DE-3583191 Dampflok 99 1590-1

Dampflok 99 1590-1 is a locomotive of the Saxon class IV K. It was manufactured in 1913 by Saxon Maschinenfabrik Chemnitz with the serial number 3670. From 1913-1925 it was number 180 (KSächs.Sts.EB) and from 1925-1970 it served as number 99590 (German Reichsbahn).  From 1970-1980 it was numbered as 99 1590-1 (German Reichsbahn).

The locomotive was found abandoned and in a poor state in the village of Raw Leipzig-Engelsdorf in 1990 and in 1992 this locomotive was taken over by Preßnitztalbahn.

The Preßnitztalbahn was a narrow gauge railway line in Saxony, Germany. It used to climb from Wolkenstein through the valley of the river Pressnitz to Jöhstadt on the border with Bohemia.  The Preßnitztalbahn was the last Saxon narrow gauge railway to be closed by the East German government. Passenger services were terminated in 1984; the transportation of freight for the refrigerator factory in Schmiedelberg ceased in 1986. The process of gradually dismantling the line took several years, from January 1984 until the summer 1989.

As early as 1988, a society for the preservation of the railway, the Interessengemeinschaft Preßnitztalbahn, was formed. Its aim was to preserve the remaining fragments that were left after dismantling. After the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, the club turned into a legal entity and presented a bold plan to rebuild at least part of the former narrow gauge line.

Currently this museum railway operates every weekend from May to October, as well as on public holidays.  Dampflok 99 1590-1 is owned by this entity and as far as I can ascertain, this locomotive is currently operational.

This postcard came from Günter (5 November 2014) Postcrossing and shows 99-1590-1 operating in February 2011.