I’m looking for some pictures and diagrams of some German and French steam engines during WWII. Does anyone know where I might be able to find some good sources?
Thanks
Craig
Craig,
Eisenbahn Kurier, a publisher in Germany of high quality books and magazines has the following on its website (http://www.eisenbahn-kurier.de/) about WW2:
Panzerzüge des Deutschen Reiches 1904 - 1945 Wolfgang Sawodny 45.50 EURO Best-Nr.: 678
Die Diesellokomotiven der Wehrmacht - Die Geschichte der Baureihe V20, V36, und V188 Stefan Lauscher 45.50 EURO Best-Nr.: 236
Note, they publish many books about individual locomotive classes (baureihe xx). They probably contain pictures about WW2.
GeraMond (Geranova), another publisher has a special issue, just out:
Bahn extra issue 05/2006 Lokomotiven im krieg
Sorry have no details about it but this link http://www.bahn-extra.de/magazin/bahnextra.asp.
These items should be available direct or via amazon.de.
If you have problems with the german language contact me via email: mimmeker@xs4all.nl.
Around the 15th of october I will be at a train show and be able to check these books out for you.
greetings,
Marc Immeker
When the US Army Transportation Corps “liberated” engines for use in Europe, they did what any good railroad in America would do: they created a class card for that type of engine. The USTC has books for German, French, Belgian, and Japanese engines, that I’m aware of. There are copies in the museum at Aberdeen Proving Grounds.
There are very few books that I am aware of that would give a good coverage of the totality of French locomotives during WWII. I have a few books but a set of unillustrated listings, one book per region is the only series that even lists the numbers of the locomotives.
During WWII, The SNCF had just been formed and the national numbering system, which basically imposed a system based on the largest constituent, the Paris Lyons et Mediterranee on the other regions, using an additional prefix number for each region. This gave 2-231A 1 for the first locomotive of the first class of pacific type (2-3-1 = US 4-6-2) locomotives on region 2, for example. On the Est, the prefix was applied to locomotives with the old four digit numbers.
The Germans repatriated many locomotives of German design which had been given to France as reparations as a result of the Versaiiles treaty, some of these getting German numbers but others running in Germany (and further east) with either their old Grand Reseau number or their SNCF standard number.
A book that might be worth reading is “World Steam in the Twntieth Century”, by E.S.Cox, published by Ian Allen about 1970. This does describe and illustrate the better known types in both France and Germany at this period.
To return to Germany, two excellent books not yet mentioned are:
The German Class 52 Kriegslok by Slaughter, Vassiliev and Beier, published by Stenvall in 1996
Deutsche Kreigslokomotiven 1939-1945 by Gottwaldt, published by Franckh in 1973.
Another book with good general WWII coverage is “Steel Rails to Victory” by Ron Ziel (I don’t know the publisher). This is a re-issue of a German book “Raeder mussen rollen” by the same author published by Franckh also in 1973.
M636C