Road number 01 519 currently owned by the Zollern Railroad Enthusiasts (EFZ) belongs to the steam locomotive class 01.5, the swan song of steam locomotive rebuilding on the German State Railroad (DR) of the GDR. A total of 35 units of the class 01 underwent extensive reconstruction at the beginning of the Sixties. Initially, only the installation of a new welded boiler was planned, but the condition of the locomotives selected finally forced extensive conversions that in many parts made new locomotives out of the units. The maintenance facility in Halberstadt delivered the "Reko" boilers, and they were installed at the maintenance facility in Meiningen. During the rebuilding program the boiler was placed higher, continuous dome streamlining adorned the top of the boiler, and the cabs were replaced by a new welded version. The locomotives rebuilt in this way had hardly anything in common with their original look. After the rebuilding program, these units were therefore given the new class designation of 01.5. Beginning with road number 01 519 (rebuilt in 1963/64) the locomotives were equipped with oil firing, and the remaining units were converted accordingly in 1965/66. Only six locomotives kept grate type firing. Road number 01 519 (formerly 01 186) began its new life as an oil-fired unit on March 1, 1964 at the maintenance facility in Erfurt. Additional station assignments were Wittenberge, Erfurt again, and finally starting on June 1, 1973 Saalfeld. There it ended its active career on October 2, 1982. It was then converted to a heating locomotive with coal firing, and at the end of 1982, it began to produce warmth as a heating system at the VEB (People-Owned Enterprise) Brewery Greifswald. This use ended in October of 1988 and in the following year, it was supposed to be scrapped. At the last minute, it was rescued by its purchase by the Liechtenstein tourism firm Jelka, followed by an extensive general inspection, which was not completed until January 31, 1991. After its transfer to Haltingen in Baden, it was put into storage there. Finally, the EFZ reached an initial lease for use of the locomotive starting on Easter of 1995 and the organization was finally able to acquire ownership in the spring of 1996. Installation of inductive signaling and a train radio system followed in 1995 for operation on DB lines. Intensive use in Germany from Basle to Hamburg followed with a record in 1997 with a distance achievement of around 22,000 kilometers / 13,750 miles. Its overhaul deadline in May of 2007 then sent it into storage for a couple of years, but starting in November of 2011 the EFZ began a new general inspection. This took almost four years with a lot of volunteer work and extensive boiler work. Finally, on October 9, 2015, road number 01 519 returned to active service and it can currently be admired again pulling numerous special trains.
