The Prussian G 8.2 class of locomotives actually incorporated two different locomotive types: one was the Prussian/Oldenburg G 8.2, for which 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 ...

subsequently issued follow-on orders; the other was the G 8.2 of the Lübeck-Büchen Railway.

Prussian G 8.2

The Prussian G 8.2 was a 2-

cylinder A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...

version of the Prussian G 8.3. It had been established that the inside third engine of the G 8.3 was not absolutely necessary and discontinued the G 8.3 as a consequence. Like that engine the G 8.2 had been developed from the G 12 and was in essence a shorter version of it. The locomotives were employed on heavy goods train duties on main lines. Later the top speed on some units was raised to 75 km/h so that the G 8.2 could also be used to haul passenger trains. A total of 846 examples of the locomotive were built between 1919 and 1928 for the

Prussian state railways The term Prussian state railways (German: ''Preußische Staatseisenbahnen'') encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia. The words "state railways" are not capitalized because Prussia did not have a ...

and the

. Five vehicles, that had been delivered in 1921 to the '' Reichsbahndirektion'' of Oldenburg, had been equipped with

Lentz valve gear Lentz is a Germanic surname. People Notable people with the surname include: * Bryan Lentz (born 1964), attorney and former Pennsylvania legislator * Carl Lentz American pastor, former lead pastor of Hillsong Church NYC * Daniel Lentz (born 19 ...

as was usual on the Oldenburg machines. The locomotives delivered in 1922 were ''Cassel'' division numbers; in 1923 several were supplied as DRG Class 31 before they were allocated their eventual DRG numbers in 1923. Another 150 vehicles were supplied to the Turkish and Rumanian railways. The firm of AEG converted four engines to coal-dust firing in 1930. 650 examples of these locos were still present in Germany after 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 ...

. The

had given them operating numbers 56 2001–2485 and 2551–2916. In 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 ...

this class was very quickly retired; the last one to go being no. 56 2637, withdrawn in 1963 and retired in 1965. The

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 ...

used these locomotives right up to the early 1970s - a number even being given computer numbers. Its last stronghold was Bw Vacha in Thuringia, which had both the first and last engine to be built: nos. 56 2001 and 56 2916. In Germany no Class 56.20–29 has been preserved. No. 56 2795 is in the

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

railway museum as no. Tr6-39.
Link: Ehemalige 56 2795 in Warschau

G 8.2 of the LBE

The G 8.2s with the Lübeck-Büchen Railway were certainly similar to the Prussian G 8.2s, but were in fact an independent design with numerous differences. For example, they were noticeably longer and did not appear quite as stocky. They were intended to take charge of heavy goods trains running between Hamburg and Lübeck. Because these locomotives were also to be used in passenger services, the

running gear In railway terminology the term running gear refers to those components of a railway vehicle that run passively on the rails, unlike those of the driving gear. Traditionally these are the wheels, axles, axle boxes, springs and vehicle frame o ...

and brakes were designed so that the top speed could be raised to . A total of eight engines was delivered between 1923 and 1930 by Linke-Hofmann, as LBE 91–98. In 1938 they were given Reichsbahn numbers 56 3001 to 58 3008. The Deutsche Bundesbahn took over locomotives 56 3001 and 56 3003 to 3008 and retired them by 1951. DB sold 56 3005 to the '' Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen'' (OHE; "East Hanover Railway"), who renumbered 56 102, and retired it in 1963. No. 56 3002 was left to the

Deutsche Reichsbahn (GDR) The Deutsche Reichsbahn or DR ''(German Reich Railways)'' was the operating name of state owned railways in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), and after German reunification until 1 January 1994. In 1949, occupied Germany's railwa ...

in the east, who retired her in 1956. Locomotive 56 3007 was sold into industrial service in 1950, and has since been preserved; it is in the

Darmstadt-Kranichstein Railway Museum The Darmstadt-Kranichstein Railway Museum (''Eisenbahnmuseum Darmstadt-Kranichstein'') a railway museum in the German city of Darmstadt. It is also the largest railway museum in the state of Hesse. The former railway depot (''Bahnbetriebswerk'' ...

. The engines were equipped with tenders of classes pr 3 T 16.5, pr 3 T 20 or pr 2'2' T 21.5.

Prussian G 8.2

G 8.2 of the LBE

See also

Notes

References

Further reading