Adler Lokomotive: The German power, daringness and rapidity

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If one is to ask, what is the one thing that shaped the history of the modern world beginning from 19th century onwards there is just one answer which comes about to that question. It was the rise of the railways. Locomotives paved the way forward for modern living and changed our lives completely. The Adler Lokomotive was one such machine which began operating for commercial purposes along with pioneering rail transportation for people and goods in Germany.

The Adler Lokomotive was the brain child of George and Robert Stephenson. They made it in 1835 in an English town of Newcastle, England. They were the pioneers of the British railway system. The Adler was then delivered to the Bavarian Ludwig Railway or the Bayerische Ludwigsbahn. It was made to operate for the first time on the 7th of December, 1835 between Nuremberg and Fürth.

The Adler operated using steam and was classified as a Patentee type locomotive. George and Robert Stephenson had introduced the Patentee type locomotive as a 2-2-2 steam locomotive type system, which signified a unique form of wheel arrangement. This newly developed system was a result of the improvements that were made on their previously popular 2-2-0 type. The newly developed 2-2-2 steam locomotive was equipped with two leading wheels on one axle, two powered driving wheels on one axle and two trailing wheels on one axle. This system resulted in more amount of stability and this also resulted in the locomotive to be equipped with a much larger firebox than what its predecessors 0-2-2 or the 2-2-0 types had.    The Adler Lokomotive is also regarded to be one of the most successful locomotives that were ever to operate in Germany.

History of Locomotives in Germany

Historical documents show that the Adler was regarded to be the very first locomotive to be used by a rail company on the German soil. However, it is also cited that the first serviceable steam locomotive, which was designed by the Royal Prussian Steelworks or the Königlich Preußische Eisengießerei in Berlin functioned in the year 1816. The trial run of this locomotive was conducted and it was attached with one rail wagon along with a payload of 8000 German pounds or approximately 4.48 tonnes or 4.41 long tons. Despite its success it was never put to use. The Adler thus became the first successfully operating locomotive which was put to regular use in Germany.

Everything in-fact began with the construction of the Bavarian Ludwig Railway. Georg Zacharias Platner, the founder of the Bavarian Ludwig Railway at that time was in search of a suitable locomotive and this search of his took him all the way to England. First of his enquiries were sent through a company based in London, it was called: Suse und Libeth. These enquiries were lined towards Robert Stephenson & Co. and Braithwaite & Ericsson. In these enquiries certain conditions were laid, a few of them being: that the locomotive should be able to pull a total weight of 10 metric tonnes and be able to cover the entire distance between Nuremberg and Fürth within a span of eight to ten minutes.

To these enquiries Robert Stephenson & Co. replied by saying that the locomotives running on the Liverpool and Manchester railway lines fulfilled the desired requirements. These locomotives had four wheels and a total weight ranging between 7.5 to 8 metric tonnes and could be supplied. They also suggested that if a lighter version of the locomotive were to have been demanded, then it would cost more than the heavier engine. Furthermore, Johannes Scharrer after all the considerations and enquiries demanded quotes for two locomotives weighing 6.5 metric tonnes each on the 16th of June, 1833. Robert Stephenson & Co. replied by quoting a cost of 1800 pounds sterling.

In an interesting turn of events, Holmes and Rolandson from Unterkochen near Aalen, a German company made an offer to manufacture a steam locomotive with power capacity of two to six horsepower at a price of 4,500 Gulden. Another bid was offered by Josef Reaullaux located in Eschweiler, near Aachen. With this confusion arose and the bidding was stalled for the moment.

As the month of April approached Platner and Mainberger had reached Neuwied near Cologne travelling from Nuremberg. At this location they wanted to award a certain contract for the construction of the railway track. Towards the end of the month they travelled further to Cologne to meet with one of their associates and friend by the name of Consul Bartls. From Mr. Bartls, Platner and Mainberger came to know further about the Belgian engineering works of Cockerill in Liège.

With this knowledge Platner and Mainberger reached Liège and upon their arrival they came to know that Cockerill had not yet commenced the construction of the locomotive and also Stephenson was present in Brussels at that time. They travelled again, this time reaching Brussels on the 1st of May and chose the specific guesthouse wherein Stephenson and several of his engineers chose to stay. The reason for the arrival of Stephenson and his team was so because they wanted to witness the opening of the railway line between Brussels and Mechelen which was due on the 5th of May.

It is here that Platner and Mainberger indulged in negotiations with Stephenson. They were able to reach a conclusion which ended with them signing the letter of intent. This letter was based on the following terms: Stephenson was going to deliver a Patentee type locomotive with six wheels and with a weight of 6 metric tonnes. Furthermore, it was to be priced between 750 and 800 pounds sterling and the delivery was set to be by the end of July to Rotterdam. In addition to these tenders for a boogie passenger coach and a goods wagon were ordered.

However, Stephenson was unable to live up to the agreements set in the letter. Furthermore, it was also realised that the units of measurements differed between Nuremberg and England. As a result of which the locomotive that was designed, it was predefined to have similar specifications with that of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Their system carried the following measurements: 1,435 mm (4 ft. 8 1⁄2 in). Stephenson on the other hand did not intend to change the gauge. This furthermore translated in terms of changes within the existing tracks that were laid down; it had to be re-laid because it was about 5/8th of an inch narrower.

With all the issues complied with and all the tracks re-laid, the locomotive was delivered. It came with a total of 100 individual components which were stacked in 19 boxes along with a combined weight of 177 hundredweight and above all its cost came to a precise: 1,140 pounds, 19 shillings und 3 pennies. Despite the desire of the Board of Directors of the Bavarian Ludwig Railway to get freight exemptions they could not get that done successfully. In the following months the locomotive became a symbol of power, daringness and rapidity.

On the 16th of October, 1835 the first test run of the steam locomotive was conducted between Nuremberg to Fürth and then back again. The performance of the locomotive was well enough and the other equipment’s were functioning top. On the third day, that is the 19th of October 1835 marked the first full-fledged transportation on the track.

Making of the Adler

The first design of the Adler Lokomotive was made on a wooden framework which was then as the process continued, was enveloped with a metal sheet covering. The two wet steam driven cylinders were placed in a horizontal manner inside the very frame. These cylinders were responsible for the movement of the driving wheelset which were then placed right in the centre of the three axles. The locomotive could be operated on curves with small radiuses because the driving wheel had no wheel flanges. Also the forged spokes were riveted to the rim. Furthermore, cast iron was used as a material for the building of the original wheels which then encircled the forged tyres made out of wrought iron. Originally these wheels were made up of brittle cast iron but were then replaced by the ones made out of wrought iron. The core of the hollow spokes had a wood framework which allowed flexibility and a certain degree of cushioning while the locomotive was on uneven tracks. As far as the braking system is concerned, all the wheels were un-braked, instead there was a mechanical railway brake installed on both the wheels and was linked to the tender on the right side, the location of the fireman. The connection between the tender and the locomotive was precisely made fixed for this reason. Materials used in the building of the buffers were wooden. The horseshoe shaped water box was surrounded with the coal stored in the tender. Initially coke was used in firebox but later-on it was replaced by bituminous coal.

The passenger wagons were similar to the carriages of a horse drawn carriage. These carriages were then mounted on bogies that were made of iron. There were also coupé-carriages which had two axles and they comprised of three completely separated compartments. Interestingly, passenger coaches having specific bogies were developed first by the Great Western Railway in the year 1842. These wagons were painted in the hallmark yellow colour which remained the colour of the stagecoaches for a prolonged period of time. The wagons of the third class were made without having any roof and these compartments had the capacity to seat eight to ten individuals and also the entrances were without any doors. Whereas in the case of second class wagons, they had canvas roofs, also doors, windows that were unglazed and curtains which were originally made out of silk and later leather. The widths of the wagons remained constant throughout. Other than these visual differences, the number of seats also reduced by one as one would move from the cheapest to the expensive classes. First class wagons had linings made of precious blue foulard and its windows were made of clear glass, doors were well made and had handles that were gilded with all metal fittings made of brass.

While on its first run, the Adler was driven by William Wilson on the 7th of December, 1835. It ran a total distance of 6.05 kilometres on the Ludwigsbahn track. It took the locomotive just about nine minutes to travel the entire distance and carried 200 guests abode. Furthermore, two more successful test runs were conducted within a time interval of two hours.

The speed at which the locomotive operated was 28 kilometres an hour under usual circumstances. It was set to this and not its top speed of 65 kilometres an hour because the owners thought preserving the vehicle was more important. Also coal was quite expensive back in those days. At the normal speed, the Adler was able to take fourteen minutes to travel the entire distance.

Today you can find the only surviving photograph of the Adler in operation at the Nuremberg City Archives or the Stadtarchiv Nürnberg. The details of this photograph had not been documented but researchers have mentioned that it is indeed of the original locomotive.

In the year 1925 when the planning of the Nuremberg Transport Museum commenced, it was desired by one and all to create serviceable replicas of the Adler. It was also realised that the original plans were nowhere to be found. The only remaining evidence was the engravings that provided bits of the information. However with the arrival of the Great Depression the plans of the museum were halted. It was in 1935 when the replica of the Adler was built to commemorate the locomotives centenary. Since then the Adler has been on display quite a number of times and is fully operational as well.

Upon the 125th anniversary of the Adler, it was put back in service on the track as a tram between Nuremberg and Fürth Hauptbahnhof. Though it had to go for frequent repairs, it is still in operation because of its historical importance. It was also placed on display during the Great Jubilee exhibition in Nuremberg along with other events in West Germany and for public tours in the year 1984. Exactly a year after that it was put out of use till the year 1999.

Then again it was back in business after the 100th anniversary of the Bavarian Railway Museum. But this time it was only for the purposes of tours on Sundays in the month of October along with frequenting parades in Nuremberg.

The Adler Lokomotive returned to the museum after one round of restoration work on the 23rd of November, 2007. Adler was used again in April, 2010 while the 175th anniversary of railways in Germany was underway. These days runs are conducted in the months of May and June with visitors between Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof and Fürth Hauptbahnhof.