Army field railway locomotive HF 50 B
The Heeresfeldbahn locomotives HF 50 B 4 were narrow-gauge diesel locomotives of the German Army Field Railway in World War II . After the end of the war, they were used in civil rail operations in several countries.
history
This simple locomotive was especially designed for use in positions (" hollow passages "). The drafts date from autumn 1938 and were approved by the Army Weapons Office in January 1939 . It is noteworthy that the drafts were also checked by the Reichsbahn Central Office, which also applied to the regular-gauge Wehrmacht diesel locomotives. The locomotive was procured as a replacement for the Deutz hollow aisle locomotive OMZ 122 F, probably in around 200 copies from mid-1941. Because of the urgent need, these locomotives were also approved for production after the construction stop for motor locomotives on July 1, 1942. They were included in the catalog of war types as "KML 4" .
technical features
The machine, which had a completely welded outer frame, was 4,810 mm long, only 1,200 mm wide and 1,700 mm high, with a weight of eight tons. Set up for the 600 mm and 750 mm gauges mainly used on the Heeresfeldbahn, the gauge could be changed to the other value. Compressor-less, robust locomotive engines from Deutz , Kaelble , Jung , O&K , Kämper and MWM with 37 to 40 kW at around 1000 rpm were used as engines . These acted on a 3-speed multi-plate clutch gearbox with speeds of 5/12/20 km / h. The drive from the gearbox to the wheels was done by roller chains . In the absence of a compressed air system, the pipe was operated in a special way with exhaust gas. The greatest pulling force of the machine was 2,400 kg; it could still carry 107 t at 5 km / h on an incline of 1: 100.
commitment
Many of these small locomotives are likely to have been used in bunkers on the " Atlantic Wall " on a 600 mm gauge. Locomotives of this type are still used today, for example on the historic Dresden Feldbahn or the Chemin de fer touristique d'Abreschviller .
literature
- Alfred B. Gottwaldt : Heeresfeldbahnen - construction and use of the military narrow-gauge railways in two world wars. transpress-special, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-613-70818-3 .