A 100-ton steam locomotive from the Third Reich will be restored in Bulgaria. It will arrive by ship on the Danube because it is too heavy to transport on land. The repair, worth about half a million euros, will be carried out in a railway repair workshop in Sofia, reports Darik.
The 87-year-old steam locomotive, which has been a museum exhibit for 20 years, once again started on rails to reach the port of Freudenau in Vienna, from where its water trip to Bulgaria begins.
"Parts that are so heavy and that it can not be done on the land roads must be transported. That's why the waterway is better suited, "said Doris Pulker-Rörhofer, the technical head of the port in Vienna, for the Austrian TV ORF.
And the expert Johannes Klinges recalls the history of steam locomotive.
"The locomotive was produced in 1941 in Pilsen. It is a 50 series and was a locomotive for freight and passenger trains, and was able to tow heavy trains. It was last used in the GDR. "
The owner of the locomotive, Karin Fleischer, wants to bring it back to life. Its restoration will take place in a repair factory in Sofia.
"It will last about 9 months. Then we want to use it again for tourist trips to regain the money we put in. "
The repair of a veteran-locomotive will cost about half a million euros.
"My father was a railcar operator. The first gift I received was a small train. I've always played with trains instead of dolls, "explains Karin Flaischacher.