NS series 3900
| NS series 3900 | |
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.jpg) Class 3900 locomotive around 1932 in Amsterdam Centraal
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| Numbering: | 3901-3932 |
| Number: | 32 |
| Manufacturer: | Henschel & Son |
| Year of construction (s): | 1929-1930 |
| Retirement: | until 1957 |
| Axis formula : | 2'C h4 |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Length over buffers: | 20410 mm |
| Height: | 4520 mm |
| Service mass: | 84 t |
| Service mass with tender: | 147 t |
| Top speed: | 110 km / h |
| Driving wheel diameter: | 1850 mm |
| Impeller diameter front: | 930 mm |
| Control type : | Walschaerts control , internal |
| Number of cylinders: | 4th |
| Cylinder diameter: | 420 mm |
| Piston stroke: | 660 mm |
| Boiler overpressure: | 14 bar |
| Grate area: | 3.16 m² |
| Radiant heating surface: | 17 m² |
| Tubular heating surface: | 150 m² |
| Superheater area : | 53 m² |
| Water supply: | 28.0 m³ |
| Fuel supply: | 6 tons of coal |
| Train brake: | Westinghouse |
The NS class 3900 was an express train - steam locomotive series of the Dutch Railways (NS). The 32 examples of the series were built in 1929 and 1930 by Henschel & Sohn in Kassel . In 1957 the last copies of this most powerful NS passenger steam locomotive were taken out of service.
history
The introduction of express train passenger cars built entirely from steel led to a renewed increase in the weight of express trains from the mid-1920s. The NS series 3700 , which the NS had procured since 1910, was too weak for the heaviest express trains in international traffic, so a more powerful locomotive was required. After initial considerations to develop a Pacific out of the 3700 by adding a trailing axle , the NS decided to stick with the proven 2'C wheel arrangement, but instead the new locomotive with a more powerful boiler and an axle pressure two tons higher than the 3700 of 18 tons. She accepted that this required extensive retrofitting, especially for many bridges that were not yet designed for this axle load. From the end of 1929, Henschel delivered the first series of 22 locomotives with the numbers 3901 to 3922, and in the following year another 10 units with the numbers 3923 to 3932.
After the first test drives, the locomotives were put into service by the NS and mainly took over express trains in traffic to the border stations with Germany . In 1930 the locomotives were stationed in Boxtel near Eindhoven , Amsterdam , Almelo , Maastricht and Amersfoort . In later years they were also stationed in The Hague , Hengelo and Zwolle . The trains that ran the 3900 included the Rheingold and the Riviera Express , which hauled them to Emmerich or Zevenaar . They also carried trains to the border stations in Oldenzaal and Venlo . Within the country, the locomotives took over trains between Amsterdam and Maastricht and - after the bridge over the IJssel near Zwolle - between Utrecht and Groningen .
After the occupation of the Netherlands in the western campaign by the German Wehrmacht , the NS had to hand over a large number of locomotives to the Deutsche Reichsbahn . The powerful locomotives of the 3900 series were apparently particularly popular, because in 1945 only eight of the 32 locomotives were left on Dutch tracks, of which only three were operational. The remaining locomotives returned from the western occupation zones by 1946 , only two were so badly damaged that they were decommissioned and not repaired. In 1949 they were stationed in Amersfoort, Zwolle and Hengelo and mainly carried express trains from Amsterdam and Utrecht to Groningen, Leeuwarden and Enschede .
The electrification of the Dutch railway network, which was interrupted by the war, was accelerated by the NS after the war and by the early 1950s, the important connections from the Randstad to Roosendaal and on to Belgium as well as to Maastricht and Enschede were continuously electrically accessible. Only on the routes to Leeuwarden and Groningen were the locomotives of the 3900 series stationed in Zwolle in service for a few years, together with the 3700 series and, for a short time, the new NS series 4000 delivered after the war . The majority of the locomotives came to Nijmegen and Venlo. In Venlo, the locomotives carried express trains between Venlo and Eindhoven, including the “Rheingold Express”, but also passenger trains. The locomotives in Nijmegen also carried freight trains, mainly in coal transport from the Limburg area . In June 1957, the steam operation in Nijmegen ended and the last three 3900 series came to Roosendaal , where they no longer provided any noteworthy train services. The last locomotive in the series, the 3922, was shut down on December 9, 1957. No copy of this most powerful Dutch express locomotive has survived.
technology
In terms of its main design features, the 3900 is a further development of the 3700. It is also designed as a quadruple in which all four cylinders are supplied with live steam. The drive is also carried out via the first coupling axle, the control is designed as an internal Walschaerts control analogous to the 3700, whereby the external cylinders were also controlled via intermediate shafts from the internal controls. This engine produced very good and quiet running characteristics, but ensured a relatively high consumption of coal. Compared to the 3700, the 3900 consumed significantly more coal and was therefore decried as a coal eater by the staff.
The one with the boiler of Güterzugtenderloks of 6300 NS series largely identical boiler had a as in the 3700 Belpaire - firebox and only a simple steam dome with copper cladding. A copper rim adorned the chimney. These eye-catching glossy panels were retained until World War II when they were painted over or removed. The locomotives of the second series had smoke deflectors ex works , the first series was soon retrofitted.
All locomotives were given larger, four-axle tenders , which roughly corresponded to the last 3700 series delivered by Schwartzkopff. They were also equipped with exhaust steam injectors ex works . In contrast to the 3700 series, there were no significant retrofits or modifications during the service life of the 3900.
literature
- Hans v. Poll: Steam locomotives of the Dutch Railways (NS), Part 2: The 3900 and 6300 series. In: Lok-Magazin 84, May / June 1977, pp. 195–204
