ESU 31650/-51/-52/-53 - DB (DRG) BR 80 - DC/AC - Engineering Edition

The standard steam locomotive programme of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG) also included a three-axle series for heavy shunting work. For this series, the DRG specified a maximum axle load of 17.5 tonnes, which, thanks to various tricks during the acceptance, was only moderately exceeded at 18.1 tonnes. This series made optimum use of the railway facilities in shunting yards and in industrial areas near large cities. In contrast to the numerous, often larger locomotives from the time of the state railways, the 80 locomotives were both more powerful and more economical. Due to their powerful boilers, the three-axle locomotives were nicknamed "Bulli". Despite the undeniable advantages of the modern design, the DRG limited itself to the 39 units purchased in 1928 and 1929 due to the difficult economic situation. Mostly at passenger stations, the locomotives tore over the rails at the maximum permitted speed of 45 km/h (28 mph). By 1966, the reliable locomotives had disappeared from the marshalling yards of both German railways. V60s of both designs provided comparable tractive effort, but were even more versatile due to their higher top speed. However, at less than 40 years old, the locomotives from the 1980s were far from obsolete. Both railways used the Bullis in repair shops or sold them to industrial companies or coal mines, which gratefully made use of the proven locomotives. For example, a handful of locomotives from the 1980s toiled in coal mines in the Ruhr area. There they were even used to pull internal passenger trains. The last operational Bullis were the 80 036 and 80 039 of the Hamm Museumbahn, which were transferred to the Veluwsche Stoomtrein Maatschappij (VSM) in the Netherlands. The 80 009 of the Deutsche Reichsbahn enjoys a special status: it is the only locomotive of the state railways that was sold to a private individual during the GDR period. With great difficulty, driver Klaus Hollenbach obtained the locomotive in 1981, transported it under his own power and built a locomotive shed and a short siding for his 80 009 on his private property, which was lifted onto the rails in 1982 with the help of two mobile cranes.