Description
ČSD 386.001 is one of the most remarkable experiments in Czechoslovak railway history. Škoda in Plzeň built it in 1927 as the only lightweight three-cylinder express locomotive of type 12Lo1. It followed the 1926 batch that had to be renumbered 387.0 “Mikádo” because its axle load was too high. 386.001 later became the only Czechoslovak steam locomotive with aerodynamic casing, finished at the ČSD workshops in Moravská Ostrava in February 1938. The State Railways wanted to test streamlining as foreign railways did. The result looked striking, but at ČSD operating speeds the benefit stayed limited and maintenance was difficult. During the war it served with the Slovak Railways; after the war it returned to ČSD. It was withdrawn in spring 1948 and dismantled in Plzeň in September 1949.
Development at Škoda
Škoda completed its first batch of express locomotives in 1926 under Ing. Oscar Dolch. Those engines exceeded the required axle load and were renumbered 387.0 “Mikádo”. Škoda lightened the design and in 1927 built a single 12Lo1 locomotive that met the roughly 16-tonne axle limit. That engine received the number 386.001 as the second use of the series. Changes included a smaller boiler and four extra heating tubes, which increased the direct heating surface.
Streamlined casing
In 1937–1938, 386.001 received aerodynamic casing at the ČSD workshops in Moravská Ostrava (Ostrava-Přívoz). It was the only such experiment of the Czechoslovak State Railways. The aim was lower air resistance and coal use, as on foreign streamliners. The locomotive was painted green with orange and red stripes meeting in an arrow on the front. At ČSD speeds around 110 km/h the benefit stayed limited and the casing was hard to maintain.
Technical data
- Manufacturer: Škoda Plzeň
- Year built: 1927
- Design: Ing. Oscar Dolch
- Boiler weight: 24,405 kg
- Locomotive weight: 90 tonnes
- Streamlined livery: green with orange and red stripes
Withdrawal and legacy
During the Second World War the locomotive served with the Slovak Railways. After the war it returned to ČSD; on 20 August 1945 it still hauled the ceremonial train for the 100th anniversary of the Olomouc–Prague line. Because the engine was atypical and new 498.0 locomotives were arriving, it was withdrawn in spring 1948 and dismantled in Plzeň on 14 September 1949. It remained ČSD’s only experiment with a streamlined steam locomotive.