BB R 1051 + 1052

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BB R / RhB Xrot d
Xrot d 9213 and Gem 4/4 801 on the Bernina Pass
X red d 9213 and Gem 4/4 801 on the Bernina Pass
Numbering: BB 1051, 1052
RhB 9213, 9214
Number: 2
Manufacturer: SLM
Year of construction (s): 1910, 1912
Retirement: 1967 (1052/9214)
Axis formula : C'C '
Gauge : 1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Length: 13,865 mm
Height: 3,800 mm
Width: 2,800 mm, max. 3,600 mm
Total wheelbase: 10,655 mm (including tender)
Smallest bef. Radius: 45.0 m
Service mass: 45 t
Service mass with tender: 63.5 t
Friction mass: 45 t
Top speed: 35 km / h
Indexed performance : Drive: 221 kW
Snow blower: 368 kW
Driving wheel diameter: 750 mm
Number of cylinders: 6th
Cylinder diameter: 1051: 300 mm
1052: 310 mm
Piston stroke: 450 mm
Boiler overpressure: 1051: 13 atü
1052: 14 atü
Number of heating pipes: 14th
Number of smoke tubes: 158
Heating pipe length: 3.10 m
Grate area: 1.60 m²
Tubular heating surface: 110 m²
Superheater area : 17.5 m²
Service weight of the tender: 18.5 t
Water supply: 7 m³
Fuel supply: 4 tons of coal

The vehicles R 1051 and R 1052 are steam-powered snow blowers with their own drive of the Bernina Railway (BB), which has been part of the Rhaetian Railway since 1944 .

history

The Bernina Railway, which opened between 1908 and 1910, was initially only intended for summer operation, as the line, unlike other Alpine transversal routes, does not have a crest tunnel. Just a few years after the opening, however, the operator decided on year-round traffic, which required the construction of additional tunnels and galleries as well as the procurement of snow blowers. From the winter of 1910/11, the service ran from Pontresina to Alp Grüm, and from the winter of 1914/15 the railway was in continuous operation.

For this purpose, the railway ordered two steam-powered snow blowers, one after the other , from the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (SLM), which were delivered in 1910 (R 1051) and 1912 (R 1052). In contrast to the vehicles built so far, including the two steam extractors on the RhB main line, the two Bernina extractors are self-driving vehicles. The Bernina Railway decided to do this because it was not possible to push with enough force in the tight curves and the railway itself did not have any traction vehicles that were independent of the contact wire. The centrifuges were still normally used with push drive vehicles so that the entire boiler output was available for the steam engine of the centrifugal wheel.

With the takeover of the Bernina Railway by the Rhaetian Railway (RhB), the two slingshots were given the new designations R 13 and R 14, in 1950 then X rot d 9213 and 9214. The designation X rot d is made up of: X = official vehicle, red = rotating, d = steam driven. The two vehicles were in regular use until 1967 and were then replaced by more modern slingshots. In 1990, 9214 came to the Furka Mountain Line Steam Railway (DFB), which it passed on to the Blonay – Chamby (BC) museum railway in 1996 in exchange for the R 12 ; the X rot d 9213, on the other hand, will continue to be kept operational in the home depot in Pontresina . It is still operated today mainly for tourist purposes, namely as part of so-called photo trips; but sometimes it is also used during the evacuation.

construction

SLM factory photo still without casing of the boiler

The Meyer type vehicles each have two three-axle motor bogies. The four cylinders for driving the motor frames are in the middle of the vehicle, above is the drive for the snow blower, which is driven by two cylinders. The diameter of the blower wheel is two and a half meters; it rotates at a maximum of 170 revolutions per minute. With this, up to three meters high snow masses can be removed.

The snow blowers are coupled to a two-axle tender.

Special missions

In 1920 a snow blower was caught in an avalanche and overturned. Eight people were fatally injured by the steam escaping from the pressure relief valves.

The X rot d 9214 was used on January 26, 1968 for a one-time large-scale operation on the Arosabahn . Pushed by two ABDe 4/4s , it had to clear the snow-covered stretch between Langwies and Arosa , and it took eight hours to complete the section, which was only eight kilometers long.

photos

  • The two railcars pull a scraper that increases the profile.

  • It pushes the Gem 4/4 802 twin-powered locomotive.

  • Steam snow blower R 1052 of the Bernina Railway, at the Blonay-Chamby museum railway 2010.

  • Centrifugal wheel steam engine above; Motor bogies of the Meyer type below

literature

  • Hans Hofmann: Chur – Arosa, about the construction and operation of the railway. 2nd edition, Calanda Verlag H. Hofmann, Chur 1989/93, ISBN 3-905260-11-5 , pp. 83-89.
  • Alfred Leuenberger: smoke, steam and powder snow. The steam snow blowers of the Swiss railways. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 1967, without ISBN.
  • Claude Jeanmaire: The direct current lines of the Rhaetian Railway. Archive No. 20. Verlag Eisenbahn, Villigen 1975, ISBN 3-85649-020-5 .
  • Gerhard Siem: Chronicle of the Railway. HEEL, Augsburg 2005, ISBN 3-89880-413-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ When the Bernina monster wakes up. In: NZZ-Video. Neue Zürcher Zeitung , February 27, 2013, accessed on March 29, 2019 : “[…] in the winter of 1920: During use, the steam extractor is hit by an avalanche and overturned. “Eight people were killed there because the steam leaked inside. [...] Later they installed the pressure relief valves on the roof. "( Adriano Braun )"