For a good cause: thanks to ASCO and WISAG, a historic steam locomotive has been restored to its former glory

For years, WISAG Produktionsservice GmbH has relied on ASCOJET dry ice blasting machines to support its customers throughout the industrial value chain, providing an efficient and gentle method of cleaning a wide variety of surfaces. The advantages of dry ice cleaning are clear: this gentle, dry process can be used very economically and therefore cost-effectively thanks to its effectiveness, flexible applications and relatively low consumption of blasting material (pure CO₂). The surface being cleaned is not damaged or altered, and product quality is maintained. Dry ice blasting does not use any solvents or other chemical substances, which is why the ASCOJET dry ice blasting process is an extremely environmentally friendly cleaning method that also causes no secondary contamination from blasting agent residues. In short: the perfect cleaning method for the restoration of old, historic steam locomotives, such as those at the listed goods yard of the German Steam Locomotive and Model Railway Museum’s railway depot in Tuttlingen.

Located directly on the Danube, locomotive enthusiasts of all ages can marvel at numerous exhibits from railway history, particularly from the steam locomotive era. However, maintaining the privately run locomotive depot requires a great deal of commitment from volunteers. ASCO and WISAG also jointly agreed to make their contribution by recently restoring a very special steam locomotive – Germany’s last steam-powered locomotive to have been in regular service until 1994. ASCO provided an ASCOJET dry ice blasting machine specifically for this restoration project. WISAG supplied the dry ice required for this, produced in its own dry ice production facility.

Despite decades of lubricating oil, moss and weathering residues, cleaning the steam locomotive was a simple task for the ASCOJET blasting machine. Thanks to the gentle cooling effect of the dry ice and the blasting parameters precisely tailored to the application, all contaminants were gently removed without damaging the original paintwork of this historic relic. In principle, the ASCOJET dry ice blasting process can remove all materials that react strongly to temperature differences. ASCO advises its customers individually on setting the optimal blasting parameters for the respective application. For these reasons, ASCOJET is not merely a cleaning process, but represents bespoke, comprehensive solutions that enhance quality and flexibility in daily work processes and, in this instance, ensured an optimal restoration result.
Thanks to the voluntary efforts of WISAG and ASCO, the historic steam locomotive now shines once more with the splendour of bygone days and is open for all visitors to view.

About WISAG
WISAG Industrie Service Holding GmbH, based in Frankfurt am Main, to which WISAG Produktions-service GmbH belongs, is one of Germany’s leading industrial service providers. The core business of this family-run company is the outsourcing of secondary processes relating to production and administration for industrial clients. The range of services covers the business areas of maintenance, technical cleaning, industrial facility management, plant engineering for electrical systems, plant engineering for building services, production logistics, production support and industrial assembly.
With over 9,000 customers and a turnover of 653 million euros in 2014, WISAG Industrie Service Holding GmbH ranks among the leading service providers in the industry. In 2014, the company employed around 13,500 staff across more than 70 branches in Germany. www.wisag.de