With formation of the Reichsbahn in the early 1920s came a call for more standardization of motive power. The great variety of locomotives of varying performance and then used by the various regional railroads (Württemberg, Bavaria, Prussia, etc.) would lead to all sorts of problems in terms of maintenance, spare parts for rapidly aging equipment, etc. Thus, the newly formed Deutsche Reichsbahn set into motion design and development of some standard locomotives. In addition, the Reichsbahn expressed some concern about the developing situation where automobiles were faster than trains, a potentially embarrassing situation.

By 1925 the Reichsbahn was ready to issue specifications for three different locomotives having a 15-ton axle loading to serve on feeder lines. These were:

• BR 24 as a light tender locomotive with a 1’C h2 configuration, Pt 34.15

• BR 64 as a light tank locomotive with a 1’C 1’ h2t configuration, Pt 35.15

• BR 86 as a heavy tank locomotive with a 1’D 1’ h2t configuration, Gt 46.15 (see sidebar)

The BR 24 and BR 64 were intended for more level regions whereas the BR 86 was designed for more hilly or mountainous regions and as a replacement for the Prussian T14 and T14.1

(BR 93.0 and 93.5). Two other uses suggested for the BR 86 were relatively heavy freight service on branch lines in flatland regions and passenger shuttles on main lines.

The first seven engines were delivered by the Maschinenbaugesellschaft Karlsruhe in 1928. Additional production was distributed among Krupp, Borsig, Henschel, Linke-Hoffmann, Schichau, Esslingen, Schwartzkopff, Orenstein & Koppel and after Austria became part of the Reich, Wiener Lokomotivfabrik (Floridsdorf) and in occupied Poland DWM Posen (Cegielski). Production was in drips and drabs until 1939 at which time production increased dramatically. Total production was 776 locomotives. The attached table provides more details.

Starting in 1942, the BR 86 was manufactured as the BR 86ÜK or BR 86 interim war locomotive, a situation that lasted for just about one year after which only the BR 42 and BR 52 were produced.

While the BR 24 and BR 64 shared boilers of the same dimensions and frames of very similar designs, the BR 86 required a much larger boiler. The latter’s boiler measured 59.0 in. (1,500 mm) in diameter and 177.2 in. (4,500 mm) long, and with exception of the firebox, it was identical to the BR 87’s boiler. (The BR 87 was a five axle machine specifically intended for the very sharp curves of the Port of Hamburg Railway.)

The BR 86 was a two-cylinder machine using superheated steam. In common with other standardized locomotives of the time, this engine also used the same 26 in. (660 mm) stroke cylinders with 22.4 in. (570 mm) stroke. The cylinder walls were intentionally kept on the thick side to enable future boring out. Heusinger valve gear is used.

The frame of the BR 86 was a made from heavy, rolled steel with 2.75 in. (70 mm) thick sidewalls and 39.3 in (1,000 mm) crossmembers. According to Berndt v. Mitzlaff, writing in Eisenbahn Magazin 7/86, the suspension of the BR 86 was exceptionally well suited to uneven trackwork as might be found on branch lines. He gave the BR 86 very high marks in that respect. The machine’s 55 in. (1,400 mm) drivers gave it good acceleration in hilly regions and getting heavily loaded trains into motion. Initially the buffer-to-buffer length was 45.34 ft (13,820 mm) and starting with engine 86 230, this was increased to 45.67 ft (13,920 mm.).

There were some differences in the engines’ braking systems. Up to and including 86 233, the drivers used a single shoe brake which limited speed to 43.5 mph (70 km/h). Starting with 86 234, the leading and trailing trucks were also fitted with brakes and this permitted a top speed of 50 mph (80 km/h). Machines 86 001 to 016 were equipped with Riggenbach back-pressure brakes for additional retardation in mountainous regions but these were removed after several years in the interest of simplifying maintenance procedures.

In the interest of expediting construction of the BR 86ÜK machines, much greater use was made of welding of the frame, coal hopper and water tanks. The leading and trailing trucks used disc wheels rather than spoked wheels. In many cases one of the windows was deleted on each side. Many parts were deleted altogether and many castings were left unmachined, that is those portions of a casting that were not functional. The end result of the ÜK modifications was that the BR 86’s weight decreased to 66.5 tons from the initial 70 tons.

The widely used and versatile BR 86 belongs to the first series of standard locomotives with 15-ton axle loading. When it was conceived it was also intended that this design would share as many parts with other locomotives as possible.

The feedwater pump is a Knorr-Tolkien design capable of delivering 125 L/min

The BR 86 first entered service in the Eifel Mountains at the maintenance facility Ehrgang, Wittlich station on two lines – Wittlich – Daun and Wittlich Bernkastel as well as Schwaben, Mecklenburg and Silesia, but the operational focal point were intermediate mountainous regions of Germany. These regions included Erzgebirge, Bergisches Land, Frankenwald, Fichtelbebirge, Schwaben and Allgäu.

During World War 2, in addition to Reichsbahn service, the BR 86 could be found in Austria, the Sudetenland, further east in Poland and as far northeast as Prussia. In Austria the engine was also designated as 86. After the war, the DB had 385 and the DR had 175. That period also saw the destruction of about 20 BR 86s.

The DB’s 86s were scattered far and wide throughout the country. The engines served primarily in intermediate mountainous areas from the Harz Mountains in middle Germany to the Allgäu in the southern regions. The beginning of the end for this rugged locomotive began in 1964 and by October 1966 only 71 remained in service. By June 1, 1967 there were only 53 and by July 1, 1970, the number was down to 44. The phase out continued and the last machine was mustered out in 1974. The mustering out of 086 201 in Hof and 086 283 in Schwandorf in 1974 marked the end of long and faithful service of a design that dates back to the mid-1920s. In addition to the well-cared for 86 457, several other 86s remain in capable hands and can be seen on DG AG rails on special occasions.

At war’s end there were 14 of these engines in the Saar, an area of very heavy steel and coal industries in the extreme west of Germany. Most of them were stationed in the Homburg and Völklingen maintenance facilities. In 1959 the Saar once again became integrated into Germany, specifically the German Federal Republic and the Saar BR 86s became DB BR 86s. By June 1961, this region had no fewer than 43 engines of this type.

The East German DR also made good use of the proven locomotive. The 86 served as far north as the Baltic Sea where some of the type were fitted with Witte smoke deflectors to protect the engines against the salt-laden air of the region. There were also BR 86s near Halle on the former Halle-Hettstedter Eisenbahn (HHE), south of Berlin, a service that lasted until September 1976 when the venerable 86s were replaced by more modern diesel power. When the newly designed DR BR 83.10 was experiencing problems, BR 86s came to the rescue. The mountainous Erzgebirge made the 86 feel right at home. The end for the 86 in DR service came in 1976. This is not entirely accurate as there is evidence that a BR 86 was still in DR service until 1987 on the Crottendorf – Schlettau line. The DR also sold some of these engines to various industrial concerns. In conjunction with the Communist East Germany one does not use the term private industry.

Reliable records show that at the end-of-war found 27 of these engines in Austria. Of these, 17 were stationed in Linz and 10 in Villach. Two were mustered out in 1946 due to heavy war damage and one was appropriated by the occupying Soviets but three machines came in from Hungary. Classified as BR 86s, the engines served until the early 1970s in passenger and freight service. They were also used as helper engines, double-headed, for BR 52 ore trains.

At the end of the second World War, numerous BR 86s were also scattered throughout Poland, Czechoslovakia and the then Soviet Union.

The BR 86s that remained in Poland at the end of the war were designated as the Tkt 3. The road numbers for the 44 engines ran from Tkt 3-1 to 52 with some gaps in the series. The Polish machine were stationed in Danzig, Stettin, Posen and Breslau, to use the more familiar German names for these cities. The Polish BR 86s served well into the early 1970s and even the early 80s on some industrial railroads before being retired.

Most sources note that 68 of the BR 86s were in Czechoslovakia but most of which were not serviceable and they were sidelined until 1952. Soviet forces moved three of them to Hungary and 16 more were taken back to Russia as war booty. Only 26 of these machines were redesignated as 455.2 by the Czech railways. By the early 1960s most of these engines were phased out of regular service but a few continued to be used by assorted industrial railways.

The Soviets appropriated 71 BR 86s in 1945 and 1946 and moved these to the Soviet Union, where many of them served on various industrial railroads into the 1960s. An additional 16 of the type also found their way to the Soviet Union as war booty. With the addition of three more, the Russians made use of over 90 of these strong and reliable machines. Their Soviet designation was unknown at the time of writing this article.

"Arbeitstier im Schatten" by Berndt v. Mitzlaff, Eisenbahn Magazin, 7/86, pp. 22 – 27 and three-view drawing on p 48.

"Die Baureihe 86" by Manfred Weisbrod and Horst J. Obermayer, Eisenbahn Journal, Special issue II/94, ISSN 0720-051 X.

"Das Grosse Typenbuch deutscher Lokomotiven" by Weisbrod, Bäzold and Obermayer, Trans Press, 1995, ISBN 3-334-70751-5.

"Die Einheits Tenderlokomotive der Baureihe 086", Märklin Magazin, 1/71, pp. 26 – 28.

Eisenbahn