Class (rail vehicle)
The term genus is used in the field of railways to denote a group of vehicles that have common properties. The characteristics that determine the assignment to a genre are different and, in addition to “historically evolved” assignments, are also determined by the level of structure of the objects.
Genus as a designation for locomotives
In the area of the German national railways, locomotives with common properties or a common series were designated as a class. With the establishment of the Deutsche Reichsbahn , this meaning changed to the term series .
Especially in English-speaking countries, the term class ( class ) is used.
Genus as a designation system for locomotives on the Deutsche Reichsbahn
To meet the different acquired locomotives , especially steam locomotives to be able to use specifically developed German Reichsbahn in addition to the series scheme a second system. In this system consisting of letters and numbers, the operating category symbol defines the purpose and the axle load.
Example: G 56.18 stands for a G üterzugdampflokomotive with 5 driven and a total of 6 axes and an axle load of 18 tonnes.
Genus as a designation system for railway wagons
Passenger and freight wagons have been classified into classes in Germany since the end of the 19th century. To distinguish, corresponding generic symbols consisting of so-called generic letters and identification letters for freight wagons and main symbols and identification letters for passenger cars are used for the generic name .
literature
- Wolfgang Valtin: German Locomotive Archive: Directory of all locomotives and railcars Volume 1 - Numbering systems , transpress, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-344-70739-6