Germany (March 2005)

Cottbus: After WW2 Cottbus became headquarter of the new founded railway-district (Rbd) Cottbus. The depot Cottbus was centre of class 52 for many years and had the highest rolling stock of steam engines in the whole Rbd. While the dieselization at the end of the 60s the rolling stock decreased immediately, but more than 30 locomotives were kept here until the end of the 80s. The last regular steam services ended in spring of 1988, but some engines were still in service for heating purposes until the early 90s. With the reunion of both German states railways in 1992 the age of steam ended definitively, but just less of the steam engines were scrapped. Most of them found a new home at several museums.

A special story is the survival of the last Cottbus' Pacific 03.204. Withdrawn from service in 1979 it became a non-official monument at the depot in Cottbus. Railway enthusiasts and railway workers saved it from all tries to scrap this beautiful locomotive. In 1993 the story had a happy end: The engine came into the ownership of the new founded Lausitzer Dampflokclub and was made running again...

The Pacific 03.204 at it's long-term place in the depot.		Waiting for last services in front of the shed in Cottbus: 52.8163-9 and 52.8116-7.
52.8113-4 is heating up passenger cars at Cottbus' station.		52.8121-7 on it's good-bye-tour in March 1990 at Griessen.
52.8121-7 near Horno. In the background an open coal mine. The end of the line came just less years later.		Preserved locomotive 44.2225-9 is leaving Klinge with a coal-train to Forst.

It's all gone: Meeting of 120.062 and 52.8121 at Forst' station in March 1990. Today the left engine is already scraped, the right one preserved far away from home in an museum in Western Germany.