S / R series VT 515-U
| Class VT 515-U later BR 686 |
|
|---|---|
 VT 42 of the SBE
|
|
| Numbering: | RBG VT 9-10 (RBG) SBE VT 41-42 |
| Number: | 2 |
| Manufacturer: | O&K , remodeling in the RBG workshops |
| Axis formula : | Bo'2 ' |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Length: | 26,800 mm |
| Top speed: | 100 km / h |
| Installed capacity: | 398 kW |
| Driving wheel diameter: | 950 mm |
| Impeller diameter: | 950 mm |
| Brake: | Knorr |
| Seats: | 75 |
The VT 515-U series of the Regentalbahn are former accumulator railcars of the 515 series , originally ETA 150, of the German Federal Railroad (DB) converted to diesel-electric drive .
history
Around 1994 the Regentalbahn endeavored to operate the branch lines from Zwiesel to Bodenmais and Grafenau with inexpensive and durable (used) railcars , which, however, had to be procured without a long waiting time so that they could be used as quickly as possible. As part of this project, she came across the class 515 railcars parked by the Deutsche Bundesbahn , the former successors of the first DB accumulator railcars of the ETA 176 / BR 517 series . Due to the lack of a charging infrastructure for the maintenance of a battery-powered vehicle, it was decided without further ado to remove the electric drive and install a diesel-powered one.
More accumulator railcars than these two examples were not converted, however, because in the years since 1997 the opportunity arose to procure similarly inexpensive new light railcars. The choice fell on the Regio-Shuttle RS1 from Stadler Rail .
After a longer transition phase, in which the former battery-powered vehicles were used before the arrival of all Regio-Shuttle railcars and during their periods of disruption, they stood most of the time on the siding until the Saxon-Bohemian Railway Company (SBE) became aware of them and they did long-term rented from the RBG, which painted the two individual copies blue and referred to as series 686 , the addresses are VT 41 and VT 42 . A general inspection was also carried out by the SBE . Railcar 41 was christened "Stadt Zittau " by Mayor Gerd Arnold on June 10, 2005 .
For some time, both railcars had been parked at the Zittau depot. After the tender for the “Mandaubahn” route was lost by the SBE , both vehicles were no longer reactivated. In 2012 the two railcars were sold to Eisenbahnflotte GmbH from Hanover. It is planned there to convert the drive on a vehicle based on a hydrogen fuel cell. On April 25, 2013 the VT 42 was removed after test drives to Ebersbach had already taken place on April 16, 2013 . This railcar has been in service on the Rinteln – Stadthagen railway line since May 19, 2013 , and the VT 41 was still defective in Zittau in 2016.
modification
The two former DB railcars 515 511 and 523 were in this conversion to a newly created class VT 515-U and contributed in detail the terms VT 9 and VT 10 . The traction motors were retained and henceforth powered by a somewhat more powerful diesel engine with a generator.
From the point of view of the vehicle construction, the center entry, entrance and interior doors as well as the windows have been removed. Doors and windows were replaced by newer ones in a different arrangement. In addition, the electronic areas of the railcars were modernized and the driver's cabs and windshield were modified in the process .
It has often been criticized that the comfortable, synthetic leather-covered seats of the ETA 150 have been replaced by simple, fabric-covered universal seats.
commitment
The two railcars were used between 1994 and 1998 on the so-called forest railway lines in the Bavarian Forest around the " Zwiesel station ". The successor series were the newly acquired Regio Shuttle railcars.
The SBE used the vehicles on the “Mandaubahn” Seifhennersdorf - Zittau - Liberec .
Whereabouts
The VT 41 Zittau (686 001) has been in the open-air area of the Neumünster railway depot since mid-2019 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rail fleet GmbH. May 2, 2013, accessed December 13, 2018 .
- ↑ Turntable Forums: Sightings. May 2, 2013, accessed June 25, 2013 .
Web links
- Christopher Nolte: BR 686. Retrieved April 25, 2010 .