23.11.2019: autumn works
After the season ended successfully at the end of October, the members of the museum association are busy with autumn work. This includes, for example, that our diesel locomotives will be stored preserved. One conservation measure is to fill the tanks with diesel so that no condensation forms during the winter letting the tanks rust from the inside. Since we need quite a lot of fuel for this, we ordered a road tanker right away.
The conservation work on the steam locomotives includes draining the the boiler, tenders and auxiliary drives. This is to prevent ice forming during frost, causing components to bursting due to the ice pressure. The following picture shows 50 3570 being treated.
A historical freight wagon is in the process of being renovated. The two-axle wagon has side walls of a steel framework, covered with wooden planks. The construction had suffered a lot over past decades and is now being completely refurbished. The steel parts will be derusted, repainted and replaced where necessary. New wood panelling is then installed.
Diesel locomotive 0605 had some electrical problems at the end of the season. No wonder, because the cables of the small locomotive are already several decades old. Reason enough to rewire the controls.
Visible progress has been made in the direction of revitalizing Locomotive Shed I. We reported some time ago that certain fixtures would have to be removed from the section of the existing shed before reconstruction could begin. This has now been done and we are looking forward to the reroofing of the shed.
Since in the medium term a turntable is to be re-installed at No. 1 Shed I, last week test excavations were carried out in order to be able to measure the still existing, but currently infilled turntable pit, or more precisely its enclosure.
Rather by chance, a children's railway has also fallen into the hands of the club. The locomotive is currently undergoing a "general inspection".
And also the other tools need a little tender loving care. As our forklift has recently sprung more and more leaks, the engine was removed and overhauled. Now that the overhaul has been completed, we "only" have to install it.
14.10.2019: 25 years Dampflokfreunde Salzwedel e.V. - Thank you for your support!
25 years Dampflokfreunde Salzwedel e.V. - Thank you for your support!
Last weekend the active participants celebrated the 25th anniversary of the association Dampflokfreunde Salzwedel e.V., which in 2012 joined forces with the association Historischer Lokschuppen Wittenberge e.V. to run the locomotive shed in Wittenberge as a railway museum.
It was a really big party and with many visitors, whom we thank very much for coming. About 2,200 people visited us over the two days. A great number of large and small railway fans, gives us grounds for optimism for the next 25 years with their interest and enthusiasm. We would also like to thank the participating companies who supported us with organisation of the festival and with exhibits. The Eisenbahngesellschaft Potsdam (Potsdam Railway Company) provided us with the small steam locomotive Pritzwalk for cab rides and the VT98 rail bus for the harbour tours. The company Lok OST Stassfurt visited us with a former class 112 Reichsbahn diesel locomotive, which in turn brought along two modern class 143 locomotives from Salzland Railservice. We would also like to express our thanks to our club colleagues from Neumünster who visited us with their special train from Kiel. We would also like to thank IG Schienenverkehr Ostfriesland e.V., which organised and carried out the trip from Wismar to Wittenberge and the shuttle trip from Wittenberge to Pritzwalk and back with vehicles from Glauchau and Chemnitz. Many thanks once again in this form to those institutions from the public and private sector who support us in other ways as well. Without all of you this event would not have been possible and our museum would not have been possible at all! And last but not least personal thanks to the active people and their relatives, who voluntarily shouldered the preparation and realisation of the event. We are proud of a good team.
Steam locomotive "Pritzwalk"
Preserved class 628 diesel rail car of the club colleagues from Neumünster, which came as a special train from Kiel to Wittenberge
Rail bus of the Eisenbahngesellschaft Potsdam, which was used for the harbour tours.
Steam locomotive 35 1097 from Glauchau, which came with a special train from Wismar
Diesel locomotive 112 364 of Lok OST next to the biggest and smallest steam locomotive of the club
Unusual perspective on visitors to the festival
Class 143 electric loco, together with further exhibits of the club
Stichwörter: Veranstaltung
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23.09.2019: "Pritzwalk" arrives
There was a rather unusual picture to be seen in Wittenberge today. When does a steam locomotive roll through the town? The mystery is quickly solved, because today the steam locomotive "Pritzwalk" was delivered by low-loader to the historical locomotive shed Wittenberge. The locomotive came piggyback from Meyenburg to take part in the museum's anniversary event on October 12 and 13, 2019. It will then be in steam and take turns with the museum's other locomotives in offering the popular driver's cab rides and will certainly also be given a place of honour in the vehicle parade, which will take place around 2 p.m. on the days of the event.
The small locomotive was built in 1912 by Henschel in Kassel as a shunting locomotive for a gasworks in Frankfurt. It was in service there until 1968 and was then displayed for decades as a monument, most recently in front of a model railway shop in Wuppertal. In 1999, it was acquired by the Prignitzer Eisenbahn, forerunner of today's Eisenbahngesellschaft Potsdam, and was recently returned to working order. The club members are most pleased to have the locomotive as a guest on the occasion of the club's anniversary.
The following pictures show the locomotive still on the special low-loader and after unloading under tow by a diesel locomotive on the turntable at the museum.
21.09.2019: Construction progress
At the weekend members worked hard on the car carrier. After the corrosion restoration was completed, the side sliding doors could be reinstalled, through which the state cars would be driven from a side loading ramp into the car in the early hours of the morning. Since a relatively acute angle was needed for this, the doors are correspondingly large. On each side of the car are two doors, each one about 3.5 metres wide, which open up an approximately seven-metre-wide entrance when pushed open sideways. With these dimensions you can guess what a door weighs. Accordingly, they could only be set up today with the help of the shed crane. The first picture shows the assembly work, the second the car after assembly on the turntable.
In addition, the paving work by the water crane in front of the locomotive foreman's office continued. Granite edges were laid here and since each stone weighs about 300 kilos, a makeshift wooden lifting device was specially made to lift the stones from the trolley and place them in their final position.
Stichwörter: Infrastruktur
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03.09.2019: VIPs visit Wittenberge Locomotive Depot
On Wednesday, September 3, 2019, we had high-profile visitors to the museum. Our guests were Dagmar Ziegler (SPD), Member of the Bundestag, Mayor Dr. Oliver Hermann and Karsten Korup, who brought good news with them: The museum can continue to invest in its listed buildings because subsidies totalling around 80,000 euros are to be provided, half by the federal government and half by the town.
The money will be invested in renovating the remainns of former loco shed I. Part of the outer wall of the former rotunda, which was a circular engine shed with an internal turntable, still stands with the steel roof construction. Walls and roof struts dating back to 1872 are now threatened with decay despite preservation of the existing building in recent years, so that restoration in compliance with regulations governing listed buildings is necessary. With help from local companies, the wall crowns will be protected against penetration by rainwater and the roof re-covered.
This work goes hand in hand with the activities of the society, which is demolishing some non-listed installations from GDR times, which converted the remains of loco shed 1 into a garage and finally into a scrap storage. All of these activities greatly support the museum's aim to gradually resurrect the rotunda, as far as this is still possible. As reported, some time ago the museum was able to acquire a suitable Parchim turntable from its own funds, which in the medium term is to form the core of the new facility. In a few years' time, it is the hope of those active in the museum that railway vehicles from the museum's collection will once again be housed there.
The following pictures show the condition in August 2019. Under the steel roof construction the walls of the former car workshop can be seen, which have now been removed.
The next picture shows the appearance of the locomotive shed in the 1980s, when the Wittenberge depot was still being operated by the GDR German State Railway.
If you like, you can get your own impression of the situation and the activities between 10:00 and 15:00 next Sunday, September 8, 2019. The museum can be visited free of charge on the Historical Monuments open day. For all those who cannot make this date, we recommend the normal opening hours of the museum every Saturday until the end of October or a visit to the big anniversary celebration on October 12 and 13, 2019.
Stichwörter: Infrastruktur
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16.04.2019: A tender change for our steam locomotives
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VB 197 805
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01.03.2019: Wittenberge depot as a servicing point
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26.01.2019: Working party - recovery of track materials
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19.01.2019: Update on maintenance work
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