Bavarian S 2/6

Did You Know?

• Its grate area was larger than that of the record-breaking DRG Class 05 4-6-4s.
• The speed record of 154.5 km/h was only exceeded briefly by world record-holder 05 002.

Design

The S 2/6 was the first German locomotive to use a cast steel frame modeled after American practice, which was lighter and more slender for equivalent strength. Air-smoothing features included a conical smokebox front, a curved plate beneath the smokebox extending to the cylinders, and streamlined fairings around the stack and steam dome; the cab front was smoothly faired into the boiler top and firebox sides. A very large fire-grate area, larger than many later express locomotives, provided free-steaming qualities, partly because Bavarian coal was of lower quality. Large ashpans extended between the driving wheels and trailing truck for long runs. It was the first large Bavarian locomotive fitted with a superheater, though of cautiously small heating area.

Operating history

After testing, No. 3201 was assigned to the Munich No.1 locomotive shed but did not distinguish itself due to its unique specification. It proved more efficient than the larger Bavarian S 3/6 Pacifics, though with lesser hauling ability. Its riding and tracking were criticized, possibly because the leading and trailing trucks were not equalized with the driving wheels. In 1910 it was transferred to Ludwigshafen, where it was nicknamed the "Zeppelin" and performed duties similar to the Bavarian S 2/5 and Palatine P 4. It returned to Bavaria in 1922, assigned to Munich and later Augsburg.

Retirement

The Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft classified it as BR 15 in 1925, but it was removed from service later that year. It was returned to Maffei for restoration to its original livery, then exhibited at the Munich Transport Exhibition. It was placed in the Nuremberg Transport Museum, where it remains displayed next to the Baden IX (IIa old) class locomotive Phoenix.