DRB Class 50

DRB Class 50
Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) 052 740-8 in Mayen, May 2006
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder
Build date1939–1948
Total produced3160
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-10-0
 • UIC1′E h2
 • GermanG 56.15
Gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Leading dia.0,850 mm (33+1⁄2 in)
Driver dia.1,400 mm (55+1⁄8 in)
Tender wheels1,000 mm (39+3⁄8 in)
Wheelbase:​
 • Axle spacing
(Asymmetrical)
  • 2,600 mm (8 ft 6+3⁄8 in) +
  • 1,650 mm (5 ft 5 in) +
  • 1,650 mm (5 ft 5 in) +
  • 1,650 mm (5 ft 5 in) +
  • 1,650 mm (5 ft 5 in) =
 • Engine9,200 mm (30 ft 2+1⁄4 in)
 • Tender
  • 1,900 mm (6 ft 2+3⁄4 in) +
  • 1,900 mm (6 ft 2+3⁄4 in) +
  • 1,900 mm (6 ft 2+3⁄4 in) =
  • 5,700 mm (18 ft 8+3⁄8 in)
 • incl. tender18,890 mm (61 ft 11+3⁄4 in)
Length:
​
 • Over headstocks21,640 mm (71 ft 0 in)
 • Over buffers22,940 mm (75 ft 3+1⁄8 in)
Height4,500 mm (14 ft 9+1⁄8 in)
Axle load15.3 t (15.1 long tons; 16.9 short tons)
Adhesive weight76.6 t (75.4 long tons; 84.4 short tons)
Empty weight78.6 t (77.4 long tons; 86.6 short tons)
Service weight88.1 t (86.7 long tons; 97.1 short tons)
Tender type2′2′ T 26
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity8 t (7.9 long tons; 8.8 short tons)
Water cap.26 m3 (5,720 imp gal; 6,870 US gal)
Firebox:​
 • Grate area3.9 m2 (42 sq ft)
Boiler:
​
 • Pitch3,050 mm (10 ft 1⁄8 in)
 • Tube plates5,200 mm (17 ft 3⁄4 in)
 • Small tubes54 mm (2+1⁄8 in), 113 off
 • Large tubes133 mm (5+1⁄4 in), 35 off
Boiler pressure16 bar (16.3 kgf/cm2; 232 psi)
Heating surface:​
 • Firebox15.9 m2 (171 sq ft)
 • Tubes90.4 m2 (973 sq ft)
 • Flues71.3 m2 (767 sq ft)
 • Total surface177.6 m2 (1,912 sq ft)
Superheater:
​
 • Heating area64.1 m2 (690 sq ft)
CylindersTwo, outside
Cylinder size600 mm × 660 mm (23+5⁄8 in × 26 in)
Valve gearHeusinger (Walschaerts) with lifting links
Train heatingSteam
Performance figures
Maximum speed80 km/h (50 mph) (both directions)
Indicated power1,625 PS (1,200 kW; 1,600 hp)
Career
Numbers50 001 – 50 3171 with gaps
Retired1987

The DRB Class 50[1] is a German class of 2-10-0 locomotive, built from 1939 as a standard locomotive (Einheitsdampflokomotive) for hauling goods trains. It had one leading axle and five coupled axles and was one of the most successful designs produced for the Deutsche Reichsbahn.

This class was procured in Germany as part of the Nazi Party's preparations for war that led to the Second World War (1939-1945). As late as 1948, 3,164 Class 50 engines were built by many European locomotive factories – towards the war's end as "provisional war locomotives" (Übergangskriegslokomotiven) and classified as 50 ÜK.

At the end of the steam locomotive era, they became virtually a universal class of mixed-traffic steam engine that, thanks to their low axle load, could even be employed on branch lines with light track beds. The Deutsche Bundesbahn grouped the locomotives into Classes 050, 051, 052 and 053 from 1968 so that the numbers were computer-compatible.

Some of the class were used by the Polish State Railways as type Ty5.

  1. ^ Wartime locomotives classes are prefixed DRB (Deutsche Reichsbahn) to distinguish them from those introduced by the DRG (prefixed DRG), which became defunct in 1937, and those introduced later by the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn (prefixed DR).