Narrow gauge steam tram action 🇩🇪 (2024-05)

Watch drive byes of Germany's only steam tram from Darmstadt-Eberstadt/stop “Frankenstein” to Alsbach/stop “Am Hinkelstein” and absorb the nostalgic charm of this historic suburban train!

To cope with the ever-increasing traffic, the Süddeutsche Eisenbahngesellschaft (SEG) built a suburban railway on meter-gauge tracks from Darmstadt to Griesheim, Eberstadt and Arheilgen in 1886. This was operated by steam trains, which were popularly nicknamed “Fiery Elias”. With the new construction of the main train station in its current location in 1912, the previous local transport operations in Darmstadt were combined to form the Hessische Eisenbahn AG (HEAG). The new company quickly converted traffic on its routes to electric operation, which meant that the steam trains were taken out of service.

Since 1997, the Fiery Elias has been steaming again on the tram tracks, operated by the Historical HEAG Vehicles Working Group at the Darmstadt-Kranichstein Railway Museum.

Locomotive # 7
The steam locomotive 7 was built in 1919 for Philipp Holzmann AG in the gauge of 900 mm, which was often found on industrial railways at the time. It was sold to the Oertelshofen lime works in 1957. Railway engineer Rudolph Langeloth saved the locomotive from being scrapped and carried out essential repairs. The locomotive was re-gauged to 1000 mm, which corresponds to the meter gauge available on the tram network and is similar in technical design to the machines originally used on the steam tram.
Manufacturer: Henschel&Sohn, Cassel, no. 17218 in the year 1919
Weight (locomotive): 19.5 t
Brake weight: 12.0 t
Coal: 0.8 t
Water: 2 mᵌ

Rail car # 4
Rail car 4 was built by the club members over several years based on the model of one of the old Darmstadt steam train rail cars, none of which existed in the original. The car was used for the first time at the opening of the Kranichstein tram on December 13, 2003. The chassis was acquired by OEG in 2000. This is rail transport car number 713 (until 1958: 828), which was built in 1914 by the Fuchs company in Heidelberg.

Rail car # 101
The rail car 101 was delivered to the later OEG in 1899 as an open freight car. The SEG purchased the same wagons for Darmstadt, which were used as market wagons until around 1959. The car was taken over by the OEG or RHB No. 32 in 1998. The working group restored it and converted the vehicle into a semi-open passenger car.

Rail car # 100
The rail car 100 was built on the chassis of a Mainz work van (No. 204, built in 1944, Rastatt), which came to the Kranichstein Railway Museum in 1982. It was built by the members of the working group, using the semi-open summer cars of the Darmstadt Railway as a model.

Rail car # 301
The open car 301 was originally a passenger car and is the only surviving vehicle from the former steam railway. The car was built in 1887 by Herbrand in Cologne. Over the years it was first converted into a market car and later into a work car. The rail car was restored in 1996. It is now being made available by HEAG for the rebuilt steam train.

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Mentioned at Ortloff’s Frei-Noon - 21. Juni 2024
https://youtu.be/5yFAgplzSjc?si=FPWbsXvRe3MAik8I&t=441

Further information:
Bahnwelt Darmstadt-Kranichstein (in German)
https://bahnwelt.de/veranstaltung/fahrtag-der-dampfstrassenbahn-feuriger-elias-da-eberstadt-alsbach/
Arbeitsgemeinschaft Historische HEAG-Fahrzeuge im Eisenbahnmuseum Darmstadt-Kranichstein e. V. (in German)
http://www.historische-heag-fahrzeuge.de/

Music:
Blues Flying Thoughts by Yves from Pixabay