Henschel locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1932 Standard gauge locomotives of Germany 1′E1′ h3t locomotives Freight locomotives