NS series Mat '54
| NS Mat '54 | |
|---|---|
 Mat '54, No. 777, in Zwolle (1995)
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| Number: | EID-2: 68 units EID-4: 73 units Benelux: 12 units |
| Manufacturer: | Allan Rotterdam , Beijnes , Werkspoor |
| Year of construction (s): | 1954-1952 |
| Retirement: | 1993–1996 Benelux 1988 |
| Axis formula : | EID-2: Bo'2 '+ 2'Bo' EID-4: Bo'Bo '+ 2'2' + 2'2 '+ Bo'Bo' |
| Gauge : | 1,435 mm |
| Length over coupling: | EID-2: 50.4 EID-4: 98.6 |
| Empty mass: | EID-2: 110 EID-4: 210 |
| Top speed: | 140 km / h |
| Hourly output : | EID-2: 680 kW EID-4: 1360 kW |
| Capacity: | EID-2: 1st class 24 2nd class 96 EID-4: 1st class 48 2nd class 188 Benelux: 1st class 24 2nd class 80 |
| Motor type: | Heemaf |
| Power system : | 1.5 kV DC voltage |
| Power transmission: | Overhead line |
| Coupling type: | Scharfenberg coupling |
The NS series Mat '54 or Materieel '54 is a series of two- and four-part electric multiple units that were used in large numbers by the Dutch Railways (NS) from the mid-1950s. Because of their distinctive head shape, they are popularly known as "Hondekop" (dog's head). The Mat '54, together with the successor series Mat '64 , shaped the domestic passenger traffic of the Dutch Railways until the 1990s. The two-part trains were also used in small numbers by the Belgian Railways .
description
A total of 141 units of the Mat '54 series were put into service by Dutch Railways between 1956 and 1962. 73 units were four-piece trains, type EID-2, and 68 were two-piece trains, type EID-4. The two-part trains were given the numbers 321–365 and 371–393 and the four-part trains were given the numbers 711–757 and 761–786. The four-part trains were later renumbered. As with earlier NS multiple units, the number '54 indicates the year of first commissioning. The four-car trains were largely identical to the two-car trains. The top speed was 140 km / h.
The Mat '54 series was used for fast connections between the country's most important cities and also across borders to Belgium. They were quite comfortable for the time, but this was at the expense of the curb weight. Because of the weight, the acceleration was not very high. The comfort for the train driver was modest by today's standards. In the first few years he had to use a folding seat, which was later replaced by a better armchair.
The color of the trains was originally green with a yellow mustache and a gray roof. In 1968 the number 359 appeared as the first train in the new yellow corporate colors of the NS. It was not until 1980 that the last train was repainted.
In order to shorten the station stop, the multiple units received a central door lock from 1969. From the beginning of the 1970s, the four-part trains received a new interior. The rows of seats were now arranged one behind the other and no longer opposite. Part of the luggage compartment was sacrificed to accommodate more rows of seats. The renovated trains were given a blue stripe around the window and were used as intercity trains.
From 1989 the first multiple units were decommissioned. In 1993 the last trains insulated with asbestos were shut down, followed by trains equipped with glass wool. The last official run of a Mat '54 in passenger traffic took place in January 1996.
Belgian railways
In 1957, 12 two-part multiple units with the designation Mat '57 were put into operation for the connection between Amsterdam and Brussels . Four multiple units belonged to the Belgian Railways (220.901–220.904), eight multiple units belonged to the NS (1201–1208). Mechanically, the trains are largely identical to the Mat '54. The Belgian trains were given a dark blue paintwork with a wide yellow band, their interior fittings corresponded to Belgian specifications, at first there was even a dining compartment. The Belgian power grid is operated at 3.0 kV and the Dutch one at 1.5 kV. The trains received two separate pantographs for each network, also because of the lighter catenary in Belgium. Tests were carried out on the Brussels-Luxembourg route, but the engines were not powerful enough to handle the gradients of this route. Between 1986 and 1988 the trains were replaced by modern material. One example, number 220.902, is owned by the Mat '54 Hundekop Foundation and is to be restored.
Train kidnappings from Wijster and at De Punt
The Mat '54 multiple units were twice the subject of train hijackings by South Moluccan terrorists. The train hijacking in Wijster took place on December 2, 1975 near the village of Wijster in the Dutch province of Drenthe . There were around 50 people on the train. The train driver was shot and two hostages were killed. The hostage-taking ended by voluntary abandonment after 13 days on December 14, 1975.
On May 23, 1977 the multiple unit No. 747 was hijacked near De Punt in the municipality of Tynaarlo . There were 51 passengers on the train. It wasn't until just three weeks later, on June 11, 1977, that the drama was ended by the violent intervention of a special commando. Six kidnappers and two passengers were killed. Six people were injured. The bullet riddled train was badly damaged. It was repaired and put back into operation with the changed number 758.
Whereabouts
Two complete multiple units are still well preserved today. The two-part No. 386 is in the original green color scheme in the Railway Museum in Utrecht . The four-part No. 766 belongs to the Mat '54 Hundekop Foundation and has also been completely renovated in green. It is used for special trips. There is also a train on a campsite in Wieringerwerf and a headboard in a private museum in Waterhuizen near Groningen .
In original green paint (number 766)
Look into the driver's cab
Interior 1st class
Interior design 2nd class
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Stichting Hondekop. In: Mat '54 website from railway enthusiasts. Retrieved February 3, 2019 (Dutch).
- ↑ Nico Spilt: Materieel '54 (deel 1) ( nl ) In: Langs de rails . Retrieved February 3, 2019.
- ↑ Oude Benelux Hondekop weer naar Nederland. In: treinreiziger.nl. July 10, 2015, accessed February 3, 2019 (Dutch).
- ↑ Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, NetherlandsNet: NetherlandsNet - Terrorism and Counter Terrorism - Actions of the Moluccas. Retrieved July 16, 2017 .
- ↑ The dream of independence . In: www.aref.de Das kalenderblatt 21/2017 . Retrieved February 3, 2019.
