FS E.444
| FS E.444 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Numbering: | E 444.001-117 |
| Number: | 117 |
| Manufacturer: | 12 different manufacturers |
| Year of construction (s): | 1967 (pre-series), 1970–1974 |
| Axis formula : | Bo'Bo ' |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Length over buffers: | 16,840 mm 17,120 mm (E.444R) |
| Height: | 4,280 mm |
| Width: | 2,960 mm |
| Bogie axle base: | 2,600 mm |
| Total wheelbase: | 11,600 mm |
| Service mass: | 78 t (pre-series), 83 t |
| Top speed: | 180 km / h (pre-series), 200 km / h |
| Hourly output : | 3420 kW (pre-series) 4272 kW (series) |
| Continuous output : | 3040 kW (pre-series) 3820 kW (series) |
| Driving wheel diameter: | 1,250 mm |
| Power system : | 3 kV = 1.5 kV = |
| Power transmission: | Overhead line; 2 pantographs |
| Number of traction motors: | 4th |
| Drive: | Hollow shaft drive |
| Brake: | Resistance brake |
| Control: | Contactor control |
The class E.444 , nicknamed Tartaruga (German: turtle), is an express train electric locomotive of the Ferrovie dello Stato , the Italian state railway. It was created at the same time as the 103 of the Deutsche Bundesbahn and enjoys a similar cult status in Italy as its German counterpart.
history
The new Florence – Rome line planned in the 1960s required locomotives that could pull the Rapido trains with a maximum length of eight cars at 200 km / h or the mixed-class express trains with a maximum length of twelve cars at 160 km / h. Therefore, in the study offices of the FS-Maschinendienst Serviuzio Materiale e Trazione, a track - saving , strongly motorized Bo'Bo 'electric locomotive was designed, which was characterized by deeply articulated, pivot-less and cradle -free bogies with a short axle base . The alternative development of a Co'Co 'electric locomotive of the E.666 series did not come out via a prototype. Since the Italian rail industry reorganized itself during the delivery of the locomotives, the locomotives have the nameplates of up to twelve different companies.
The locomotives were painted in gray and blue, from 1973 also with a red warning paint over the buffer beam.
construction
The locomotive body of E.444 overloaded on secondary springs and trailing arm on an auxiliary arm. This in turn lies on sliding and rotating tracks on the bogie frame . The pulling and braking forces are transmitted through deeply linked steel cables that are guided under the bogie. Hollow shaft drives transmit the torque to the axles, whereby angle lever articulated couplings with a so-called "dancing ring" are used.
The E.444 has a finely graded contactor control that works in conjunction with six degrees of field weakening and 43 resistance combinations . The 1120 kilowatt motors are connected in series-parallel grouping. The drag brake provides a deceleration force of 88 kilonewtons between 200 km / h and 50 km / h. The starting and braking resistors are built into the interior of the electric locomotive , the heated air is diverted to the outside through the roof scoop .
commitment
The E.444 are mainly used in high-quality long-distance passenger transport. At that time, you were practically exclusively responsible for the traction of Trans-Europ-Express trains on the FS network, both for international connections such as TEE Roland, Lemano, Ligure, Mediolanum and Cisalpin, as well as national TEEs such as Adriatico, Ambrosiano, Vesuvio , Cycnus, Aurora.
Some of these trains reached speeds of up to 180 km / h, and cross-country runs with daily outputs of up to 1500 kilometers were not uncommon.
From 1985 E.444 pulled the first scheduled trains running at 200 km / h in Italy via the Direttissima Florence – Rome . Since the appearance of the successor type FS E.402A , the "turtles" have gradually moved back into the second category.
variants
.jpg)
In addition to the four pre-production locomotives, the E.444 series has two important retrofit variants:
- E.444 pre-series : The four pre-series locomotives were put into operation in 1967 and 1967. It was found that the required maximum speed of 200 km / h in scheduled operation could not yet be achieved due to inadequate bogies, among other things (during test drives a passenger train reached a top speed of 207 km / h). The maximum speed of the pre-series locomotives was then limited to 180 km / h. Furthermore, compared to the series locomotives, the pre-series locomotives have a rather homely looking locomotive body with "straight" fronts, which is only slightly rounded on the sides. In contrast to the series locomotives, the pre-series locomotives were not modernized. The E.444.001 was the only pre-production locomotive that remained in the Pietrarsa Railway Museum near Naples as a functioning museum locomotive .
- E.444 AV : For use at 200 km / h on the Direttissima Florence – Rome, 18 machines were retrofitted to the AV version (Alta Velocità; German: high speed) with anti-roll dampers , a different gear ratio and changed driver's cab signaling. These copies were later given the series designation E.447.
- E.444R : From 1989 to 1997 all E.444s were modernized: The driver's cab was rebuilt and now has a box-like shape instead of the elegant round shape. This made the driver's cab more spacious. At the same time, the driver's cabs are asbestos-free , noise-insulated and air-conditioned. The traction electrics remained basically unchanged, but some details were modernized. It received an electronic pilot control and the insulation class of the motors was improved by re-impregnation. The motor-generators were replaced by static auxiliary converters , unless this had already happened before 1982. With the conversion, the gearboxes of the E.447 were also dismantled. The converted electric locomotives were given the designation E.444R (riqualificata, German: upgraded). The converted locomotives were initially painted light gray / red, later light gray and green.
Trivia
- The nickname “ Tartaruga ” (German: turtle) was the result of an internal FS ideas competition. The caricature of a flying turtle adorned the locomotives as a kind of logo until the introduction of the XMPR design.
- The E.444.005 served from 1976 to 1981 as a test vehicle for stepless Thyristor - chopper control .
literature
- Thyristor locomotives in Austria and Italy . In: Wolfgang Messerschmidt (Ed.): Locomotive magazine . No. 78 . Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, W. Keller & Co. , 1976, ISSN 0458-1822 , p. 187-193 .
- Helmut Petrovitsch: The transformations of the turtles . In: Railway magazine . tape 44 , no. 11 . Alba-Verlag, Düsseldorf 2006, p. 6-11 .
- Stefan Wittich: Congratulazioni, Tartaruga . In: Railway magazine . tape 55 , no. 11 . Alba-Verlag, Munich 2017, p. 50-53 .
