SLEEPING GIANTS
They were Plandampf stars and favourites of the Brits, but now Nos. 03.1010 and 18.201 are still. What next?
What next for Plandampf stars?
Even standing still, No. 18.201 looks fast; even cold, No. 03.1010 has a unique presence. It’s just as well.
Not so long ago, the former could claim to be the world’s fastest working steam locomotive; the latter Germany’s quickest coal burner. No more – because these modern-day favourites now stand in their sheds, the ‘03.10’ at Halle, northwest of Leipzig, the green semi-streamliner in Lutherstadt-Wittenberg a bit further northeast. Sadly, the former’s planned farewell in June was scuppered by fire risk (SR495); the latter’s last trip took it to its birthplace at Meiningen, last September.
Ask about most German engines and few Brits could say much. These two may be exceptions. It was gricers from this country who gave No. 03.1010 its ‘Roaring Monster’ moniker; British timers who in 2011 crowded the first coach behind No. 18.201.
That was the last time the 7ft 6in-driver engine reached 100mph – assuming you’re not among those who decided it topped out 1mph short (SR390). How many other overseas ‘Pacifics’ could attract a donation from a UK promoter – as No. 03.1010 did from the Railway Touring Company, which gave €10,000 for its last overhaul in 2010? That’s before you mention this particular three-cylinder machine’s ‘twinning’ with Oliver Cromwell, or its brief appearance as Royal Engineer for the re-creation of the British Military Train in 2012.
Part of the popularity of these engines is surely because they were loud, impressive, active. Yet much of it may even be simpler: which British engines were plated for 112mph (No. 18.201) and 87mph (No. 03.1010)?
For years, they even emerged from the same shed: one of the part-roundhouses at Halle P. The ‘P’, by the way, denotes that this
was the passenger shed. Another depot across the railway – you’ve guessed it – is Halle G.
Tucked away in the shadow of tenements and a long metal bridge spanning Halle’s running lines and marshalling yard, Halle P turned out its celebrity ‘Pacifics’ for event after event. Either 4-6-2, with a tightly-timed inter-city ‘D Zug’, brought entertainment that echoed 1967. Their regular crews were old masters of the art.
David Sprackland’s bearded figure was once the contact point for dozens of speed-fix hungry UK ‘Plandampfers’ heading to the old East Germany – he even once himself organised No. 03.1010 for a trip from Halle to Berlin and back. There have, he says, “been so many enjoyable miles and trips, with both engines.”
“They were about the last two that we had of the old favourites.”
‘TRADITIONSLOKS’
A quarter century ago though, running these two ‘Top Link’ engines was relatively easy. They were still on the books of East Germany’s Deutsche Reichsbahn and, after that, Deutsche Bahn.
With their status as official ‘Traditionsloks’, it was the state that paid the bills. The railway was used to them too.
In the 1990s, things changed. DB pulled back from this popular but expensive working history. Fortunately, a private organisation, Dampf-Plus, stepped in to help; it financed the next visits to Meiningen Works. However, subsequent disagreements over the engines’ operation led to what, for British eyes, seems a strange deal: whereas DB took control of No. 03.1010 back in-house, it passed ownership of the world’s fastest working engine to Dampf-Plus. Now, rather than Halle, No. 18.201’s home is Lutherstadt-Wittenberg, where Martin Luther supposedly nailed his theses to the cathedral door to spark the Protestant Reformation.
Until recently its operation has been sponsored by the man behind Dampf-Plus, Christian Goldschagg, who subsequently became the engine’s owner. However after years of supporting this unique three-cylinder machine, Mr Goldschagg decided the latest ticket would be his last. He is now looking for a buyer not only for the ‘18’ but his other rolling stock too (see News).
What then of No. 03.1010? It remained in Halle, where it became the undoubted flagship of the long-standing support group there who funded its most recent overhaul. With that ‘ticket’ now finished, an appeal is under way that, if successful, could lead to a renewed rebuild; it’s thought at least €500,000 will be needed.
So is it all over? Hopefully not. Yet for now at least, these giants of eastern Germany’s steam scene are still. The fastest, stopped.
How many otHer overseas ‘Pacifics’ could attract a donation from a uK Promoter?