DSB class S no. 736 on the main

[SteamPower4ever]

Hi all.

 

Today the DSB Museumstog - the operating branch of the Danish Railway Museum - ran three trains not far from my home. First and last round trip was steam hauled, and I followed the steam train most of the day.

 

The trains ran on the main line between the towns of Næstved and Vordingborg, which is a fairly short trip. The line there is hopeless for chasing and the train is relatively fast, so the name of the game is to pick a spot for each run and getting the most of it.

Shooting video is very different from taking still photos, and this is my first attempt shooting 1:1 train videos. Also, my camera is not really a video camera, but a still camera that just happens to take reasonably good 720p video. So please excuse the wind noise in the mic. Other than that, I'm really quite happy with the result.

 

I have my favorite spots along the line, but they are only tested for still photo. Using Google Earth, I got an idea about where to go for video, and as luck would have it, the places I picked were even better than I had hoped. When I can only meet the train on the line four times, every take must count. And they did. Also, I got some bonus shoots with the switching to and from the yard.

 

This may have been one of the last chances to shoot a steam train on the 'old' line, because the main line is due for a speed upgrade and electrification.

 

 

The S class is a 1C2 or 2-6-4 tank engine with three cylinders, originally built for commuter service on the short lines north of Copenhagen. After electrification of the suburban lines, the engines saw service all over Sealand (or Sjælland as we call it locally), so the line here is actually home turf for the locomotive.

 

While the boiler of the S class is a little too small, it's a great engine, and it's steaming well. A little speciality is the double return crank on the left side of the locomotive, visible at 10:55 in the video below. The additional crank is for the center cylinder.

 

Enjoy ... 

 

Jens

 

[Rayman4449]

Great video, thanks for sharing Jens  I've never seen a steamer with water tanks wrapped around the side, nice and compact

[SteamPower4ever]

Thanks, Ray.

 

I guess the water tanks are on the sides because the third cylinder inside the frame does not leave room for a tank. Or maybe it's a matter of volume.

 

Either way, from the fireman's view, the S class is nice, because instead of the normal two suction injectors, the S has one suction injector, one gravity injector and one feeder pump. Normally the pump is standby, but the gravity injector is placed below one of the side tanks (the two tanks are connected), and it floods immediately, and then you can just open the steam and blast water into the boiler. Works every time without problems.

 

I am a certified fireman (as seen on my avatar), and I have fired and driven 736 on numerous occasions 

 

The S class engines did not have the massive smoke plates from birth. Very soon after they entered serviced, it was realized that the exhaust was too soft, and the smoke had a tendency to blind the crew. Thus, all engines were fitted with the large side plates and a shovel-like plate at the front, so the smoke and steam could really be blown upwards.

 

I talked to the manager of the steam workshops, who was on the engine that day, and he told me they had narrowed the smokestack exhaust opening to get more draft in the firebox. This has indeed cured the engine's tendency to bake the coals when running backwards, especially when not using premium coal, which is hard to get these days.

 

Incidently, the other one of the surviving S class engines - no. 740 - is a movie star. It was featured in the James Bond movie 'Octopussy', disguised as a German class 66 

At the time, 740 was in England, but it's now back in DK, being overhauled by a club, but it's hard to tell when it will be operational.

 

Jens