Some old European engines

[photax]

Hi !

I would like to show you some historic railroad engines which I copied from original glass-plates. From time to time you`ll find these pictures among various portraits in old plate boxes from the flea-market. It took me quite a time to identify the models.



Engine 1670.25, Austria 1928



Two 1005.02 engines, Austria 1913



Engine 1100.108, Austria 1923, They are originally green painted
and had been called "Crocodile". One of these models is still running. Maybe I catch it under way in the next months...



Engine 1029.05, Austria 1923



A model railway in a Viennese garden, 1927



A German 01 steam engine 1937



The first German steam engine “Adler” (Eagle). It was originally built in 1835 but got lost over the years.
This picture shows the replica from 1935, which burnt in 2005 at a large fire in a German Railway Museum.



Engine No 8 ( with upright boiler ! ) from the famous Swiss Rigi rack railway 1873


BTW, I just found out that I joined the CC exactly one year ago. Although my English is still expandable, I made many friends, learned new words and a lot of shortcuts , read a lot of interesting articles and viewed many great pictures. A forum where you feel accepted from the first post on, a great company !

MIK

[daveh]

MIK, I know you aren't that young, but I am surprised to see you were taking photos as early as 1913! ;D

An interesting collection - and certainly my recollection is of mainland Europe having electric powered trains before we had them in Britain.

Dave.

[photax]

Hi Dave,

I did not take the pictures of course , but there is a reason why I marked them with the copyright-sign: Some of “my” pictures had been used for other publications without asking.
I found out at the internet, that the first Austrian electric train was launched by Werner Siemens in 1880 during the “International Electric Fair” in Vienna. In 1893 the first commercial electric railway near Vienna was opened. The London Tube had been electrified in 1890 ! I did not find much about early electrification in The USA, maybe they had more than enough oil and coal at the turn of the century, I don’t know.
The first railway on the European continent had been built between Linz (Lower Austria) and Budweis (Bohemia / yes the town with the beer ) in 1832. Till 1855 the wagons, running on wooden rails, had been pulled by horses. About a mile of the track had been reconstructed in 1996, an original railway station has still survived and is now utilized as a museum. I took a ( uncomfortable ) ride in 1997 and made this pictures with a compact camera.
I reckon that the first railway ever was built in England…

MIK

[daveh]

MIK, I've had one or two photos used elsewhere too. Unfortunately I think it is the nature of posting them on the net. A couple of years back I did post a photo, of a train and/or station, taken by someone else on a rugby forum. I credited it to the originator and gave the link to his website. He, from the other website, asked for it to be taken down. I thought it would give him more exposure, a bit of free advertising and help his cause, but he obviously thought otherwise. I bet his website has died a death by now.
Dave.

[SidW]

Those glass plates were a great find, Mik.

I assume the years you give refer to manufacture? If all the photos were taken together, that would date them around 1937, the youngest loco there. But then, how would you date the garden model railway to 1927?

I'm sure I recognise some of the locos from model catalogues.

Is the Rigi scene real or another model?

[photax]

Hi Sid,

You are right, the year specification refers to the date of manufacture. Picture 2,3 and 4 are from the same box, the rest from different ones. The box in which i found the model-train picture is handwritten marked with "Vienna, 1927". The "Rigi" picture is a slide from a wooden boxed Switzerland-series from the early 1880`s and shows a real scene, but as you said, it looks like a model.

MIK

[nikonbob]

MIK

It is a good thing that there are people, like yourself, that find, preserve and share these wonderful old glass plate images. I am always in awe at the quality of these glass plate scans that you put up. Thanks again for sharing them they are always a pleasure to view.

Bob