Prussian T 18
| Company type | Steam locomotive |
|---|---|
| Industry | Railway |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Founder | Robert Garbe (designer) |
| Headquarters | Stettin , Germany (then Prussia) |
| Products | 4-6-4T tank locomotives |
Number of employees | 534 (units built) |
The Prussian T 18 represents the final tank locomotive series designed for the Prussian state railways. Initially, these locomotives were planned to replace the Prussian T 12 and Prussian T 10 classes on the island of Rügen. The concept originated in 1912, aiming to produce a locomotive suitable for express and passenger train duties in border regions or short shuttle routes. A tank engine with symmetrical running gear was preferred because, unlike tender locomotives, it could maintain equal speeds in both directions and operate return trips without requiring turning on a turntable. The locomotive was intended to match the power output and maximum velocity of the Prussian P 8.
Designed by Robert Garbe, this 4-6-4 (2′C2′) tank engine was built for speeds up to 100 km/h with an axle load of 17 tons, and construction was commissioned to the Vulkan Werke located in Stettin. The resulting model was designated as T 18.
Between 1912 and 1927, a total of 534 units were manufactured, predominantly by Stettiner Maschinenbau AG Vulcan, with production from Henschel beginning in 1923. Of these, the majority—458 locomotives—were delivered to the Prussian state railways and later operated by the Deutsche Reichsbahn. Other recipients included the Royal Württemberg State Railways, which acquired 20 units in 1919; the Imperial Railways in Alsace-Lorraine, which received 27 also in that year; the Saar Railway (Saarbahn), which took delivery of 27 between 1922 and 1925; and the Eutin-Lübeck Railway (Eutin-Lübecker Eisenbahn), which obtained one locomotive each in the years 1936 and 1939.
Upon integration into the Reichsbahn, there were 460 engines from Prussia plus an additional 20 from Württemberg, all classified under DRG Class 78 with numbers ranging from 78 001 to 282 and from 78 351 to 528. Locomotive number 78 093 originated from Alsace-Lorraine, while numbers 78 146 through 165 came from Württemberg. In 1935, locomotives acquired from the Saar Railway were renumbered as units 78 283 to 328. The Eutin-Lübeck Railway’s locomotives were assigned numbers 78 329 and 330 in 1941.
The Deutsche Bundesbahn inherited a fleet of 424 locomotives, while the Deutsche Reichsbahn in East Germany operated a further 53 examples. By the year 1968, only thirty-five remained active within East Germany's DR network. During the mid-1960s, most engines were retrofitted by the DR with Giesl chimneys and Witte smoke deflectors. From that time onward, DB reclassified their locomotives as Class 078 starting in 1968, while DR reorganized theirs into Class 78.1 by 1970.
Some locomotives were transferred to the Polish State Railways (Polskie Koleje Państwowe) and designated as Class OKo 1.
For push-pull service—such as routes between Frankfurt am Main and Wiesbaden—the DB modified several Class 78 locomotives. In these operations, brake control was managed by the driver located in the driving coach; however, regulation of throttle and reversing gear required specially trained stokers on board who responded to signals from the driver. The final withdrawals of these engines occurred at the Rottweil locomotive depot (Bahnbetriebswerk) during the mid-1970s. A farewell excursion for both this class and Class 38 (Prussian P 8) took place on December 31, 1974, organized by the Zollern Railway Friends. This event was even broadcast on German television via ARD.
Distinguished Examples
- Locomotive number 78 185 gained recognition through its appearance in the film The Great Escape, where it was seen pulling a train composed of Bavarian three-axle coaches alongside some more modern two-axle steel coaches. Certain other scenes featuring the identical train were shot using a DRG Class 86 tank locomotive.
Conservation
A number of T 18 locomotives have been preserved and are displayed in various museums:
- The unit 78 009 is part of the Dresden Transport Museum collection and is maintained by the IG Bahnbetriebswerk Dresden-Altstadt association.
- Number 78 189, known as OKo 1-3, is housed at the Warsaw Railway Museum in Poland.
- Locomotive 78 246 is exhibited at the German Steam Locomotive Museum (Deutschen Dampflokomotiv-Museum).
- The operational 78 468, depicted in the accompanying image, belongs to the city of Oberhausen and is managed by the Emscher Park Eisenbahn Gesellschaft.
- Number 78 510 forms part of the collection at the DB Museum.
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DR 78 009 photographed in Potsdam (1993) -
OKo 1-3, formerly 78 189 (Vulcan build no. 3610 from 1920) -
DB locomotive 78 510 displayed at the Nuremberg Transport Museum
Related Topics
- Prussian state railways
- List of DRG locomotives and railbuses
- List of Prussian locomotives and railbuses
Notes
Sources
Additional Literature
- Ebel; Knipping; Wenzel (1990). Die Baureihe 78, Bewährt in sechs Jahrzehnten: Preußens T 18 (in Deutsch). Freiburg: EK-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-88255-547-9.
- Falk, Dietmar (2003). "Die schnelle Preußin. Erinnerung an die T 18". Lok Magazin (in Deutsch). 42 (265). München: GeraNova Zeitschriftenverlag GmbH: 50–60. ISSN 0458-1822.
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