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09.05.2024: Round noses in the historic locomotive shed in Wittenberge

The Historic Locomotive Shed in Wittenberge is set to host an event of European proportions. On 1 and 2 June 2024, there will be an international meeting of (almost) historic diesel locomotives from Swedish and Belgian production with American genes. Many people will be familiar with the locomotives from the danish Olsen Gang films.
More precisely, it's about the beautifully designed locomotives from the company Nydqvist och Holm AB (abbreviated to NOHAB), which acquired licences from General Motors at the end of the 1940s to build locomotives.

Due to their aerodynamic shape, the locomotives are also affectionately known as ‘round noses’. They were quite widespread in Europe from the 1950s onwards, as they were purchased by the Scandinavian, Belgian, Luxembourg and Hungarian state railways. A locomotive was also tested by the GDR railway testing centre in Halle. Despite the satisfactory results, however, no locomotives of this type and manufacturer were allowed to be purchased because the states in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) had undertaken to buy Soviet locomotives.
In the 1990s, their area of use expanded once again. Many of the former state railway locomotives began their second life on various private railways. Some companies in Germany also bought the reliable locomotives, including two in Saxony-Anhalt, which still use them today for freight transport or construction train services.
At the beginning of June 2024, on the initiative of the NOHAB-GM-Gruppe Deutschland e.V. association, a considerable number of these impressive locomotives will come together in the Wittenberge engine shed. Three of them are still in their original red/brown design with the Danish crown at each front and two of them will be travelling all the way from Denmark. The others will come in many colourful liveries. The occasion is the 70th anniversary of the oldest machine in this series and the 25th anniversary of its first use in Germany. The active members of the Historic Locomotive Shed are delighted that their museum has been chosen as the location for the exhibition. Frank-Marc Siebert, head of the NOHAB-GM Group, comments: ‘The museum with its historic engine shed is an ideal location for such an anniversary event. The locomotives are perfectly illuminated, especially in the afternoon, and can be moved around the site and pull trains into the harbour. The friendly and experienced museum team, without whom the event would not be possible, deserve a special mention.’
Anyone who would like to marvel at the locomotives can do so on 1 and 2 June 2024 between 10:00 and 17:00 (Saturday) and 10:00 and 16:00 (Sunday) at the Historic Locomotive Shed in Wittenberge. In addition to an exhibition of the locomotives, cab rides in the museum grounds and shuttle rides to Wittenberge harbour are planned. Tickets cost € 14 for adults and € 7 (children up to and including the age of 15) and are available at the museum entrance. A family ticket is available for € 30.
Railway photographers will have the opportunity to take atmospheric photos on Saturday, 1 June, during the ‘blue hour’ from 20:00 and beyond. Tickets for this photo event can be ordered by e-mail at info@hohab-gm.de for € 60 or on the site in Wittenberge for € 80.












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