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21.03.2023: News from the Engine Shed

Already in the last newsletter we reported about the new acquisition of an exhibit from the accounting department. This is an electromechanical booking machine. Kindly, the operators of the website www.robotrontechnik.de and the staff of the Zella-Mehlis town museum were able to clarify for us what kind of machine it is and what was done with it.
They have confirmed that it is an Addelektra SR42 machine from the former company Mercedes-Bureau-Maschinen GmbH in Zella-Mehlis. Similar to a computer, it could be used universally, but mostly in places where money was involved, e.g. in payroll or material accounting.

Basically, this machine worked as a spreadsheet, i.e. it did the same as Excel & Co. do today. A large sheet of paper with pre-printed lines was clamped into the machine. Based on the programming, the machine knew where the individual table columns should be located and what had to be done there: In some columns, numbers were entered by keyboard, in other columns, the machine printed calculation results on its own. A table might have looked like this (black numbers had to be entered, the red ones came automatically):

The totals of the columns were usually printed in the bottom line. The machine will certainly find its place in our future exhibition room. If you want to know more about it, we warmly recommend the above-mentioned website about Robotron technology. Our colleagues are already looking forward to your electronic visit.
What else has happened? Last Saturday, our fire well was flushed. The opportunity was used to fill the tenders and boilers of our operational steam locomotives with water.


On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, two steam locomotives had to be fired up for the first time this year. First, 50 3570 was put under steam, which in turn steamed up 01 509. However, as some parts of the locomotive shed were fogged in, the whole operation was moved outside. At the same time the tender of 50 3570 was loaded with coal.





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