DRB Class 50 - General

General

In spite of wartime losses, a large number of engines still remained in 1945. No less than 2,159 working locomotives were taken over by the Deutsche Bundesbahn alone and, for a long time, they formed the backbone of goods traffic operations together with the DRG Class 44. They were also used for passenger services.

To protect the engine crew when running in reverse, the front of the tender (a 2'2' T 26) was furnished with a protective shield. On many locomotives the Wagner smoke deflectors were replaced by the Witte model after the war. On 735 of the DB machines the tender was fitted with a driver's cab, which meant that the volume of the coal bunker had to be reduced.

1452 locomotives were included in the new DB classification scheme. That said, 88 of them were already earmarked for withdrawal. Because the class number now had to consist of 3 figures, the designations 051, 052 and 053 had to be introduced in addition to 050.

As a result the old Class 50 was divided as shown in the table:

The last DB locomotives were retired from Duisburg-Wedau in 1977.

Only 350 examples of Class 50 engines remained in with the DR in East Germany after the war. Because only a small number of the numerous Class 44 fleet went to East Germany, the DRB Class 52 was the predominant goods train locomotive in many areas there. Of the Class 50s, 208 units were rebuilt into Class 50.35-37 engines. The original locomotives ran mainly in the south. From the middle of the 1970s they were retired in large numbers, so that in the 1980s they were real rarities. Nevertheless the last ones ended their active duties in 1987 together with the rebuilds (Rekoloks).

Some of the original locomotives are preserved, including 50 622 and 50 849. No. 50 622 is stabled in the Nuremberg Transport Museum, where, on the evening of 17 October 2005, it was badly damaged in the great fire at the locomotive shed. The engine should however be able to be repaired with the aid of donations. No. 50 849 belongs to the Glauchau Railway Society (Eisenbahnverein Glauchau) and has a Wagner smoke deflector.

After the Second World War many examples of Class 50 engines were left in the other European states and some were used until the end of the steam traction era. For example, they were in service with the PKP (55 redesignated PKP class Ty5), the ČSD (28 redesignated class 555.1), the ÖBB and the DSB.