Holzroller

Another shot from the Bochum-Dahlhausen Railroad Museum that I had visited with *Kotbaum last week. He has already uploaded photos of the Deutsche Reichsbahn classes 250 and 251 that you can see in the background, so I thought I might upload this 211 to complete the trio.

The DR class 211 (later DB class 109) was the first ever locomotive that was developed entirely in the former socialist GDR, production commencing in 1962. Originally, they wanted to obtain a license that would've allowed them to build the West-German classes 110 and 140, but those evil capitalists refused to grant it. So instead, they built and tested their own prototypes of multipurpose four-axle electrics, followed by serial production of 96 units, as well as 292 units of the class 242. That was the freight version, with the only difference being a lower gearing. The specimen we see here is the first prototype that was built in 1960, as shown by the serial number 001. They tested several different power transmission types on it, later using the machine for regular duties alongside the normal production units.

In technical terms, these locomotives had less adhesive weight than the West-German ones, less power than the West-German ones, a lower top speed than the West-German ones, and they were technically outdated, despite being almost a decade younger than the West-German ones. Kinda goes to show where the money and ingenuity went before they tried to lock everyone in by building a huge wall...

Nevertheless, they fulfilled their role very well, being reliable workhorses throughout their career. The nickname Holzroller means "wooden scooter", because the maintenance walkways on the roof consisted of wooden planks. Other archaic details not visible in this shot include the undercarriage of inverted leaf, rather than coil springs, as well as spoked, rather than solid wheels.

Also, the design would probably win 1st prize if the goal was to make a locomotive as boxy as humanely possible. I do love that no-frills shape though.

Most of these were retired in 1998, while the older West-German 110 and 140 can still be seen in service, having outlived their much younger East-German cousin. Nevertheless, a small handful of these is still being utilized by a number of private operators.