FCPBA M1-M4
| M1-M4 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Numbering: | 1-4 |
| Number: | 4th |
| Manufacturer: | Sulzer , BBC , Christoph & Unmack |
| Year of construction (s): | 1935 |
| Retirement: | circa 1960 |
| Axis formula : | Bo'2 |
| Gauge : | 1000 mm ( meter gauge ) |
| Length over coupling: | 20 m |
| Empty mass: | 36.5 t |
| Service mass: | 43.4 t |
| Top speed: | 80 km / h |
| Installed capacity: | 270 hp |
| Wheel diameter: | 850 mm |
| Motor type: | Sulzer 6LTD19 |
| Motor type: | Four-stroke 6-cylinder |
| Rated speed: | 1100 rpm |
| Power transmission: | electric |
| Tank capacity: | 540 l |
| Number of traction motors: | 2 |
| Train brake: | Westinghouse air brake |
| Train control : | Dead man's pedal |
| Coupling type: | Henricot |
| Seats: |
1st class: 20 2nd class: 42 |
The M1 – M4 were four diesel-electric railcars for passenger traffic, which were in use from 1935 to the 1960s for the Argentine Ferrocarril Provincial de Buenos Aires (FCPBA, in German: Provincial Railway of Buenos Aires ). All railcars have since been scrapped and broken off.
history
In 1933 the FCPBA ordered four four-axle diesel-electric railcars from the Sociedad Española de Construcciones Babcock y Wilcox . The order was later passed on to the Sulzer Brothers AG. The vehicles should replace the uneconomical steam operation of certain passenger train routes and increase the capacity. Only railcars for passenger trains and light baggage transport were desired.
construction
Participating companies
The Sulzer Brothers AG from Winterthur , Switzerland, was responsible for building the four railcars . They also supplied the diesel engines. The company Brown, Boveri & Cie. in Baden , while the car body came from Christoph & Unmack from Niesky in Oberlausitz , Germany .
The companies BBC and Christoph & Unmack supplied their components to Sulzer. There the vehicles were assembled and Sulzer took care of the commissioning.
Mechanical and electrical part
The railcars were powered by a lightweight Sulzer four-stroke six-cylinder in-line engine that was located at one end of the railcar. The engines had a cylinder bore of 190 mm and a stroke of 240 mm. This diesel engine delivered 270 hp (198 kW) at 1100 revolutions per minute and was able to increase its output to a maximum of 290 hp (213 kW).
In consideration of the weight of the engine block and the generator, the upper part of the cylinder block as well as the end shields and the crankshaft bearings were made of steel or aluminum-silicon cast, while the side walls of the cylinder block, the crankcase, the base plate and the subframe were made of welded sheet steel . The pistons were made of aluminum, the crankshafts and bolts were hollow. The main bearings had a white metal coating in a steel shell and the large final bearings were white metal on bronze.
On the air intake side of the engine was a gear-driven camshaft that operated the intake and exhaust valves. On the opposite side was a second camshaft for driving the fuel pump. All parts were lubricated under pressure. A motor-driven pump provided the necessary pressure.
Much emphasis was placed on minimizing the transmission of vibrations and noise to the passenger compartment. For this purpose, rubber blocks were installed between the sub-floor and the base plate.
The recooler for the diesel engine cooling water was on the vehicle roof. The elements were terraced in five sections on several levels so that the cooling water drained from the radiator when the pump was at a standstill. The cooling water pump was mounted on the main generator. The reserve water tank in the engine room held 240 liters. The water temperature should not exceed 80 ° C at full load. In the engine room there were also two fuel tanks with a total capacity of 540 liters. All pipelines were color-coded: fuel (red), air (blue), lubricating oil (brown) and electrical cables (yellow).
The motor drove a self-ventilating direct current generator with a continuous output of 144 kW, which supplied the electrical power to the two drive motors. The maximum output was 218 kW, 475 volts and 460 amperes. The generator delivered a maximum current of 770 A and a maximum voltage of 500 V.
The two traction motors were located in the bogie opposite the diesel engine. One motor each drove one axis. The other bogie was designed as a running bogie. The electric motors had a continuous output of 75 kW at 2280 / min, 450 V and 188 A and an hourly output of 75 kW at 1690 / min, 365 V and 236 A.
The nickel-iron accumulators for the starter and lighting, the motor compressor with 6.8 HP (5 kW) for the Westinghouse air brake, the dead man's safety control, a motor generator with 2 HP (1.5 kW) were located under the car body ) and a light generator. There was also a ladder for inspecting the vehicle roof.
Bogies
The railcar had two bogies in a welded design. The bogie under the engine block was a running bogie, while the bogie on the opposite side of the car was equipped with the two traction motors. All wheel sets had SKF roller bearings. The wheel sets were suspended from the axle sleeves on coil springs. Further compensating springs dampened the overlapping of the car body.
Each wheel set had two brake shoes that were controlled by the Westinghouse air brake.
Car body
The car body had a welded frame with side members. The roof over the diesel engine was removable for easy removal.
Inside the railcars were 42 2nd class compartments with simple wooden benches in the middle of the car. At the end of the car opposite the engine there were 20 1st class seats. Their sprung benches were covered with leather. The seating arrangement in both car classes was 2 + 2 and there was a full four-person compartment per window. A common closed platform with one door in each direction of travel was used to access the compartments of both car classes. There was also the toilet, which was accessible through a separate door. Next to the engine room was a luggage compartment. This luggage compartment had one luggage door for each direction of travel. There were four narrow windows in the engine room. All side windows could be lowered to cool the interior of the car.
The car body was slightly rounded at the ends to reduce air resistance. The cars reached a top speed of 80 km / h. At each end of the four railcars there was a symmetrical driver's cab with a driver's desk on the right. The driver's cabs could be reached through four doors: in the middle from the inside of the vehicle and from the outside (transition door) and laterally through two doors with stairs.
The railcars were equipped with a Henricot type pulling and pushing device, which made it possible to take additional cars with them. Using the Westinghouse air brake, it was possible to brake both the own vehicle and the coupled vehicle. Furthermore, a rail clearer in the form of a cow catcher was installed under each end of the vehicle. A device for multiple control, respectively. Remote control of other railcars was missing. The FCPBA had planned to form shuttle trains with control cars that had yet to be built if there was sufficient frequency, but did not do so.
Painting and addresses
The four railcars had the same paint job at the beginning. The roof was painted silver and the ribbon windows and the dividing line along the aprons were cream-colored. The area above and below the ribbon window was painted ocher.
The abbreviation for the PBA railway company was affixed in large letters in the middle of the car under the ribbon window. The respective vehicle designation M1-M4 was on all four corners of the car body under the driver's cab windows and in the middle of the car under the abbreviation PBA.
Some time later, each railcar got its own color. While the cream-colored part remained the same for all vehicles, the areas above and below were painted red, blue, green or ocher. After the FCPBA was taken over by Ferrocarril General Belgrano ( General Belgrano Railway ) in 1953, all four railcars were given the same red ribbon.
Operation of the vehicles
A hand wheel on the driver's desk is used to regulate the voltage generated by the generator and fed to the electric motors, as in an electric traction vehicle. An exciter attached to the motor, working with compressed air and operated in connection with the motor controller, made it possible to keep the power set on the controller constant. With the regulator, the diesel engine could be set to four power and speed levels: 600, 800, 950 and 1100 rpm. This enabled economical operation and at the same time prevented overloading of the diesel engine.
While driving, the driver always had to hold down a dead man's pedal. If he failed to do this, the security apparatus stopped the vehicle.
commitment
Test drives in Switzerland
Extensive test drives and test drives were carried out on the Brünigbahn's Interlaken – Meiringen line in autumn 1935 with the first M1 railcar . With a minimum radius of 150 meters and inclines of a maximum of 13 ‰, the 28-kilometer route has ideal conditions for testing this type of vehicle. For these trips, the car body was delivered separately from the undercarriage and the bogies by train to Interlaken Ost. Upon completion, the M1 railcar was shipped to Argentina together with the three other cars.
Use at the FCPBA
The four railcars were often used on the 54-kilometer La Plata - Avellaneda route, for which they needed a travel time of one hour and five minutes. Other services covered the La Plata - Soma Verde, Mira Pampa and Avellaneda - Monte Chingolo routes as well as between La Plata, Azul and Olavarria on weekends.
Two-thirds of the engine power was sufficient to meet the travel times. Only a few times did the timetable demand rapid acceleration and full engine power. Each of the four railcars covered an average of 100,000 km per year. Although the intended control cars for the railcars were never built, luggage and, in particular, milk refrigerated cars were given. This rapid transport of goods was so popular that trains hauled by steam locomotives had to take on these services.
Whereabouts
In the mid-1960s, the four diesel multiple units were scrapped and then broken off.
Literature and Sources
- Sulzer Brothers AG : Diesel-electric motor coaches of 270 HP for the Ferrocarril de Buenos Aires In: Schweizerische Bauzeitung (SBZ), Volume 105/106 (1935), Issue 20 (PDF, 351 KB, archived in E-Periodica of the ETH Library )
Web links
- Derby Sulzers: Argentina , www.derbysulzers.com , Argentina - Its Sulzer & Armstrong / Sulzer powered locomotives.
- Portal de Trenes , www.portaldetrenes.com.ar , Los coches motor Sulzer del Provincial de Buenos Aires.