Museums have to be careful moving around their exhibits. After all, you don’t want to drop some priceless relic from the past. Especially not if it weighs 138 tons, like the 12.10 steam locomotive now on display at the Technisches Museum.
- Fully-restored giant steam locomotive from 1936
- Heaviest, longest, and fastest ever produced in Austria
- Part of the Materials section
- Book Technisches Museum tickets*
- See also:
Austria’s largest steam locomotive
(Bringing the locomotive into the museum’s display area via the metalworking department; photo courtesy of and © Technisches Museum Wien)
The railway collection of the Technisches Museum contains a fair few highlights, not least the former carriage of Empress Elisabeth. And another one is the mighty 12.10 steam locomotive from the 1930s.
This steam locomotive is the heaviest ever produced in Austria. And the longest (at almost 23m). And the fastest (its top speed of 154km/h would earn it a ticket on today’s motorways and was a record at the time).
Which makes you wonder why they didn’t give the 12.10 a decent name, like the Flying Austrian or the Vienna Bull.
Anyway, the engine remains the only survivor from the 214 series of locomotives built in Vienna’s Florisdorf locomotive factory between 1932 and 1936.
That factory produced its first vehicles in the early 1870s and would go on to become one of Europe’s most prestigious railway manufacturers.
The museum faced two particular challenges before including the locomotive in its permanent exhibition: restoration and transport.
You can imagine the kind of detail that went into that restoration work. And the heavy lifting: they had to remove the axles as part of the process and transport the tender, axles and engine separately.
Delivering the pared-down engine to the museum required a special truck-mounted crane and a heavy-duty castor system.
Putting everything together in the museum exhibition hall proved a little trickier than building an IKEA bookcase. For example, staff had to lift the engine 2m into the air before rejoining the main chassis with the axles.
Visitors to the museum can now see the 12.10 in all its restored glory within the Materials themed area on Floor 2. .
Oh, and here’s a fascinating fact…
Nobody arguing for a return of coal-driven technology (other than people with shares in coal-driven technology). But it might surprise you to learn that the 12.10’s journey from Vienna to Salzburg probably produced less CO2 per head than the same journey today by air.
Dates, tickets & tips
The steam locomotive is on permanent display and viewable with any entrance ticket from or for the Technisches Museum. Note that anyone under 19 gets in for free.
(Booking service provided by Tiqets.com*, who I am an affiliate of)
How to get to the locomotive
Visit the Technisches Museum overview page for travel tips. The Materials section is on your left after you emerge from the stairs facing the main entrance. You actually pass through the wider railway section to reach it.
Address: Mariahilfer Straße 212, 1140 Vienna