Welcome to Kurt's Website
No bells, frills or whistles - Just information
But, don't worry, there are pictures
I apologize for my inability to solve the Umlaut problems on
this website
updated October 11, 2006
BR 44 (44 595) on May 12,
1968. Image from Eisenbahn Journal, III/88. This photograph should give you some
idea of what interests me but before we get into that, here's a little about
me...
My
family and I live in Ann Arbor, Michigan. My wife, Paula, is a nurse
practitioner at the University of Michigan Hospitals; our daughter, Evelyn,
teaches high school English at her old high school. and our son, Paul, is a
metallurgist at Arvin Meritor. Without Paul's help with Front Page 2000 and
without having Lyn (Evelyn) teach me something about Photoshop, this website
would not have been possible. In the meantime, my train hobby is a
mix of my Märklin trains and being managing editor of the ETE EXPRESS.
Since
July 2000, I am retired from the business-to-business adverting and public
relations business, I have all the time in world to enjoy my various hobbies
which include model railroading, photography (film and digital) and what I like
to call vintage electronics. If you'd like to exchange e-mails with me about
photography and vintage electronics, I can be reached at khmiska@umich.edu. This website is devoted
entirely to my interest in German trains - prototypes and models.
But
that's not all of what I do. There is German Business Translations,
the name I have for my little one-man translation business. I do translations
of such technical topics as industrial lasers, coordinate measuring machines,
materials science, machine tools and manufacturing technology. With my
interests in trains, I often translate articles from German train periodicals.
I am also a member of MiTiN - the Michigan Translators and Interpreters Network
(www.mitinweb.org). I also do some
freelance engineering/science writing on industrial subjects.
As they
say on late night TV, but that's not all. When not involved with the above, I
am an avid amateur photographer (Leica and Rolleiflex for analog and Nikon for
digital) and I also enjoy tinkering with vacuum tube circuits. I also enjoy
cooking, gardening and reading about cosmology and the quantum world. I am
pleased to say that my culinary talents go well beyond the basics such as
broiling chicken or making fried eggs. But, on to trains...
TRAINS
and MODEL RAILROADING
Trains have always been a great interest
of mine. Believe it or not but I still have the very first train ticket I was ever issued, if
that's the right word. That was a long, long time ago when we still lived in
Wilhelmshorst (near Potsdam), Germany. The train trip was from Wilhelmshorst to
Rehbrücke, one stop on the Wannsee - Beelitz S-Bahn line. Quite specifically,
my trains are Märklin H0 (www.marklin.de)
and (www.marklin.com) made in
Germany. Then there's my model train philosophy
to ponder, for what it's worth..
I
have another way of enjoying my trains. I enjoy writing about them, some of
which is found on this site. Since early 2002, I have been on the editorial
staff of the European Train Enthusiasts, www.ete.org,
quarterly publication EXPRESS. In 2003 I was made managing editor and now spend
many happy hours working on this 18-page publication. Since 1999, I have also been the editor of GLEIS 1,
the newsletter of the Great Lakes Chapter of ETE. I work closely with a very
talented young designer (art director) named Dan Driessche in Grand Rapids,
Michigan. All of our work is done via e-mail and by now has worked itself into
a smooth routine.
The
Wilhelmshorst Michendorf Eisenbahn Gesellschaft
Like so many children growing up in
Germany, my brother and I were among the thousands who received Märklin trains
for Christmas at some point. My brother and I received ours during the early
years of the Second World War. I have been interested in trains ever since, not
always continuously but certainly the interest was always there.
Now,
in retirement, I still enjoy the hobby of trains. My railroad's name is Wilhelmshorst
Michendorf Eisenbahn Gesellschaft (WMEG). My layout in no way duplicates the
Wilhelmshorst area where I grew up. So...click on Märklin memories and you'll be able to read about my
model train adventures and my 2003 entry into digital. What I learned form my
nearly 50 digital conversions is under locomotive
conversions.
My
favorite German locomotives
My favorites are clearly steam and
electric locomotives. My layout has no diesels and is unlikely ever to have
any. In writing about some of my favorite locomotives, I have noticed now that
these tend to run to the so-called "Einheitslokomotiven" or
standard locomotives. My favorites are mainly from Eras 2,3 and 4. For
more information about periods, click on eras. You can learn more about
some of my favorites because I have written about them. If any are not
"clickable", they need my attention in the writing
department. Also, the pages dedicated to specific locomotives only show
one photograph per locomotive; these are merely introductory photographs to set
the stage.
Among
steam are the BR 41, BR42, (not
the Franco Crosti 4290
which is actually a modified BR 52) BR44, BR45,
BR86, BR50, BR52,
BR 52 KON, BR80, BR 81, BR89, the BR96 Mallet, the Bavarian Glaskasten
BR 98.3 and the Belgian 26 (actually a BR50). It exists only as a model but the
sometimes controversial Borsig Mallet, the
third Kriegslok, is still a favorite of mine. The tenders for the BR 42, BR 44, BR 50
and BR 52 are subject of much study. I have compiled a chart to list these.
There's a short piece about BR 80 models as
well as the BR 98.3 Glaskasten.
I've also done some writing about streamliners. More
recently I have also become interested in the BR 78
(formerly Prussian T 18) as well as the BR 012. You
can also see what tenders went
with what locomotives.
My
electric favorites are the Swiss Ce 6/8
Crocodile, the German E18, E19,
E 52, E 60, BR93,
BR 94, BR110, and the Bavarian Ep 3, and I certainly don't want to
shortchange the Austrian Crocodile. Another
electric I like is the ET85 railcar. Then I'm
also intrigued by the record-breaking railcars of 1903
built by AEG and Siemens & Halske.
I
must not forget other electric locomotives that I have become more than a
little familiar with thanks to two ETE members - Jim and Geoff Fischer. When I
first saw their work in the Der Eilzug, the newsletter of the Sacramento Chapter of ETE, I
prevailed on them to let me publish some of their research in the ETE EXPRESS.
They have a more than passing interest in the E 91. Keep in mind that there are
three different E 91s - The E 91 and E 919
are closely related and then there is the E 913,
perhaps described as a distant relative.
It's
pretty obvious that most of my favorite Loks are freight engines, specifically
steam and electric. Diesels? No, not my favorite. No character in these
locomotives. For these comments, I make no apologies whatsoever. To each
his own, right?
My
favorite Märklin Models
All of us dyed-in-the-wool Märkliners
have our favorite models and
I'm no exception. Mine are Märklin's flagship of the fleet, the Swiss (SBB)
Crocodile and all of the BR 50/BR 52 freight engines.
Zinkpest
There are no cures for Zinkpest, but, whether you're a collector or play with
your Märklin, you should know more about it.
The
Three B's
In addition to the method of
designating axle configurations, which I
think most of us who are interested in German locomotives already know,
for German locomotives there is also a system that clearly describes a
locomotive's service class. In German, these designations are called Betriebsgattung. There's still more to
learn under the Three B's.
European
Railroad Companies
Ever wonder what CFL, SZD, DSG and
others stand for? Click on railroad companies
to find out.
European
Power Systems for Electric Locomotives
If Europe can settle on one currency
(the Euro), it is curious that it cannot settle on one electric power system for its locomotives. I am
reproducing a chart from a 1992 article in Eisenbahn Magazin showing which multi-system
locomotives use what power systems. Updates welcome; send an e-mail to khmiska@umich.edu.
And
there's more...
I've been a long time subscriber to Märklin Magazin and Eisenbahn
Magazin. When you go to Märklin
Magazin, you'll find out what issues contain articles on prototypes and the
always helpful assembly drawings (exploded views). In January 2005, Marklin
Magazin underwent a
drastic change, and it was not a change for the better. The serious modeler of
Marklin can no longer find detailed technical articles on specific prototypes
as well as the exploded views. Fortunately, somebody came forward to fill the
void in that there is now a new
magazine aimed at 3-railers. Called 1-2-3 Leiter, the new publication is off to a
good start. If you can read German and want to know more about prices for old
Märklin, it is worth your while to visit Joachim Koll's website. As most of you know, Koll
is the writer and publisher of the H0 Preiskataloge.
I'm
also a member of European Train Enthusiasts, specifically the Great Lakes Chapter. In early 2002, I became especially
active in the ETE, specifically its quarterly journal the EXPRESS. In late 2002 I was
appointed managing editor and working together with Dan Driessche, the design
editor, we have really gone to town with this publication. It is enormous fun
and challenging in every way. Dan and I also do our chapter's newsletter -
GLEIS 1.
Some
of my favorite links
The European Railway Server is a
wonderful collection of some really first class train photography. Well
worth looking at
http://mercurio.iet.unipi.it/pix/pix.html
If
you're an avid Märkliner like I am, another site that might be of interest is www.marklin-users.net
If
you're like me and interested in BR 52 Kriegslok, go to http://members.aol/kriegslok/
Want
to know more about German railroad signaling practices, then go to: http://home.t-online.de/home/wmeyenberg/eisenbahn/index.htm
Want
to know more about funky field railways? My favorites is: http://www.feldbahn.de
Want
to know more about German locomotive manufacturers past and present? It's
available in English. There is lots of information on that site. http://www.lokhersteller.de. In addition, I
have added the meaning of the abbreviations
assigned to many of the German locomotive manufacturers.
Interested
in Epoche II? If so, go to this superb site in Germany: http://www.fh-merseburg.de/~nosske/.
It's in German and English.
Greg
Proctor in New Zealand has made a wonderful contribution in his compilation of
information on model railroad scale. So, go to: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~procter/SCALE.HTM
Here's
a fabulous steam locomotive technology site but it's in German with a Google
translation into English. Go to http://www.dlok.de
Here's
another good one dealing with locomotive classifications thanks to Dr.
Christoph Ozdoba. http://www.ozdoba.net/railroad/lokoclass.html
.
While
looking for some information on electric locomotives, I came across a fabulous
site about all aspects of railroading. I highly recommend - http://www.trainweb.org
Want
to hear some steam engine sounds and see some fine pictures of a restored BR 42
go to http://www.dampflok5519.de
With
my interest in electric locomotives, I particularly enjoy visiting www.elektrolok.de. Detailed descriptions,
histories, etc but all in German.
Last
but not least. Here's a link to the best little Märklin shop in the U.S. http://www.eisentrains.com
Want
to know more about passenger service on the DRG, DB, etc. go to http://www.dbtrains.com/; it's in English
and Dutch.
Copyright
Please note that all the articles and photo captions
on this website were written and translated by Kurt H. Miska, Ann Arbor,
Michigan and are copyrighted material. The use of this material
without the author's permission is a violation of U.S. Copyright Law. If you
wish to make use of any of my material, please contact me to discuss its
potential use. Use for any and all commercial purposes is expressly forbidden.
Thank you for visiting my website
All German to English
translations on this website were done by Kurt H. Miska, a member of the
Michigan Translators and Interpreters Network.
I welcome your comments. No special form needed, just send me
an e-mail. khmiska@umich.edu
Compiled by Kurt H.
Miska, October 6, 2006
"Standards are great; that's why
everyone has their own." Anon
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