passenger wagons had the same bodies that were used for horse-drawn carriages. They were mounted on a bogie made of iron. The shape of coupé-carriages with two axles and three separated compartments in line was the archetype for the first German railway wagons. Specific bogies for passenger coaches were first developed in 1842 by the Great Western Railway. All wagons were painted in yellow which was the colour of stagecoaches at that time. The third class wagons originally had no roof, three compartments with eight to ten seats and the entrances had no doors. The second class wagons had originally a roof made of canvas, had doors, unglazed windows and curtains originally made of silk later made of leather. All wagons were of the same width but from the cheapest to the most expensive class the number of seats in one line were reduced by one. The first class wagons were lined with a precious blue foulard, had windows made of glass, the door handles gilded and all metal fittings were made of brass. The second class wagon No 8 which still exists was rebuilt between 1838 and 1846, it has a length of 5,740 mm, a weight of about 5 t and has 24 seats. Operation and retirement On 7 December 1835 the Adler, driven by William Wilson, ran for the first time on the 6.05 kilometres long track of the Ludwigsbahn in nine minutes. 200 guests of honour were on the train and 26-year-old Northumbrian William Wilson was in the cab. In time intervals of two hours two more test runs were made. The locomotive was in use with up to nine wagons with 192 passengers as a maximum. In normal use it drove at a maximum speed of 28 km/h because the locomotive should be preserved. The normal run time was about 14 minutes. Demonstration trial could be done at a maximum speed of 65 km/h. In most cases horses were used as working animals instead of the steam locomotive. Because the coal was first very expensive most services were done as a horsecar. Goods were transported additionally to the passengers beginning from the year 1839. One of the first goods which were transported were beer barrels and cattle. In 1845 there was a considerable transport of goods. After running successfully for twenty-two years the Adler was now the weakest locomotive on the European continent. Moreover, the