The Class 98.11

steam locomotives 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 ...

of 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 ...

were rebuilds of the Bavarian Class GtL 4/4 (DRG Class 98.8-9). Because the riding qualities of the Class 98.10 were still not good enough to raise the speed of branch line (''Lokalbahn'') trains in Bavaria significantly, the Reichsbahn decided in 1934 to rebuild a Class GtL 4/4 engine (no. 98 906). Amongst other things, it was given an additional leading axle. As a result, 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 ...

and driver's cab had to be moved forward, which resulted in their having to be raised by 250 mm. After trials with the locomotive had proved successful, it was decided to modify another 26 engines by 1939 and to allocate them to a new locomotive class. A further engine followed in each of the years 1940 and 1941. The rebuilds were given numbers 98 1101 - 98 1129. The permitted top speed of the rebuilds could be raised to 55 km/h, compared with 40 km/h for the GtL 4/4 and 45 km/h for the Class 98.10. All 29 locomotives survived 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 ...

. Apart from 98 1108, which went to the DR in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, they all went into the

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 ...

. The East German engine was retired in 1967; those in the West between 1960 and 1968.

References

* {{DRG locomotives 98.11 2-8-0T locomotives 98.11 Railway locomotives introduced in 1934 Locomotives of Bavaria Standard gauge locomotives of Germany 1′D h2t locomotives Rebuilt locomotives Freight locomotives

See also

References