BVG series B
| U-Bahn Berlin large profile series B |
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 BII train for the 75th anniversary of the U8
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| Numbering: | 25-98 (Tw BI) 113-148 (Tw BII) 213-249, 254-263, 270-293, 313-349, 368-370 (Bw BI) 294-3300, 354-367, 371-398 (Bw BII) |
| Number: | 74 Tw, 111 Bw (BI) 36 Tw, 49 Bw (BII) |
| Manufacturer: | MAN , WUMAG , LHB , Fuchs , Steinfurth |
| Year of construction (s): | 1924-1927 (BI) 1927-1929 (BII) |
| Axis formula : | Bo'Bo ' (Tw) , 2'2' (Bw) |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Length over coupling: | 13,500 mm |
| Width: | 2,650 mm |
| Empty mass: | 32.8 t (Tw) , 19.7 t (Bw) |
| Hourly output : | 300 kW (BI) , 400 kW (BII) |
| Power system : | 750 V = |
| Power transmission: | Lateral power rail coated from below |
| Number of traction motors: | 4th |
| Coupling type: | Scharfenberg coupling |
| Seats: | 30 (Tw) , 36 (Bw) |
The vehicles of the B series were the first large-profile cars to be used on the Berlin subway . The cars delivered between 1924 and 1929 are divided into the series BI and BII , which are characterized by different engine outputs and empty weights. The wagons of the BI series were also given the nickname tunnel owl because of their oval front windows .
development
Just a few years after the first underground lines went into operation, it became clear that a larger car profile is much more efficient for operation, as this allows a higher number of passengers with the same train lengths. The city of Berlin then tried to build its own subway, which allowed a car width of 2.65 meters. After initial delays caused by the First World War , Line C, initially referred to as the North-South Railway , was opened on January 30, 1923. The AEG initially designed four test vehicles for operation, which by far did not cover the vehicle requirements. Since no new vehicles were available yet, the elevated railway company had to transfer small-profile cars to the new line and equip them with compensating beads, the so-called "flower boards".
Since this solution only worked in the meantime and further large-profile lines were under construction, the city of Berlin commissioned the Busch companies in Bautzen and MAN in Nuremberg to build 16 multiple units and eight sidecars of the series known as BI . As was common at the time, the cars were divided into a second and a third class, red cars were intended for smokers and yellow cars for non-smokers.
With the constant expansion of the network, more vehicles were delivered in several delivery series. The last two delivery series no longer included railcars, only sidecars. The point was that the trains could be extended from three to up to five cars, which increased the capacity even more.
From 1927 the BI cars were supplemented by BII cars. With a total output of 400 kW per railcar, these newer wagons were more powerful than the 300 kW equipped BI. Visually, the BII differ in the rectangular instead of the oval front window with the BI. However, due to the different engine outputs, both series could not drive together, only the mechanical coupling was possible.
The B-cars were used exclusively on lines C I , C II and D (today's U6 , U7 and U8 ), for the lines E (1930, today's U5 ) and G (1961, today's U9 ), newer vehicles were added Commitment.
During the Second World War , a total of six motor coaches and nine sidecars were destroyed in air raids , and other vehicles were damaged. In 1947, the BVG built another 16 multiple units and 19 sidecars, some of which consisted of BI trains. These quasi-reconstructed vehicles were, however, incorporated into the BII series. Two railcars of this series were used together with the two C-III railcars remaining in Berlin as a four-car train, with the C-cars running as temporary sidecars, as the engines were removed beforehand. This arrangement, carried out in passenger service, is unique to the Berlin subway to this day. In 1953, the BVG converted eight BI trailer cars into control cars, driver's cabs were installed and the cars were also fitted with compressed air brakes .
In the following years, the B trains were only used on lines C II and D , the other large-profile lines used newer running material. Until 1966, only B-cars drove on the latter, as the newer C-cars were banned from driving; there was fear that the trains could have been transferred to the East Berlin line E via the orphan tunnel at Alexanderplatz . In 1969 the last train with B-cars ran on line 6.
Wagon construction
The railcars and sidecars of both series have the same length of 13.5 meters over the couplings. There are three double-leaf pocket sliding doors on each side of the car, with the 2nd or 3rd class seats between them. The interior walls of the passenger compartment are decorated with wood paneling.
The trains are powered by four 75 kW motors, each of which is located in pairs on the bogies of the railcars. With the BII, the output has been increased to 100 kW per engine. In order to be able to form longer trains, so-called “3. Sidecars ”, which differ from normal sidecars in that they do not have a compressor . The 3. Sidecar ”could therefore only be used in five-car trains, whereby only one sidecar was allowed to run without a compressor per train.
The striking appearance of the oval front window quickly earned the BI the nickname "tunnel owl", but the BII no longer had them, but the usual rectangular ones.
literature
- Gustav Kemmann : New cars for the Berlin North-South Railway. In: Verkehrstechnik , Volume 5, No. 13 (March 28, 1924), pp. 115–118.
- Andreas Biedl: The vehicles of the Berlin subway. Type B . Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-933254-56-6 .
