LD G 3/4

RhB G 3/4
G 3/4
Numbering:	1 to 16
Number:	16
Manufacturer:	SLM
Year of construction (s):	1889 to 1908
Axis formula :	1'C
Type :	Wet steam twin machine
Genre :	Tank locomotive
Length over buffers:	7,945 m
Empty mass:	23.5 t
Service mass:	30.2 t
Top speed:	45 km / h
Continuous output :	184 kW (250 PS) at 20 km / h
Continuous tensile force:	3300 kg at 20 km / h
Driving wheel diameter:	1,050 mm
Impeller diameter:	700 mm
Cylinder diameter:	340 mm
Piston stroke:	500 mm
Boiler overpressure:	12 bar
Water supply:	2,600 liters
Fuel supply:	950 kg
Particularities:	Trailer load 45 t (formerly on a 45 ‰ slope Klosters – Davos)

The G 3/4 is a series of light steam locomotives that were first delivered to the Landquart-Davos Bahn ( LD ), which later became the Rhaetian Railway . This then ordered further locomotives of this type. The 16-vehicle series with the 1'C wheel arrangement is divided into five series, some of which differ slightly in terms of dimensions.

history

G 3/4 No. 1 at the 2009 Railway Station Festival in Bonaduz

Appeal for donations

The first five copies of the G 3/4 (until 1902 the designation G 3 ) were delivered in 1889 on the occasion of the opening of the Landquart-Davos-Bahn by the Swiss Lokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik (SLM). The wet steam engines largely corresponded to a type of locomotive that SLM had delivered shortly before to Sardinia to today's Ferrovie della Sardegna . The five 250 hp locomotives each handled all the traffic on the line in the early days, which often led to problems, especially on the steep route between Klosters and Davos . It was not until 1891 that reinforcements arrived in the form of two mallet steam locomotives of the class G 2 × 2/2 , so that the G 3/4 could be given less demanding services.

The opening of the line from Landquart to Thusis in 1896 was the reason for ordering three more G 3/4 with the numbers 6 to 8. The machines were strengthened compared to their predecessors and the water and coal supplies were increased. Eight more locomotives with the numbers 9 to 14 followed in three delivery series in the years 1901 to 1908. These locomotives were also improved and enlarged compared to the older machines, so that the curb weight increased by around four tons compared to the first series. In the period that followed, the G 3/4 was used in light passenger and freight traffic as well as in construction services.

The complete electrification of the network between 1913 and 1922 made steam locomotives superfluous. As early as 1917, the G 3/4 with the numbers 3 to 5 were sold to Luxembourg. Locomotive 6 reached Brazil in 1923, nos. 7 and 8 came to the Ticino Centovalli Railway in the same year , where they were used in railway construction. Also in 1923, locomotive 12 was sold to the works railway of a steelworks in Sagunt , where it was in use until the 1970s. Locomotives 15 and 16 came to the Brünigbahn in 1924, and numbers 9 and 10 followed them in 1926. The SBB locomotives were converted to superheated steam. Locomotive 2 was scrapped in 1925, while locomotive 1 was kept for a planned Swiss railway museum after being scrapped in 1928. The other machines 11, 13 and 14 continued to be used in shunting and as a steam reserve for power outages.

G 3/4 No. 13 was scrapped in 1950 as the only remaining steam locomotive. Locomotive 1 went to the Blonay – Chamby museum railway in 1970 , after it had previously been parked in various places in Switzerland because there was no longer any space for it in the Museum of Transport . Locomotive 14 was sold to the Appenzeller Bahn in 1972 for use in front of nostalgic trains , in 1977 the No. 11 went to the Eiger model railway enthusiasts in Zweilütschinen, who used it in museums on the Bernese Oberland Railway and the Brünig Railway .

RhB G 3/4 No. 1 and Ge 2/4 No. 222 in Chur 2008

On the occasion of the upcoming 100th anniversary, the G 3/4 No. 1 returned to the Rhaetian Railway in 1988 and was refurbished to work there; it is currently the oldest operational narrow-gauge locomotive in Switzerland. Since then, it has been an integral part of the special train program together with the G 4/5 No. 107 and 108. Locomotive 11 returned to Graubünden in 1999 after having been out of service since 1990 due to boiler damage. Since it took part in a feature film of the same name in 1952, the machine bears the initially unofficial name of Heidi . In 2014 it was revised by the Club 1889 and the steam locomotive and machine factory DLM . It received a new welded boiler with a superheater. Thanks to the new light oil firing system, sparks are avoided, so that it can also be used when there is a risk of forest fires . Behind every (coal-fired) RhB steam train, a fire-fighting train has to drive; this is not required for the oil-fired Heidi . Pistons, piston rods and slides were replaced during the revision. In 2014, a new regulation by the Federal Office of Transport ( FOT ) required a flame monitor that interrupts the oil supply when the flame goes out . This regulation is known from stationary boilers that are operated without personnel, but the driver and stoker are always present on the locomotive. After a decision by the Federal Administrative Court, the BAV had to issue the operating license without flame monitoring on March 20, 2015.

As wet steam locomotives, the G 3/4 achieved a continuous pulling force of 33 kN at a speed of 20 km / h and an output of 250 hp (184 kW).

The conversion to superheated steam gave the four G 3/4 sold to the Brünigbahn a significant increase in performance: the continuous traction could be increased from 33 kN to 41 kN at a speed of 20 km / h. The effective driving performance increased by 40% to 350 hp (258 kW). Since the 1930s, the locomotives have been running at an increased maximum speed of 55 km / h instead of the conventional 45 km / h. This increase in performance was made possible thanks to a systematic redesign of the drive units in accordance with the special hot steam requirements: the piston valves, which replaced the conventional flat valves, were the most noticeable design changes along with the built-in wide-tube steam superheater.

The G 3/4 No. 11 "Heidi" was also converted to superheated steam by the Club 1889 and the company DLM AG: In this conversion, too, the entire cylinder mechanics were replaced by new components, the features of which were not changed compared to the original wet steam construction . In addition, the cylinder-selective steam superheater of the DLM type has narrow physical limits. According to a driving report from Club 1889, the locomotive reaches a speed of 20 km / h - 22 km / h on an incline of 45 per thousand with a trailer load of 30 tonnes, which corresponds roughly to the performance of a wet steam G 3/4. According to the records of the Rhaetian Railway from 1914, they carried a load of 45 tons at 18 km / h on the same incline.

List of G 3/4 of the Rhaetian Railway

operation number	Installation	Factory number	Surname	Ausran- Government	Whereabouts
1	07/08/1889	577	Rhätia	1928	1970 to the museum railway Blonay – Chamby, 1988 back to RhB, since 1994 parked, refurbishment planned.
2	08/05/1889	578	Prättigau	1925	scrapped
3	08/16/1889	579	Davos	1917	to Prinz-Heinrich-Bahn, Luxembourg (No. S3), 1943 DR 99 271, 1945 CFL 351, scrapped 1954
4th	10/10/1889	580	Fluela	1917	to Prinz-Heinrich-Bahn, Luxembourg (No. S5), 1943 DR 99 272, 1945 CFL 352, scrapped 1954
5	10/13/1889	581	Engadine	1917	to Prinz-Heinrich-Bahn, Luxemburg (No. S6), 1943 DR 99 273, 1945 CFL 353, scrapped 1954
6th	03/05/1896	960	Landquart	1923	1923 sold to Administração Portuária do Recife (Port Authority of Recife, State of Pernambuco) in Brazil; lost
7th	03/19/1896	961	Chur	1923	1923 to Centovalli Railway, scrapped in 1943
8th	04/01/1896	962	Thusis	1923	1923 to Centovalli Railway, scrapped in 1943
9	06/10/1901	1369	-	1926	1926 to Brünigbahn (No. 217), scrapped in 1941
10	06/25/1901	1370	-	1926	1926 to Brünigbahn (No. 218), scrapped in 1942
11	01/08/1903	1476	-	1977	Heidi , 1977 to Modellbahnfreunde Eiger, 1999 to Club 1889, 2014 refurbished in the Samedan depot
12	01/23/1903	1477	-	1923	1923 to Sagunt steel works, Spain (No. 207, “Algimia” ), scrapped around 1970
13	02/02/1903	1478	-	1950	scrapped in 1951
14th	02/06/1903	1479	-	1972	1972 at the steam locomotive association Appenzeller Bahnen "Madlaina" , 2003 to 2014 out of service, 2015 use on the ZB and MIB
15th	07/31/1908	1910	-	1924	1924 to Brünigbahn (No. 215), scrapped in 1942
16	07/31/1908	1911	-	1924	1924 to Brünigbahn (No. 216), scrapped in 1942

literature

• Claude Jeanmaire: The steam locomotives of the Rhaetian Railway - From the Landquart-Davos Railway to the Rhaetian Railway . Verlag Eisenbahn, Villingen 1974, ISBN 3-85649-022-1 .
• Gian Brüngger: Steam on the RhB (=  LOKI-Spezial . No. 40 ). Stämpfli Verlag AG, Bern 2016, ISBN 978-3-7272-1787-6 .
• Wolfgang Finke, Hans Schweers: The vehicles of the Rhaetian Railway: Locomotives, railcars, tractors . In: Wolfgang Finke (Ed.): The vehicles of the Rhaetian Railway, 1889–1996 . tape 3 . Schweers + Wall, Aachen 1998, ISBN 3-89494-105-7 (223 pages, [ limited preview in the Google book search]).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Roger Waller: RhB G 3/4 No. 11 "Heidi" back in operation. In: DLM AG. DLM AG , July 16, 2014, accessed on September 9, 2014 .  Main revision G 3/4 11 at DLM
2. ↑ Railway Amateur magazine , September 2014 issue
3. ↑ Roger Waller: DLM article on load drives with "Heidi". April 22, 2015, accessed April 24, 2015 . 
4. ^ Homepage of the Steam Locomotive Association AB

Web links

Commons : Steam locomotives of the Rhaetian Railway  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Steam romance on the Rhaetian Railway