Hippel Bakkie (NS508 & NS512)

The locomotives brought to the European mainland in 1944 by the British liberating forces made such an impression that, after the war, the NS bought ten of them from the army surplus depot. The series was assigned the numbers 501 through 510 and used mainly as shunting engines at major stations. In fact, the locomotives were such a hit that in 1949, the NS purchased another 100 of these engines, including the 600 series. Due to their low maximum speed, these huge and strong locomotives were primarily suited for shunting purposes. Engine drivers called the locomotives ‘Bakkies’ or ‘Hippel’, nicknames that roughly translate to ‘Boxes’ or ‘Skippies’. The first name was due to their boxy shape and the second came from the skipping motion caused by the connecting rods. The NS donated the 508 to the Railway Museum in 1975. In the late 1980s, the 512 spent several years parked on the quay at the Havenmuseum in Rotterdam, which is now part of the Maritime Museum Rotterdam. After that, this engine moved to the Railway Museum as well.