Large-scale operation

Express steam locomotive of the Bavarian type S 2/6 At the beginning of the 20th century, high-speed tests caused a stir on the tracks of various German state railways. The Bavarian State Railways (K.Bay.Sts.B.) also commissioned a high-speed locomotive in 1905 as part of this "speed frenzy". Just one year later, Maffei delivered the S 2/6 with the operating number 3201, designed under the leadership of chief designer Anton Hammel. The S 2/6 was a 2'B2' superheated steam compound locomotive with a bar frame, a top speed of 150 km/h and a wheel set weight of 16 tonnes. New features included the chassis concept with the leading and trailing bogies responsible for the track guidance and the design of the tender water tank as a self-supporting structure. Although the locomotive did not have a streamlined complete fairing, there were some elements designed to reduce air resistance. There was a curved casing in front of the cylinders, the smokebox door was conical, and the chimney and steam dome had windbreaks. The driver's cab was also designed for aerodynamics and transitioned seamlessly into the boiler casing. In July 1907, the machine reached a top speed of 154.5 km/h with a 150-ton test train on the Munich-Augsburg route, setting a world speed record. The locomotive was initially based in Munich, came to Ludwigshafen in 1910 and from there initially pulled express trains to Strasbourg and Bingerbrück. In 1922 it returned to Munich, and from 1923 it was stationed in Augsburg. It never bore its DRG operating number 15 001, as the unique specimen was given a place of honor in the Nuremberg Transport Museum in 1925. And so the S 2/6 undoubtedly played a tragic double role in its history: although it was technically far ahead of its time in 1906 and its design perfectly matched the specifications, its concept was already outdated after a very short period of use due to the rapidly changing conditions. With the exception of a few years of operation in the Palatinate, the S 2/6 soon found itself relegated to a secondary role as an unloved loner. Apart from the record-breaking runs in 1907, it remained a design quickly overtaken by time, was never built in series and disappeared from service after just a few years. But its historical significance lies not in its operational career but in its technological and conceptual pioneering role, which had a lasting influence not only on locomotive construction.