RATP series Sprague-Thomson
Sprague-Thomson is the name for a control system for former railcars of the Paris subway . At the same time, it is a collective term for all bogie cars built by the Parisian public transport company RATP and its predecessor companies CMP and Nord-Sud until 1935 . With about 2,720 vehicles in several sub-types was series Sprague-Thomson is the most common type of car, Métro Paris.
Names refer to 1884 were Frank J. Sprague founded Sprague Electric Railway & Motor Company and the Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston , a branch company of General Electric Company and successor of 1879 by Elihu Thomson launched Thomson-Houston Electric Company .
prehistory
Predecessor vehicles
In July 1900, line 1 was opened on the first line of the Paris Métro . The trains initially used by the operating company Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris (CMP) were built in 1899 by the Ateliers de construction du Nord de la France (ANF) and the Société Franco-Belge de Matériel de Chemins de Fer . They were largely similar to the trams of the time , but the railcars were more powerful with two 125 hp engines . The vehicles were two-axle, the superstructures with single sliding doors were made of wood. The car lengths were 7.44 to 8.88 meters. 34 railcars with one driver's cab each (series 100, vehicle numbers M 1 to M 34), 12 railcars with driver's cabs on both sides (series 200, MM 1 to MM 12) and 115 sidecars were acquired . The railcars were controlled by a drive switch of the type used in tram vehicles .
Initially, only solo vehicles (MM on the two branch lines) and trains made up of only one railcar plus side car (on the main route) were on the road, but longer train sets soon led to the need to hire a second railcar per train. From then on, the driver had to operate another from the leading railcar, which required multiple controls. The Thomson double equipment of the second series made it possible to control the four electric motors of two railcars from one drive switch. The traction current was taken from only one railcar and passed through a cable along the sidecar to the other railcar. With the receipt of the second series, eight-car trains could be formed from 1902. The first section of line 2, which opened in October of that year, was also served with these trains.
In 1902 and 1903, the CMP received two railcar prototypes on bogies (M 301 and M 302). They were 11.5 meters long, the structure consisted partly of wood (passenger compartment), partly of metal (driver's compartment). Nevertheless, two-axle vehicles with rigid axles were again ordered for the future line 3, namely 74 powered vehicles and 210 sidecars.
Disaster in the Couronnes station
On August 10, 1903, the worst accident in the history of the Paris Métro occurred on Line 2 . A defective train, which had already caught fire in the Barbès station as a result of a short circuit , burned out in the Ménilmontant underground station . A subsequent train, which stopped in the Couronnes station , could not be evacuated in time because the passengers demanded the reimbursement of travel costs. 84 people suffocated in the smoke that spread rapidly through the tunnel .
The accident resulted in several short, medium and long term measures. The former included the requirement that railcars can be disconnected in the event of a short circuit. The CMP initially coupled the two railcars to each other at the beginning of the train in order to avoid having to run the 600-volt cable for the traction current along the entire train. In the medium term, the incombustibility of the vehicles and, above all, the driver's cabs was required. This provided the framework for the next generation of vehicles. The new five-car trains had metal driver's cabs, which were separated from the rest of the wooden structure by a small space, and also rested on bogies. Initially, the different vehicle types ran side by side.
Prototypes and early production vehicles
For the time being, a metal structure was only required for the driver's cabs that housed the 600 V DC systems, but the perspective was an all-metal vehicle. The future 11 to 13 meter long carriages should have bogies, the own power consumption for each railcar should make the dangerous power cable from the leading to the pushing railcar superfluous. Up until now, the drive motors of the rear railcar were supplied with traction current via this power cable by means of the Thomson double control; the power was only drawn from the leading railcar.
The waiver of this type of supply and control made multiple control necessary in order to ensure the control of the railcars in line by the driver in the front railcar even without a high- voltage connection. Several control systems were available:
- Sprague multiple , from which 23 railcars were procured, which were converted in 1912
- Description: From a servomotor moving travel switch , electromagnetic direction switch, five-core control line between the rail car
- Thomson multiple , from which 271 railcars were procured and which was retained until 1930
- Description: Travel switch with as many contacts as switching steps , electromagnetic contactors and travel direction switches, nine-wire control line
- Westinghouse multiple , from which about 100 railcars were procured and which was in use until 1929
- Description: Electropneumatic control of the thirteen contactors and the travel direction switch, seven-core control line
24 railcars received the Thompson double control system , which had already been used in previous vehicles. The railcars were initially 10.85 meters long, had two doors on each side and had 2 x 125 hp. Later series had lengths of 12.45 and 13.35 meters and had an output of 2 x 175 hp.
In December 1905, the CMP fleet comprised 683 vehicles:
- 305 2nd class railcars, including 293 bogie vehicles
- 241 sidecars, 2nd class, including 28 bogie vehicles
- 137 sidecars, 1st class, including 28 bogie vehicles
Further development
First, the CMP 114 converted former two-axle railcars into bogie vehicles, with wooden superstructures being placed behind metal driver's cabs. Subsequently, railcars with metal cladding were put into service for lines 4 and 5 : 20 “Sprague multiple” in 1906 and 35 “Thomson multiple” (10.92 meters long) in 1907. The first all-metal trains (type “Thomson multiple”, as before short version) received the CMP at the end of 1907.
The Sprague-Thomson system
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... at CMP
None of the previous designs turned out to be completely satisfactory; each had its weaknesses. For the 500 series railcars planned for line 3 , CMP therefore opted for a system that combined the advantages of the “Sprague multiple” with those of the “Thomson multiple”: Sprague type travel switch and control line , Thomson type direction switch and contactors . The 500 railcars (M 491 to M 597) were made entirely of metal. They were 13.35 meters long, had three doors 1.20 meters wide on each side of the car and were equipped with two 175 hp engines. In the 2.50 meter long driver's cabs (the cars were therefore also called “grandes loges”) there was space for the driver as well as the electrical equipment. The “grandes loges” stayed on the Internet for 66 years before retiring from service in 1974 after a longevity record of 66 years.
Nevertheless, the CMP made use of the "Thomson multiple" system for the subsequent series 600 (M 598 to M 717). The 120 railcars delivered in 1909, like 74 sidecars ordered at the same time, were used on line 3 and displaced the 500 series to line 1. The 21 M 718 to M 736 railcars delivered in 1910, also belonging to the 600 series, were then finally with the Control system "Sprague-Thomson", which was to give the vehicle its name.
Between 1909 and 1912, the CMP converted around 190 "short" cars into 13.35 meter long railcars. The vehicles of the “Sprague multiple” system became “Sprague-Thomson” cars in this context.
... at the north-south
The Société du chemin de fer électrique souterrain Nord-Sud de Paris (North-Sud) opened a new route in 1910 in competition with the CMP, which was operated by line A (later line 12 ). When choosing the material, she was able to fall back on the experience of the CMP. She ordered 13.60 meter long railcars and sidecars in all-metal construction with three double doors on each side of the car. The railcars of the "Sprague-Thomson" system were equipped with four 125 HP engines and had sanding shoes and small pantographs . In normal operation, the leading railcar received its power (+600 V) from the contact wire , the railcar at the end of the train received −600 V from the side conductor rail . In this system, the electricity was returned via the wheels and rails. This solution had to be chosen because the north-south could not acquire enough space for substations that were sufficiently close together ; it lasted until the 1930s.
In contrast to the brown vehicles of the CMP, the trains of the Nord-Sud were in light colors, predominantly gray car bodies with blue driver's cabs.
Between the wars
The outbreak of the First World War prevented further new acquisitions. From 1915 to 1916, the CMP converted the car doors to electropneumatic closing.
Previously, the electrical equipment was housed in the 2.50 meter long driver's cab, but from the 700 series onwards, it increasingly moved under the car body. The length of the driver's cabs was initially reduced to 1.90 meters. 225 class 800 multiple units were ordered in several tranches and delivered between 1923 and 1926. Here the driver's cabs were shortened again to 1.08 meters ("Petites loges"), while the car bodies were stretched from 13.35 to 13.60 meters. The capacity increased to 26 seats and 78 standing places. From the railcars M 812 to M 1036, the vehicles M 1005 to M 1022 had driver's cabs on both sides. In addition, 13.60 meter long sidecars with a capacity of 110 passengers each were purchased. The new material was used on lines 1, 3 and 10, the older vehicles reinforced train sets on other lines.
The decision to extend lines to the suburbs led to renewed orders in the late 1920s. Five-car trains were to be formed with vehicles that were 14.40 meters long. In order to increase the performance, the railcars, like those of the north-south, were equipped with four instead of two engines. Each bogie was given a separate “Sprague-Thomson” system to enable it to continue running in the event of a partial failure. The first 62 railcars and 42 sidecars were delivered at the end of 1927, this time in a dark green color. The car bodies were made of all metal.
The most noticeable change in the vehicles delivered in 1929 was the arrangement of four doors only 1.00 meters wide on each side of the vehicle.
- 1929: 29 railcars (M 1099 to M 1127) in a dark green paint scheme
- 1930: 31 railcars (M 1128 to M 1132 and M 1154 to M 1179) in light green livery
- 1930: 21 railcars (M 1133 to M 1153); These vehicles were equipped with the Jeumont-Heidmann control system (characteristic: camshaft driven by a servo motor ) and 200 hp engines for the steep line 3 . They proved themselves, but were not compatible with the conventional Sprague-Thomson trains, which is why it remained with this one series for reasons of standardization.
- 1930–1932: 122 railcars (M 1180 to M 1301)
- 1935: 54 railcars (M 1302 to M 1355) in gray for line 1 and green for the other lines
In addition to the purchase of new vehicles, there were extensive conversions of old rolling stock.
- 1928–1929: 60 former Westinghouse railcars (including M 1 to M 34) that kept their brown wooden superstructures until 1936
- 1930: 40 former Westinghouse railcars, the first to be painted in light green
- 1931: 54 former Thomson double / multiple railcars in light green livery
- 1932: 83 former Thomson and Sprague railcars in light green livery
- from 1933: 103 former Thomson railcars in gray livery
In 1930, the CMP took over the Nord-Sud including its rolling stock, namely 114 powered vehicles and 151 sidecars. The CMP thus had 1337 railcars, all of which are assigned to the Sprague-Thomson series , although 21 of them were equipped with the Jeumont-Heidmann control system. With the 1383 matching sidecars, there was a total of 2720 vehicles. With the exception of the former north-south and Jeumont-Heidmann trains, all vehicles could be coupled to one another.
Five-car trains were used in two different series on the heavily frequented lines:
- M4 + B + A + B + M4 and
- M4 + B + A + M2 + M2
where M (motrice) stands for multiple units, the number for the number of engines. A means sidecar 1st class, B sidecar 2nd class. The railcars all belonged to 2nd class. Trains with four, three or two cars ran on the other lines. The first class sidecar was replaced by a mixed-class AB sidecar. The 1st class coaches and the corresponding parts of the AB coaches were painted red, both in the green and gray trains.
1939 to 1945
Due to the reductions in bus traffic, the number of Métro trips increased during the Second World War. Regardless of the problematic circumstances and the maintenance work that was often reduced to a minimum, the robust rolling stock proved its worth. The CMP took u. a. Improvements to the braking system, the ability to accelerate, the weight reduction, the door locking mechanism and the lighting in attack. Replacing obsolete vehicles was out of the question in those years.
The Sprague-Thomson series at RATP
On January 1, 1949, the state-owned company Régie autonome des transports Parisiens (RATP) was founded as the sole operator of the Parisian transport infrastructure; the CMP was incorporated into it along with other private companies (tram and bus companies). Until 1951, the year the first new vehicles ( MA series ) were deployed, she only used Sprague-Thomson trains. The forty new trains for line 13 did not displace the Sprague-Thomson from the stock, with the vacated cars, trains on other lines were strengthened.
The trains were usually dark green, only the vehicles on Line 1 deviated from this color scheme, where the basic color had been light gray since the early 1930s. The sidecar or parts of the 1st class car were painted red in both cases. It was only with the appearance of trains with pneumatic tires on Line 1 that the gray trains were gradually used on other lines.
The MP 55 series brought the first Sprague-Thomson vehicles to the siding. First of all, the oldest of the railcars with 2.50 meter long driver's cabs and their sidecars disappeared. When Line 1 was converted to pneumatic trains in 1963, most of the vehicles built up to 1907 were withdrawn from service. The arrival of the MF 67 series from 1968 onwards in 1972 led to the retirement of the former "north-south" trains used on line 12. At the end of 1974, the new material already comprised 46 percent of the cars, and all Sprague-Thomson trains built before the First World War had been parked. But also the remaining Sprague-Thomson were increasingly only used during the traffic peaks between new trains.
Next, the first four-engine railcar “hit the collar”. The Sprague-Thomson disappeared from all lines by 1981 , only on line 9 they stayed until 1983. On December 31, 1982, 103 cars of this type were still available. A flood in the former terminal station Église de Pantin of line 5 , the number of new vehicles damaged, they helped to a "grace period" of several months. On April 16, 1983, the last regular train ran between the stations Mairie de Montreuil and Pont de Sèvres .
Reuse
Some Sprague-Thomson vehicles were later converted into railway service vehicles. Some of the superstructures outside the driver's cabs were removed to create loading areas. The “Convoi d'Auteuil” transport train operated in this form between the Vaugirard and Auteuil workshops until June 14, 2010. The vehicles were yellow, and some were painted maroon at the height of the windows. They received new company numbers with a "T" in front. The last of these vehicles were parked in 2011.
Museum vehicles and operations
- The M 1266 / ABm 5 / M 340 set of the Association d'Exploitation du Matériel Sprague (ADEMAS) is on the road all over France. One of the vehicles is equipped with a generator for the power supply.
Web links
- Le Sprague-Thomson (pdf)
- Le matériel roulant ancien
- Sprague Thomson vehicles of the north-south
- Le matériel roulant du chemin de fer électrique basement du NORTH-SOUTH
literature
- Jean Tricoire: Un siècle de métro en 14 lignes. De Bienvenüe à Météor . La Vie du Rail, Paris 2004, ISBN 2-902808-87-9
Individual evidence
- ^ Clive Lamming: Métro insolite . 2nd Edition. Éditions Parigramme, Paris 2001, ISBN 978-2-84096-190-1 , pp. 82 .
- ↑ Jean Tricoire: Un siècle de métro en 14 lignes , p. 85.
- ^ Jean Tricoire: Un siècle de métro en 14 lignes , p. 91.
- ↑ Jean Tricoire: Un siècle de métro en 14 lignes , p. 18.
- ↑ Jean Tricoire: Un siècle de métro en 14 lignes , p. 86.
- ↑ Clive Lamming: Métro insolite , p. 83.
- ^ Jean Tricoire: Un siècle de métro en 14 lignes , p. 89.
- ^ Christoph Groneck: Metros in France . 1st edition. Robert Schwandl, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-936573-13-1 , p. 6 .
- ↑ Jean Tricoire: Un siècle de métro en 14 lignes , p. 94.
- ^ Brian Hardy: Paris Metro Handbook . 3. Edition. Capital Transport, Harrow Weald 1999, ISBN 1-85414-212-7 , pp. 62 .
- ^ Jean Robert: Notre Métro . 2nd Edition. J. Robert, Neuilly-sur-Seine 1983, p. 128 f .
- ↑ Petite Histoire du matériel Métro sauvegardé (pdf) at amutc.fr, accessed on June 27, 2017
- ^ Brian Hardy, op. Cit. , P. 61 and 63.
- ^ Julian Pepinster: Le métro de Paris . Éditions La Vie du Rail, Paris 2010, ISBN 978-2-918758-12-9 , p. 196 .
- ↑ Julian Pepinster: op. Cit. , P. 210.
- ↑ Focus on the tram, issue 3/2013, p. 0
