On a recent and lovely trip to the Austrian capital, it was a pleasant surprise to see this steam engine at Vienna's Heiligenstadt station. So, I was wondering, why is it here and for how long has it been? dtg_jan have you ever seen this steam engine? All pictures taken by me
Hey there, I hope you enjoyed your stay in Vienna, it's a lovely city and there's quite a lot to see for train and public transport enthusiasts. While I don't have any details on the train in question, I know it's been at Heiligenstadt for quite some time, along with a few other steam locos. I saw them five years ago during my initial ÖBB training (dear lord, time flies). They were in quite the sorry state back then, which seemingly hasn't changed. Quite the shame as they look lovely. I took some pictures back then as well. I wonder if anyone else has more info?
Hi Jan, Thanks for your reply. It has become one of my favourite cities and this was the second time I've visited - Austria has also become a favourite country of mine as well after also having travelled to Innsbruck recently too. Being British, I actually think I've become interested in European railways (Austrian, German and Swiss in particular) more than UK ones. Thanks for sharing your pictures. Oh wow, I didn't realise there had been more steam engines here in the past. During my visit last month, there was only the one steam loco present so I wonder what happened to the others since?
Summary of the following german websites: https://eisenbahn-museumsfahrzeuge....ahrzeuge/dampflokomotiven/baureihe-50/50-1171 https://www.bb-bluetrain.at/de/tfz/50.1171.html The steam locomotive 50.1171 is a historic locomotive that was originally built by the Škoda works in Pilsen in 1942. It belongs to the 50 series, which was designed for freight transport during the Second World War and was characterized by its high performance and tractive power. With an output of 1,625 hp and a weight of 145.6 tons, it was one of the more powerful locomotives of its time. In 1949, the locomotive was taken over by the Austrian State Railways (ÖStB), where it was used for freight transport on the Austrian railway network until 1972. From 1972, the 50.1171 was taken over by the Graz-Köflacher Bahn (GKB) and used until 1994. During this time, it took part in various special trips, including in 1976 as part of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the railway in Austria. After it was taken out of service in 1994, the 50.1171 was taken over by private company Brenner & Brenner Dampflokomotiven Betriebsgesellschaft mbH, restored and preserved as a museum vehicle. Since summer 2017 it is located in Vienna-Heiligenstadt station and is in working order. You can also find the other freight locomotive 52.7612 on this website, if you want to have a closer look and/or want to translate it: https://eisenbahn-museumsfahrzeuge....ahrzeuge/dampflokomotiven/baureihe-52/52-7612
