News / Chronicle

December 2017

Just in Christmas time, another locomotive of the type MD2 could be added to the collection: the manufacturers number 12005 from 1946. It comes from the museum train "Chemin de fer de Bon Repos" in France, which has a number of 600mm vehicles in addition to its meter gauge material. The locomotive historically is very interesting, as it is one of the earliest machines built by the Prague O&K branch after the end of the WWII . It was sold by the Zurich O&K branch to a Swiss customer. How it get to France is not yet clear. Apparently it was in use there together with the RL1a No. 5643, as the identical color scheme shows. The MD2 has a 27 h.p. 2S115 Slavia engine that has simply been "re-labelt" with an MBA rhombus. The exhaust pipe ends up in the bonnet and was apparently not covered for a long time, so that water damage has arisen, which will entail the installation of new liners. Otherwise, the condition of the locomotive is quite good, even the gear shift spindle is still movable.

August 2017

The MD3 No. 11709 had been bought in Sweden in 2014 - without the engine, but knowing that this was already in Germany, even in the “Feldbahnmuseum Herrenleite” (HFD), but without the cylinder heads. Now there were the time and the possibility to "marry" the loco with her engine again.
With the help of two long-term friends from the HFD the engine (still in the “delivery state" on a pallet) together with the locomotive was brought under a gantry and then mounted. Because the locomotive is constructed very compact, the bonnet had to be dismantled almost completely. After the mounting of the motor the three cylinder heads came in their places.
The recommissioning, which due to the bad, external condition also includes a repainting, is of course planned, but not for today and tomorrow. Essential parts are no longer missing.

July 2017

The RL1N no. 1369 was, so to say, bought as a kit, she had been cut off partly by the previous owner and kept in this condition, why ever. Now there was the opportunity to rebuild the dismantled parts. That concerned the weight box, the front plate with the cooler, the tank with Diesel pipe, the rear panel , the roof of the bonnet and the sand box.
After careful wobbling at the operating lever and the regulator rod and the use of creep oil, everything was moveable perfectly! And that after 40 years under a tarp! In the tank, whose drain cock is mobile and tight, was still crystalline diesel.
After the treatment with OWATROL, the locomotive appeared in its red building machine paint as a part of an extinguishing train. The silver screws are only used for the assembly and will be replaced by black ones later in order not to disturb the overall impression. The frame, the engine and the gearbox have to be high-pressure cleaned before the further treatment, which was not yet possible in the cramped shed.

March 2017

The MD no. 5579 could be restored in a comparatively short time. By the applied "OWATROL method" still existing color rests at the frame and the bonnet could be saved. The side panels could be buckled despite the heavy deformations, perhaps caused by the try to lift this "scrap" by an excavator grab.
Aside from the battered bonnet panels the locomotive was still quite well preserved. Among other things this was confirmed by the fact, that the engine started easily and runs equaly without "sawing" after an intensive inspection. After the first runnung the motor is startable quick by crank without any problem. The MD/MD1 engine has an ingenious design. There is no one comparable engine of other manufacturers of the time, so simple and purposefully built.
The big brass "Montania" sign on the front of the bonnet is conspicuous at such a small locomotive.

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