RhB ABe 4/4 I.

RhB ABe 4/4 I (conversion)
ABe 4/4 I 30 and 34 near Alp Grüm ABe 4/4 I No. 30 in Bernina Hospice
Type designation:	ABe 4/4 I.			ABDe 4/4
Numbering:	30th	31-34	35-37	30 t
Manufacturer:	SIG , SAAS		SIG, SAAS, MFO
Construction year:	1911	1908	1908-1909	1911
Modification:	1953	1946/47	1949-1951	1949
Axis formula :	B 0 'B 0 '
Gauge :	1000 mm
Length over buffers:	14,660 mm	13,930 mm		14,660 mm
Total wheelbase:	10,750 mm	10,000 mm		10,750 mm
Service mass:	31 t	30 t
Top speed:	55 km / h
Hourly output :	BB : 382 kW ChA : 419 kW		427 kW
Starting tractive effort:	102 kN
Hourly traction:	BB: 55 kN at 25 km / h ChA: 55 kN at 27.5 km / h		56 kN at 27.2 km / h
Drive wheel diameter:	850 mm
Power system:	1000 V = (Bernina Railway) 2400 V = (Chur – Arosa)		1000 V = (Bernina Railway)
Number of drive motors:	4th
Transmission ratio:	1: 5.75
1st class seats:                  2nd class:                  Total:	12 29 41	12 27 39	12 31 43	12 24 7 43
Loading area:	-			4.88 m²
Source:

As ABe 4/4 I are used in the Rhätischen web (RhB) on the Berninabahn used electric railcar with numbers 30 to 38 ( motrice trenta ), respectively. The railcars were created in the years 1946–1953 by converting vehicles from the years 1908–1911. Since 1988–90, when the RhB ABe 4/4 III went into operation, the use of the old-style multiple units in passenger train service has declined sharply. But they were still indispensable in the summer and were mostly used before the train in 1642. Since the first new Allegra multiple units went into service in the spring of 2010, the ABe 4/4 I has not been used as planned.

In November 2018, two nostalgic railcars 30 and 34 painted yellow were still operational.

Railcar of the Bernina Railway (BB)

ABe 4/4 I 34 and 30

The Bernina Railway, which opened in 1908, procured a total of 17 electric multiple units in two series from the manufacturers SIG and Alioth . The 13.93 m long BCe 4/4 of the first series (numbers 1 to 14) had 12 seats in the second and 31 in the third carriage class . In the 14.66 m long railcars of the second series (numbers 21 to 23), seven third-class seats were omitted in favor of a luggage compartment (in which there were, however, seven folding seats), so the designation was BCFe 4/4. (the designations as were written BCe ⁴ respectively BCFe ⁴ ). The electric equipment in all vehicles was equal; they made 220  kW at 22 km / h. Compared to the green and gray tones preferred at the time, they clearly stood out with their yellow paint, black and red shadow writing and eye-catching red route boards. Because some superstitious passengers avoided car 13, it was given number 15 in 1921.

See also sections Technical data in Articles RhB ABe 4/4 and RhB ABDe 4/4

Modification by the RhB

ABe 4/4 I No. 31 in front of the Poschiavo depot

With the Bernina Railway, the RhB also took over its aging vehicle fleet in 1943. With up to 35 years of operation, the vehicles had not yet reached their end of life, but their performance left a lot to be desired. But the vehicles were not the only investment required. Therefore, the purchase of new railcars was avoided; however, the RhB began to modernize the existing rolling stock in its own workshops in Landquart and Poschiavo . In all 17 railcars, the starting and braking resistors previously arranged under the car floor were moved to the roof, the side walls were partially extended (aprons) and the box sheets were welded. A pantograph replaced one of the two outdated lyre bars .

Nine railcars also received new electrical equipment; the output increased to 395 kW, in the later modifications even to 440 kW. This doubled the permissible trailer load to 40  t and increased the top speed from 45 km / h to 55 km / h. The converted vehicles were given the new numbers 30-38 (see table).

The Chur-Arosa-Bahn, which also merged with the Rhaetian Railway during the Second World War, only had six railcars, which was insufficient for the growing winter sports traffic. Since the peak of traffic on the Bernina Railway was in summer, it was possible to hand over a few railcars to Chur in winter. For this purpose, the RhB converted the railcars 31 to 34 into dual-voltage vehicles in 1946–47. In addition, there was completely new electrical equipment with step hoppers and more powerful motors from SAAS for installation as well as a compressed air brake system for the railcar itself, the train still had to be braked with a vacuum. In 1953 a fifth railcar followed, the number 30. The converted railcars were fitted with a recuperation brake for use on the Arosa line , which was operated with direct current until 1997 . The presence of step hoppers also later allowed the installation of a multiple control .

The other modernized vehicles 35 to 38 only received electrical equipment for the Bernina Railway and no air compressor. Instead of the SAAS hoppers, MFO multi-stage controllers were installed. On the other hand, dispensing with dual-voltage equipment allowed a higher rated output.

The remaining eight vehicles kept their old traction motors and numbers. Their performance could be increased to 350 kW through improved ventilation of the traction motors.

When the third class was abolished in 1956, the BCe 4/4 became ABe 4/4 and the BCFe 4/4 became ABFe 4/4, since 1961 ABDe 4/4.

The greater part of the railcars received a completely welded sheet metal cladding over time. The window corners were also rounded at the bottom.

Coloring

The railcars were painted yellow on the Bernina Railway. After the merger, this paint was initially replaced by green / cream, and towards the end of the 1950s, various railcars were completely green. Painted red in the course of the 1960s, some railcars kept the old paint scheme in green or green / cream until they were retired.

The two railcars 30 and 34 were painted yellow in 2000 and 2001, respectively, and the exterior approximated the original condition. As nostalgic vehicles, they are used on special trips and also in peak summer traffic. The C 114 passenger car , which the Club restored in 1889 and set up as a catering car, and the BC 110, which has also been brought closer to its original state on the inside, go well with this.

Vehicle list

List of ABe 4/4 I and ABDe 4/4 of the Rhaetian Railway (formerly the Bernina Railway)
first company number	Installation	modification	Company number after reconstruction	last company number	painting				Remarks	Whereabouts
					yellow	green / cream	green	red
1	1908	1947	31	31	1908	1947	1959	1963		canceled in October 2009
2	1908	1946	32	32	1908	1946	1957	1965		canceled in December 2009
3	1908			3	1908	19 ..	1957	-		Discarded 1969, canceled
4th	1908	1947	34	34	1908 2001	1947	-	1962	since 2001 nostalgic railcar (yellow)	in operation
5	1908	1946	33	33	1908	1946	1956	-	May 8, 1962 destroyed by fire on Alp Grüm	Discarded 1962, canceled
6th	1908			9921	1908	-	-	1960	1960 redrawn to service vehicle Xe 4/4 9921, brown-red	Discarded 1969, canceled
7th	1908			7th	1908	19 ..	1957	-		Discarded 1965, canceled
8th	1908			8th	1908	19 ..	-	-		discarded in 1967, canceled
9	1908	1953		9920	1908	-	1953	1964/90	Swept away by an avalanche in 1951, rebuilt as the Xe 4/4 service vehicle	Discarded 1998, canceled
10	1908	1949	35	35	1908	1949	-	1962		retired in 2010; Sold operationally to the Blonay – Chamby museum railway
11	1909			11	1909	19 ..	-	1964		Discarded 1976, canceled
12	1909	1951	37	9923	1909	1951	1957	1965	1997 converted to Xe 4/4 9923, auxiliary car Poschiavo, orange	canceled in January 2015
13	1909			15th	1909	19 ..	-	-	1921 renumbered to 15	Discarded 1969, canceled
14th	1909	1950	36	9924	1909	1950	-	1963	1998 converted to Xe 4/4 9924, auxiliary car Pontresina, orange	canceled in September 2012
21st	1911	1949	38	9922	1911	1948	-	1962	Retained luggage compartment, designation ABDe 4/4 1992 converted to Xe 4/4 9922, catenary service Poschiavo, yellow	canceled in December 2016
22nd	1911	1953	30th	30th	1911 2000	1953	-	1966	1953 luggage compartment removed, since 2000 nostalgic railcar (yellow)	in operation
23	1911			23	1911	1948	1956	-	1956 Luggage compartment removed	Discarded 1969, canceled

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Conversion to a two-voltage railcar 1000 V / 2200 V =, can also be used on the Chur-Arosa railway until 1997

literature

• Gian Brüngger: 100-year-old mountaineer, history of the first generation of railcars BCe 4/4 and BCFe 4/4 of the Bernina Railway. LOKI special 30, Lokpress AG, Zurich 2008, ISBN 978-3-9523386-1-2
• Claude Jeanmaire: The direct current lines of the Rhaetian Railway . Verlag Eisenbahn, Villigen 1975, ISBN 3-85649-020-5
• Peter Will; Locomotives of Switzerland 2 , narrow-gauge traction units. Orell Füssli, Zurich 1972
• Wolfgang Finke, Hans Schweers: The vehicles of the Rhaetian Railway 1889-1998 . Volume 3: Locomotives, railcars, tractors. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 1998, ISBN 3-89494-105-7 .

Web links

Commons : RhB ABe 4/4 I  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Rolling material list of the RhB (pdf)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Peter Willen: Locomotives of Switzerland 2 - narrow-gauge traction vehicles.
2. ^ Claude Jeanmaire: The electric and diesel traction vehicles of the Swiss railways. Fourth part: The direct current lines of the Rhaetian Railway. Archive No. 20, Verlag Eisenbahn, Villigen AG 1975, ISBN 3-85649-020-5 , illustrations 133-135