Saxonia replica, Verkehrsmuseum Dresden
Replica of the historical steam locomotive 'Saxonia', exhibited at the Verkehrsmuseum Dresden. It was the first practical working steam locomotive built in Germany. Its name means Saxony in Latin. On 11 October 1985, a working group was established by the East German government's Ministry of Transport for the construction of a replica of the locomotive. The aim was for its inaugural journey to form part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of the opening of the first German long-distance railway from Leipzig to Dresden on 8 April 1989. On 1 October 1988 the new locomotive was fired up for the first time at Raw Halle. 14 days later it demonstrated it was fully operational during a trial run to Eisleben. On the handover journey on 12 January 1989 it even attained a speed of 70 km/h between Halle and Leipzig, as well as demonstrating smooth riding qualities and good steam generation. Photo taken Sunday 26 May 2013. Photo: Steffen Mokosch (Steffen.Mokosch@web.de)