According to a couple of web sites I found, four German steam locomotives were captured and sent to Ft. Monroe and then Ft. Eustis around September, 1945 for testing and evaluation. They were as follows:

V19 1001, a V8 steam motor powered 2-8-2 streamlined high speed passenger locomotive. This engine was an experimental but was used between Hamburg and Berlin until it was damaged in an air raid. It was re-built and sent to the USA. One report said it was exhibited at the Chicago Railroad Fair. It was scrapped around 1952-53. There is a great web site for this engine at http://www.pernet.net/~james1/v-8/v-8steam.htm

42 1597, a 2-10-0 freight locomotive. The 42 class was not entirely successful although they lasted until the late 1960's in East Germany.

52 2006 KON, a 2-10-0 "Kreigslok" (war locomotive) altered as a condensing locomotive.

52 3674, a 2-10-0 standard Kreigslok.
Another web site about these locomotives is at
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~khmiska/

Does anyone have information on what tests were performed on these engines, when they were scrapped and photos of them in the USA that may exist? The 52 3674 is reported to have been scrapped in 1952.

-Jim Herron

Jim,

Glad you liked the webpage on the "V-8 Steam Locomotive".

Don Ross was at Ft. Eustis in 1952. Just two days after his arrival; he was sent to clear brush, and passed by the German rolling stock. His webpage at:

http://donross.railspot.com/dr109.htm

has a picture of L52-KON Kreigsloco (the condensing 52 class locomotive.) Along with the steam locomotives, they also brought over one of the "Flying Hamburger" diesel railsets. The "V-8 steam locomotive" disappeared a few days later, the remainder later.

One of my sources for the "V-8 steam locomotive" page told me he saw a picture of 19.1001 with an American style headlight on her nose at the time of the Chicago Railroad Fair.

As I mentioned on my webpage, the various components (injector, air pump, lubrication system, etc.) were tested at Fort Patrick Henry in 1946. Little or nothing appeared to have been done to it at Ft. Eustis. I would imagine the condensing locomotive's system was examined as well. But steam was already on the decline, so there must have been very little interest in the findings by American railroads.
It was a great shame that the German rolling stock was not sent to American museums for preservation. I think that many of the German an Japanese aircraft you find in the Smithsonian and elsewhere were brought here for the same purpose. The Germans did not want to pay the $15000 it would have cost to ship 19.1001 back to Germany, so it and the other equipment was scrapped in 1952.

The condensing equipment in L52-KON was utilized later in the Class 25 4-8-4s built for South African Railways in the 1950s. The system saved water in the desert, but was troublesome, and they were converted to Class 25NC locomotives at a later date.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

Surviving World Steam Project

James-

Sorry I didn't credit your site when I made the first post.

I checked out Don Ross' site and the shots of locos used as targets, etc. made me think of Kentucky & Tennessee Ry 2-8-2 11. It was bought by the US Army in the mid-1960's an reportedly was sent to Aberdeen for use as a target. Do you know anything about that or other steam locos that met similar fates at Aberdeen or other places in the US? I know they wrecked trains at Ft. Polk, LA as training exercises during WW II.

Luckily, K&T 10 and 12 (SR 4501)went to TVRM.

-Jim Herron

Not crediting my site was not a problem; I'm just glad you enjoyed it.

Don Ross' website was the only one I have found to date on this subject; his website and mine seem to cross paths on many different levels. I have passed by Ft. Polk many times over my lifetime, but I can't help you there either.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

Surviving World Steam Project

Hi there - just a picture from Dombaas station in Norway to give other surfers of RyPN a look about the topic.

Another shot of the beast from the regular steam service on the Rauma line between Ã…ndalsnes and Bjorli.


Regards Ragnar[/img]

Very nice!

Thanks!
-Jim Herron

In view of recent interest in the poppet-valved No. 611 at Fort Eustis, I got to looking for other material, and found some more on the German 2-Do-2 locomotive, or at least currently working links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DRB_Class_19.10

http://www.worldrailfans.info/Articles/ ... 9-1001.jpg

http://schneider-mayenfisch.com/drg_lok ... 9_1001.htm

Have more fun.

I do still have my material; you can access it for the time being through the Internet Wayback Machine:

http://web.archive.org/web/200404090542 ... 8steam.htm

The one picture that does not come up for me is the one mostly likely of interest to readers; so I have attached it to this message.

Much of my website was getting stale by time Hurricane Rita brought an end to my ISP. I haven't decided what to do with the rest of the material yet.

P.S. Click on the impatient link if it does not come up right away.

!!@#$%&%$!!! Someone built a live steam model of that animal?!

Looks like they did:

http://www.trevorheath.com/livesteaming/bottom.htm

Love the "weathering" effect in that close-up of the running gear. . .

Something that's bound to intrigue Hugh Odom:

http://www.trevorheath.com/livesteaming ... motive.pdf

While looking for that, found some other things of interest:

http://www.km-forum.com.pl/viewtopic.php?t=3985

http://www.aqpl43.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/ ... amotor.htm

http://loco.skyrocket.de/data/drg_19_10.htm

A touch on "steam motor" locomotives is here:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33451

Of particular interest is this American proposal that was never completed:

http://www.american-rails.com/class-w1-besler-type.html

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. . .and thanks to Trevor for letting us see (and hear, via link) that interesting live-steamer. . .