Product Features and Details
The Pfalz region has been part of the Kingdom of Bavaria since 1816. In the Pfalz, however, the state left the construction of railways to private enterprise. Three different companies were founded, and they merged in 1870.
In 1909, the State of Bavaria took over the Pfalz railways and renamed them the "Bavarian State Railway ? Left Rhine-Bank Network" although they initially retained their independence for a while.
The railways on the left-hand bank of the Rhine (Pfalzbahn, Reichseisenbahnen Elsass-Lothringen) were in keen competition with the Badische Staatsbahn on the right-hand side to provide the fastest service to Switzerland. For many years, the Pfalzbahn used double-coupled express-train locomotives on its track sections. The flat landscapes of the Rhine Valley offer the perfect conditions for these locomotives ? flat terrain, few stops and high speeds.
The Bavarian class S 2/6 was perfect for this operating concept. That''s why it was transferred to Ludwigshafen in 1910 after a short period in Munich. It was put into service with the other double-coupling types and soon proved its worth. Until 1918, it was in daily service between Coblenz, Bingerbrück, Ludwigshafen and Strasbourg, covering up to 100,000 km in the course of a year.
In May 1910, during an inspection at the locomotive workshop in Ludwigshafen, the S 2/6 was painted in the traditional colours of the Pfalzbahn locomotives. Its elegant brown and violet colour scheme made it the perfect match for the other Pfalzbahn locomotives.
