Covered freight car
The covered freight wagon (also covered freight wagon or box wagon ) is a rail freight wagon , the cargo space of which is formed from a box closed by the side walls and the roof. These wagons are primarily used to transport goods that are to be protected against the effects of the weather, loss or theft. In addition, they were also used for the mass transport of people - mainly armies or paramilitary organizations used them to transport troops. They gained inglorious notoriety through their use in deportation during the time of the GermanNational Socialism (see also " Viehwaggon "). Cars with an opening roof and refrigerated wagons are structurally closely related to the box wagons.
Covered freight wagons are mainly used for the transport of general cargo and are almost as old as the railways in Europe itself. Since general cargo was the most frequently transported cargo in the early days of the railway, the covered wagons were the most important type of freight wagon. Up until the 1960s they made up about 40% of the Total inventory of many railway companies. In the meantime, however, the gondolas and flat wagons are far more common than the box wagons. In contrast to these, the majority of the box wagons are still biaxial, since the comparatively light loads do not require bogie wagons . Information on the evolution of the covered wagons in Germany can be found in the articles: Standardized (railway) , verbandsbauart , austauschbauart , goods wagons of welded construction , kriegsbauart , freight wagons of the German Reichsbahn , freight wagons of the German Reichsbahn (1945-1993) .
All freight wagons that take part in international traffic within the UIC railway companies must, in accordance with the UIC regulations, be uniformly labeled with a UIC symbol and a wagon number .
Covered freight wagons are divided into:
- Covered freight car of the standard design, marked with the generic letter "G", and
- Covered freight car of the special design, marked with the generic letter "H".
Standard freight wagons of the International Union of Railways (UIC)
Standardized vehicles were developed by the International Union of Railways in the 1950s. A separate international research and testing office, the ORE (Office de Recherches et d'Essais), was set up for this purpose in 1950. This development led to the unification of the main dimensions of the future standard wagons . The results were recorded in UIC leaflets, which the UIC members could use in a binding or voluntary manner. Covered standard goods wagons are in the leaflets
- UIC 571-1 - Standard freight wagons - freight wagons of the standard design with two axles,
- UIC 571-2 - Standard freight wagons - Standard design bogie freight wagons, and
- UIC 571-3 - Standard freight wagons - Contains freight wagons of the special design.
They have predetermined dimensions, certain technical properties, and the components used must be made of certain materials. Since then, many European railway companies have been purchasing wagons according to the UIC leaflets - they are referred to as UIC standard wagons. These covered freight wagons, which are built according to the drawings of the ERRI (European Rail Research Institute), are given the address “UIS St” (previously “St UIC”). Freight wagons that comply with the international standardization regulations but are not completely built in accordance with UIC-571 have been marked with the address "UIC" since the end of 1977, the old marking was previously "St".
Covered freight car of the standard type G
properties
The group of box wagons of the standard design, identified by the generic letter G, includes all freight wagons with a level wagon floor, solid and closed walls all around and sliding doors on the long sides. The structure was initially a wood-steel composite construction, later the all-steel construction.
Depending on the number of axles, certain loading lengths and load limits are viewed as the "normal case":
- with 2 wheelsets: effective length 9 to 12 m, load limit 25 to 28 t
- with 4 wheelsets: effective length 15 to 18 m, load limit 50 to 60 t
- with ≥6 wheelsets: effective length 15 to 18 m, load limit 60 to 75 t
All deviations from this are expressed by means of the code letters added to the generic letter .
In the upper third of the side walls there are closable openings of various types. They can be designed as a ventilation opening , loading flap or combined loading / ventilation opening. The wagons usually have at least 8 ventilation openings. The presence of fewer than eight ventilation openings is coded by the code letter l , so that these freight wagons are then labeled as "Gl".
Several UIC standard freight wagons have been defined, which are shown in the following table. All have at least 8 combined loading / ventilation openings that can be closed by UIC-standardized slides. The standard GS wagon dates back to the early 1950s. The Gbs car was only standardized in the 1960s at the urging of the ÖBB and NS . Unlike many other types, only the dimensions are standardized, while there are dozens of different types for the box struts.
| UIC 571-1: Regular design freight wagons with two wheelsets |
UIC 571-2: Standard design bogie freight wagons |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| design type | Type 1 (long) |
Type 2 (short) |
Type 3 (British vehicle gauge) |
Type 1 (short) |
Type 2 (long) |
| genus | Gbs | Gs | Central Station (1) | Gas (s) | Gabs (s) |
| Wheelbase | 8.00 m | 5.70 m (2) | 8.00 m | - | |
| Pivot spacing | - | - | - | 11.48 m | 16.66 m |
| Length over buffers | 14.02 m | 10.58 m | 14.02 m | 16.52 m | 21.70 m |
| Loading length, min. | 12.70 m | 9.26 m | 12.70 m | 15.20 m | 20.41 m |
| Loading area, for example | 33 m² | 25 m² | 28 m² | 40 m² | 53 m² |
| Hold, for example | 88 m³ | 67 m³ | 63 m³ | 105 m³ | 137 m³ |
| Net weight, max. | 14.5 t | 12.5 t | 14.5 t | 23.0 t | 29.0 t |
| Door height | 2.15 m | 2.00 m (2) | 2.00 m | 2.15 m | 2.15 m |
| Door width | 2.50 m | 2.00 m (2) (3) | 2.50 m | 2.50 m | 4.00 m |
(1) The assignment of the main train station wagon (special design) to standard 571-1 (standard design) is contradictory, but was taken from the only available source.
(2) Different source: wheel base 6.00 m, door width 2.50 m, door height 2.15 m. There is neither a reference source nor a known wagon for this.
(3) The original standard stipulated a door height of 1.80 m and was only changed to 2.00 m in the mid-1950s.
- Example - Gs 210 of the DB
For example, the covered freight wagons with the type designation Gs 210 of the DB were new wagons or conversions from older freight wagons that were built in 1961 according to the UIC leaflets. Many of these wagons originated from the type Gmhs30 ( Gs Oppeln ) and from the type Gms39 (Glms 202) built by Tatra in Czechoslovakia from 1949. The structure was mostly a wood-steel composite construction, the cargo hold doors already had the required width of 2.00 m. The load capacity of these wagons was 25 t and they had eight ventilation flaps. This series can have slight differences in design due to the use of old parts.
use
In the second half of the 20th century, the box wagons of the standard design were largely replaced by other types of wagons, so that they only have local or historical significance in Europe today.
The transport of weather-sensitive piece goods in boxes, sacks and barrels was their main area of application. The disadvantage here is that the individual door does not allow fast loading and unloading of large packaging units. The demand for covered freight wagons fell with the increasing spread of combined transport . Today, most general cargo is transported in ISO containers for which special flat wagons are available. For the direct loading of general cargo, sliding wall wagons (see below) are preferred , which enable entire transport pallets to be handled more quickly using a forklift truck .
Covered freight wagons were often loaded with coarse-grained, weather-sensitive bulk goods . Attachment walls with which the side doors could be closed were developed especially for grain transport. For this purpose, self-unloading wagons with an opening roof are available today , which can be loaded and unloaded more quickly.
Covered freight wagons were often provided with passenger trains for the transport of express goods and mail . For this purpose, special designs were sometimes available, which were also referred to as express freight wagons . For example, they had suitable braking systems or heating cables . In many cases, cattle were also transported in G-wagons . This required good ventilation , which is why wagons with at least four and later eight ventilation openings were used.
Covered freight car of the special type H
All covered freight wagons that neither correspond to the standard type G nor have insulation in the sense of a heat protection wagon are classified as special type H.
Depending on the number of axles, certain loading lengths and load limits are viewed as the "normal case":
- with 2 wheelsets: effective length 9 to 12 m, load limit 25 to 28 t
- with 4 wheelsets: effective length 15 to 18 m, load limit 50 to 60 t
- with ≥6 wheelsets: effective length 15 to 18 m, load limit 60 to 75 t
- for articulated trolleys or trolley units with 2 elements: total useful length 22 to 27 m
All deviations from this are expressed by means of the code letters added to the generic letter. Here, b and bb stand for a longer loading length, k and kk for a smaller load limit and n for a larger load limit. Since the definition of the “normal case” by the UIC is several decades old, the wagons with the code letters b or bb and n are now in the majority.
Sliding wall wagon
- Generic symbol: K… g…
- UIC generic symbol: H ... i ...
Today's common trolleys for moisture-sensitive palletized goods have no fixed side walls, but sliding walls that make it possible to load and unload the entire loading area from the side. This Schiebewandwagen do not constitute a development of the original covered wagons, but in the 1950s from the sliding wall wagon roof- emerged, they therefore also originally the German principal class K have been assigned.
The German railway has about 15,000 Schiebewandwagen. Wagons built up to the beginning of the 1980s have a loading area of 34.1 m² without partition walls and can hold a maximum of 30 Euro pallets ( code letter b ). The dimensions of the newer types have been optimized: up to 40 Euro pallets can be transported on a 41.0 m² loading area (without partition walls) (code letter bb ).
In addition to optimal use of the loading area, the trend is towards large-volume vehicles that make maximum use of the vehicle gauge. It should be noted that in many countries there are different permitted vehicle gauges that limit the interoperability of these vehicles. The wagons, which are also approved for Great Britain, have a very small vehicle gauge and are designated with the code letters f , ff or fff . There are also smaller vehicle gauges elsewhere than in Germany, for example in transit traffic via Switzerland to Italy, for which the DB also has special wagons.
Sliding wall wagons are often equipped with protective walls that prevent the goods from being shifted in the longitudinal direction of the wagon (code letter l ) and some of them can be locked (code letter ll ). They also offer effective support when the trolley is not fully loaded. The presence of partition walls reduces the loading area.
The following four-axle sliding wall wagon has been standardized as the UIC standard freight wagon:
| UIC 571-3: Special design freight wagons |
|
|---|---|
| genus | Habiss |
| Pivot spacing | 16.66 m |
| Length over buffers | 21.70 m |
| Loading length, min. | 2 × 8.67 m |
| Loading area, for example | 50 m² |
| Hold, for example | 131 m³ |
| Net weight, max. | 29.0 t |
Older wagons that were assigned to the special type H.
These wagons were developed on the basis of normal boxcars for special purposes and were always less important in terms of numbers. All types were already available when the UIC classification was introduced in the 1960s, were assigned to the special type H due to certain features and were almost completely withdrawn by the end of the 20th century.
Crate car
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- Generic symbol : until 1921 Ve ... , from 1922 V ...
- UIC generic symbol : H ... e ...
While either open or covered goods wagons of the standard design were used for the transport of cattle and other large cattle, special crate wagons were developed for small cattle as early as the 19th century. The approximately 2 m high loading space is optimally used here, as pigs , goats and sheep are loaded on two levels. On some wagons, additional intermediate floors could be installed for the transport of poultry .
The constructions were based closely on the contemporary boxcars. Outwardly, the most striking feature of the mostly two-axle crate wagons were the wide joints between the boards of the walls, which ensured good ventilation. Partitions made it possible to subdivide the cargo space vertically in many designs. In the side walls there were several feeding and ventilation flaps corresponding to the number of compartments.
Today, crate wagons are no longer in use, as animal transports have largely been shifted to the road due to the greater speed and flexibility .
Covered freight cars with front wall doors
- Generic symbol : Glt.
- UIC generic symbol: H ... c ...
Many types of boxcars were also built with bulkhead doors in the 1920s to 1960s. In particular, these were the two - axle GG wagons and the four-axle GG wagons including their successor type, the DR, as well as a series of 600 conversion wagons for the DB . The original purpose of the wagons was to transport the brand-new cars, which were mostly open at the time . Already at the end of the 20th century there was no longer any need for this type of car.
Cars in Leig units
- Generic symbol : Gll ...
- UIC generic symbol: H… -… z
The Leig units emerged at the Deutsche Reichsbahn from the 1920s, mainly from already existing boxcars and were closely coupled vehicle units . Detailed information on this can be found in the article on express general cargo transport .
Wagons for traffic to Great Britain
- Generic symbols : Gf ... , later Gb ...
- UIC generic symbol: H ... f ...
The covered freight wagons for freight traffic with Great Britain adhere to the smaller vehicle gauge there and therefore have a lower loading volume than comparable wagons for traffic within continental Europe. The wagons with individual sliding doors have now been replaced by modern sliding wall wagons. In Germany they used to be called ferry boat wagons .
literature
- Helmut Behrends, Wolfgang Hensel, Gerhard Wiedau: Goods wagon archive. Volume 2, Transpress VEB Verlag for Transport, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-344-00330-5 .
- Gerd Wolff: EK-Güterwagen-Lexikon DB. Volume 1: The open freight cars of the standard design . EK Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau 1991, ISBN 3-88255-649-8 .
- Stefan Carstens, Rudolf Ossig: freight cars. Volume 1: Covered Cars . MIBA-Verlag, Nuremberg 2000, ISBN 3-89610-251-6 .
- Stefan Carstens, Hans Ulrich Diener: Freight wagons. Volume 2: Covered Cars - Special Design . MIBA-Verlag, Nuremberg 2000, ISBN 3-86046-061-7 .
- Stefan Carstens: The freight wagons of DB AG - numbers, facts, developments, photos . MIBA-Verlag, Nuremberg 1998, ISBN 3-86046-030-7 .
- Wolfgang Diener: Painting and designation of freight cars. Publishing house Dr. Bernhard Abend, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-926243-11-2 .
Web links
- DB freight wagons, standard design. Special print for the DB customer letter , No. 1/1976 - tables with technical information and type numbers, etc.
- Freight wagons data and details 2015 - wagon types, marking, drawings. (PDF; 3.7 MiB) ÖBB Rail Cargo Austria, 2015, accessed on July 16, 2017 .