Saxonia (locomotive)
| SAXONIA | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Quantity | 2 |
| Manufacturer | Maschinenbauanstalt Übigau, Dresden |
| Year(s) of manufacture | 1838 |
| Retired | by 1856 |
| Axle arrangement | B1 n2 |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
| Length over buffers | 8,730 mm (28 ft 8 in) |
| Wheelbase | 3,048 mm (10 ft 0 in) |
| Service weight | 15 t (14.8 long tons; 16.5 short tons) |
| Top speed | 50 km/h (31 mph) |
| Indicated Power | 40 kW (54 hp) |
| Driving wheel diameter | 1,524 mm (60 in) |
| Carrying wheel diameter | N.K. |
| No. of cylinders | 2 |
| Cylinder bore | 279 mm (11 in) |
| Piston stroke | 406 mm (16 in) |
| Boiler Overpressure | 4.2 at |
| No. of smoke tubes | 88 |
| Heating tube length | 2,120 mm (6 ft 11 in) |
| Grate area | 0.56 m2 (6 sq ft) |
| Evaporative heating area | 24.2 m2 (260 sq ft) |
| Locomotive brakes | Band brake |
The locomotive Saxonia was operated by the Leipzig–Dresden Railway Company (Leipzig–Dresdner Eisenbahn-Compagnie or LDE) and was the first practical working steam locomotive built in Germany. Its name means Saxony in Latin.
The Saxonia was built by Johann Andreas Schubert. Schubert had been inspired by the English-built locomotive, Comet, procured for the LDE, and he analysed and improved on what he saw. He used the same dimensions but, unlike Comet, two coupled axles were driven, therefore providing increased tractive force, and a carrying axle was added at the back to improve ride qualities.
The development and construction of the locomotive was carried out in the Maschinenbauanstalt Übigau at Dresden, an engineering works that had been founded on 1 January 1837. From the beginning Schubert was the head of the company. The construction of the engine was a technical and economic risk for the firm. For a start, it had no technical experience at all; furthermore there were no orders for a locomotive.
The Saxonia was intended to open the Leipzig–Dresden railway, the first long-distance railway line in Germany, on 8 April 1839. But the English, who until then had a monopoly within the railway industry, begrudged success to Schubert and his locomotive. The first train to run on the railway was hauled by the two English locomotives Robert Stephenson and Elephant. The Saxonia – driven by its creator, Johann Andreas Schubert –- followed on behind.
The Saxonia clearly continued to be used successfully, however, because in 1843 it had clocked up 8,666 kilometres (5,385 mi). There is no definite information about its wheareabouts, however, it must have remained in the LDE's fleet until 1856 because its name was not reassigned until then.
The Übigau works built a second locomotive of the same arrangement, named Phoenix, delivered 1840-04-12.
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