The steam locomotives of Class 23 were German passenger train locomotives developed in the 1950s for the Deutsche Bundesbahn. They had a 2-6-2 wheel arrangement and were equipped with Class 2'2' T 31 tenders. They were designed to replace the once ubiquitous Prussian P 8 engines that had been built between 1908 and 1924 and, in their day, were the most numerous post-war replacement class.[1]

DB Class 23
23 042 in Darmstadt-Kranichstein, May 2005
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder
Build date1950–1959
Total produced105
Specifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte2-6-2
 • UIC1′C1′ h2
 • GermanP 35.18
Gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in)
Leading dia.1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Driver dia.1,750 mm (5 ft 8+78 in)
Trailing dia.1,250 mm (4 ft 1+14 in)
Tender wheels1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Wheelbase:
 • Axle spacing
(Asymmetrical)
  • 2,950 mm (9 ft 8+18 in) +
  • 2,000 mm (6 ft 6+34 in) +
  • 2,000 mm (6 ft 6+34 in) +
  • 2,950 mm (9 ft 8+18 in) =
 • Engine9,900 mm (32 ft 5+34 in)
 • Tender
  • 1,900 mm (6 ft 2+34 in) +
  • 1,900 mm (6 ft 2+34 in) +
  • 1,900 mm (6 ft 2+34 in) =
  • 5,700 mm (18 ft 8+38 in)
 • incl. tender17,625 mm (57 ft 9+78 in)
Length:
 • Over buffers21,325 mm (69 ft 11+58 in)
Height4,550 mm (14 ft 11+18 in)
Axle load18.7 tonnes (18.4 long tons; 20.6 short tons)
Adhesive weight56.0 tonnes (55.1 long tons; 61.7 short tons)
Empty weight74.6 tonnes (73.4 long tons; 82.2 short tons)
Service weight82.8 tonnes (81.5 long tons; 91.3 short tons)
Tender type2′2′ T 31
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity8 tonnes (7.9 long tons; 8.8 short tons)
Water cap.31 m3 (6,800 imp gal; 8,200 US gal)
Firebox:
 • Grate area3.11 m2 (33.5 sq ft)
Boiler:
 • Pitch3,250 mm (10 ft 8 in)
 • Tube plates4,000 mm (13 ft 1+12 in)
 • Small tubes44.5 mm (1+34 in), 130 off
 • Large tubes118 mm (4+58 in), 54 off
Boiler pressure16 bar (16.3 kg/cm2; 232 psi)
Heating surface:
 • Firebox17.10 m2 (184.1 sq ft)
 • Tubes64.53 m2 (694.6 sq ft)
 • Flues74.65 m2 (803.5 sq ft)
 • Total surface156.28 m2 (1,682.2 sq ft)
Superheater:
 • Heating area73.80 m2 (794.4 sq ft)
CylindersTwo, outside
Cylinder size550 mm × 660 mm (21+58 in × 26 in)
Valve gearHeusinger (Walschaerts)
Performance figures
Maximum speed
  • forwards: 110 km/h (68 mph)
  • backwards: 85 km/h (53 mph)
Career
OperatorsDeutsche Bundesbahn
Numbers23 001 – 23 105
Retiredby 1976

Manufacture and Design

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A class 023 working in the Moselle Valley, Easter 1972

From 1950, 105 examples of this newly designed class were manufactured for medium passenger train and light express train services. They had welded locomotive frames, boilers and tenders together with all the latest refinements of German practice. These included a superheated multiple-valve regulator and central lubrication of the least accessible parts of the running gear. Engines up to operating number 023 had Knorr surface preheaters and journal bearings. Locomotives with serial numbers 024 and 025, as well as those from 053 onwards were equipped with roller bearings for the axles and drive as well as mixer-preheaters. A small number of vehicles were given Heinl preheaters and several were equipped for push-pull train operations.

Last new steam locomotive in West Germany

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Locomotive number 23 105, built by Arnold Jung Lokomotivfabrik and taken into service by the DB in December 1959, was the last steam engine to enter service in the Federal Republic of Germany. After its retirement it was stabled at the Nuremberg Transport Museum where it was severely damaged by the great fire in the locomotive shed on 17 October 2005.

Reclassification and retirement

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On the introduction of the new DB numbering scheme on 1 January 1968 the class was redesignated as Class 023. The last few locomotives were retired in 1976 at Crailsheim locomotive depot (Bahnbetriebswerk or Bw).

Preserved locomotives

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The following engines had been preserved as at September 2006:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ransome-Wallis, P. (1959). Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Railway Locomotives (2001 republication ed.). Dover Publications, Inc. p. 357. ISBN 0-486-41247-4.
  • Weisbrod, Manfred; Müller, Hans; Petznik, Wolfgang (1976). Dampflokomotiven deutscher Eisenbahnen, Baureihe 01–39 (EFA 1.1) (in German) (3rd ed.). Düsseldorf: Alba Buchverlag. pp. 178–181. ISBN 3-87094-081-6.