In the Europe each year a different city is proclaimed as a cultural capital of the Europe. This flattering and prestigious position, which brings a great recognition and numerous visitors to the city, has to be won on the fierce competition by offering the prestigious cultural program, spanning whole year.
Augsburg, a mid-sized Bavarian city with the population of roughly a quarter of million, some 40 miles northwest from Munich, is such candidate for this position in the year 2010. One of the projects which was included into proposed program and which should also attract numerous visitors is "Roundhouse Europe". Actually, this is a project to create a new railroad museum in the abandoned big roundhouse, which should represent not the German, but European railroads. Therefore each one of the 25 EU countries has been asked to for the donation or a long-time rental of one engine - steam, diesel, or electro. So collected engines would be exhibited in the roundhouse and, together with the displayed printed material and other items, would represent their countries.
During the initial visit of the Augsburg representatives to the Ljubljana Railroad museum, with the goal to find the suitable locomotive, it was established that Ljubljana can offer more than fitting one - a German 2-8-2 locomotive, built in 1930 in the Berlin Borsig locomotive works. It was the history of the locomotive, not mere fact that she was built in Germany, which made her so appropriate for the exhibition.
Germany, defeated in the World War I, has been condemned to pay heavy reparations, as the winning Antanta forces, and especially the France wanted to crush Germany economically, preventing her once forever to start another war (the plan didn't work out, but it backfired in the form of Hitler, Nazism, and WWII). Among the countries which should get the reparations was the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, born from the marriage of the Kingdom of Serbia and the Slavic remnants of the disintegrated Austro-Hungarian Empire - Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, being the young country, it had to wait 10 years for its turn.
Finally the time has come for Yugoslavia too and in 1929, among the other things, a sizeable order of the new steam locomotives has been placed into the reparation list.
The order included 110 locomotives of 3 different types - 40 Pacifics, 30 Mikados, and 40 Decapods, all sharing the numerous common parts, including the boilers, tenders, and cabs. All of them were built next year, with their design being based on then the most modern locomotives German Railroads have been building for themselves, but with the fireboxes adjusted to the inferior Yugoslav coal.
For the next 45 years these locomotives remained the mainstay power of the Yugoslav Railroads, until they were scrapped at the end of the steam era in the mid-seventies. While none of the Decapods remained (except for two left sunk at the bottom of the Danube River when the Djerdap power dam between Serbia and Romania has been constructed and the lake filled with water), and at least one Pacific is preserved as a monument in Nis, Serbia, thanks to the wisdom of one or two individuals here in Slovenia, 3 Mikados escaped the torch and ended at the Railroad museum in Ljubljana.
One of them is even in the operating condition and went through the major overhaul early this year, so she could participate in the festivities accompanying the 100th anniversary of the Transalpina line, the other two were just sidetracked, left for the years to the mercy of the weather and vandals. Through the years a lot of their parts disappeared, some being stolen, other cannibalized to keep the operating sister running. Paint was peeling off in the big chips and the rust has spread all over them like a cancer. Museum, owning a big wealth in the form of preserved locomotives (over 60 of them), but lacking money to keep them all protected from the weather and other detrimental effects, just couldn't do anything about it, until…
…until that happy day when the people from Augsburg came, looking for the locomotive to rent her for their Roundhouse Europe project. After seeing the decaying Borsig Mikado, rotting and waiting for the better times at the museum backyard, it was not necessary very much to reach common agreement. Augsburg museum will provide the funds and the necessary missing parts, and Ljubljana museum will do all the work needed to bring the engine back to the former (visual) shine and to make her capable of a 350-mile ling travel to her new (temporary) home. In return she will stay exhibited there for at least 10 years. The deal was struck…
It was March already and the time left to realize the agreed was short indeed - roughly one month, as the Augsburg museum planned the Slovenian Weekend for the May 24 th - 31 st, and the engine should be there at the beginning of May at last.
Even if the last regular steam ride in Slovenia has took place 30 years ago, in 1976, there are still few men alive, albeit quite old, who still know how to repair the steam locomotive. Museum sent the emergency call to them and they came - Janez Makovec, Rudi Ambroz, Stipo Barukcic, and Drago Lepen. Joined by the few other regular museum mechanics they performed almost the hopeless task, returning the glowing former beauty to the pile of rust. But it was not just the outside appearance which demanded their skill; it was the mechanical part of the whole task which was most demanding, as the years has passed since the engine last moved and all the bearings have been not just glued but almost welded together. And now she should travel 350 miles…
They did what it was expected from them to do, they did it on time, and they did it almost flawlessly - but not quite. With such big machine, sporting so many moving parts which need to be generously lubricated to prevent the dry running, overheating, and finally the serious damage, it is easy to overlook some lubricating spot. An so it was - one forgotten loose screw on one of the drivers' journal, fixing the spring which presses the oil greasing pad against the axle, a one-minute job which almost lead into disaster - extremely high expenses and consequently (very possibly) the loss of the position for the director of Ljubljana Railroad museum.
Already at Jesenice, barely 40 miles away, the accompanying crew noticed the smoking oil and the excessive overheating of the right front driver's bearing. Loose spring let the greasing pad to drop off and the bearing was running dry. Fortunately the experienced German mechanics, also onboard, tried with the simple solution which worked - they filled the bearing with the rugs, soaked with the cylinder oil which stands the temperatures up to 650F. Every 5 - 8 miles they stopped, checked the bearing, added oil, and crossed fingers again , hoping that the bearing will stand till the travel's end.
If not, and if the driver would block, the consequences would be catastrophic, as the only solution would be removing the blocked axle. Should it come to that, one of the Austrian most important mainlines, leading through the Alps, would be blocked, trains would have to be rerouted far around, OBB's work train with the crane would be needed to lift the engine high enough to pull the drivers out, meaning the removal of the catenary… A scenario which makes all the horror films just a pleasant good-night fairytales for the little kids. I think that the museum director is a tad more gray-haired since that day…
Fortunately, it didn't happen, and the Borsig arrived safely, even if somewhat later than planned.
I've visited the the museum and the Borsig twice - once at the early stage of the work, and the second time on the day when the Borsig 06-013 left for Augsburg. I wish that the following photos, taken on these occasions, be my tribute to this small group of veterans who spent their lifetime anonymously keeping the steam locomotives running. Regarding their age and the health conditions I'm not sure if I'll have another opportunity to see and photograph them at work; therefore let these photos be their deserved chance that the world meets them.
