Most of the steam locomotives covered on this web site are models of German engines. Much of their appeal to the German market was that the different model train product lines represented the modern German railroad scene. So, from a North American perspective, the presence of steam locomotives in the different manufacturer’s lines, even in the 1960’s, is a bit of an  anachronism. 

In fact, the steam locomotive was still quite present on the Deutsche Bundesbahn at that time. In that era, Germany was still in a state of recovery from the debilitating effects of World War II, and the German Federal Railroad was very cost conscious.  While diesel fuel came from imported petroleum, the steam locomotive used coal from the Saarland.  As a consequence, the steam locomotive remained on the German railroad scene until the mid-1970’s. While the last steam locomotive was manufactured in the United States in 1948, the last German mainline steam engine was built in 1959, a Class 23 2-6-2. And serious preservation of steam locomotives started a lot earlier in Germany than it did in the United States. 

Because of the DB mechanical department’s practices, this presence was a colorful one. The red color on the wheels and frames of their steam locomotives had a practical side in that the bright color made it easy for locomotive inspectors to examine the engine’s running gear for metal fatigue and cracks. This practice appears to date back to the 1920’s, when the German railroads unified into one major company.

There’s something about that red running gear......

Another feature found on some German steam locomotives is the smoke deflector.  Often found on fast locomotives, the smoke lifter creates an air current as the locomotive moves forward which pushes the steam engine’s exhaust smoke up and away from the engineer’s field of vision. Here, a handsome Class 01 Pacific-type, with Wagner type smoke lifters.

And here, a Class 45 with smaller Witte type smoke lifters.

And, although not as commonly found on North American steam locomotives, some engines were equipped with smoke deflectors, for the same reasons that the Germans installed them on their steam engines.