Development history of the Norwegian railcars

With the introduction of petrol, diesel and electric motors, it was recognized in Norway that operation with a single vehicle equipped with these motors - the multiple unit - could be more cost-effective, especially on routes with fewer passengers or at certain times of the day. The history of the development of the Norwegian railcars began with two vehicles imported from Germany .

Development history

Passenger traffic could be simplified with individually moving railcars, sometimes with attached passenger cars and later with control cars . However, multiple units can often only be coupled together with certain other types. Units consisting of a railcar with coupled intermediate cars (also called sidecars ) and control cars are called multiple units . In the early days, the control car made it possible to give signal signals to the driver so that he could drive the train accordingly. This technology was later refined so that the elements of the railcar could be remotely controlled from the control car. Thereupon the driver was waived.

Despite the functional and technical similarities between a motorized multiple unit and a tram , motorized multiple units were not used in rail operations until trams had been in use for a long time. The Norges Statsbaner (NSB) put the first motorized railcars into operation in the 1920s.

In modern multiple units, the engines and other equipment of the train are distributed over the entire unit, so that the simple separation and individual use of the multiple unit without a trailer or control car is no longer possible in many cases.

The first petrol railcars

The first two railcars were imported from Germany in 1924 and used, among other things, in local traffic around Bergen and Trondheim . These were gasoline powered bogie vehicles with a driver's cab at each end. This enabled the driver to drive the vehicle immediately from the control panel opposite if there was a change in direction if no additional cars were being carried. These wagons were given the type designation Co – m type 1 . C stands for 3rd class, o for bogie and m for motor. In addition, a two-axle vehicle was delivered in 1927, it was given the designation C – m type 1 .

New buildings in Norway

Instead of importing further vehicles from Germany, NSB began to build a larger series of two-axle railcars themselves in the late 1920s. These were given the wooden structure customary at the time. These railcars were built for both narrow-gauge and standard-gauge. The narrow-gauge wagons with the designation C – m type 1 were given a teak paneling, while the standard-gauge C – m type 13 were fitted with painted steel plates on a wooden frame. These were omnibus-like vehicles with a driver's cab, they had to be turned like steam locomotives at terminus. This process took additional time and a turntable had to be available.

This was followed by a larger type of car for standard gauge, which was provided with a driver's cab at both ends. The first series received gasoline engines and was named C – m type 14 . It was followed by a version with a diesel engine, called the Cm type 15 .

In the interwar period there were several reasons for the introduction of railcars. The traffic was accompanied by a general economic downturn in the aftermath of the First World War back. The number of travelers fell. If a traffic offer was to be maintained on routes with little traffic in the frequency previously desired, the operating costs would increase. NSB tried first with the so-called Småtog , consisting of a small steam locomotive with a transition device , to reduce costs. The stoker could be used as a train attendant and sell tickets. Operating the steam locomotives was expensive, however, so the savings were not enough. In addition, the railroad was about to lose its transport monopoly because roads were built and a number of bus routes were created there. The development of the car brought constant improvements in road traffic. In the competition, the railroad had no chance with the passengers only with slow steam locomotives and old wagons. Railcars were able to stop for the passengers often and with little demands on local facilities, so that they served stops on demand at many road crossings. There were crossings equipped with a stop signal, with which passengers gave a sign if necessary. The first railcars were therefore used in local traffic over short distances with frequent stops.

Electric railcars, type 2, 4 and 5

Type 2 train, Filipstad, 1931

Type 5 train in Oslo Ø, 1939

Local transport around Oslo was carried out with locomotives and wagons in the 1920s. The traffic was big enough for that. On the Drammenbanen and Hovedbanen the local trains were pulled by electric locomotives of the types El 1 and El 5 . The less traveled routes should be served by trains similar to the diesel multiple units already in use. Control cars should also be used for this purpose, in order to avoid turning the trains as with locomotive-driven passenger trains. The result was the first electric multiple unit Co-m type 2 (later Cmeo type 2 and from 1956 NSB Type 62 ), which was the size of a normal passenger car on bogies with external teak paneling. Four of them were delivered in 1931/32 for local traffic between Oslo and Sandviken . Eight passenger cars that were already used in local trains were converted into so-called cable cars. Four of them were again equipped with a steering position at one end. A multiple unit consisted of a motor car, an intermediate car and a control car and operated as a fixed unit. These 3-car units have long been the standard for electric multiple units at NSB.

A few years later, when Østfoldbanen was electrified almost as far as Oslo, a slightly modernized version of the Co-m type 2 was built for local traffic on this route and Hovedbanen . This railcar, known as Co-m type 5 (later Cmeo 105 and from 1956 NSB Type 65 ) had steel cladding and was built from 1936 to 1939. As with Drammenbanen, older wagons were converted into intermediate and control cars. These were clad in teak and were given a new shape like the type 5 railcars. The motor cars were temporarily connected to type 2 intermediate and control cars . These combinations were increasingly formed when a series Type 5b was built in 1941 , these were rounder and more streamlined. The type 5c series with 22 cars was built between 1949 and 1952. It differed in appearance from series a and b by fixed windows with wooden frames and air flaps on the roof. Series a and b had large windows that could be pushed down. Type 5 had the seat arrangement 3 + 2 with swiveling backrests in all vehicle parts. This meant that local passengers in Oslo could always sit facing the direction of travel.

In the meantime, the Hardangerbahn had been opened in 1935 and was operated electrically from the start. Separate railcars were built for this route in 1934, which were especially suitable for steep gradients of up to 35 ‰. These were bidirectional bogie railcars with steel cladding, the three railcars were designated as Cmo type 4 , then Cmeo type 104 and from 1956 as NSB Type 64 . The trains were mainly used on the Hardangerbahn for all passenger trains until passenger traffic was discontinued in 1985. One of the wagons was occasionally used on the even steeper Flåmsbana .

Diesel multiple units, type 3, 6 and 7

For non-electrified routes, the development in the 1930s went to bogie railcars with driver's cabs at both ends that could be driven with a control car.

First a small series with a gasoline engine was procured, which outwardly resembled the electric Type 2 in many ways . The three railcars were built for local traffic on the Vossebane and should replace the German railcars from the 1920s. The series was named Cmo type 3 and later switched to diesel operation. From 1956 the series was named NSB Type 83 , left Vossebanen and ended its career on the Reinsvoll – Skreia (Skreiabanen) railway . The engines for these railcars were supplied by the Deutsche Werke Kiel .

The next series was built in larger numbers from 1938 - the Cmo type 6 (from 1956 NSB Type 86 ). These were light metal wagons. This series was produced over many years and also in many variants. Thanks to the control car, the railcars could easily be used in both directions. They were in use on almost the entire non-electrified route network and were even used for the "Nordlandsekspressen" between Trondheim and Lønsdal . Type 6 had the seat arrangement 3 + 2 with swiveling backrests in all vehicle parts. This meant that local passengers in Oslo could always sit facing the direction of travel.

In 1941 another type of vehicle was designed that was particularly suitable for routes with a light superstructure. This was called Cmo type 7 (from 1956 NSB Type 87 ) and did not have a control car. Instead, a number of very short and light freight cars called "koffert" were built for this particular type of vehicle, the purpose of which was to transport suitcases and other items of luggage. These new diesel vehicles from the late 1930s meant that the number of steam-powered passenger trains could be reduced.

Express multiple units, type 106 and 8

During the Second World War , two renowned vehicle projects were planned, one for electrical operation ( CFmeo type 106 ) and one for diesel operation ( Cmdo type 8 ). These were the so-called Lyntog in the colors cream-white and blue, construction of which began in 1945 and of which four trains of each type were built. They were used on the main routes from Oslo to Trondheim, Bergen, Kristiansand and Gothenburg . The units were given a shield with a name and coat of arms on each side with the destination of the train on it.

Here NSB tried to build on the interwar period when trains were driven at 120 km / h. In the 1956 type plan, the electric trains were designated NSB Type 66 and the diesel trains NSB Type 88 .

The diesel trains initially had problems with the engines. These were replaced after a few years. In 1958, a slightly modernized B variant was built in two copies, so that there were a total of six diesel trains. All were 3-car units, as was common with electric multiple units. For diesel trains, it was the only time in Norwegian history that 3-car trains were built. These were not equipped with a control car, but had a motor car at each end and an intermediate car in the middle. They were taken out of service in 1970 after having been on the Røros Railway for the past five years .

The electric trains last ran on the Vestfold Railway and were shut down in 1977.

German railcars in Norway, type 9 and 10

During the Second World War , the railroad was very important for the German occupation forces, so many vehicles were brought to Norway during this time, where they stayed after the end of the war in May 1945. They were treated as spoils of war or as substitutes for war and administered by the Directorate for Civil Emergency Planning . The formal handover to the Norwegian State Railways took place later, although they had been used by NSB the whole time.

These were the five diesel railcars 137 041, 123, 124, 134 and 135 , which were built in 1934 with the 2 'B' wheel arrangement, and the six diesel-electric railcars 137 170, 187, 200-202 and 208 , 1935/36 also included the wheel arrangement 2 'Bo' built. All vehicles were made of light metal. They were problematic to maintain, but were cared for to the point that they remained operational. When NSB was officially taken over on September 12, 1945, the diesel-mechanical wagons were given the designation Cmdo type 8 and the diesel-electric wagons the designation Cmdeo type 1 . Already in 1946 there was a new grouping, the series Cmdo type 8 became Cmdo type 9a and the series Cmdeo type 1 became the two subgroups Cmdeo type 10a and Cmdeo type 10b .

Between 1953 and 1958 all were retired. Some vehicles of the series Cmdeo type 10 were converted as railway company cars and were in use in the Stavanger district until well into the 1970s .

→ Main article : NSB Type Cmdo 8a

→ Main article : NSB Type Cmdeo 1

Modern replicas, Type 11 and Type 107

The most successful railcar types were the Cmo type 6 and Co-m type 5 series built in the late 1930s . 15 years later they were the model for modernized variants.

The improved diesel railcars were delivered in 1955 and 1956; the series of ten vehicles was called the Cmdo type 11 . Compared to Type 6, they were planned for medium distances and were given normal seating groups in the 2 + 2 arrangement on each side of a central aisle. In comparison, type 5 and type 6 had the seat arrangement 3 + 2 with swiveling backrests in all vehicle parts with the same width.

The electric multiple units Cmeo type 107 were equipped with the same kind of swiveling backrests as type 5 and differed from type 5c by a slightly different motor bogie construction. The engines were located in the bogie frame instead of the so-called freely suspended engines previously used. Furthermore, the wagons had entire window panes.

Electric multiple units for medium distances, Type 68

Based on the Cmeo type 107 series , NSB ordered medium-distance railcars from Skabo jernbanevognfabrik and Norsk Elektrisk & Brown Boveri . The technical equipment was similar to that of the Cmo type 7 , but in contrast to this one, which only drove 70 km / h, the new vehicles could run at 100 km / h. The seats and the interior were designed for longer distances. They were built in two versions, A from 1956 to 1958 (68.01-21) and B from 1960 to 1961 (68.22-30). Type 68a railcars consisted of a railcar (Bmeo 68a), an intermediate car (Bo3h type 1) and a control car (BFo3c type 1). A B train consisted of a railcar (Bmeo 68b), an intermediate car (Bo3i type 1) and a control car (BFo3d type 1). The intermediate car for the B train, Bo3i, had comfortable seats similar to those in airplanes. This car had the highest NSB travel standard in the early 1960s.

The multiple units were taken out of service between 1996 and 2001, only the three sets 68.21 to 23 were sold in 2001 to Ofotbanen AS for passenger transport on the Narvik - Riksgrensen route . Ofotbanen went bankrupt in 2008 and the passenger traffic was taken over by Statens Järnvägar (SJ). The whereabouts of these three multiple units is not known.

Redrawing plan 1956

Type system

All railway administrations that were members of the International Union of Railways (UIC) based in Paris in 1956 changed their class names that year. The 3rd class was upgraded to the 2nd class and the former 1st and 2nd class were combined as 1st class. In several countries that used special trains for 1st class, passengers only had the option to switch to other 2nd or 3rd class trains. In the new designation system, 1st class was given the letter A for all participating railways, the 2nd class with the letter B and the 3rd class, which was no longer used, was given the letter C.

This was the reason for NSB to revise the unsystematic and disordered type system of their railcars, which had existed since around 1920 based on the system of passenger cars. NSB always had the designation type or type combined with the class designation, the motorization and the drive type as well as with the distinction, whether it was a bogie variant, with a consecutive type number.

On July 1, 1956, all existing vehicle series with internal combustion engines were sorted in such a way that the number 80 was added to the former, mostly single-digit, type number so that the former type number remained recognizable. Some railcars that were to be retired were not given a new type number, so that there were gaps in the new system. The same was done with the electric vehicles. There the type numbers from the 1930s can be traced, because as a rule the value 40 was deducted from the three-digit type number . The designation type or type was retained and is part of the designation on new vehicles. However, this designation is not written on the vehicles.

Numbering system

There were several changes in the numbering systems between 1924 and 1956. For an overview of these changes, there is a table of all railcars, which shows how numbers and type designations have changed over the years. From the beginning, the vehicles were given consecutive numbers that were incremented from 18201.

The first two electric multiple units were given the numbers 18223 and 224 in 1931, because initially no distinction was made between the type of drive. This was recognized, so with these exceptions, combustion engine railcars were given the consecutive numbers from 18201 and electric railcars from 18501. However, the two vehicles were renumbered 18501 and 18502 in the same year.

Standard-gauge railcar types and their sorting in the various numbering plans up to and including July 1, 1956

Wagon number	Numbering plan 1925	Numbering plan 1934	Numbering plan 1942	Number plan 1956
Internal combustion engine railcars
18201 18212-13	C – m type 1	Cm type 1a Cm type 1b	Cmb type 1a Cmb type 1b	-
18202-203	Co – m type 1	Cmo type 1	-	-
18215-222	C – m type 13	Cm type 13a	Cmb type 13a	Bmb type 13
18223-224	Co – m type 2	see: 18501-02	(102)	(62)
18225-227	C – m type 13	Cm type 13b	Cmb type 13b	Bmb type 13
18228-233	C – m type 14	Cm type 14a	Cmb type 14a Cmb type 14c	-
18234-235	C – m type 14	Cm type 14b	Cmb type 14b	-
18236-238	Co – m type 3	Cmo type 3a	Cmbo type 3a Cmdo type 3b	BMdo type 83
18239-241	C – m type 14	Cm type 14c Cm type 15b	Cmd type 15b	-
18242	-	Cm type 15a	Cmd type 15a	-
18243-245	-	Cmo type 6a	Cmdo type 6a Cmdo type 6b	Bmdo type 86a Bmdo type 86b
18246	-	Cm type 16a	Cmd type 16a	-
18247	-	Cm type 17a	Cmb type 17a	-
18248-249	-	Cm type 16b	Cmd type 16b	-
18250-253	-	Cmo type 6c	Cmdo type 6c Cmdo type 6e	Bmdo type 86e
18254-259	-	Cmo type 6d	Cmdo type 6d Cmdo type 6e	Bmdo type 86e
18260-264	-	-	Cmdo type 6e	Bmdo type 86e
18265-281	-	Cmo type 7a	Cmdo type 7a	BMdo type 87a
18282-285	-	-	BEmdo type 1a > CEmdo type 8a	BEmdo type 88a
18286-289	-	-	BFmdo type 1a > CFmdo type 8a	BFmdo type 88a
18290-294	-	-	Cmdo type 8a > Cmdo type 9a	Bmdo type 9a
18295-300	-	-	Cmdeo type 1a > Cmdeo type 10a > Cmdeo type 10b	Bmdeo type 10a Bmdeo type 10b
18301-308	-	-	Cmdo type 7b	Bmdo type 87b
18309-328	-	-	Cmdo type 6f	Bmdo type 86f
18329-338	-	-	Cmdo type 11a	BMdo type 91a
Electric railcars
18501-504	Co – m type 2	Cmo type 2a	Cmeo type 102a	Bmeo type 62a
18505-507	-	Cmo type 4a	Cmeo type 104a	Bmeo type 64a
18508-521	-	Cmo type 5a	Cmeo type 105a	Bmeo type 65a
18522-534	-	Cmo type 5a	Cmeo type 105a > Cmeo type 105b	Bmeo type 65b
18535-538	-	-	BFmeo > CFmeo type 106a	BFmeo type 66a
18539-560	-	-	Cmeo type 105c	Bmeo type 65c
18561-578	-	-	Cmeo type 107	Bmeo type 67

If there are several lines in a cell, this means that the type changes took place within the period. A purely formal redrawing in the course of the period up to the next numbering plan is marked with> in front of the changed name.

Reclassification plan 1970

With effect from May 31, 1970 NSB decreed a new assignment between the vehicle types and their numbering. The consecutive numbers from 18.xxx were canceled and the counting began with 01 for each new type. The following re-labeling plan applied to railcars:

Reclassification plan 1970, multiple units

Railcar		Middle car		Control car
Old name	New name	Old name	New name	Old name	New name
Bmeo 62	BM 62	Bo4c	B 62/65	BDFo4-4	BDFS 62/65
Bmeo 64	BM 64
Bmeo 65	BM 65	Bo4d	B 65	BFo4b	BFS 65
BFmeo 66	BFM 66	Bo3n	B 66	BEo3b	BS 66
Bmeo 67	BM 67	Bo4d	B 67	BFo4b	BFS 67
Bmeo 68a	BM 68A	Bo3n	B 68A	BFo3c	BFS 68A
Bmeo 68b	BM 68B	Bo3i	B 68B	BFo3d	BFS 68B
Bmdox 86e	BM 86E			BDFox4-7	BDFS 86
Bmdox 86f	BM 86F			BFox4b / c	BFS 86
Bmdox 86g	BM 86G			BFox3b	BFS 86G
Bmdo 87	BM 87
BFmdo 88a	BFM 88	Bo3n	B88
BFmdo 88b	BFM 88	Bo3e	B88
BEmdo 88a	BM 88
BEmdo 88b	BM 88
Bmdox 91	BM 91			BDFox3-11	BDFS11 91
Bmdox 91	BM 91			BFox3a	BFS 91

Swedish diesel railcars for the Flekkefjord Railway, Type 89

The type BM 89 railcar series are five diesel railcars procured second-hand from Sweden . They were bought by the Norges Statsbaner (NSB) to operate the Flekkefjordbane and given the series designation BM 89 as vehicles .

For passenger transport , the light vehicle type Cmo type 7 built by Strømmens Værksted existed from 1941 , called Cmdo type 7a from 1942 and Bmdo type 87a from 1956 and called NSB type 87 in the numbering plan from 1956 . Due to their small external dimensions, these trains could easily run in the Flekkefjordbane's clearance profile, which was restricted by the conversion from narrow gauge to standard gauge . However, their economic lifespan ended between 1969 and 1981, they were shut down and scrapped.

Replacement vehicles that fit the clearance profile came from Sweden . The vehicles of the local railcar series Y6 became redundant due to line closures, so that in 1981 the railcars Y7 1136 (built in 1957), Y7 1202 and 1205 (all built in 1958) were taken over by NSB as BM 89 01 to 03. Y7 1166 and 1182 (all built in 1958) followed in 1986 as BM 89 04 and 05.

→ Main article : NSB Type 89

Table of multiple units / multiple units at NSB and Flytoget

Electric multiple units	image	in action	Passengers	speed	number
NSB Type 62		1931-1970	73	70 km / h	4th
NSB Type 64		1934-1985	38	50 km / h	3
NSB type 65		1936-1994	-	70 km / h	49
NSB Type 66		1945-1977	-	120 km / h	4th
NSB Type 67		1953-1995	64	70 km / h	18th
NSB Bmeo Type 68 / Type 68		1956–	-	100 km / h	30th
NSB Type 69		1970–	178-306	130 km / h	85
NSB type 70		1990–	230	160 km / h	16
GMB Type 71		1997–	-	210 km / h	16
NSB Type 72		2001–	306	160 km / h	36
NSB Type 73		1997–	204-243	210 km / h	16 A, 6 B
NSB Type 74		2012–	240	200 km / h	36
NSB Type 75		2012–	266	200 km / h	57
NSB type 75-2		2017–	257	200 km / h	2
NSB Type 76		2020–	231-296	200 km / h	14th

Internal combustion engine railcars	image	in action	Passengers	speed	number
NSB Type Cmb 17a		1935-1955	40	100 km / h	1
NSB Type 83		1932-1963	-	75 km / h	4th
NSB Type 86		1938-1996	48-70	100 km / h	38
NSB Type 87	-	1941-1981	46 + 11	75 km / h	25th
NSB Type 88	-	1946-1973	157/162	120 km / h	6th
NSB Type 89		1981-1991	47	115 km / h	5
NSB Type 91	-	1954-1986	64	100 km / h	10
NSB Type 92		1984–	90-114	140 km / h	15th
NSB Type 93		2000–	90	140 km / h	15th
NSB Y1		1979-2015	69 + 2 folding seats	115 km / h	3

Today's multiple units

The electrical drive trains of the series 69 and 72 are generally for local trains, 71 for the Flytoget , 70 for medium distances and 73 used for express trains, wherein the DMUs are the series 92 and 93 for local trains and long-distance traffic on Røros Line , Meråkerbanen and Nordlandsbanen used . The Y1 operated on the Bratsbergbahn until 2015 .

See also

• List of locomotives and multiple units of the Norwegian Railways

literature

• Personvogner, herunder også medtatt post og reisegodsvogner, Bredt spor. Norges Statsbaner, Oslo, January 1, 1936.
• Illustrert fortegnelse over Motorvogner including styre- og mellomvogner. NSB, Oslo July 1, 1942.
• Illustrert fortegnelse over Motorvogner including styre- og mellomvogner. NSB, Oslo July 1, 1956.
• S. Hjorth-Johansen, EW Johansson, K. Nordby: Norske lok og motorvogner January 1, 1978. Norsk Jernbaneklubb, Oslo / Malmö, 1978.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Locomotives from Kiel , Deutsche Werke Kiel
2. ^ Locomotives from Kiel , Deutsche Werke Kiel
3. ↑ Technical data of the 137 135
4. ↑ Norges Statsbaner, Hovedadministrasjonen, Sirkulære No. 62/1970. Oslo, May 19, 1970, p. 3.
5. ↑ Flekkefjordbanevogner på Ålgårdtur. aalgaardbanens-venner.com, archived from the original on March 6, 2013 ; Retrieved February 9, 2016 (Norwegian). 

Web links

Commons : Electric multiple units in Norway  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Commons : Diesel Railcars in Norway  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Database of railcars (norw.)