LBE double-decker streamlined push-pull train

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LBE-DW 8 double-decker streamlined push-pull wagon

The LBE ( Lübeck-Büchener Eisenbahn ) double-decker streamlined push-pull train, which went into operation in 1936, anticipated developments in today's rail passenger traffic with several technical innovations.

In May 1936 were first double-decker - streamlines -Schnellverkehrswagen on the route Hamburg Hauptbahnhof - Lübeck - Travemünde beach used that caused a stir worldwide. As push-pull trains, they were equipped with control cars and automatic Scharfenberg couplings . The two-car units had a common Jakobs bogie in the middle . Specifically for these cars developed steam locomotives were Schnellverkehrs- Tender steam locomotive with streamlining, also from the other end of the train from the control car compartment from the engine driver could be controlled remotely.

prehistory

Just like the Reichsbahn, the private Lübeck-Büchener Eisenbahn also suffered from the consequences of the reparations payments for the lost First World War . The renewals of vehicles and railway systems that were not carried out in recent years should now be made up for. Under the economic pressure to renovate and modernize the facilities, the management presented a modernization plan in 1935 which included the following improvements:

  • a reduction in travel times for passenger trains,
  • Procurement of suitable new wagons and locomotives,
  • Expansion of the Hamburg – Lübeck line for a maximum speed of 120 km / h,
  • Expansion of the Lübeck – Travemünde line to a maximum speed of 85 km / h.

The working group of the construction officer Mauck, who has been responsible for the mechanical engineering service since 1933, was looking for a solution to make passenger traffic between Hamburg and Lübeck fast, comfortable and economical. After examining all possibilities, the decision was made to use double-decker cars with a capacity of 300 people. At the same time, the revolutionary idea of ​​a so-called push- pull train operation was developed, which at that time did not yet exist in Germany . The cooperation with the locomotive factory Henschel & Sohn in Kassel and the wagon construction companies Linke-Hofmann in Breslau and WUMAG in Görlitz was started. This was the hour of birth of the famous double-decker coaches, which were not only pulled but also pushed for the first time in Germany.

There was already a push-pull train operation with double-decker cars in France from 1933 with the Voiture à étage État of the Chemins de fer de l'État , initially with tank locomotives of the type 141 TC , until 1982.

There was also a fad of the 1930s - the “Streamlining Fever” . During these years, the dissemination of aerodynamic knowledge led to the desire for higher speed, improved economic efficiency and effective advertising, to streamlined bodies in automobiles and buses . This is how the idea of ​​streamlining locomotives and wagons came about.

The double-deck car

One half of one of the double deck cars. The Jakobs bogie that connects the two halves of the car is clearly visible.

At the end of 1935, the two wagon factories each delivered a double-decker car. Their interior design followed the advice of the architect Liesel Bertsch-Kampferseck from Berlin, who previously worked as an interior designer at Mitropa .

The carriages had second and third class compartments with tubular steel seats, with the second class compartments being marked on the outside with a yellow color scheme compared to the gray-green on the other compartments. The seats in 3rd class had alternating brown and red leather upholstery, and walls with matt polished light oak wood. The backrests could be folded down so that passengers could always sit facing the direction of travel. Second class furnishings consisted of upholstered seats with adjustable backrests; The seats were covered with orange plush with dark dots.

The success of the introduction led to a further order for a further six double-decker cars and a locomotive in late summer 1936 . While the cars of the first delivery had large curved windows on the driver's cabs , the second delivery was equipped with smaller driver's cab windows.

The Breslauer Linke-Hofmann-Werke delivered five, WUMAG in Görlitz three double-decker cars.

The locomotives

In the winter of 1935/36, the first test drives with the future LBE locomotive 1 were carried out at Henschel in Kassel. Then two tank locomotives with the wheel arrangement 1 'B 1' and streamlined cladding were delivered. These locomotives, which are permanently used with the train , could be remotely controlled by the driver from the other end of the train when traveling in the opposite direction (push- pull train ).

The concept worked so well that a third new locomotive was ordered. It went into operation with the 1937 summer timetable. The three locomotives were numbered LBE No. 1 to 3 as the company's "flagship horses" , and were later added to the class 60 after being taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn.

In addition, from autumn 1936, the LBE provided five other existing 1'C tank locomotives of the Prussian type T 12 (Reichsbahn class 74) with the LBE numbers 138, 139, 140, 142 and 143 also with streamlined cladding and remote control devices . It then turned out during operation that at the actual speeds of a maximum of 120 km / h, the savings through the streamlining were negligibly small.

Commissioning and scheduled operation

The first public presentation of the new double-decker car with the streamlined locomotive took place on April 7, 1936 as part of a special trip, with great attention from the domestic and foreign press. The small 1'B1 'locomotives were quickly given the nickname “Mickey Mice”. The streamlined express trains were a railway technology revolution that made the Lübeck – Büchener Railway known worldwide. Even guests from Japan and New York came to see the maiden voyage on May 2, 1936.

The LBE double-decker coaches offered great comfort for those times with upholstered seats and air conditioning in 3rd class too. Larger luggage was received by bellboys when boarding, stowed in the luggage compartment and delivered again when leaving the car. The uniqueness of these trains was shown by the many publications in connection with the test drive. Articles and reports appeared both at home and abroad. "Recognition for the smooth running, the dignified equipment and the fast pushing traffic of the train" was printed in papers from Kladderadatsch to Sidney News , from Le Matin in Paris to the Danish railway newspaper and the Illustrierte Blatt in Frankfurt / Main.

The journey time in high-speed traffic (without stopping on the way) from Hamburg to Lübeck was 40 minutes, and Travemünde was reached another 20 minutes later. The fast connection was so popular that in late summer 1936 another six double-decker cars and a locomotive were ordered.

Takeover by the Deutsche Reichsbahn

With the nationalization in 1938, all eight double-deck cars were transferred to the Deutsche Reichsbahn . The express service between Hamburg and Lübeck was no longer operated with push-pull trains after the nationalization and was completely discontinued in 1942 .

Takeover and operation at the Deutsche Bundesbahn

V 160 003 with LBE double-decker train at the "150 Years of German Railways" parade in Nuremberg

The Deutsche Bundesbahn took over the seven double-decker cars that were not destroyed in the war under the new class DAB6b and the numbers 30991 to 30997 in their fleet. They were assigned to the Bahnbetriebswerk Hamburg Hbf and, in addition to the uniform green DB car paint, were given ventilation flaps on the windows of the lower level as a replacement for the air conditioning.

At the beginning of the 1950s, they were relocated from the suburban traffic to Hamburg-Neugraben back to their old trunk line Hamburg – Lübeck, where they were used in the newly established express train service. One of the cars was used temporarily in the Ruhr area.

From May 1959 the push-pull train service between Hamburg and Lübeck with diesel locomotives of the V 200 0 and V 160 series was resumed. The former LBE double-decker cars were used again as control cars.

After the closure of the DB repair shop in Lübeck a year earlier, the Aw Hannover-Leinhausen was responsible for the maintenance of the DAB cars. The 30992, 30993 and 30994 cars were retired by the mid-1960s. The Hanover Aw carried out various modifications to the four remaining DABs during the same period, with the control compartment being removed and replaced by an open-plan compartment for passengers with loads. Despite their small number and the associated maintenance costs, the cars continued to operate as reinforcement cars on the Hamburg – Lübeck route and in bathing traffic to Travemünde and Neustadt until September 1977, with single-story express train cars and Silberlinge then serving as control cars . The cars between Hamburg Hbf and Ahrensburg could also be used with the S-Bahn or HVV tariff (former diesel S-Bahn line S4).

The computer-compatible numbering of DB wagons from 1968 onwards gave the last four LBE double-deckers, which have since been declassified to second class, the new numbers

  • 50 80 26-20 800-1 (ex 30991 or 1)
  • 50 80 26-20 803-5 (ex 30995 or 5)
  • 50 80 26-20 804-3 (ex 30996 or 8)
  • 50 80 26-20 805-0 (ex 30997 or 7).

Whereabouts

DAB 26-20 800 in Hittfeld train station in 1993

In September 1977, the provisional end of the double-decker car era in the Federal Republic became apparent. The four cars lost their fixed deployment plans and were initially parked operationally in Lübeck Hbf. In February 1978 the DAB 26-20803 and 805 were retired. The two remaining cars 26-20 800 and 804 were decommissioned in April 1978.

  • DAB 26-20 800 (formerly LBE-DW 1) was taken over by Eisenbahnfreunde Wegberg (near Cologne), who had partially redesigned it into a clubhouse or museum.
  • DAB 26-20803 (ehem. LBE DW 5) went to the L inke- H ofmann- B (now usch works Alstom Transport Germany ) in Salzgitter . The LHB-Werke have exhibited the 2nd / 3rd class half of the DAB in their factory museum. LHB is the successor to the Breslauer Linke Hofmann factory. The vehicle is located in the factory museum, which is not open to the public.
  • DAB 26-20 805 (formerly LBE-DW 7) went to the Volkswagen factory in Kassel. Here it was used to transport people within the facilities of the VW factory in Altenbauna near Kassel. After the refurbishment, the car was repainted in the blue color scheme of the VW factory locomotives.
  • DAB 26-20 804 (formerly LBE-DW 8), used by the Federal Railroad as' DAB 6b 'No. '50 80 26-20 804-3', stayed in its old home in Lübeck after it was retired by the DB. Thanks to generous funding from the Lübeck Possehl Foundation, it was taken over by the Lübecker Verkehrsfreunde eV (VLV) association.

In the meantime, the cars (formerly LBE-DW 1 and 7) sold to Eisenbahnfreunde Wegberg and VW in 1978 are no longer available. The LBE-DW 8 VLV double-decker car is the only complete and operational vehicle in this series that is left of the eight units that were built. The Lübecker Verkehrsfreunde eV (VLV) association is now insolvent, the LBE-DW 8 was auctioned in spring 2013. The auction ended on April 19, 2013, the car was bought by the DB Museum in Nuremberg and can now be viewed from the outside in the museum's outdoor area.

There was a special express train set similar to that of the LBE with the French Voiture à étage État and the, albeit one-story, Henschel-Wegmann train .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "Knorr - Bremse customer magazine, November 25, 2009," New Generation of Double-Deck Cars ", page 5 ( Memento of the original from December 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. (PDF)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.knorr-bremse.de
  2. ↑ (source: VLV )

literature

  • Alfred B. Gottwald: The Lübeck Büchener Railway (LBE) . Alba-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1999, ISBN 3-87094-235-5 .
  • Rolf Ostendorf: Hamburg – Lübeck on two floors . In: railway magazine . No. 4/2011 . Alba publication, April 2011, ISSN  0342-1902 , p. 30-31 .

Web links

Commons : LBE's double-decker streamlined push-pull train  - collection of images, videos and audio files