The railway caretaker was a technical railway employee who was responsible for the maintenance of the permanent way for a certain section of line (railway caretaker’s office). For this purpose, it was necessary to inspect the track regularly. From 1955 to 1962, the Bundesbahn used motorised railcars of the Klv 12 series for this purpose. The driver could carry up to 6 colleagues or up to 750 kg of material and tools. The trolleys were equipped with a lifting and turning device under the vehicle body to change the direction of travel. In the 1970s, the railcars gradually lost their use and were more and more withdrawn from service.

Our vehicle was put into service as Klv 12-4973 in Friedberg/Hesse, was then stationed in Hanau and came to our museum after being taken out of service in 1987.