Ludwig von Welser (1841–1931)

This part-work from the Eisenbahn Journal stable recounts the technical history of various classes of locomotive of the Royal Bavarian State Railways in the mid-19th century. However, the work should be of somewhat wider interest. It was written by one "Ludwig von Welser" and is part of a larger work on Bavarian locomotive history which is continued in other parts of the EJ series.

Googling "Ludwig von Welser" returns a number of references to the Bavarian statesman Ludwig, Freiherr von Welser (1841-1931); but there are references in the text to personal observations of engines by the author beyond that date. Instead, we find that the family had a second Ludwig: Paul Carl Ludwig, Freiherr von Welser (1876-1958) and this is the author of the work. He was nephew to the first-named Ludwig von Welser, but this one devoted his life to locomotive construction and development. An article on his life and work can be found online (in German):

https://www.stadtarchiv-lauf.de/wp-content/uploads/Fundgrube-53Jhg3.pdf

The text of this book dates from 1935 or thereabouts. The German seems (to my limited knowledge) to be rather more complex than similar works written in Germany on railway engineering in the 1980s or 1990s. However, anyone with an interest in the subject will be perfectly well-served by this book and I would imagine that online translation tools will be able to cope.

Slightly surprising are some hints about the time when the book was written. This is not to say that there is any politically unacceptable content: but from time to time the author uses contemporary political phraseology, such as "Nacht und Nebel" - rather akin to a modern British writer using terms like "hostile environment" or "[x] means [x]" - politically charged words that are difficult to detach from a political context, even when not used politically. It's not a major problem here, but it is a sign of the times the work was written in.

My only other criticism is a minor one; most of the locomotives described in this work did not survive into the preservation era, which makes the two that did of potentially great interest. One, class B IX no.634 1000 (the 1000th engine built by Maffei, and so confusingly given the number 1000 as a name) was sectioned and put in the Deutsches Museum in Munich in 1906; its post railway history is briefly described and there are some photographs relating to the engine's afterlife. (It can today be seen in the Deutsches Museum's railway-related outstation, Lokwelt in Freilassing.) The other is an 0-6-0 tank engine, class D VII 1854, which survived in departmental service into the early 1960s, was then sold into industrial service and then preserved, first plinthed near the factory where it worked, and then by a "proper" preservation society. The text (added, like other notes on Bavarian locomotive classes since original publication, by the editor) gives this story but there are no photographs of the engine in this stage of its life; surely that would have been of interest.

The book also includes a chapter giving a brief history of the Bavarian Ostbahn.

The Eisenbahn Journal 'Archiv' series has a reputation for encyclopaedic content and high production values; this issue maintains those standards.… (meer)