Interchangeable freight wagons

In Güterwagenbau is meant by exchange type one in 1924 by the German Railway Company introduced design of freight cars through the use of interchangeable trailers. In the interests of replacement construction, attention was paid to the use of standardized parts with low tolerances during the design of these freight cars . This enabled individual components to be exchanged between the various freight cars, which enabled more effective maintenance. When welding technology was introduced in freight wagons in 1933 , the next generation of freight wagons, the welded freight wagons, emerged .

Since 1921, in the development of freight wagons, a distinction has been made between freight wagons without special features that correspond to the standard or norm, and those with special features that therefore have special equipment or special properties.

The interchangeable freight cars were also divided into:

Regular type freight wagons, standard freight wagons without special features
Special design freight wagons, freight wagons with special features

Development history

With the establishment of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft in 1924 as an economically independent company, there was also pressure to keep costs as low as possible. The interchangeable design for freight wagons was introduced and the “General Wagon Standards Committee” (Awana) developed the corresponding construction plans for this design in addition to the DIN standard . The wagon types should be standardized as far as possible and parts should be able to be exchanged without reworking. These construction plans were still largely based on the sample sheets for the association type freight wagons . Of the original eleven standard freight wagons of the association design, only eight wagon types were taken over for replacement. Since the freight wagons according to sample sheet A1 ( open freight wagons ) and according to sample sheet A5 ( turntable wagons ) were no longer up to date, these were only built in small numbers in interchangeable designs. The short, open coal wagon according to the A6 sample sheet was no longer manufactured as an interchangeable model. The number of interchangeable freight wagons built did not even come close to that of the association design, as the global economic crisis reduced the volume of transport and the demand for freight wagons was correspondingly low. In contrast to the war wagons built later, the riveted freight wagons of the interchangeable design were solid constructions , which is why they were used by both German railroad companies for decades after the war without major modifications.

Name and painting

Almost all freight wagons of the German Reichsbahn were from about 1921 with the words "German Reichsbahn" and by the name of a " genus district ", a "car number" and a "species character" provided. The superstructures were painted red-brown (color number 11a), the car roofs in light gray (color number 47) and the car frames in black (color numbers 14, 24, 33).

In 1927 the standard colors of the Deutsche Reichsbahn were changed to the RAL color system 840 B. From 1940 the colors for the paintwork of the freight wagons were changed again, for example from December 1941 the iron roofs of the covered freight wagons were given a dark gray color ( RAL-7021 ) deleted and no longer in green-gray and from 1942 on most of the cars only bore the lettering "DR", the name of a "class district", a "car number" and a "class symbol".

Additional generic districts

From 1921 onwards, all freight wagons with the same or similar uses were grouped into so-called generic districts, these were given names of German cities, mostly cities with a Reich railway directorate . The following generic districts were added under the DRG from 1926:

Additional class districts of the Deutsche Reichsbahn from 1926
Generic districts	Generic symbol	Wagon type	design type	Period
Koenigsberg	O	Open car	Exchange design	from 1924
Trier, later Saarbrücken	G, R, Gk	Ferry car	Exchange design	1927-1935
Wuppertal, formerly Elberfeld	K	Hinged lid trolley	Länderbahn design, association design, exchange design	from 1930

The standard design freight cars

The interchangeable wagons were made with a riveted construction, were mostly equipped with a Kunze-Knorr air brake (Kk brake) and, with a few exceptions, were approved for a speed of 65 km / h. Many of these wagons had been designed for conversion to the Russian broad gauge because of the beginning flourishing German-Russian economic relations .

Covered freight cars

Covered freight car

Gr Kassel

Generic sign Gr, generic district Kassel

The covered wagons of the Kassel district were based on the association design wagons according to sample sheet A2 . Due to the standardization, the same wagon frame was used as that of the open freight wagons of the type “Om Königsberg”, and the wagon body was adapted accordingly. As a result of the adaptations, these wagons had a loading length of 7,720 mm and a loading width of 2,740 mm and were a ton heavier than the union-type freight wagons. Their length over the buffers was 9,100 mm without handbrake and 9,800 mm with handbrake, the wheelbase remained at 4,500 mm and they were suitable as transfer cars for the transition to broad gauge .

Other noticeable differences were the use of a barrel roof instead of a flat roof and the brakeman's cab on the base . The car body was additionally stabilized by diagonal struts to reinforce the side panels next to the doors. A loading flap and a ventilation flap were built into each side wall, one always at the end of the side wall. The wagons of the Kassel district were given the wagon numbers 80.001–88.263.

In 1935, two test cars were built with 1650 mm long leaf springs instead of the 1,100 mm long springs used otherwise, and with an axle base of 6,000 mm with a handbrake and 5,300 mm without a handbrake. These two cars were used to determine the running properties at a speed of 90 km / h. The results, however, meant that these structural changes did not bring any economic advantages for the box wagons, but they were implemented for the spacious box wagons.

Covered, spacious freight cars

Car with springs 1,100 mm long

Gl Dresden 4001

Generic symbols Gl, Glr - generic district Dresden

The dimensions and the drive with the eleven-layer and 1,100 mm long suspension springs of two-axle wagons of Gattungsbezirk Dresden resembled the verbandsbauart after sample sheet A9 . They had a length over buffers of 12,100 mm without handbrake and 12,800 mm with handbrake; a loading length of 10,720 mm, its loading weight was 15 tons and its wheelbase was 7,000 mm. The new roof shape of the barrel roof , the diagonal struts on the car body in the side panels next to the doors and the truss on the underframe. In 1929 the "Glr Dresden" wagon type was added, the main dimensions of which were identical to those of the Gl Dresden wagon type, but which could be implemented on the Russian broad gauge .

Car with springs 1,650 mm long

Glr Dresden 80001

Generic sign Glr / Glrhs - generic district Dresden

In 1935, the attempts to improve the running of boxcars were extended to the freight wagons of the Dresden class district. For this purpose, some test cars of the Glr type and later also the Glrhs type were built. These cars, equipped with nine-ply and 1,650 mm long suspension springs, had a wheelbase of 7,000 mm and had a Hildebrandt-Knorr passenger train brake. They had a loading length of 10,720 mm, a length over buffers of 12,800 mm with handbrake, their loading weight was 15 tons, their load capacity was 17.5 tons and their own weight was 13.4 tons. They were built with and without a handbrake and were easily distinguishable from older cars by the low-lying gusset plates on the car body next to the doors.

Car with springs 1,800 mm long

Generic symbol Glhs / Glehs - generic district Dresden

To achieve better running characteristics at higher speeds, the "Glhs Dresden" wagon type was developed from 1933 onwards. These wagons, equipped with nine-ply and 1,800 mm long suspension springs, had an axle base increased from 7,000 mm to 7,700 mm and had a Kunze-Knorr passenger train brake. The problem was that there was no space for these freight cars on most of the track scales and turntables because of the large wheelbase. Thanks to this soft suspension and the short overhang of the car body, they had excellent high-speed properties and could be approved for a speed of 90 km / h. From 1933 a total of 650 cars were built; all received a steam heating pipe and had a handbrake, the "Glehs Dresden" type of car also had a pipe for electrical heating. Their length over buffers with handbrake was 12,800 mm and some of these wagons were converted into a unit for the light freight trains (Leig) in order to be able to be used in general cargo express traffic .

Car with bulkhead doors

Dresden Gltrhs

Generic symbols Glt, Glth, Gltrhs - generic district Dresden

For the first time in 1927, a wagon type with front wall doors for the weatherproof transport of motor vehicles was built. These wagons were assigned to the "Glt Dresden" wagon type, they had the main dimensions of the Gl wagons and were also equipped with eleven-layer and 1100 mm long suspension springs. The “Glth Dresden” wagon type, built in early 1933, was first manufactured with nine-layer and 1,650 mm long suspension springs, which were intended to improve and test the running properties. In the same year, the "Gltrhs Dresden" wagon type was built, also with nine-layer and 1650 mm long suspension springs, but approved for a speed of 90 km / h. These wide-gauge wagons had two-leaf doors on one or both sides of the front wall and a steam heating line.

Through experience with these different types of wagons, a standard for the high-speed covered, spacious freight wagons was found, which should be valid for several years. The loading area was set at 29.4 m², the wheelbase at 7,000 mm and nine-ply and 1,650 mm or 1,800 mm long suspension springs were used.

Hinged lid trolley

Hinged lid wagon for the Wuppertal district, formerly Elberfeld

Generic symbol K, generic district Elberfeld / Wuppertal

The hinged lid wagons of the interchangeable design were longer and, at 4,000 mm, had a larger wheelbase than the hinged lid wagons of the association design built according to sample sheet A7 . Their length over buffers without handbrake was 8,100 mm and with handbrake 8,800 mm. They had a loading volume of 28.6 m³ with a brakeman's cab and over 34.5 m³ without a brakeman's cab. The side walls were now divided into two fields by a vertical strut on either side of the door. Between 1924 and 1933, around 1,000 interchangeable cars were built using riveting technology. In 1935, however, the Deutsche Reichsbahn only procured two welded test cars with the same main dimensions. However, there was no longer any series production of this type of wagon, as the hinged-lid wagon, which was difficult to unload, was now technically obsolete and covered self-unloading wagons could take over their duties. With the renaming of Barmen- Elberfeld in Wuppertal in 1930, the generic district valid for the hinged-lid wagons was also renamed from Elberfeld to Wuppertal. These cars were given the car numbers from 80.001 to 80.991.

Crate car

Generic sign V (r), generic district Altona / Hamburg

After the wagons of the association design according to sample sheet A8 , the riveted crate wagons of the interchangeable design emerged from 1927 , which, in contrast to the shorter association wagons, corresponded to the box wagons of the "Gr Kassel" wagon type in terms of main dimensions and technical properties. Of these double-bottom wagons for transporting small livestock (pigs, sheep, goats, poultry, etc.), only about 320 wagons were built. Most of these cars were equipped with gauge changing wheel sets for the Russian broad gauge and were delivered with and without a brakeman's cab. The car numbering went from 80,001 to 80,654. With the incorporation of Altona to Hamburg, the class district of the crate wagons from Altona to Hamburg also changed from 1937.

Open freight cars

Open freight car

Generic sign O, generic district Halle

These demountable open wagons were based on the wagons of the association design according to sample sheet A1 and were adapted to the requirements of the replacement building. The two-axle wagons built from 1928 onwards had a loading volume of 18.4 m³, a loading weight of 15 tons and a load capacity of 17.5 tons. The wooden walls were 1,000 mm high and the wheelbase of these cars with and without a handbrake was a uniform 4,000 mm. About 26 examples of this type of wagon were built. The car numbering went from 80,001 to 80,026.

Generic symbol Om, generic district Königsberg

These freight wagons with a loading weight of 20 tons, built in series from 1927, were the first open wagons to be built according to the specifications of the replacement building. They had diagonal braces next to the doors and trusses directly below them. The 9.100 mm long underframe with a 4,500 mm wheelbase over buffers (with handbrake: 9,800 mm) was also used for the “Gr Kassel” boxcars as well as numerous special designs and private freight wagons. In 1939, the production of these freight wagons was discontinued in favor of the welded open wagons of the Omm type, but only about 20,000 wagons had been built by then. In some occupied territories another 4,300 of these riveted wagons were built during World War II .

Stake car

Generic sign R (r), generic district Stuttgart

These stake wagons , built from 1926 onwards , were lengthened by 600 mm compared to the type A4 wagons , so that the undercarriage was the same as that of the “Gl Dresden” wagon type built in 1927. They were built with and without a handbrake and had 22 wooden stanchions; Most of these cars were transfer cars for the transition to broad gauge . The load weight was still 15 tons and they had an axle base of 7000 mm, a loading length of 10,720 mm, a loading area of 27 m², a length over buffers of 12,800 mm with handbrake, without handbrake 12,100 mm and a trapezoidal truss mechanism .

Two-axle rail car

Generic symbol Sm, generic district Augsburg

These riveted wagons, built exclusively without handbrake from 1927, were identical in dimensions to those of the association design according to sample sheet A11 , only the loading area was 50 mm wider. Their wheelbase was 8,000 mm, their loading length 12,988 mm and their length over the buffers was 14,400 mm. However, they were designed for a load weight of 20 tons, while the wagons of the association design were only approved for 15 tons and therefore received massive trusses made of angle iron. They each had six iron side stanchions and a lower stake support frame. Around 190 cars were built from 1927 to 1936.

Four-axle rail car

Generic mark SSl, generic district Cologne

The construction of these rail cars, built from 1928 onwards, was not based on the rail cars of the association design according to sample sheet A3 with 15,060 mm loading length, but on the longer Prussian version according to drawing Ce 168 with 18,050 mm loading length. The riveted wagons of the interchangeable design had a brakeman's cab just like the rail wagons according to the A3 sample sheet, but with 40 tons a load weight that was 5 tons higher. Their length over the buffers was 20,100 mm and their own weight was 23 tons. The most noticeable innovation on this freight wagon was the internal fish-belly carrier .

Turntable wagon

Generic sign H, generic district Regensburg

With the same wheelbase of 4,500 mm, these turntable wagons were slightly longer than the wagons of the association design according to sample sheet A5 . These two-axle wagons, built from 1925 onwards, had a load weight of 15 tons, a load capacity of 17.5 tons and a length over buffers of 10,180 mm with handbrake. Two individual wagons were put together for the transport of long timber. Since the transport tasks of the turntable wagons were increasingly taken over by the four-axle rail wagons, this meant that this wagon type was no longer built.

Overview table

The following table gives an overview of some standard freight wagons of the interchangeable design.

The column "DB" shows the generic symbol and the type number of the Deutsche Bundesbahn , which were valid from 1951.

The “DR” column shows the type and type number of the Deutsche Reichsbahn , which were written to from 1951 onwards.

Interchangeable freight wagons
Wagon type	Generic symbol	Genus district	Loading weight	Construction year	features	DB	DR
covered freight car	Size	kassel	15 t	1927	Barrel roof, wheel base 4500 mm	Gr 20	Gr 04
covered, spacious freight cars	Eq	Dresden	15 t	1927	Barrel roof	Eq 22	Eq 12
	Glhs	Dresden	15 t	1933	Axle base 7700 mm	Glhs 25	Glhs 12
	Glr	Dresden	15 t	1923	Axle base 7000 mm	Glr 22	Glr 12
	Glr	Dresden	15 t	1935	Axle base 7000 mm	Glmr 28	Glr 12
	Valid	Dresden	15 t	1927	double-leaf front doors on one side	Valid 23	Valid 13
	Gltrhs	Dresden	15 t	1933	double-leaf front doors on one side	Gltrhs 23	Gltrhs 13
Hinged lid trolley	K	Elberfeld, from 1930 Wuppertal	15 t	1925	Loading volume 23.7 m³	K 25	K 21
Crate car	V	Altona, from 1937 Hamburg	15 t	1927	Barrel roof, wheel base 4500 mm	V 23	V 23
open freight wagons	O	Hall	15 t	1928	Wheel base 4000 mm	O 20	O 29
open freight wagons	Om	Koenigsberg	20 t	1924	Axle base 4500 mm	Om 21	Om 41
Stake car	R (r)	Stuttgart	15 t	1926	Truss, wheel base 7000 mm	R 20	R 61
two-axle rail car	Sm	augsburg	20 t	1927	Loading weight 20 t	Sm 24	Sm 64
four-axle rail car	SSl	Cologne	40 t	1928	Loading length 18,086 mm	SSlm 25	SSlm 65
Turntable wagon	H	regensburg	15 t	1925	Axle base 4500 mm	H 20	H 68

The freight wagons of the special design

The quest for standardization also affected the special design freight cars; Many standard components such as underframes with a 4,500 mm or 7,000 mm axle base were used. The following goods wagons in special design are wagons that were mostly made from standard freight wagons, but have special equipment or special properties. A refrigerator car is a boxcar with special equipment; it has insulation and is equipped, for example, with ice containers, air circulators or meat hooks.

Covered freight wagons in a special design

Covered freight car

Generic sign Gr, generic district Kassel

Some freight wagons in the Kassel district were produced in a special design for the transport of suspected animals. These wagons had a special feature that consisted of a metal tray to hold back the faeces, an emptying system, modified ventilation and double sliding doors inside the wagon, which meant that the wagon doors could only be closed when these sliding doors were closed.

Refrigerator truck

Generic symbol Gk ..., generic district Berlin

Until the beginning of the 20th century, the German railways only had so-called thermal insulation cars, which were insulated but had no cooling equipment. This enabled temperatures between +4 and +16 ° C to be reached. A standardization as a first aid vehicle had not taken place. The Deutsche Reichsbahn took over around 1,500 thermal insulation cars of various types from the State Car Association.

After two test cars from the Wismar and Uerdingen wagon factories, the series production of two-axle refrigerated cars with contemporary insulation and ice cooling began in 1922, not yet according to the replacement design . This technology guaranteed temperatures between −18 ° C and +4 ° C, which means that the wagons, unlike the heat insulation wagons, were also suitable for the transport of sea fish and frozen meat . Up to 1926, 175 Uerdingen type cars and 405 Wismar type cars were built, including the test cars, although the individual delivery series differed slightly in terms of their main dimensions and equipment.

In addition, the Bavarian group administration of the DRG procured 28 short beer wagons from MAN between 1927 and 1931, which were built on the underframe of the Gr Kassel, and 16 further refrigerated wagons intended for the transport of milk and bananas based on a design by the Wismar wagon factory.

Covered ferry wagons

Ferry car of the type Trier

Generic symbol Gfh, generic district Trier

For the rail ferry service with Great Britain , the box wagons of the type "Gfh Trier" were built from 1927. These riveted cars had a narrow, low car body and a two-part sliding door in the middle of the car. With an axle base of 7,000 mm and the eleven-layer and 1,100 mm long suspension springs, its load weight was limited to 15 tons and its load capacity was limited to 17.5 tons. The car had a length over the buffers (LüP) of 12,800 mm with a brakeman's platform, some with a brakeman's cab, and a loading area of 22.9 m². All cars were equipped with a handbrake, a suction air line, a steam heating line and an English hand lever shunting brake. A Kunze-Knorr air brake was also available for use on the mainland. Some cars also had a steam heating line. Up to 1929 about 300 of these cars were built and from 1927 to 1934 they belonged to the "Trier class district", from 1935 they were assigned to the "Saarbrücken class district". (DB: Gbh21, DR: Gbh03)

Special design open freight cars

Open large goods wagons

Hopper car "OOt Oldenburg" built in 1928

Generic symbol OOt, generic district Oldenburg

The four-axle open self-unloading wagons were developed from 1924 for the more efficient transport of coal , coke and ore . They were supplied to the Deutsche Reichsbahn by different manufacturers in different versions, their loading weight was 50 tons, they were not tiltable, their length over buffers was between 9,500 mm and 12,350 mm and they were fitted with a Kunze-Knorr brake (Kk- Brake). Some of these large semi-trailers were fitted with hinged lids for the transport of moisture-sensitive coke. In 1933, these wagons became the “KKt Oldenburg” (DB: KKt 26). In 1935 all four-axle self-unloading wagons, generic symbols OOt and KKt, were assigned to the "generic district Saarbrücken". The auxiliary character "n", air brake or air line, for freight wagons was dropped from 1927. See also: "KKt Saarbrücken", hinged lid wagon of the welded design .

Hopper wagon (synonym Talbot wagon)

Talbot ballast wagon

Generic symbol Otm generic district Mainz

The two-axle 20-ton ballast wagon with steering axles and a loading volume of 12.5 m³, built from 1928 onwards, was developed by the Talbot wagon factory in Aachen. It was also known as a hopper wagon and had three individually adjustable chutes on each side of the wagon; this enabled the ballast to be precisely distributed both inside and outside the tracks. At the Deutsche Reichsbahn it was mostly used as a work car and used in track construction. All other riveted ballast wagons that were not used as a service vehicle belonged to the "Otm Mainz" wagon class.

Open ferry boat car

Generic sign Rfh generic district Trier

This riveted ferry boat wagon, built from 1928 onwards, is a special type of stake wagon. It was specially developed for German-British ferry traffic and also had an English hand lever shunting brake. Its loading weight was 15 tons, its loading length was 10,720 mm and it had an axle base of 7,000 mm. Its length over buffers was 12,800 mm and it was only built with a handbrake. From 1935 they were assigned to the "Saarbrücken generic district".

Types overview

See: Overview of freight wagons up to 1945

Bibliography and sources

Author collective: Güterwagen Handbuch . Transpress VEB Verlag for Transport, Berlin, 1974
H. Behrends : Freight Car Archive Volume 1 . Transpress VEB publishing house for transport, Berlin 1989
H. Behrends: Freight Car Archive Volume 2 . Transpress VEB publishing house for transport, Berlin 1989
Stefan Carstens : The DB AG freight cars . MIBA-Verlag , Nuremberg 1998
Stefan Carstens, Rudolf Ossig : Freight Cars Volume 1, Covered Cars . MIBA-Verlag, Nuremberg 2000
Stefan Carstens, Hans Ulrich Diener : Freight Cars Volume 2, Covered Cars - Special Design . MIBA-Verlag, Nuremberg 2000
Stefan Carstens, Hans Ulrich Diener: Freight Cars Volume 3, Open Cars . MIBA-Verlag, Nuremberg 2003
Stefan Carstens: Freight wagons, Volume 4, open wagons in a special design . MIBA-Verlag, Nuremberg 2003
Stefan Carstens: Freight wagons Volume 5, stake, rail and flat wagons . MIBA-Verlag, Nuremberg 2008
Walter Hollnagel : Railway rarities - From the twenties to 1945 . EK-Verlag , Freiburg 2008