Category Archives: Railroading History

The German Locomotive Numbering System Since 1968

In 1968 Germany computerized their locomotive numbers, they were the first in Europe to do so. A three part numeric numbering system replaced the former system that included a letter to denote the traction type. Current German locomotive numbering follows a three part system: 1. traction type/class type 2. three digit running number 3. computer check digit. Thus for one loco with number 151 036-1 its number translates to 1 (electric traction) 51 (class) 036 (running number) and 1 (computer check digit). Before 1968 this loco would be numbered E51 036 if it existed then.

Traction types are numbered 0-9: 0- Steam loco 1- Electric loco 2- Diesel loco 3- Shunting loco 4- Electric railcar 5- Battery Electric railcar 6- Diesel railcar 7- Diesel railbus 8- Electric railcar trailer 9- Diesel railcar/railbus trailer.

The last digit in the German loco numeric system is the computer check digit, it serves to double check that the other digits can be verified correctly. Thus a rather complicated computation follows: multiply class and running number digits alternately by 1 and 2, resulting digits are added together and their sum deducted from the next whole number. For loco 151 036: 1×1=1, 5×2=1+0, 1×1=1, 0x2=0, 3×1=3, and 6×2=1+2 / 1+1+0+1+0+3+1+2=9 / 10-9=1 thus the 151 036 is identified as an electric loco, and its complete number is 151 036-1.

The German locomotive number is identified on the end of each locomotive and in most cases both ends, and a second identifying number is located on the sides of each loco called the European Vehicle Number (EVN).

Reference material: German Railways – Part 1: Locomotives & Multiple Units of Deutsche Bahn, published by Platform 5, written by Brian Garvin.

Intro. for new collectors: European freight train consist

Advanced or experienced train people need not read this brief introduction about assembling a train consist, but for those new to European trains modeled by Marklin and others an introduction is a helpful way to get you started. First their are two types of freight trains designated as ‘unit’ or ‘mixed freight’. Unit trains are comprised of similar car types hauling one type of freight, unit trains of hoppers typically haul minerals such as gravel or coal as well as tank cars hauling liquid or gas. Mixed freight trains are made up of various car types: tank cars, container cars, flat cars with machinery loads and numerous others. In the United States freight trains may comprise rolling stock of various railroads as well as cross border cars from Canada, but in Europe freight trains frequently pass from one country’s border to the next and often times include cars that vary from the country of origin. European trains are shorter in length compared to a 100+ car train set you might see crossing the ‘Great Plains’ in the United States. In creating an accurate train consist based on European prototypes keep in mind correct Era’s attributed to cars by Marklin. And consider including not just German rolling stock in your train set.

Steamtown in Scranton, PA

Steamtown in Scranton, Pennsylvania is a National Historic Site situated on the former yard of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad. Building on the original collection assembled by F. Nelson Blount in the 1950’s and 60’s Steamtown today comprises a large roundhouse and 90 foot turntable and exhibits illustrating the history of steam locomotives in the United States.

Steamtown National Historic Site was established October 30, 1986, it was deemed as the “most flagrant pork barrel project” using Park Service funds by many including Kenneth R. Clark of the Chicago Tribune. The project contributed millions of dollars into the depressed coal mining region of Scranton, PA and without it this important site would not be preserved today. A nominal fee of $7.00 for adults allows entrance to the grounds and exhibits which are sequenced along the spokes of the roundhouse, they eventually lead to the workshops with numerous steam locomotives in for repair and restoration.

Set of pilot wheels and side-rods awaiting installation.

This is an educational experience, but one can also be inspired by the impressive mass of walking next to the behemoth locomotives including a Union Pacific ‘Big Boy’.

A display locomotive not to be missed has cutaway sections revealing the fundamental engineering of a steam locomotive and tender.

Displayed outdoors is a rare diesel for this museum, an A-A F7 diesel of the Reading Railroad.

A separate museum located across the parking lot of Steamtown is the Electric City Trolley Museum, if you time it right you can take on ride on one of the trolleys for $2.00!

A rare sight is this electric shunting locomotive, it is part of the Electric City Trolley Museum’s collection and displayed just outside the museum.

Playing its part with the railroad theme of this museum are the ‘T’ rails used in the parking lot’s perimeter fence.

A day at the museum can include rides on a steam train and electric trolley. Trains don’t run everyday, you will need to plan ahead by checking the schedules.

In Pennsylvania we are lucky to have a number of excellent train museums, in future posts we will be visiting others including a narrow gauge railroad and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

Ron Ruddell’s new book “Riding the Bell….”

Ron Ruddell’s new book “Riding the Bell Lehigh Valley Transit’s Liberty Bell Route” took 10 years to research until being published in 2015. 264 pages of text and photos this is the book to own concerning the “Liberty Bell Limited” written from the perspective one who know’s the regional railroad in PA and also one who was a passenger on the original rails. And Ron is a certified streetcar operator at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Maine, he even operates the only preserved Liberty Bell Trolley during the Spring and Fall.

Side note: the Seashore Trolley Museum is the world’s oldest and largest museum dedicated to trolleys from around the world. If you have ever looked in a book about trolleys and have been dazzled by early examples of trolleys at this museum you can see them in person. If is operated by a dedicated army of volunteers and Ron’s brother was the one to spearhead the restoration of its Liberty Bell trolley.

Back to the book: Ron’s Books in New York State has some copies left, it seems to be selling like hot cakes, maybe a good book to add to your collection while it is still available.

Here is the description of the book on Ron’s Books website:

Ron Ruddell 264 Pages hardcover

In the newest Central Electric Railfans’ Association publication, author Ron Ruddell chronicles the history of Lehigh Valley Transit’s famed Liberty Bell Route interurban that ran between Philadelphia and Allentown. Known for its scenic line through southeastern Pennsylvania, LVT operated a fascinating variety of equipment from stately heavyweight interurbans to secondhand lightweight high-speed cars acquired from Ohio and Indiana. Portions of the line meandered alongside local roads or over city streets while other sections operated on private right-of-way with catenary and block signals on fast competitive schedules. A cut above many interurbans, the LVT even operated deluxe club car service on selected runs. Noted transit historian George Hilton called the LVT’s Liberty Bell Route the last “pure” interurban as it owed its existence exclusively to passenger traffic or express carried in interurban freight equipment. The reader will learn about the Liberty Bell Route’s development, operations, colorful equipment, and also about the people whose dedication and effort managed to keep the line in operation until 1951.

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Gerhard Solomon’s 16mm views along the Liberty Bell route

1947-1951 an Allentown clock and watch repairman by the name Gerhard Salomon documented the final years of Lehigh Transit’s “Liberty Bell Limited” in 16mm, he captured its entire run from downtown Allentown to Philadelphia’s 69th Street Terminal. Gerhard was a volunteer of Rockhill Trolley Museum, in Rockhill Furnace, PA. Rockhill Trolley Museum has released three video collections of Mr. Salomon’s 16mm films which beautifully capture the final years of the beloved trolley system in Lehigh Valley, PA including the tragic removal of track.

Videos can be ordered from The Rockhill Trolley Museum with all proceeds benefiting the operation of the museum:

http://www.rockhilltrolley.org/store/easton-line-1947-1949

http://www.rockhilltrolley.org/store/round-trip-liberty-bell-limited

http://www.rockhilltrolley.org/store/city-lines-lehigh-valley-transit-company-1947-1951

Trolleys enjoyed widespread popularity in small and large towns throughout the United States, post WWII trolleys suffered because of the transition from electric to gas powered public transportation, it was reasoned that buses were cheaper to operate and maintain. GM purchased trolley lines throughout the United States, they swiftly removed tracks and infrastructure, and their buses replaced the trolleys. When the Liberty Bell Limited was shut down in 1951 Lehigh Valley, PA lost some of its soul as I have gathered from speaking with members of the community from that era.

Only one trolley has survived the scrapyard, it is car #1030 built in 1931 by the American Car and Foundry Co. Today car #1030 is part of the important collection of international trolley cars at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, ME: https://www.trolleymuseum.org/collection/philadelphia/162

As a tribute to Mr. Gerhard Salomon attached is his obituary:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mcall/obituary.aspx?n=gerhard-salomon&pid=99889423

William H. Rau – Photographer

Any photographer working today or during the turn of the last century would envy the career of the photographer William H. Rau. Today many examples of his photographs of world sites can be found as stereoviews for tourists in many antique shops throughout the United States, but his railroad photographs taken with a large format camera yielding 20 x 24 inch glass negatives are the technical and aesthetic highlight of his vast output. In 1895 Rau was the Lehigh Valley Railroad’s official photographer and during the 1890’s he also worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad provided Mr. Rau with his own train and coach equipped with darkroom facilities for Rau to capture scenic views along the many routes of the PRR, he also captured views of outlying industries such as the Westinghouse Air Brake factory in Wilmerding, PA which provided for the first time safe braking of trains, interior design shots of the well appointed Pullman cars of the 1890’s, rural and city stations, tracks, semaphores and the long gone track pans. Any photographer interested in trains could not help but wish they could have had the experiences on the rails as William H. Rau had. I had a rare opportunity to view up close a collection of Rau’s Lehigh Valley Railroad prints; they were stunning, each albumen print captured views with unsurpassed sharpness and graphic quality. Don’t miss a chance to view an exhibition of Mr. Rau’s work, it will fill you with joy. This is a short introduction for this important photographer who will be featured in many posts over the coming years: stay tuned!

Train assigned to William H. Rau for his photographic excursions along the PRR lines.

William H. Rau in the studio and in the field along the Conemaugh River near Torrance, PA. Rau required two assistants to manage his very large and heavy camera, but getting the camera to the vantage point was just part of the process, prior to taking the picture a light sensitive plate had to be prepared and loaded in holders inside the darkroom of his train car. This light sensitive plate was manufactured of glass and in a very few cases it broke: some original prints exist today made from broken glass plates . The process for making prints involved placing the glass negative in contact with light sensitive paper, the flatness of the glass produced a level of sharpness yielding exquisite detail throughout the print.

The durable history of trains in my life.

I spent my childhood growing up in three important railroad towns that was because my Father was a trainman, and we moved as several train systems consolidated over the course of his career. My Father’s name was Roscoe A. Graves, he was born and raised on a farm in Shongo alongside the Graves Road which is still unpaved in the Southern Tier region of New York State. As a young man he was a bit of a legend on the diamond, his prowess in the field included the ability to switch from right to left at bat, plus he was an ace 1st baseman. Upon returning from the South Pacific he met and married my Mother Betty L. Graves also from good farm stock. They left the farming way of life to brothers and sisters dedicated their lives to the railroad and raising their two daughters and me plus several beloved cats and dogs along the way. 1st stop was the East Rochester car-shops of the New York Central, my Father’s position was safety manager. Those buildings looked old and well worn, by the 1960’s New York Central had been in East Rochester since 1897. As safety manager he was charged with enforcing safety procedures and accident investigation, there was one particular machinist who seemed to lose a finger once a year, I remember going with my dad to the car-shops following one such accident; it was a day off, but the safety manager was always on call it seemed. The East Rochester car-shops were accessed by way of a tunnel under the mainline, I was there several years ago for a visit, the tunnel and most of the old buildings are long gone. When New York Central was consolidated into Penn Central we moved to Hollidaysburg, PA close to the former Pennsylvania Railroad terminus, my Father worked in Altoona not far from Hollidaysburg, his employment included working in materials management at Penn Central within the hollowed walls of the original PRR Juniata car-shops in Altoona which was and still is the largest of its kind in the world. Trains were not out of sight/out of mind in Altoona quite the contrary, they were everywhere and always moving through town, just to the west of Hollidaysburg is the famous Horseshoe Curve. The third and final stop in my dad’s railroad days was Reading, PA following the Penn Central consolidation with Conrail. In Reading, my Father was material manager, he oversaw the construction of cabooses and vip cars; he saved the railroad millions on overpriced fixtures. During the 70’s and 80’s the Reading car-shops were very small by comparison to Altoona with less vital railroad functions performed there, some buildings were not even being used (stay tuned for vintage pictures of these buildings), and today those buildings have since been used by retailers and other small businesses. Along the way as with many sons who want to be like their father, I quickly became fascinated with trains and train culture, an early gift from my parents was a book that featured trains of the world: “By Rail to the Ends of the Earth”, Kenneth Westcott-Jones, published 1967, A.S. Barnes & Company. This book now well worn inspired me with its pictures and text about the trains of the world, and it planted the seed that would later manifest itself into collecting Marklin Z. I dedicate this blog to my Father and my Mother who inspired me to look at the rails and travel by them most memorably from Rochester to Grand Central Station with a snack upon arrival at New York’s famous Horn and Hardart Automat.

Z Trains Weekly

World of Z scale trains!