LOCOMOTIVES
The superheated steam locomotives 6–11
In 1931, as part of an extensive modernisation programme, Mansfeld AG – the company formed from the Mansfeld copper shale mining union – purchased four new Dh2t superheated steam locomotives with the works numbers 12347 to 12350 from the locomotive builder Orenstein & Koppel.
These engines, plus two “late comers” built in 1936 and 1939, were numbered 6 to 11 by their new owners.
Each locomotive weighed 38 t. and had 450 horsepower. They were mainly used to haul wagons and ore trains, but also pulled passenger carriages to and from the pits and factories.
They had a top speed of 35 km/h and their boilers, tested to 16 bar, were fed by two suction steam jet pumps.
Their water tanks could hold 3.9 m³. The locomotives featured a Walschaerts valve gear with pressure equalising piston valves designed by Karl Schulz.
To protect the drivers and firemen from the elements, the cab could be fully closed thanks to swing doors and sliding windows.
During their entire service life, the locomotives underwent only minimal modifications.
Locomotive 11 has been in use on the Mansfelder Bergwerksbahn since 1995 and has not been out of service for any long period of time.
The V 10C – diesel locomotive 33
The type V 10C diesel locomotive with the number 33 has been in use on the Mansfeld narrow-gauge railway for 50 years. It was delivered to Mansfeld from the locomotive building company VEB Lokomotivbau Karl Marx Babelsberg in 1962.
The locomotive features an air-cooled 6-cylinder motor with a nominal output of 102 horsepower and a four-speed mechanical transmission with four clutches. Its three wheelsets are driven by a jackshaft located under the driver's cab.
As the drive power of this locomotive was nowhere near that of most steam locomotives, she was mainly used for shunting and light service.
Number 33 is responsible for hauling many specially ordered trains, especially for groups of children as well as almost all of the working trains that run on the line.