Gölsdorf steam loco back on the main line

This past Sunday the steam locomotive 434.2186 made a return to the main line and hauled special trains around Prague for the first time in 3 years. Built in 1917, it is actually based on an 1897 design by the famed Austrian engineer Karl Gölsdorf. In old currency, the locomotive was kkStB 170.323. Since 1935 the loco carries it's current number as a member of the Class 434.2. These were converted to superheated steam by the Czechoslovak State Railways (CSD) in order to improve performance. The superheated steam conversion did the trick, as the loco then lasted in regular service at the Praha-Vrsovice depot until 1980. Since then the engine has been a talisman on the Czech heritage scenen and therefore it was clear that it was going to get a major overhaul to keep it in running order. The overhaul was completed in Luzna at CD's own museum workshop, with the wheels getting new tires in Meiningen and the boiler overhaul being done by SEA in Kolin.

The kkStB class 170 was originally designed by Gölsdorf to haul heavy trains over the Arlberg route. The signature feature of course is the connecting pipe between the two steam domes. As a 2-8-0 tender loco that is a bit shorter and more compact than later tender locos, this engine can be seen as a "pocket rocket".

The film also features footage of the 1946-built 2-10-0 534.0323 with Giesl chimney. These again are smaller and more compact than the German 2-10-0 locos built during WWII. At the same time and for a freight engine, the Class 534 is quite elegant and rather refined visually. In essence, it's a pocket version of the later CSD Class 556.