Express railcar
As high-speed railcars or rapid transit rail car is called railcars , as fast can be used. The development of such railcars began in Europe and the United States in the early 1930s and reached its first peak with multiple units in Germany (Fliegender Hamburger DR 877 , 1931), France ( Bugatti-Triebwagen 1933, TAR, 1934) and the USA ( M -10000 1934, Pioneer Zephyr 1934). After the Second World War , the development of today's high-speed trains continued.
precursor
The first attempts at high speed were made in 1903 by the study society for electric rapid transit systems . A three-phase motor car reached a top speed of around 210 km / h on the test route from Marienfelde to Zossen near Berlin, which was equipped with a three-pole three-phase catenary . Further developments in this direction were not continued.
It was only after the First World War that people began to deal with high-speed railcars again. Due to the advanced development of combustion engines and the still small proportion of electrified routes, this type of drive was used for the time being.
The rail zeppelin built in 1930 was also designed as a railcar. The vehicle presented in a test run on May 31, 1931 on the Hamburg-Berlin at 230 km / h was the world speed record.
Germany
German Reichsbahn
In order to counter the increasing competition from road traffic, the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG) began in November 1930 as a collaboration between the DRG Central Office and the Görlitzer Waggonbaufabrik with the development of a new multiple unit. The further development of diesel engines from slow-running heavy units to more powerful, high- speed vehicle drives opened up new possibilities for railcar construction. As early as 1932, the new type of train "Schnell multiple unit" (Dt) was introduced. The two-part DR 877 multiple unit, known as the “Fliegender Hamburger” , reached a cruising speed of 125 km / h (maximum speed in planned operation: 160 km / h); the scheduled use began on May 15, 1933 on the Berlin – Hamburg route.
The DR 877 was the prototype for other express railcars, the so-called "flying trains":
- the two-part type "Hamburg" DR 137 149 to 152 and 137 224 to 232 (13 multiple units) as well as types derived therefrom:
- the three-part design "Leipzig" DR 137 153 to 154 and 137 233 to 234 (4 railcars)
- the three-part "Cologne" design DR 137 273 to 278 and DR 137 851 to 858 (14 railcars)
- the four-part design "Berlin" DR 137 901 to 903 (2 railcars)
- the four-part design "Munich" DR 137 904 to 911 (no longer implemented due to the war)
Express railcars with electric drive were also developed. Three vehicles from different suppliers were delivered and tested between 1935 and 1937. They were intended as the DR series ET 11 for use on the Munich – Berlin route and from 1957 operated temporarily on the Frankfurt (Main) –Munich route.
With the series railcars of the type Hamburg could from 1935 also on the routes
- Berlin Schlesischer Bahnhof - Cologne (FDt 15/16, “Fliegender Kölner”) and
- Berlin - Frankfurt (Main) (FDt 571/572, "Fliegender Frankfurter") express railcar connections are offered. The "Fliegender Frankfurter" started operating on August 15, 1935.
- A connection between Munich and Berchtesgaden (FDt 721/722) was also set up.
The travel speeds were increased significantly. The goal was a high-speed network that would connect all major German cities with one another and with Berlin with an early and an evening train. The popularity of the “Flying Hamburgers” led to similar connections in the press as “Flying Cologne” or “Flying Frankfurter”.
The connection Berlin – Dresden was not served by the diesel multiple units. The Henschel-Wegmann train was used here from 1936 , which was developed to counter the emerging priority of the express railcars.
The development of the Reichsbahn ended with the single piece of the Kruckenberg express railcar SVT DR 137 155 , built in 1938 but never used according to the schedule , because with the outbreak of World War II all express railcars were shut down or converted for military purposes.
The long-distance express multiple units (FDt) achieved travel times that set standards to this day on almost all of their routes, as an exemplary comparison with the ICE shows:
- Berlin – Hamburg: FDt 2:17 h, ICE 1:42 h (also stop in Spandau)
- Berlin – Hanover: FDt 1:54 h (from Berlin-Zoo), ICE 1:36 h (also stop in Spandau)
- Berlin – Cologne: FDt 4:41 h (from Berlin-Zoo), ICE 4:17 h (also stops in Spandau, Wolfsburg, Bielefeld)
- Berlin – Frankfurt: FDt 5:00 h (from Berlin-Anhalter Bf.), ICE 3:56 h (additional stop in Südkreuz, other train route in 3:39 h)
- Berlin – Stuttgart: FDt 7:13 h (from Berlin-Anhalter Bf.), ICE 5:04 h (different route)
- Berlin – Munich: FDt 7:04 h (from Berlin-Anhalter Bf., Return trip in 6:44 h), ICE 3:55 h (from Dec. 2017, also stops in Südkreuz, Erfurt and instead of a stop in Leipzig in Halle )
Notes: All travel times of the FDt are from 1939. The ICE times are taken from the 2017 timetable, with the fastest connection in each case.
post war period
After the end of the war, most of the express railcars remained in the western occupation zones, some were found in Poland and Czechoslovakia or ended up as spoils of war in the Soviet Union or the USA.
For the TEE network, which went into operation in 1957 and connected the European metropolises, the German Federal Railroad procured a new express railcar in 1957, the VT 11.5 (later 601) . France provided additional express railcars with the RGP 825 , Italy with the ALn 442–448 and Switzerland with the RAm (also the Netherlands) and the RAe-TEE .
The German Reichsbahn procured from 1964 this multiple unit VT 18:16 (later 175.0) the type Görlitz, who in international traffic, including " Vindobona " on the Berlin-Prague-Vienna and "Neptune" (Ex 21/22) between Berlin and Copenhagen, wrong.
Both at the DB and at the DR in the GDR, the pre-war SVTs of the DR sometimes ran into the 1960s and 1970s, until they were withdrawn piece by piece, sold or scrapped and replaced by modern designs.
France
In France, combustion railcars were also developed parallel to the developments in Germany. The Bugatti railcars were first procured by the state-owned Chemins de fer de l'État , later also by PLM and AL , and were used from Paris. There were single cars and so-called couplages, which consisted of two cars and reached 172 km / h on test drives . These railcars were then used by the SNCF until the 1950s .
The French NORD developed its own trains called TAR ( train automoteur rapide, French : fast motorized multiple units), which were used from Paris to Lille. These railcars also reached speeds of up to 150 km / h.
United States
In the United States in the 1930s, railroad companies looked for ways to compete more with the emerging car and air travel. The Union Pacific Railroad (UP) and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad developed their own diesel multiple units almost simultaneously. The UP started in February 1934 with its UP M-10000 , which began its first scheduled service as the City of Salina from Salina (Kansas) to Kansas City (Kansas) on March 13, 1935 and the travel time on the 301 km route shortened by 75 minutes. Later the train toured all over the USA as "Tomorrows Train Today". The train was later rebuilt several times and various successors were developed. The train was traveling at up to 145 km / h in regular service and allegedly reached a top speed of 178 km / h. Its armor yellow color scheme was striking.
Only a few months after the UP, in May 1934, the Burlington Route put its trains called Pioneer Zephyr into service. The articulated trains built by Budd drove first from Kansas City (Missouri) to Lincoln (Nebraska) and reached 181 km / h on a trip from Chicago to Denver , where he was traveling at an average speed of 124 km / h and a speed record for this Connection set up
Poland
From 1933 to 1939 the Polish company Fablok manufactured the Luxtorpeda in its works in Chrzanów . The developer of the train was the engineer Klemens Stefan Sielecki , who further developed an Austrian model. The train was powered by diesel engines.
High-speed multiple units
With the Shinkansen introduced by the Japanese State Railways in 1964 , a new stage in the development of high-speed multiple units and multiple units began. For the first time, trains were developed that were scheduled to reach speeds of over 200 km / h on special railway lines, and the development of high-speed trains was initiated.
literature
- Günther Dietz / Peter Jauch: German express railcars - from the “Flying Hamburger” to the ET 403 of the DB. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2003, ISBN 3-88255-224-7 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (ed.): Official Gazette of the Reichsbahndirektion Mainz of February 20, 1932, No. 8. Announcement No. 114, p. 43.
- ↑ Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (ed.): Official Gazette of the Reichsbahndirektion Mainz of June 22, 1935, No. 26. Announcement No. 285, p. 110.
- ↑ Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (Ed.): Official Gazette of the Reichsbahndirektion Mainz of August 17, 1935, No. 36. Announcement No. 392, p. 158.
- ↑ Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (ed.): Official Gazette of the Reichsbahndirektion Mainz of June 22, 1935, No. 26. Announcement No. 285, p. 110.
- ↑ Bahn Extra 9703, railway capital Berlin, page 41
- ^ German course book summer 1939
- ^ Mike Grace: Publishing: a market-led approach . In: Learned Publishing . tape 14 , no. 1 , January 2001, ISSN 0953-1513 , p. 60-64 , doi : 10.1087 / 09531510125100296 .