Class E 19 Electric Locomotive

E 19 – a truly melodious name from the illustrious history of German railroading. This designation stands for the once most powerful single-frame locomotive in the world. Four units of this class were ordered built by the German State Railroad shortly before World War II. These elegant and well-designed locomotives glistened with superlatives: maximum speed of 180 km/h / 113 mph (designed for 225 km/h / 140 mph), around 5,400 horsepower hourly output, and a starting power of over 200 kilonewtons / 44,962 pound/force units (the class 05 express steam locomotive produced 110 or 137 kilonewtons / 24,729 or 30,799 pound/force units). The E 19 was planned to usher in a new era on the electrified main lines of Berlin – Frankenwald – Halle – Berlin. Although the four experimental locomotives turned in very good results, the war prevented regular production. The Germans had other worries than rushing super-fast trains through the countryside. All four class E 19 units came to the German Federal Railroad after the end of the war, the maximum speed was limited to 140 km/h / 87 mph, and the former star locomotives were used in Nürnberg and Hagen in normal express trains, limited stop fast trains, and even ordinary passenger train services. Between 1975 and 1978, they were retired from operational service with a total running performance of around 4 million kilometers / 2.5 million miles. Road number E 19 12 was restored as early as 1977 by the maintenance facility at Munich-Freimann and put back in the early blue German Federal Railroad condition (Era IIIa). It did not get the original red paint scheme until after the 150th anniversary of German railroading (1985). Currently, road number E 19 12 belongs to the DB Museum, Koblenz location. Road number E 19 01 – also in red – can be admired at the Technology Museum in Berlin. The two other "Red Stags", road numbers E 19 02 and 11 were scrapped after being retired.