Steam Locomotive used in "Protest" in Germany

J3a-614 · **Posted:** Fri Aug 23, 2024 5:14 am

One of the more interesting and different things to show up on YouTube is this guy.

I personally think he's a bit goofy, but I can't fault his enthusiasm, nor the fact that he is a volunteer at a museum with operating steam power. (We sure can use more of those, and I'll take his bit of goofiness far, far more than the grumpiness of some old guys we have!)

Seems what is the German equivalent of a designated shortline operator has had to deal with poor maintenance of the track, which is the responsibility of the owner. The track has gotten bad enough that the diesels that would normally be used are too heavy, what diesels can be used are too light--but a class 50, coal burning Decapod has an axle load that's light enough, and a tractive effort high enough, to do the job (Shades of revenue steam with No. 90 on the Strasburg!)

So the designated operator has good relations with the local railroad museum and borrowed the 2-10-0 to protest the lack of maintenance, and even hung a sign on the side of the tender that translates to "Rails like 1950, Locomotives like 1950. Protest against the state of Infrastructure in Thüringen Forrest" (from the comments with the video).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOQf6MIFQYs

J3a-614 · **Posted:** Fri Aug 23, 2024 5:28 am

By the way, tying in this video with the recent thread about the "Atmosphere of British Railway Heritage Sites" is this comment from the video site, published by someone going by the name of "Schwarzermoritz:"

Quote:

As for how this happens? These freight services are operated by small private companies that own or lease their motive power and buy "Trassen", spot trackage use slots from the rail infrastructure companies, which, all else being equal, is usually DB.

The network between those companies and the rail preservation scene is pretty tight knit. Foamers do be working on the railroad. So the person booking freight movements during the week might very well be a volunteer at a local museum on the weekends. Somebody knows someone, people sit around after hours and bitch about the mess DB is making of the railroad, someone makes a half-serious jab about "might as well run it with a Class 50 at that point", and then things fall into place.

Beauty of an open access rail market: as long as the choochoo meets the saftey requirements to operate in that secrion of track, and you as the operating company pay the infrastructure company the appropriate fees for running the train, what sort of traction you actually put on the service is your decision. So long as it the mod cons like air brakes and PZB (intermittent train control), nothing in the rulebook says it can't be a steam engine.

I have to tell you, more and more I am convinced--yes, convinced--that our dumbed down capitalist system (which could called "corporatism," and could also be called "Potterism," for the villain in the film "It's a Wonderful Life") is the source of a lot of our troubles, and is in serious need of reform here. Be forewarned, such reform efforts would be labelled "SOCIALISM!!" and "COMMUNISM!!" (And !!! And !!!!!)

I'll add that this isn't limited to railroads! Think of quality control and other issues with airliners and airliner maintenance that's gotten some attention lately. As a former Boeing engineer remarked in an article on this subject, "There's a difference between a crash on my computer and a crash involving an airplane"--or words to that effect. I'll have to look it up.

That's in addition to some attitude changes we can stand in our preservation community, of which there has also been considerable comment here.

J3a-614 · **Posted:** Fri Aug 23, 2024 5:48 am

Link to the British Railway thread.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=48263

Steam Locomotive used in "Protest" in Germany

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