Kaiser's Birthday

Happy Birthday Kaiser Bill! He loved his train!

Was he interested in trains in the general sense, or just his own train?

Today is also Mozart's birthday.

He liked technical stuff and was liked to travel. Lots of track was laid in his name. Still a lot of stuff around that was built in his time. In the travel magazine that the German railroad puts in the IC and ICE trains this month, there is an article about the Baghdad Bahn.

Yeah, Germany has quite a history, railroading being a great part of it. But I don't think there are very many baby boomer and above Americans who could go over there without WWII and that "bad guy" on their mind. But when I get to go over there I want to see all I can about even its ancient history. Tours are good to fill in what we don't know.

But back to trains in Germany, IMHO the most incredible depiction of trains during the war was the movie "The Train" with Burt Lancaster. I know it was mentioned before but it really was incredible. You would think they would have showed a Winkle Bunker somewhere in that film...

Yes, I recall "The Train" most vividly, especially the very end where the dead bodies of the Resistance fighters and the German soldiers and the crates holding the artworks are juxtaposed. I might be wrong, but I don't think the train actually got to Germany, which might explain the absence of a Winkel bunker.

I think there was not one german engine in this movie, only french stuff if I recall it right.

Gerd wrote:

I think there was not one german engine in this movie, only french stuff if I recall it right.

Really??? What a shame. It had the biggest train wreck in the film industry if I remember correctly.

Ironic as French took a lot of German engines as war reparations after first war..Germans got them back in second..then again after that war French ran German engines again. There was a lot of American made rolling stock in Germany after WW2 and we took some German engines back to study. Herman Goering, was a real train nut (He had a HUGH collection of model trains, won't mention the brand here ) had his train confiscated and used by the Americans.
Ok here is the German military and railroad connection. If I make mistakes please correct them.
Before Germany became an empire after the defeat of France in 1871, it was a bunch of smaller states run by different levels of monarchs. Everyone had their own borders and sometimes a kingdom was a patchwork of land. German towns and roads were already in place. The railroads had to be fitted into the landscape that was there. Not like the US where they built a strait line of track and every so many miles built a town on the line and named it after a railroad surveyor or something.
Anyway right after the American Civil War, the German states got into a tiff of their own, and those dukedoms and kingdoms kind of picked sides, the ones that were against the Prussians and their buddies lost. The Prussians had observed how the Americans used the railroads and telegraphs in the Civil War (along with seeing how a circus could pull up , move and set up again in another town).
Using the railroads to move troops and to support them was one of the reasons Prussia was successful not only in the war against the other German states but also France in 1871.
I will continue more with this history lesson later.

alaska-rr wrote:

Gerd wrote:

I think there was not one german engine in this movie, only french stuff if I recall it right.

Really??? What a shame. It had the biggest train wreck in the film industry if I remember correctly.

If I remember correctly no fewer than three steam locos were written off in the course of the film.

One locomotive that the Americans took from Germany after WWII was DRG's 19 1001. This Henschel designed streamlined locomotive, with a top speed of 175km/h, was delivered to DR in 1941 and broke with all tradition, using steam powered V twin engines on each of its four powered axles. The design was such that if one of the engines gave trouble, it could be dropped out and replaced very easily. After the war, in 1945, it was shipped to the US and was scrapped in 1952 — a great loss to railway history. In 2007 Brawa marketed a model of this loco though whether it sold well, I do not know.

Chris.

Some tech data.
Wheel arrangement 1'D1' 2'3T (2-8-2)
Length 23775mm
Traction wheel dia 1250mm
Weight 109300kg (109 ton)

Sorry, my bad recall. The wheel arrangement should have read 1'Do1' h8 2'3T38. It was coal fired and could carry 12.5 tonne of coal. The unladen weight of the tender was 34 tonne.
Chris.

I don't know what the "Pershing" locomotives are based on, I have it someplace, but they were steam engines owned by the US Army and sent overseas to France (and perhaps used in England?) They were still used in France and Belgium up to the second world war. I just got a book today showing picture of German railway women that were working on the engine in Germany. See, if someone would make that steam engine, they could sell it to all the markets, US and European. Just need to change markings and add buffers on the European ones. The English army had a lot of Baldwins for their narrow gauge field trains too. 100th anniversary of WW1 is coming up, but I am not a person that a European train company would listen to.

They were 2-8-0's and also used in Korea..there still might be some there so it might be easy to get the Koreans to make one in Z!

Kelley wrote:

They were 2-8-0's and also used in Korea..there still might be some there so it might be easy to get the Koreans to make one in Z!

That raised a question in my mind: Is any Z scale gear made in Korea? We know that the Japanese do.

"The Train" story all takes place in France - remember the purpose of the Resistance workers was to prevent the art from reaching Germany, so the train was diverted around a big circle to end up where it started. Since Winkle Towers were apparently all in Germany, it's not surprising they didn't show up in the film. That might also explain why only French locos and rolling stock are shown.

But I was really impressed with Burt carrying that side rod all by his lonesome in the shop...those things are H.E.A.V.Y.!

I'm not a film buff so rarely watch them. I think I saw a bit of 'The Train' a few years back. More recently I did watch a film about a load of PoWs(?) stealing a train and heading for Switzerland with the Germans hot on their tails. Of course they made it. I cannot remember what class the loco was but the film had some nice shots of the train.

That was "Von Ryan's Express". Frank Sinatra didn't make it. I don't know the loco either. Cheers, Jim CCRR:unsure:

I have both of those movies on DVD. I can try to capture a still from Von Ryan's Express so that YOU guys can identify it, I wouldn't have a clue about European models.

yes please
I like quizes
ps I hope this will be nice large picture for me to work on

Got to remember, Hollywood movies are not known for accuracy, they are to entertain and are not documentaries. On the other side of the coin, during the war, it would not be out of place to see a German,French,Belgian, English (Belgians stole designs from English)or even American Locomotive pulling a train in occupied Europe. (Russian iffy as they were wider guage.