FS E.431

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FS E.431
E431fs.jpg
Numbering: E.431.001-037
Number: 37
Manufacturer: TIBB
Ansaldo
Year of construction (s): 1922-1924
Retirement: 1976
Axis formula : 1'D1 '
Gauge : 1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Length over buffers: 14,510 mm
Height: 3,850 mm
Total wheelbase: 11,610 mm
Service mass: 91 t
Friction mass: 65 t
Top speed: 100 km / h
Hourly output : 1,900 kW
Driving wheel diameter: 1,630 mm
Power system : 3.6 kV / 16.7 Hz three-phase current
Power transmission: direct power transmission from three-phase catenary to three-phase traction motors
Number of traction motors: 2
Drive: Rod drive with triangular coupling rod
Brake: Handbrake
air brake

The E.431 series was an electric locomotive series of the Italian state railway Ferrovie dello Stato . It was used on the northern Italian three-phase network, especially in express train service on straight lines with little incline. It remained in service until 1976, and two locomotives have been preserved in railway museums.

history

37 of the locomotive was built by TIBB and Ansaldo from 1922 . Technically, it can be viewed as an extended version of the FS E.330 . The four drive axles were able to bring the power to the rails much better. In terms of the area of ​​application, it was preferred to be used on long, flat stretches. On mountain routes, its tractive effort was poor in the 50 km / h range, which meant that it could only be used with double traction. It also damaged the superstructure on winding routes. But they were made for express train service in Piedmont and Liguria . The heavy express trains on these routes, which had a length of up to 20 cars, had to be driven by the locomotives in double traction with the same or third-party locomotives ( FS E.333 , FS E.432 ). The locomotives were also in their element on the slope-free Riviera route from Genoa to Ventimiglia .

Stationing data is missing from the locomotives. Operation photos from the Alessandria depot are only available from 1973 . At the end of the northern Italian three-phase network , it was only possible to use it on the winding routes around Alessandria and S. Giuseppe di Cairo as well as Asti and Acqui Terme , which meant that locomotives could largely be dispensed with. However, some locomotives remained in service until 1976.

The locomotive had quite a few fans among the railroad fans, which resulted in the receipt of two vehicles; the E.431.027 is in the Museo Ferroviario Piemontese near Savigliano . The E.431.037 , which was in the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne until 1989 , is now in the Speyer Technology Museum .

technical features

Mechanical part

The locomotive was the first locomotive in the northern Italian three-phase network with four axles and two drive motors. The running axles were connected to the adjacent driving axle to form a Zara frame . Nevertheless, the locomotives had poor arc travel, probably due to the enlarged drive wheel base and the lack of suitable means such as wheel flange weakening and the ability to move the axles sideways. The drive wheels were designed like steam locomotives , as spoked wheels with counterweights and an angle of the cranks to each other of 90 °.

A detachable housing was mounted on the sturdy frame, which hid the two drive motors and the switching mechanism , which were stored deep in the frame . There was also the driver's cab inside. At the top of the locomotive, two stems were attached; they contained the auxiliary assemblies, such as fans, liquid starters, compressors and compressed air tanks for the pneumatic brakes and the main switch .

The chassis was taken over from the SBB Ae 3/6 II ; the two drive motors located deep in the frame acted on the second coupling axle via a triangular linkage. The distance to the adjacent coupling axles was chosen to be very large, the distance between the last coupling axle and the previous one was correspondingly smaller. During major repairs, the traction motors of the locomotives had to be removed from the bottom instead of the top.

Electrical part

The electrical part of the locomotive was made up of the two drive motors, which were designed to be switchable as six-pole or eight-pole three - phase motors . The locomotives were designed with four speed levels: 37.5 km / h, 50 km / h, 75 km / h and 100 km / h. Performance and tractive effort data are not given in the speed levels in the literature, only the tractive effort is said to have been very low at a speed of 50 km / h, so that the machine was not well suited for mountain routes.

The three-phase current taken from the catenary was passed on to the drive motors with the optimum power factor. As with the FS E.330 , the rotors of the two three-phase motors had a total of seven slip rings, four on one end of the shaft and three on the other. As a result, a total of four speed levels were achieved in combination between the different number of poles and the parallel connection or the series connection . The liquid starter , which served as a so-called accelerator between the continuous speed levels, was used between the four speed levels . This unit worked as a fluid resistance, which enabled a steady acceleration when starting and when changing to a higher speed level. The operation of the liquid filler and the control of the locomotive happened as with the E 330 . Since the soda solution warmed up when accelerating and partly evaporated, the locomotive had to refill water for the resistors when upgrading in the depot and from time to time. As a result, they could only work effectively in the speed levels. The coolant ran through a tube heat exchanger and could be cooled down again while driving in the speed levels. Nevertheless, it was necessary to change the fluid from time to time.

Facility for double traction

After the introduction of a Comando multiplo proved to be successful in tests with the FS E.551 and FS E.554 locomotive series , the experiments with this device were also extended to large-wheel locomotives of the northern Italian three-phase network , including two locomotives of the FS E.333 series and the two E.431.023 and E.431.026 . The machines were rebuilt in January 1960 according to the Ligure system, and showed good results in the single-species and mixed operation of the Comando multiplo . The basic requirement for trouble-free operation is that the drive wheels of the locomotive have approximately the same diameter, which means that the wheel diameters were constantly recorded when the locomotives were operated with Comando multiplo . When collecting water, the Comando multiplo caused the difficulty that water had to be drawn in several times, whereupon several water stops were sometimes planned for the supply of the second locomotive.

Locomotives with different wheel diameters (e.g. E.431 or FS E.554 ) could also be used with the Comando multiplo if the ratio of the number of poles and the crank diameter of the motors matched.

Of the E.431 series locomotives , four were definitely equipped with the Comando multiplo , the E.431.018 , the E.431.023 , the E.431.026 and the E.431.036 .

Modifications

Front view of the E.431.027 locomotive in the Museo Ferroviario Piemontese

In the case of the locomotives, there were some attempts to eliminate the existing performance deficits, but they were not overall successful.

The elongated front end was shortened a few times, which made the appearance of the locomotives a bit clumsier.

Of course there were changes in the pneumatic brakes and electrical lighting. While the locomotives initially had gas lighting , electrical lighting was chosen later.

literature

  • Joachim von Rohr: Ligurian three-phase summer 1963. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-88255-469-4 .
  • Wolfgang Messerschmidt: History of the Italian electric and diesel locomotives Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 1969,

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Internet site about the use of the E.431 locomotive on turntable online
  2. ↑ Internet site about the use of the E.431 locomotive on turntable online
  3. ↑ Wolfgang Messerschmidt: History of the Italian electric and diesel locomotives Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 1969, page 40
  4. ↑ Joachim von Rohr: Ligurischer three-phase summer 1963. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-88255-469-4 . Pages 24 and 38
  5. ↑ Wolfgang Messerschmidt: History of the Italian Electric and Diesel Locomotives Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 1969, p. 38.
  6. ↑ Joachim von Rohr: Ligurischer three-phase summer 1963. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-88255-469-4 . Page 14
  7. ↑ Joachim von Rohr: Ligurischer three-phase summer 1963. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-88255-469-4 . Page 17
  8. ↑ Erminio Mascherpa, Il comando multiplo delle locomotive trifasi, in Italmodel ferrovie, 26 (1974), no. 177, pages. 6129-6135
  9. ↑ Joachim von Rohr: Ligurischer three-phase summer 1963. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-88255-469-4 . Page 14
  10. ↑ Joachim von Rohr: Ligurischer three-phase summer 1963. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-88255-469-4 . Page 17