Narrow gauge on the other side of no-man's land

[john d Stone]

I found this video of the Kaiser's little trains during WW1. The German 60cm steam locos are homely enough to be cute while it appears that the gas powered jobs have an open topped cooling system!
The destruction that is seen during the film is a stark reminder of the brutality of that war.

https://youtu.be/V0N5sr-CAw4

[ALAIN DELASSUS]

Thank you for sharing. In Pithiviers on the AMTP we still have a 080 DFB in running order MTP#4, an other one in the museum and the extra tender you can spot to the left not long after this interesting movie starts. I've shared it on my fb for my AMTP's friends.

[john d Stone]

Alain, I'm glad you enjoyed the video. In looking at the AMTP website, i see that you have a beautiful and fascinating collection. Those German locoomotives, 080 DFB?, must be rugged little engines. One line down in the Balkans used a group of them for mainline power into the 60's.

[ALAIN DELASSUS]

Thank you John.Yes  we have a nice collection.And by now the museum has been revamped and it is totally dedicated to the  two -foot gauge rolling stock .DFB are powerful and servicable locomotives . The first and last axle are articulated  by the Klien Lindner system so they are able to run on 100' radius curves and  on poor condition tracks. On the other hand the wheel thread is narrow and if the gauge exceeds 2' and 1''( 63 cm) they go off the track , I experienced that once. During the war they ran on  light prefabricated track pannels with iron cross ties so no gauge trouble. Quite a lot of them are still running on tourist railroads in France and in Europe.