Germany (December 2006)

Goerlitz repair shop In the first decade of 20th century a large shunting yard was erected in the West of the Silesian city Goerlitz. With the electrification of the Silesian railway network in the 20s it became a locomotive-change station between electric and steam locomotive. A new modern depot for the electric locos were build up near the shunting yard at the village Schlauroth. After WW2 the removal of the electrification by the Soviets and the new border to Poland made the depot redundantly.

A new task was found by changing Schlauroth' depot into a repair shop for narrow gauge steam-locomotives in 1950. Milestones of the following decades were the large reconstruction-programs in the 60s (Saxonian classes IV k and VI k, several loner types) and the early 90s (class 99.77-79) with it's mostly new build engines. After this last highlight in 1992/1993 the end of the repair shop came rapidly. The new conditions in the changed German locomotive market after the fall of the Berlin wall let just one of the two existing steam repair shops survive - Meiningen. So the last repairs ended in Goerlitz in December 1996 and the repair shop was closed down in 1997.

Twice I had a chance to visit Goerlitz repair shop - in April 1990 and January 1992. At this time locomotive in all existing gauges were under repair: 381, 600, 750, 900, 1000 and 1435 mm! Some impressions of these two visits are shown here.

Waiting for repair: 99.584, 99.323 and 99.585		Tested under steam: 99.761
99.4802 from Ruegen' island under repair.		Smallest gauge in Goerlitz was 381 mm: A loco from Dresden Park Railway.
Finishing the cylinders of 99.243		Axles of several locos.
Boilers

99.1786-5 and 99.2322-8 in the large maintenance-hall (28.01.1992).