WEBVTT 00:00:01.120 --> 00:00:04.519 Imagine a machine so unfathomably heavy that 00:00:04.519 --> 00:00:07.139 it literally destroys the tracks it was built 00:00:07.139 --> 00:00:09.400 to run on. Right, just obliterating the infrastructure. 00:00:09.619 --> 00:00:11.839 Exactly. I mean, a machine that requires a small 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:14.240 tanker truck just to complete a routine oil change. 00:00:14.919 --> 00:00:17.480 And when its internal spine started snapping 00:00:17.480 --> 00:00:19.500 in the freezing cold, engineers actually had 00:00:19.500 --> 00:00:21.780 to fix it using literal laser beams. Which is 00:00:21.780 --> 00:00:24.800 still just wild to think about. It is. So today 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:27.820 we were taking a deep dive into a piece of heavy 00:00:27.820 --> 00:00:30.339 Soviet machinery that was imported into East 00:00:30.339 --> 00:00:33.859 Germany strictly due to, well, Cold War bureaucratic 00:00:33.859 --> 00:00:35.840 red tape. Yeah, purely political constraints. 00:00:36.179 --> 00:00:38.840 Right. Yet somehow it accidentally became one 00:00:38.840 --> 00:00:43.140 of the most enduring over -engineered powerhouses 00:00:43.140 --> 00:00:46.060 of the European railway system, a locomotive 00:00:46.060 --> 00:00:48.700 affectionately nicknamed Lib -Mila. So welcome, 00:00:48.780 --> 00:00:50.780 everyone. We are so glad you could join us today 00:00:50.780 --> 00:00:52.640 for this deep dive. And you know, if you are 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:54.520 wondering why you should care about a vintage 00:00:54.520 --> 00:00:56.460 locomotive, I mean, this isn't just some dry 00:00:56.460 --> 00:00:59.179 engineering spec sheet. Far from it. Yeah. This 00:00:59.179 --> 00:01:01.700 is a story of political constraints forcing mechanical 00:01:01.700 --> 00:01:04.859 innovation. It is a master class in how to build 00:01:04.859 --> 00:01:08.439 things that will outlast the empires that ordered 00:01:08.439 --> 00:01:10.719 them. Literally outlasting countries. Exactly. 00:01:10.859 --> 00:01:13.680 It's about adapting to survive and the engineering 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:17.500 reality that sometimes brute force actually is 00:01:17.500 --> 00:01:19.420 the right answer. We're looking at a machine 00:01:19.420 --> 00:01:21.859 that survived the collapse of its own country 00:01:21.859 --> 00:01:25.140 and just kept right on working. Okay. Let's untack 00:01:25.140 --> 00:01:28.299 this. We have to start by exploring why East 00:01:28.299 --> 00:01:32.060 Germany the GDR, was importing these massive 00:01:32.060 --> 00:01:34.939 trains from the USSR in the first place rather 00:01:34.939 --> 00:01:38.049 than just building their own. Because historically, 00:01:38.469 --> 00:01:40.250 German engineering is practically synonymous 00:01:40.250 --> 00:01:42.909 with world class railway manufacturing. Oh, absolutely. 00:01:43.049 --> 00:01:45.150 I mean, in a standard free market, they absolutely 00:01:45.150 --> 00:01:46.890 would have built their own. Right. But in the 00:01:46.890 --> 00:01:49.530 1960s, the East German government made a strategic 00:01:49.530 --> 00:01:53.010 decision to really focus on diesel traction to 00:01:53.010 --> 00:01:55.750 modernize their railways. The reality of the 00:01:55.750 --> 00:01:57.629 era, however, was that they were bound by the 00:01:57.629 --> 00:02:00.469 guidelines of Konkon. That's the Soviet bloc's 00:02:00.469 --> 00:02:02.700 economic organization, right? Yeah, exactly. 00:02:03.180 --> 00:02:05.640 And ComCon operated on centralized planning, 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:07.819 meaning different countries were assigned very 00:02:07.819 --> 00:02:10.180 specific industrial roles. So they couldn't just 00:02:10.180 --> 00:02:12.620 build whatever they wanted. Nope. The guidelines 00:02:12.620 --> 00:02:15.800 explicitly banned the GDR from producing diesel 00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:19.219 hydraulic locomotives with more than 2 ,000 horsepower. 00:02:19.639 --> 00:02:22.319 Wow. Yeah. The heavy duty engine production was 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:24.919 strictly allocated to the Soviet Union. I want 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:26.639 to pause on that technical term really quickly. 00:02:27.340 --> 00:02:29.879 Yeah. Diesel hydraulic. How does that actually 00:02:29.879 --> 00:02:31.539 differ from the trains they ended up getting? 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:34.180 Well, so it really comes down to how you get 00:02:34.180 --> 00:02:36.500 the power from the diesel engine to the wheels 00:02:36.500 --> 00:02:39.960 themselves. In a diesel -hydraulic system, the 00:02:39.960 --> 00:02:43.500 engine drives a massive torque converter. It's 00:02:43.500 --> 00:02:46.060 essentially using pressurized fluid to transmit 00:02:46.060 --> 00:02:48.560 power. You can think of it as being similar to 00:02:48.560 --> 00:02:50.879 an automatic transmission in a car, but on a 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:52.780 massive industrial scale. Right. That makes sense. 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:55.379 It's lighter, and it's great for certain applications, 00:02:55.500 --> 00:02:58.979 but... Comcon capped East Germany's ability to 00:02:58.979 --> 00:03:01.900 build big ones. So the alternative, which the 00:03:01.900 --> 00:03:04.539 Soviets built, is diesel electric. And how did 00:03:04.539 --> 00:03:07.530 that work? With diesel -electric, the massive 00:03:07.530 --> 00:03:10.490 diesel engine simply turns a generator. That 00:03:10.490 --> 00:03:12.889 creates electricity to power electric motors 00:03:12.889 --> 00:03:14.909 that are directly mounted to the wheels. Oh, 00:03:14.930 --> 00:03:17.689 I see. So forced to look outward to meet their 00:03:17.689 --> 00:03:20.949 need for heavy haulers, the GDR started importing 00:03:20.949 --> 00:03:23.729 from the October Revolution locomotive works 00:03:23.729 --> 00:03:26.689 in Luhansk, Ukraine. Right, the Luhansk factory. 00:03:26.949 --> 00:03:29.569 And they started with a version of the M62, famously 00:03:29.569 --> 00:03:34.439 nicknamed the Tiger Drum. And, um... It was a 00:03:34.439 --> 00:03:37.379 beast for freight, but it had a massive glaring 00:03:37.379 --> 00:03:39.599 flaw when it came to hauling people. Yeah, a 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:41.840 really big flaw. It completely lacked electric 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:44.099 train supply. Meaning it couldn't provide electric 00:03:44.099 --> 00:03:46.560 heating to the passenger cars behind it. Exactly. 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:48.879 Plus it maxed out at like 100 kilometers per 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:50.680 hour. Yeah. And you simply cannot have freezing 00:03:50.680 --> 00:03:52.500 passengers crawling across the country in the 00:03:52.500 --> 00:03:54.439 dead of winter. No, you really can't. It was 00:03:54.439 --> 00:03:56.280 just a logistical nightmare for a modernizing 00:03:56.280 --> 00:03:59.259 passenger network. And to be fair, the Luhansk 00:03:59.259 --> 00:04:01.439 Locomotive Works recognized this limitation. 00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:04.560 So to meet the GDR's passenger demands, they 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:07.819 unveiled a new solution in 1970 at the Leipzig 00:04:07.819 --> 00:04:12.039 Spring Fair. The DR Class 130. Yes, the Class 00:04:12.039 --> 00:04:16.139 130. And on paper, it was exactly what East Germany 00:04:16.139 --> 00:04:18.500 needed. I mean, it was capable of a top speed 00:04:18.500 --> 00:04:22.279 of 140 kilometers per hour, making it a true 00:04:22.279 --> 00:04:25.750 high speed passenger locomotive. But the delivery 00:04:25.750 --> 00:04:28.769 was completely botched. The Soviet industry couldn't 00:04:28.769 --> 00:04:30.589 figure out the electric heating system in time 00:04:30.589 --> 00:04:33.009 for production. No, they really couldn't because 00:04:33.009 --> 00:04:35.689 diverting massive amounts of diesel power to 00:04:35.689 --> 00:04:38.250 an alternator one capable of generating the roughly 00:04:38.250 --> 00:04:41.250 1000 volts needed to heat a dozen passenger cars 00:04:41.250 --> 00:04:44.310 without starving the traction motors of power. 00:04:44.550 --> 00:04:47.089 Well, that is a massive electrical engineering 00:04:47.089 --> 00:04:48.910 hurdle. Right. You're trying to move a heavy 00:04:48.910 --> 00:04:51.290 train and run essentially a hotel's worth of 00:04:51.290 --> 00:04:53.990 heating at the same time. Exactly. And Luhansk 00:04:53.990 --> 00:04:56.189 simply hadn't dialed in that integration yet. 00:04:56.490 --> 00:04:58.430 So they delivered these incredibly fast trains. 00:04:58.839 --> 00:05:00.920 But they still couldn't heat the passenger cars. 00:05:01.540 --> 00:05:03.879 East Germany receives these high -speed locomotives, 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:06.399 but has to restrict them exclusively to freight 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:08.600 work. Which is just wild. It's like buying a 00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:10.680 high -speed Ferrari to plow a potato field just 00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:12.420 because the dealer forgot to install passenger 00:05:12.420 --> 00:05:15.279 seats. That is actually a perfect analogy, and 00:05:15.279 --> 00:05:17.120 the engineering consequence of that scenario 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:20.620 is severe. Because the class 130 was geared to 00:05:20.620 --> 00:05:23.379 achieve that high top speed of 140 kilometers 00:05:23.379 --> 00:05:26.279 per hour, it had a correspondingly lower attractive 00:05:26.279 --> 00:05:28.420 effort. Right, I can see the physics problem 00:05:28.420 --> 00:05:30.879 there. Yeah. Gearing is always a trade -off. 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:34.139 Always. If you gear a machine so the wheels spin 00:05:34.139 --> 00:05:37.100 fast enough for high top speed, you sacrifice 00:05:37.100 --> 00:05:39.660 the raw twisting force, the torque that's needed 00:05:39.660 --> 00:05:42.600 to unstick a massive heavy line of freight cars 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:45.040 from a dead stop. Yeah, you are basically forcing 00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:47.939 a sprinter to do a power lifter's job. Hauling 00:05:47.939 --> 00:05:50.339 heavy, sluggish freight with high -speed gearing 00:05:50.339 --> 00:05:53.100 caused immense strain on the motors and was highly 00:05:53.100 --> 00:05:55.579 inefficient. So the East German engineers were 00:05:55.579 --> 00:05:57.720 suddenly stuck with machines fundamentally flawed 00:05:57.720 --> 00:06:00.079 for their assigned task. Exactly. Which means 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:02.160 they had to desperately scramble to fix the mechanical 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:04.439 problems and build a better beast. To fix the 00:06:04.439 --> 00:06:06.980 immediate gearing issue, the Reichsbahn, the 00:06:06.980 --> 00:06:09.540 East German railway, ordered the next batch to 00:06:09.540 --> 00:06:11.860 be permanently modified. And this became the 00:06:11.860 --> 00:06:14.939 class 131, right? Yes. They specifically requested 00:06:14.939 --> 00:06:17.839 these 76 units be geared down to a maximum speed 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:20.970 of 100 kilometers per hour. Okay, so they sacrificed 00:06:20.970 --> 00:06:23.730 the top speed to get the torque back. Precisely. 00:06:24.069 --> 00:06:26.569 By sacrificing top speed, they increased attractive 00:06:26.569 --> 00:06:28.730 force, finally making the locomotive suitable 00:06:28.730 --> 00:06:30.430 for the heavy freight duties it was actually 00:06:30.430 --> 00:06:32.750 performing. But regardless of the gearing, the 00:06:32.750 --> 00:06:34.449 heart of these machines was the same, right? 00:06:34.569 --> 00:06:37.589 And it was an absolute mechanical titan. The 00:06:37.589 --> 00:06:40.110 source identifies it as the Columna Locomotive 00:06:40.110 --> 00:06:44.569 Works 5D49. Oh, yeah. It's a massive 16 -cylinder 00:06:44.569 --> 00:06:47.810 direct injection four -stroke turbocharged diesel 00:06:47.810 --> 00:06:50.490 engine. That is a mouthful. It is. And it delivered 00:06:50.490 --> 00:06:53.209 an astonishing 3 ,000 horsepower. And the sheer 00:06:53.209 --> 00:06:55.870 physical scale of supporting an engine that size 00:06:55.870 --> 00:06:58.930 is mind -blowing to me. Like, the fuel capacity 00:06:58.930 --> 00:07:01.589 was 6 ,000 liters of diesel. Which is massive 00:07:01.589 --> 00:07:03.899 on its own. Right. But the detail that stopped 00:07:03.899 --> 00:07:07.300 me in my tracks was the oil. 1 ,100 liters of 00:07:07.300 --> 00:07:09.759 engine oil. How do you even maintain a machine 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:12.480 where a simple oil change requires a small tanker 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:14.199 truck? Well, you have to remember, in an engine 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:16.720 that size, oil isn't just for lubrication. Oh, 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:19.540 really? Yeah, it actually acts as a massive thermal 00:07:19.540 --> 00:07:22.480 sink to absorb the extreme heat generated by 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:25.420 16 massive cylinders detonating simultaneously. 00:07:25.779 --> 00:07:27.759 That makes sense, yeah. But here's the kicker. 00:07:28.120 --> 00:07:30.839 Even with 1 ,100 liters of oil protecting it, 00:07:30.910 --> 00:07:34.230 That V300 diesel engine had a catastrophic weakness. 00:07:34.829 --> 00:07:37.709 The original crankshafts were forged from ductile 00:07:37.709 --> 00:07:40.629 cast iron. And ductile cast iron is usually great 00:07:40.629 --> 00:07:43.430 for absorbing vibration, but under the immense 00:07:43.430 --> 00:07:46.629 rotational stress of a 3 ,000 horsepower block, 00:07:47.230 --> 00:07:49.629 combined with the severe freezing winter weather 00:07:49.629 --> 00:07:51.970 of Eastern Europe. The metal became brittle. 00:07:52.410 --> 00:07:55.290 Those cast iron crankshafts were incredibly prone 00:07:55.290 --> 00:07:57.889 to cracking right down the middle, which completely 00:07:57.889 --> 00:08:00.310 paralyzed the locomotive. So you have this giant 00:08:00.310 --> 00:08:03.269 piece of restricted Soviet technology that literally 00:08:03.269 --> 00:08:05.750 breaks its own spine when the temperature drops. 00:08:05.850 --> 00:08:08.509 Yeah. What's fascinating here is how extreme 00:08:08.509 --> 00:08:11.029 mechanical failures force engineers to adopt 00:08:11.029 --> 00:08:13.550 incredibly futuristic solutions just to keep 00:08:13.550 --> 00:08:15.410 the infrastructure alive. Right. So what did 00:08:15.410 --> 00:08:17.850 they do? First, they replaced the cast iron cranks 00:08:17.850 --> 00:08:21.269 with forged steel versions, but raw forged steel 00:08:21.269 --> 00:08:23.269 suffered from low surface hardness and would 00:08:23.269 --> 00:08:25.769 wear down way too quickly. OK, so a new problem. 00:08:25.990 --> 00:08:28.870 Exactly. So they applied a process called nitriding, 00:08:28.970 --> 00:08:31.269 infusing nitrogen into the surface of the steel 00:08:31.269 --> 00:08:33.769 to create a hardened case. But they didn't stop 00:08:33.769 --> 00:08:36.210 there, did they? No, they did not. To harden 00:08:36.210 --> 00:08:39.570 it even further, they utilized CO2 laser annealing. 00:08:39.909 --> 00:08:42.960 Wait. They were firing laser beams at train engine 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:46.120 parts in the 1970s. Yes. They used the laser 00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:49.100 to flash heat the absolute top layer of the steel. 00:08:49.720 --> 00:08:52.559 Because the massive core of the crankshaft remained 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:55.500 cold, it instantly quenched the heated surface. 00:08:55.620 --> 00:08:57.899 Meaning it rapidly cooled it down. Right. And 00:08:57.899 --> 00:09:00.279 that locked the metal's crystal structure into 00:09:00.279 --> 00:09:04.039 an ultra hard state called martensite. This localized 00:09:04.039 --> 00:09:06.519 laser annealing allowed these crankshafts to 00:09:06.519 --> 00:09:10.139 run for 20 ,000 hours without failing. Wow. 20 00:09:10.139 --> 00:09:13.379 ,000 hours. That is over two solid years of continuous 00:09:13.379 --> 00:09:16.980 heavy -duty operation. They used sci -fi metallurgy 00:09:16.980 --> 00:09:19.580 to fix a cold weather flaw in a brute force diesel 00:09:19.580 --> 00:09:22.080 engine. That is just incredible. And that brings 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:25.740 us to 1972, when the core problem, the lack of 00:09:25.740 --> 00:09:28.039 electric heating, was finally solved. The Luhansk 00:09:28.039 --> 00:09:30.039 Works finally figured out the electrical integration. 00:09:30.100 --> 00:09:32.179 Took them a bit, but they got there. Yeah. The 00:09:32.179 --> 00:09:34.059 first two test machines equipped with passenger 00:09:34.059 --> 00:09:36.159 heating were built. And because they were rated 00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:39.379 for the full 140 kilometers per hour, they were 00:09:39.379 --> 00:09:43.279 initially numbered 130 -101 and 130 -102. And 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:45.919 they were sent straight to the test center, VESM, 00:09:46.100 --> 00:09:49.419 in Holly. Interestingly, when these two prototypes 00:09:49.419 --> 00:09:52.000 survived all the way to reunification and were 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:54.080 incorporated into the new Deutsche Bahn, they 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:57.159 were reclassified as the 754 series. Oh, what 00:09:57.159 --> 00:09:59.720 does that mean? It's a specific designation reserved 00:09:59.720 --> 00:10:02.159 for infrastructure testing and works vehicles. 00:10:02.440 --> 00:10:04.779 I see. Well, those two prototypes birthed the 00:10:04.779 --> 00:10:07.440 absolute legend. The successful integration of 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:10.100 electric heating led directly to the introduction 00:10:10.100 --> 00:10:15.340 of the DR class 132 in 1974. This is it. The 00:10:15.340 --> 00:10:17.429 Lube Mille hits her stride. Oh, yeah. This is 00:10:17.429 --> 00:10:20.009 the one. The class 132 became the undisputed 00:10:20.009 --> 00:10:22.669 backbone of GDR diesel traction. I mean, they 00:10:22.669 --> 00:10:25.669 built an incredible 709 units of this specific 00:10:25.669 --> 00:10:28.950 class. And to accommodate the massive new alternator 00:10:28.950 --> 00:10:31.409 for the electric heating equipment, these units 00:10:31.409 --> 00:10:33.909 were actually 200 millimeters longer than the 00:10:33.909 --> 00:10:36.590 originals. They sat on two three axle bogies. 00:10:36.809 --> 00:10:38.450 OK, break down the bogies set up for me really 00:10:38.450 --> 00:10:41.070 quick. Sure. So a bogie is basically the independent 00:10:41.070 --> 00:10:43.769 cart like undercarriage framework. It holds the 00:10:43.769 --> 00:10:45.889 wheel axles and suspension, allowing the train 00:10:45.889 --> 00:10:48.600 to pivot. through curves, the Ludmila used a 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:51.659 six -axle design with power transmission handled 00:10:51.659 --> 00:10:55.460 by no suspended DC traction motors. No suspended. 00:10:55.659 --> 00:10:58.220 Yeah. This means the heavy electric motors are 00:10:58.220 --> 00:11:01.480 mounted directly onto the axles themselves, receiving 00:11:01.480 --> 00:11:03.759 current from the central diesel generator up 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:05.639 above. Here's where it gets really interesting, 00:11:05.799 --> 00:11:08.620 though. They finally have the perfect machine. 00:11:08.860 --> 00:11:12.120 It has the 3 ,000 horsepower. It has the electric 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:15.080 heating. It's ready to fly at top speeds pulling 00:11:15.080 --> 00:11:19.850 passengers. But there is a massive, very East 00:11:19.850 --> 00:11:22.970 German catch. A huge catch. The physical infrastructure 00:11:22.970 --> 00:11:25.330 of the GDR couldn't handle the machine they had 00:11:25.330 --> 00:11:27.269 just perfected. The tracks were terrible. They 00:11:27.269 --> 00:11:29.990 were awful. Due to years of neglected track bed 00:11:29.990 --> 00:11:32.289 maintenance across the country, this powerhouse 00:11:32.289 --> 00:11:34.370 locomotive had to be artificially throttled. 00:11:34.490 --> 00:11:37.409 Oh man. Yeah, the Class 132 was officially restricted 00:11:37.409 --> 00:11:40.470 to a top operating speed of 120 kilometers per 00:11:40.470 --> 00:11:43.269 hour. Going any faster would literally hammer 00:11:43.269 --> 00:11:45.720 the brittle rails apart. Because of their heavy 00:11:45.720 --> 00:11:48.259 construction, that massive engine, and the heavy 00:11:48.259 --> 00:11:50.759 no suspended motors resting directly on the axles, 00:11:51.259 --> 00:11:53.919 they weighed 120 metric tons. It's just so heavy. 00:11:54.039 --> 00:11:57.240 Yeah, they had an axle load of 20 .3 tons pressing 00:11:57.240 --> 00:11:59.580 down on every single wheel set. Yeah. And that 00:11:59.580 --> 00:12:01.940 immense unsprung weight meant they were restricted 00:12:01.940 --> 00:12:04.519 to main lines only. Like if you drove a Ludmila 00:12:04.519 --> 00:12:06.539 onto a smaller branch line, it would just crush 00:12:06.539 --> 00:12:08.379 the tracks into the dirt. What stands out to 00:12:08.379 --> 00:12:10.570 you? considering the situation. I mean, think 00:12:10.570 --> 00:12:13.309 about the sheer irony. A country successfully 00:12:13.309 --> 00:12:16.090 navigates international trade bans, they overcome 00:12:16.090 --> 00:12:19.529 metallurgical failures with literal lasers, and 00:12:19.529 --> 00:12:22.809 finally build a world -class multi -role machine, 00:12:22.870 --> 00:12:25.669 only to realize they haven't maintained the basic 00:12:25.669 --> 00:12:27.909 physical dirt and steel required to let it run 00:12:27.909 --> 00:12:30.929 at its full potential. It's the ultimate bottleneck. 00:12:31.129 --> 00:12:33.309 And they push the engineering even further before 00:12:33.309 --> 00:12:36.850 the era ended. Like, in 1977, they introduced 00:12:36.850 --> 00:12:39.549 the Class 142, which bumped the power output 00:12:39.549 --> 00:12:42.690 to a staggering 4 ,000 horsepower. But only six 00:12:42.690 --> 00:12:44.789 of those were ever built. Really? Why only six? 00:12:44.929 --> 00:12:47.389 Well, political and economic plans shifted heavily 00:12:47.389 --> 00:12:49.590 toward electrifying the main lines entirely. 00:12:49.889 --> 00:12:52.549 So that negated the need for massive new diesel 00:12:52.549 --> 00:12:56.389 blocks. However, those six Class 142s held the 00:12:56.389 --> 00:12:58.809 title of the most powerful single -engine diesel 00:12:58.809 --> 00:13:01.590 locomotives in all of Europe for nearly 30 years. 00:13:01.950 --> 00:13:03.727 That's crazy. Yeah, they were only surpassed 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:07.360 in 2006 by the Voith Maxima. Wow. OK, so that 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:09.580 brings us to the most dramatic shift in the Lidmilla's 00:13:09.580 --> 00:13:13.440 life. The 1990s. The Berlin Wall falls in 1989. 00:13:13.860 --> 00:13:16.639 The GDR eventually ceases to exist entirely, 00:13:17.139 --> 00:13:20.340 but its massive fleet of 700 plus Soviet built 00:13:20.340 --> 00:13:23.059 behemoths is still sitting on the tracks. Right. 00:13:23.259 --> 00:13:26.100 They didn't just vanish. Exactly. So in 1994, 00:13:26.419 --> 00:13:28.779 the rail networks of East and West merged to 00:13:28.779 --> 00:13:32.399 form the newly reunified Deutsche Bahn AG. DBA. 00:13:32.620 --> 00:13:34.960 And suddenly these quintessential symbols of 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:37.480 East German heavy industry are pulling trains 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:40.100 deep into former West German territory. You start 00:13:40.100 --> 00:13:43.080 seeing Ludmillas operating in Hamburg, Kassel, 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:46.240 Nuremberg and Kiel. Just everywhere. Yeah, they 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:48.539 actually began replacing the West German DB class 00:13:48.539 --> 00:13:50.919 V160 family simply because the Soviet imports 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:53.340 produced vastly more raw pulling power. And the 00:13:53.340 --> 00:13:55.460 numbering system changed to fit Western German 00:13:55.460 --> 00:13:58.440 practice. Right. As mainline diesels, a 2 was 00:13:58.440 --> 00:14:01.240 added to the front. The old class 130 became 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:04.879 the Debay class 230. The 131 became the 231, 00:14:05.240 --> 00:14:08.360 and the legendary 132 became the 232. But... 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:10.440 D -Bay J didn't just inherit these machines and 00:14:10.440 --> 00:14:13.039 run them into the ground. They treated this massive 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:16.120 fleet of Soviet metal like a blank canvas. Oh, 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:19.200 they totally did. German engineers started modifying 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:22.279 them like modular Lego sets to solve very specific 00:14:22.279 --> 00:14:25.679 problems on the newly unified rail network. It's 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:27.779 a really fascinating look at adaptive reuse. 00:14:27.960 --> 00:14:29.679 Let's trace how they engineered these Franken 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:31.500 trains because they solved completely different 00:14:31.500 --> 00:14:34.679 problems. D -Day needed a high speed intercity 00:14:34.679 --> 00:14:36.679 puller for the long flat route of the Berlin 00:14:36.679 --> 00:14:39.519 Warsaw Express. So they created the Class 234. 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:43.799 They took 64 of the reliable Class 232s, scavenged 00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:46.159 high -speed bogies from the scrapped older 130 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:48.360 models, and just slapped them together, allowing 00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:50.620 the train to safely run at 140 kilometers per 00:14:50.620 --> 00:14:52.860 hour again. Then they faced an efficiency problem. 00:14:53.019 --> 00:14:55.460 Running 3 ,000 horsepower 16 -cylinder engines 00:14:55.460 --> 00:14:57.700 on lighter freight routes was just burning way 00:14:57.700 --> 00:14:59.919 too much fuel. Plus, the original engines were 00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:01.639 reaching their wear limits anyway. They needed 00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:04.799 new engines. Exactly. They tested replacements 00:15:04.799 --> 00:15:07.580 from Caterpillar and Mac, but realized the most 00:15:07.580 --> 00:15:09.960 cost -effective solution requiring the fewest 00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:13.419 structural modifications was a new Russian engine, 00:15:14.139 --> 00:15:18.279 the Kolomna 12D49M. A 12 -cylinder variant instead 00:15:18.279 --> 00:15:21.070 of the original 16. But this 12 -cylinder brought 00:15:21.070 --> 00:15:23.990 a brilliant piece of modern engineering. It featured 00:15:23.990 --> 00:15:26.509 cylinder deactivation. Wait, what does that mean 00:15:26.509 --> 00:15:29.029 for a train? So if the train was coasting or 00:15:29.029 --> 00:15:31.529 pulling a really light load, the engine could 00:15:31.529 --> 00:15:34.149 literally shut off fuel to half of its cylinders. 00:15:34.730 --> 00:15:37.509 It drastically saved diesel and could instantly 00:15:37.509 --> 00:15:39.470 fire them back up when torque was needed again. 00:15:39.629 --> 00:15:42.049 Oh, wow. That's super smart. Yeah. And this created 00:15:42.049 --> 00:15:45.389 the class 233. Then D -DAG needed an absolute 00:15:45.389 --> 00:15:47.769 monster to conquer the steep gradients crossing 00:15:47.769 --> 00:15:50.149 the borders between Germany and Belgium or the 00:15:50.149 --> 00:15:52.389 Netherlands. So they took 10 units, bumped the 00:15:52.389 --> 00:15:55.409 power back up to 4 ,000 horsepower, added enhanced 00:15:55.409 --> 00:15:58.710 brakes, and crucially installed modern anti -wheel 00:15:58.710 --> 00:16:01.860 slip technology. And anti -slip is vital when 00:16:01.860 --> 00:16:04.419 hauling massive weight. Sensors detect if a wheel 00:16:04.419 --> 00:16:06.799 is spinning even a fraction of a second faster 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:10.340 than the train is moving. Then the computer micropulses 00:16:10.340 --> 00:16:13.240 the electric traction motors to regain grip on 00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:15.620 the steel rail. They intentionally reduce the 00:16:15.620 --> 00:16:18.200 top speed back down to 100 kilometers per hour 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:21.419 to maximize that low -end torque. This became 00:16:21.419 --> 00:16:25.000 the Class 241, designed exclusively for hauling 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:28.039 mind -boggling 4 ,000 metric ton heavy freight 00:16:28.039 --> 00:16:30.419 trains. Just ma— massive amounts of weight. Yeah. 00:16:31.100 --> 00:16:34.100 And finally, the Class 231 saw a few units outfitted 00:16:34.100 --> 00:16:37.019 with brand new 2 ,500 horsepower Caterpillar 00:16:37.019 --> 00:16:40.779 3006 -0 .6 engines installed by the AdTrans company. 00:16:40.990 --> 00:16:43.029 You know, this raises an important question about 00:16:43.029 --> 00:16:45.789 the post -Cold War world. We have modern West 00:16:45.789 --> 00:16:48.350 German companies in a newly reunified country 00:16:48.350 --> 00:16:51.309 eagerly adopting, upgrading and maintaining technology 00:16:51.309 --> 00:16:53.190 built by the Soviet Union. Right. It's pretty 00:16:53.190 --> 00:16:55.429 ironic. It proves that in heavy infrastructure, 00:16:55.889 --> 00:16:58.590 raw capability and sheer reliability completely 00:16:58.590 --> 00:17:01.190 overwrite political origins. D .B. Aga didn't 00:17:01.190 --> 00:17:03.409 care that the Ludmila was a symbol of the Congon 00:17:03.409 --> 00:17:06.210 era. They cared that it could pull a 4 ,000 ton 00:17:06.210 --> 00:17:09.089 train up a Belgian grade without snapping a crankshaft. 00:17:09.289 --> 00:17:11.650 That perfectly highlights the late stage career 00:17:11.650 --> 00:17:14.529 and the Ludmila legacy. Because their resume 00:17:14.529 --> 00:17:17.210 as unkillable workhorses is just staggering. 00:17:17.910 --> 00:17:20.349 Back in the GDR days, they pulled literally everything. 00:17:20.849 --> 00:17:23.740 Express trains on non -electrified lines. massive 00:17:23.740 --> 00:17:27.099 coal or line trains weighing between 1 ,800 to 00:17:27.099 --> 00:17:30.579 2 ,200 tons. And those super high powered class 00:17:30.579 --> 00:17:34.480 242s were assigned to haul extremely heavy 3 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:37.599 ,600 ton oil trains running between Rostock Port 00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:40.720 and the Schwett refinery. Just immense, relentless 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:42.960 industrial weight. Retirement eventually came, 00:17:42.980 --> 00:17:45.359 but it came in waves based on the original engineering 00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:47.440 flaws, didn't it? Yeah, unfortunately. The older 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:49.900 classes, the 230s and 231s, were the first to 00:17:49.900 --> 00:17:52.299 be withdrawn because they still lacked the electric 00:17:52.299 --> 00:17:54.769 train heating, they had zero flexible use in 00:17:54.769 --> 00:17:56.869 D -Bike's mixed passenger and freight network, 00:17:57.109 --> 00:17:59.009 rendering them obsolete. But even then, they 00:17:59.009 --> 00:18:01.250 avoided the scrap heat. Oh, absolutely. A few 00:18:01.250 --> 00:18:03.529 were acquired by private companies, like EBW, 00:18:03.569 --> 00:18:06.250 while others went to museums. Even when the primary 00:18:06.250 --> 00:18:08.789 national carrier, DBAG, began replacing the load 00:18:08.789 --> 00:18:11.430 millas with newer Bauer -Reyway and 89s or Euro 00:18:11.430 --> 00:18:13.349 Sprinter locomotives in places like the Netherlands 00:18:13.349 --> 00:18:16.670 around 2006, the Soviet machines just found second 00:18:16.670 --> 00:18:19.930 lives. they just wouldn't die. Exactly. The source 00:18:19.930 --> 00:18:22.730 notes that as of 2016, these locomotives were 00:18:22.730 --> 00:18:25.250 still grinding away for private operators, not 00:18:25.250 --> 00:18:28.630 just in Germany, but in Poland, Romania and Hungary. 00:18:28.990 --> 00:18:31.269 That's amazing. If we connect this to the bigger 00:18:31.269 --> 00:18:34.049 picture, the Lid Miller represents the ultimate 00:18:34.049 --> 00:18:36.829 triumph of function over circumstance. These 00:18:36.829 --> 00:18:39.750 machines were born into a highly restricted centralized 00:18:39.750 --> 00:18:42.390 system that dictated exactly what they could 00:18:42.390 --> 00:18:45.529 and couldn't be. They were forced to use metallurgy 00:18:45.529 --> 00:18:47.730 that cracked in the cold and run on neglected 00:18:47.730 --> 00:18:50.319 tracks that couldn't handle their speed. yet 00:18:50.319 --> 00:18:54.220 the core machinery was engineered with such uncompromising 00:18:54.220 --> 00:18:57.500 brute force that they became utterly indispensable. 00:18:57.900 --> 00:19:00.299 So what does this all mean? We've traced an incredible 00:19:00.299 --> 00:19:03.200 journey today. A machine born from a bureaucratic 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:06.059 comicon restriction, hindered by a lack of passenger 00:19:06.059 --> 00:19:08.500 heating, geared completely wrong for its assigned 00:19:08.500 --> 00:19:12.160 job, forced to run slow on poor GDR tracks, and 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:15.000 literally fixed with laser beams. It's quite 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:18.180 the resume. It really is. And yet, it survived 00:19:18.180 --> 00:19:19.960 the collapse of the very country that ordered 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:22.880 it, only to be upgraded with anti -slip sensors 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:26.099 and cylinder deactivation to haul massive freight 00:19:26.099 --> 00:19:29.900 across a reunified Europe for decades. The Ludmila 00:19:29.900 --> 00:19:32.299 outlived the political system that demanded its 00:19:32.299 --> 00:19:34.799 creation by adapting to the world as it changed 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:37.420 rather than the world it was built for. It makes 00:19:37.420 --> 00:19:40.099 you wonder what rigid compromise technologies 00:19:40.099 --> 00:19:43.019 in our modern infrastructure today might secretly 00:19:43.019 --> 00:19:46.500 possess the exact same DNA to outlast us all. 00:19:46.890 --> 00:19:48.970 That is a phenomenal question to leave you with. 00:19:49.130 --> 00:19:51.650 If you think back to where we started, the expectation 00:19:51.650 --> 00:19:54.650 that form always cleanly follows function. The 00:19:54.650 --> 00:19:56.849 Ludmilla proves that sometimes the Ferrari plowing 00:19:56.849 --> 00:19:58.990 the potato field eventually learns how to pull 00:19:58.990 --> 00:20:02.029 a 4 ,000 ton freight train. We want to warmly 00:20:02.029 --> 00:20:03.769 thank you for joining us on this deep dive and 00:20:03.769 --> 00:20:06.130 we invite you to keep digging into your own curiosities. 00:20:06.490 --> 00:20:07.309 Take care everyone!