Prussian passenger steam locomotive P-8

The prussian passenger steam locomotive P-8 (production series 38 2267) with tender was built by the Berliner Maschinenbau AG in 1918.
Up until the Second World War it had been on duty for the Reichsbahn Directorate of Erfurt. After the Second World War the locomotive carried passengers and freight in Saxony until the 1970s. Today it is in the possession of the railway museum in Bochum and is used for special rides through the Ruhr District.
Its sounds were recorded as it passed through a train station platform. They are composed of the sound of the locomotive rolling over the rails, the typical huffing sound of the steam exhausting through the smokestack and the hissing of the air pump, which provides air pressure for the brakes.

The locomotive largely produces these sounds through its steam engine. It needs coal, fire and water in order to work. The coal has to be shoveled out of the coal box behind the driver's cabin into a fire box where it is burned. Hot air is created, which is led through pipes to a boiler full of water. The hot pipes in the boiler heat the water up until it starts to boil. Steam is generated and guided to a cylinder. The steam shoots in and creates so much pressure that the rods connected to the driving wheels of the locomotive start to push back and forth, which moves the steam train.

When doing this the locomotive makes its rhythmic sounds. The engine's huffing is the sound of the smoke gas being emitted through the smokestack. The hissing sound of the air pump is created when lowering or raising steam pressure for the brakes.
In the 19th century the typical sounds which a steam engine made were regarded as the sounds of progress. Today they are often (nostalgically) perceived as sounds of past times and outdated technology.

Sound recordist: Konrad Gutkowski/Julian Blaschke
Photographer: Konrad Gutkowski/Julian Blaschke
Video recordist: Konrad Gutkowski/Julian Blaschke