MAN T4
| T4 / 200 series B4 / 1500/1600 series |
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|---|---|
 Tw 247 in front of Nuremberg Central Station , 1979
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| Numbering: | Nuremberg 201-269, 212 II (T4) ; 1501-1610 (B4) |
| Number: | 70 railcars 110 sidecars |
| Manufacturer: | MAN , SSW |
| Year of construction (s): | 1955-1966 |
| Retirement: | from 1981 |
| Axis formula : | 4 × |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Length: | 14,100 mm |
| Width: | 2,340 mm |
| Trunnion Distance: | 6,000 mm |
| Bogie axle base: | 1,800 mm |
| Empty mass: | 18.2 t / 12.3 t (T4 / B4 pre-series) 16.2 t / 10.3 t (T4 / B4 series) |
| Top speed: | 60 km / h |
| Hourly output : | 2 × 103 kW |
| Power system : | 600 V = |
| Power transmission: | Overhead line ( pantograph ) |
| Number of traction motors: | 2 |
| Drive: | Tandem drive |
| Operating mode: | four-axle one-way open-plan car |
| Coupling type: | Shaku |
| Seats: | 29 |
| Standing room: | 67 (T4) ; 74 (B4) |
The types T4 and B4 were the first open -plan cars on the Nuremberg-Fürth tram network . According to their numbering, they are also listed as the 200 series ( railcars ) and 1500/1600 series ( sidecars ). From 1955 to 1966, MAN delivered a total of 70 railcars and 110 trailer cars to the Nuremberg Municipal Works - Verkehrsbetriebe (from 1959: VAG Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft Nürnberg ). Both technically and structurally, the vehicles are based heavily on the Duewag open- plan car , the series production of which had started a few years earlier.
VAG decommissioned its vehicles between 1981 and 2004. Some cars were handed over to the Nuremberg twin cities of Krakow in Poland , Antalya in Turkey and Brăila in Romania , where they can still be found occasionally in passenger traffic. In addition, some examples have been preserved as historical vehicles in Nuremberg and Krakow.
development
Prototypes
In the early 1950s, the Nuremberg public transport company decided to use open-plan cars on their route network. The new vehicles were to be longer and wider than their two-axle predecessors and thus have a greater capacity. As early as the 1930s, the track center distance was increased on individual sections of the track and prepared for the use of cars up to 2.35 meters wide. However, since none of the lines benefited from this over the entire length, the operators reckoned it would take another five years to adapt the entire network. As a temporary solution, they procured 26 two-axle vehicles with a width of 2.2 meters from MAN and Siemens-Schuckertwerke . During this time, the company also observed the use of the first open-plan cars at other companies in order to incorporate their experiences into the program.
The plans for the open-plan car were concretized after the delivery of the last T2 cars in 1954. Initially, two pre-series trains, each consisting of a multiple unit and a sidecar, were planned to be used for testing over the next two years. (- Bauernfeindstraße on August 10, 1955, the first train of the car was delivered 201 and 1501, twelve days later, the second train with carriages 202 and 1502. End followed in October 1955 was the first plan used on Line 1 Fuerth Bill Inga position) instead. With a total of around 200 seats, the trains offered about the same capacity as a three-car train made up of two-axle vehicles, but saved one conductor compared to this . The conductors' seat was new, and with it the flow of passengers from the back to the front, which the passengers had to get used to. Since passengers getting on and off no longer hindered each other at the doors, the passenger exchange was faster overall. The usually faster exit meant that the front and middle doors could be closed earlier and therefore no longer had to be observed. In the colder months of the year, this also had a positive effect on the temperature inside the car.
The high curb weight of 18.2 tons (railcars) and 12.3 tons (sidecars) and the 50 percent higher rolling resistance of the vehicles were viewed negatively compared to the predecessors . The reason for this was the inertia of the rubber-sprung wheel sets and the rigid coupling of the axles in the bogie . These two deficiencies should therefore be remedied in the production vehicles. The higher power consumption compared to the two-axle vehicles and the associated costs, however, should be amortized by eliminating a conductor.
Delivery of the series vehicles
Series production of the vehicles began in early 1957 after some changes had been made. The Nuremberg-Fürth tram initially ordered 33 multiple units and 21 sidecars from MAN. Two lines should therefore be equipped with large trains, one more with solo cars. Compared to the prototypes equipped with sliding doors, the series vehicles had Düwag folding doors. The front pane arrangement has been changed and now looked more pleasing. The line number boxes, which initially only existed on the front of the railcars, were now also found on the rear of the railcars and sidecars. The use of pressed and folded sheet metal profiles instead of lightweight rolled profiles as well as a simplification of the main beam in the underframe led to a mass reduction of two tons each.
The first series train arrived in Nuremberg in December 1957, the delivery of the first series dragged on until September 1958. In addition to Line 1, the trains also did their service on Line 11 ( Fürth Hauptbahnhof - Luitpoldhain ). Line 15 (Bucher Straße - Herrnhütte) was initially equipped with solo cars, but these were not enough. The second delivery series of 35 railcars and 45 sidecars was supposed to compensate for this deficiency. The order was received in 1958, so that production could seamlessly build on that of the first series. The railcars with the numbers 236–269 were delivered from August 1959 to August 1960, the side cars with the numbers 1524–1568 from September 1959 to December 1961. Since the Tw 212 of the first series was irreparably damaged in an accident in June 1958 and then retired, MAN built another railcar using parts that were still usable. This received the same number in a second assignment and was delivered in September 1959. Both series initially differed slightly from each other.
In the early 1960s began in Nuremberg, the use of articulated cars of the type GT6 . The vehicles offered more space than an open-plan car, but like this only required one conductor. For lines on which the use of large capacity trains was not sufficient, the use of articulated cars with attached sidecars was provided. VAG therefore ordered a further 42 B4 sidecars from MAN, which were produced in three series between 1963 and 1966. The cars with the numbers 1569–1610 are similar to their predecessors, so that they could be used freely behind large-capacity and articulated railcars.
Retirement and implementation
In 1981 the Nuremberg subway was extended to Fürth. At the same time, the Fürth city network and the tram connection to Nuremberg were shut down. As a result of the reduced transport performance of the tram, the VAG was able to decommission numerous large-capacity railcars, in 1984 only 25 railcars were still in existence. The number of sidecars was significantly higher, as they continued to run in conjunction with the articulated cars.
Some of the vehicles retired in the 1980s remained parked for the time being. After Siemens Verkehrstechnik received the order to set up a tram network in the Turkish city of Konya in 1986 , plans were initially made to use used vehicles from Germany after the opening. These should later be replaced by new build vehicles. The VAG offered its no longer needed large capacity trains and had the train 231 + 1523 repainted for demonstration purposes. However, the vehicles were too small with a width of 2.34 meters. It was also criticized that the passengers had to be divided into two cars. As an alternative , Rail Consult , which was also involved in the construction, offered no longer required Cologne eight-axle vehicles with a width of 2.50 meters. This proposal was ultimately implemented.
| Years | number | city |
|---|---|---|
| 1989-2004 | 31 Tw, 54 Bw | Kraków |
| 1997-2002 | 10 Tw, 15 Bw | Brăila |
| 1998 | 3 Tw, 3 Bw | Antalya |
At the end of the 1980s, a new area of responsibility for the car was found. Between 1989 and 1996, a total of 30 multiple units and 36 sidecars were handed over to the Polish twin town Kraków (German: Kraków), including the train repainted for Konya. After VAG surrendered its GT6 from 1999 onwards, a further 18 sidecars and a railcar that had been used as a work car in Nuremberg were moved to the Polish city by 2004. The wagons that were handed in last were no longer used, but serve as spare parts donors. Some of the cars in Kraków were given the usual blue and white paintwork, but most of them continued in the old Nuremberg color scheme. Some of the cars were equipped with double headlights. The T4 were retired by 2002, the B4 by 2009.
In 1997, VAG was able to deliver additional open-plan cars that were no longer required to the Romanian city of Brăila. The company received ten railcars and 16 trailer cars. The vehicles kept their original numbers. As a result, the car number 1601 was assigned twice; in addition to the Nuremberg B4, an ex-Rotterdam GT8 also bears the number. In 2011, over half of the existing vehicles were parked.
In 1998, the Turkish city of Antalya was the third city to receive the open-plan cars that had been retired in Nuremberg. On the occasion of the reopening of the tram , the city received three large-capacity trains. The newly painted cars have the numbers 1 to 6, with railcars occupying the odd ones and sidecars the even ones.
The last large sidecars left in Nuremberg were in use until September 2003. 21 motor coaches and 21 trailer cars were scrapped in Nuremberg.
Historic vehicles
The railcars 201, 208 (test vehicle for semi-automatic driving control) and 250 have been preserved as historical vehicles in Nuremberg together with the trailer cars 1501, 1521 (test vehicle for three-phase drive), 1556 and 1581, Tw 250 and Bw 1556 are in running condition. Sidecar 1540 has also been preserved and is used as a storage car in the historic St. Peter tram depot . Sidecar 1541 was converted into a rail transport train A15 together with the GT6 railcar 314 in 1998 and is therefore still in service as a work car.
In Kraków, railcars 127 (ex Nuremberg 206) and side cars 527 (ex Nuremberg 1557) were added to the historical vehicle inventory in 2002.
vehicle description
The vehicles are Großraumtrieb- or -beiwagen in facility construction . The dimensions are based on the Duewag open-plan car; Individual components such as the tandem drive and the bogies were purchased there. The most striking difference to the Duewag wagons is the arrangement of the front windows. The carriages are painted cream, the window band is gray-green and is set off above and below with a cream-colored decorative strip. The barrel roofs are gray. Each car has three doors, the rear ones are designed as double-leaf folding doors, the front as single-leaf. Each door leaf could be opened and closed separately by the driver. The side windows in the upper third can be lowered to ventilate the interior of the car. For the driver's cab, the prototypes had separate ventilation windows on the side of the train destination display; in the series cars, these were laminated and replaced by hinged windows in the side windows. The railcar and sidecar have electric Scharfenberg couplings .
The seats are arranged in compartment form 2 + 1, each car has 29 seats. The railcar has standing room for 67 and the sidecar for 74, so an open-plan train offers space for almost 200 people. The conductor's seat is installed in front of the rear door, the passenger flow was arranged from the back to the front. The driver's cab is separate, access is from the passenger compartment.
For the changeover to conductors-less operation, the passenger flow was changed in the mid-1960s from the ends of the car to the middle of the vehicle. The exit doors were fitted with outward-opening folding barriers. Step contacts and ticket validators were installed at the entrance doors. The passengers could open the doors from the outside and inside using push buttons. With the introduction of one-man operation from 1969, additional cash registers were installed at the driver's seats. Instead of the conductor's place, an additional double bench was installed, at the same time the first compartment on the right-hand side of the car was expanded to create space for prams and the like.
The prototypes had a slightly different structure, which was largely adapted to the series until 1967. The four vehicles had folding instead of sliding doors, and the paint was cream-colored with a black trim. Only the railcars had a line number display installed at the front. The bogies were also of a different type than that of the series car.
The two cars 208 and 1521 played a special role. The former served as a test vehicle for Simatic from 1960 . Instead of the drive switch, he received a number of electromagnetic contactors that received their switching commands from an electronic control unit. The driver entered his commands via a setpoint generator, and the switching stages were regulated automatically. In 1965 the railcar received an electric motor-driven drive switch. Sidecar 1521 also served as a test vehicle for thyristors and the DC chopper control based on them from 1975 onwards . Since these work most efficiently under three-phase current , the car has a three-phase asynchronous motor installed in the rear bogie . The control and inverter were housed in a cabinet instead of the conductor's seat. In order to be used for test drives alone, the car was also fitted with a pantograph above the rear bogie. From 1976, the railcars and sidecars ran mostly in association on line 6 ( Westfriedhof - Luitpoldhain), with the control of the sidecar being adapted to that of the railcar. Additional cable connections were installed between the two cars to transmit the traction current and the control commands. The experiences gained during the test drives were mostly positive. Since then, the Nuremberg subway has only used vehicles with three-phase drives.
literature
- Axel Reuther: The Franconian Sonderweg. The MAN open-plan cars for Nuremberg . In: Tram magazine . July 2011.
Web links
- Dirk Sombrutzki: The Nuremberg tram. The T4 open-plan railcars (TW 201 - TW 269). In: nahverkehr-franken.de. December 4, 2008, accessed March 10, 2013 .
- Dirk Sombrutzki: The Nuremberg tram. The large sidecar B4 (BW 1501 - BW 1610). In: nahverkehr-franken.de. March 9, 2009, accessed March 10, 2013 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Axel Reuther: The Frankish Sonderweg. The MAN open-plan cars for Nuremberg . In: Tram magazine . July 2011, p. 34-45 .
- ↑ a b c T4 open seating cars - TW-201 to TW-269. In: tram2000.com. September 21, 2010, accessed March 10, 2013 .
- ↑ a b c B4 large sidecar - BW-1501 to BW-1610. In: tram2000.com. September 20, 2010, accessed March 10, 2013 .
- ^ Josef Pospichal: Braila tram. Vehicles taken over from abroad. Retrieved March 10, 2013 .
- ↑ a b three-phase pioneer . In: Tram magazine . February 2018, p. 42 f .
- ^ Vehicle fleet list Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft Nürnberg. In: tram-info.de. June 12, 2012, accessed March 10, 2013 .
- ↑ a b c Dirk Sombrutzki: The Nuremberg tram. The T4 open-plan railcars (TW 201 - TW 269). In: nahverkehr-franken.de. December 4, 2008, accessed March 10, 2013 .
- ↑ Dirk Sombrutzki: The Nuremberg tram. The large sidecar B4 (BW 1501 - BW 1610). In: nahverkehr-franken.de. March 9, 2009, accessed March 10, 2013 .