Paper short abstract:

Doing research along the track of one of the last daily operating steam railways in Europe, we intend to give insights into the physical and emotional relationship between male engine drivers and their ‘archaic’ implement.

Paper long abstract:

Among the 'heirlooms' GDR handed over to the unified Germany were 70 narrow-gauge steam locomotives which are still running in East-Germany where eight lines were kept in operation as tourist and regular railway lines. And up to farther they will be preserved as an important part of the East German experience economy. What continuous on narrow-gauge tracks is a technologically and organizationally unsimultaneous daily railway service provided by paid-up employees.

The technology is outdated and the work on the engines could be called 'archaic'. Yet, what is crucial are the emotions that result from the relation between the 'black men' and their engines! These emotions refer to a 'counterworld' in which space and time had different meanings and technology still seemed to be under control by men. However, they also result from the male body experience.

In our talk we would like to give insights into the relationship between the male engine staff and their implement. In doing so, we will focus the interaction between the male body and the vintage technology which was developed before men 'delegated strength, personality, authority, authenticity and pioneer spirit to more and more efficient devices and instruments'.

Beyond what is verbally expressible, we furthermore intend to find answers on the question why the 'archaic' work place appears so attractive and emotional to those who are working on steam engines. To convey the physical-sensory as well as the masculine materiality of the work beyond its verbal descriptiveness, our approach therefore includes elements of visual anthropology.