SBB Ae 3/5
| SBB Ae 3/5 | |
|---|---|
 Ae 3/5 10217
|
|
| Numbering: | 10201-10226 |
| Number: | 26th |
| Manufacturer: |
SLM Winterthur SAAS Genève |
| Year of construction (s): | 1922-1925 |
| Retirement: | 1979-1983 |
| Axis formula : | 1'Co1 ' |
| Length over buffers: | 12,320 mm |
| Height: | 3780 mm |
| Service mass: | 81 t |
| Top speed: | 90 km / h |
| Hourly output : | 1,365 kW (1,800 hp ) |
| Continuous output : | 1,200 kW (1,560 hp) |
| Number of traction motors: | 6, 3 twin motors |
| Drive: | Westinghouse spring drive |
The SBB Ae 3/5 , nicknamed Little Sécheron, is a standard gauge , single- frame , universal locomotive with single-axle drive for alternating current of 15,000 volts 16 2 ⁄ 3 Hertz. It was ordered in several lots between 1920 and 1925 for the then newly electrified railway lines of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) in the lowlands and commissioned in a brown color. A relatively large part of the total of 26 machines delivered was last used in green until the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s. Since the locomotive has one less running axle and therefore a lower total weight than the Ae 3/6 I and Ae 3/6 II built at the same time , and thus also has the best power-to-weight ratio , it was soon mainly used in regional traffic in western Switzerland, where it was able to exploit the advantages in terms of power-to-weight ratio with frequent acceleration, whereby the maximum speed required for express trains at the time did not play a decisive role, because due to the problematic driving behavior of the locomotive at high speeds, after several construction lots the production of the Ae 3 / which was in many parts structurally identical 6 III replaced. The single-frame Ae 3/5, together with the Be 4/7 bogie locomotives built from 1921 and the single-frame Ae 3/6 III built from 1925 , all with the Westinghouse spring drive, serve as a model for the Bernese Alpine Railway Company from 1926 Bern – Lötschberg – Simplon (BLS) delivered bogie locomotives Be 6/8 , the later Ae 6/8, which at that time was considered the most powerful electric locomotive in the world for several years.
prehistory
The serious coal shortage towards the end of the First World War led to a decision in 1918 to electrify the SBB in order to become independent of the foreign energy supplies in the form of coal . This decision was supported by the fact that Switzerland was considered a pioneering country in electrical engineering by the fact that at this time hundreds of kilometers of mostly meter-gauge road, overland, mountain and mountain railways were already being driven electrically, probably primarily with direct current, but the basis for comprehensive rail line electrification by alternating current of 15,000 volts 16 2 ⁄ 3 Hertz was provided by the electrically operated Lötschberg mountain line ; the electrification of the Gotthard mountain route was nearing completion.
At the beginning of the first electrification phase in 1920, the SBB had drafts for a flatland universal locomotive drawn up. Only a few points were required, including: three drive axles , an output of 2000 hp, a top speed of 90 km / h and a maximum axle load of 20 t. The three Swiss electrical companies Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC), Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon (MFO) and Société Anonyme des Ateliers de Sécheron (SAAS) otherwise had a largely free hand. The following drafts were submitted and then also procured: BBC: Ae 3/6 I , MFO: Ae 3/6 II and SAAS: Ae 3/5.
construction
The mechanical part of all locomotives came from the Swiss Lokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik (SLM) in Winterthur , the electrical equipment from SAAS.
mechanical construction
The three drive axles are stored in an outer frame. Each axis is driven by two high-speed twin motors. The power is transmitted via a Westinghouse spring drive . The light drive equipment only required one Bissel axle at each end of the locomotive.
The running characteristics of this locomotive were not particularly good. Despite several changes to the drive, the cornering was very hard and angular. The top speed was limited to 90 km / h. For this reason, preference was given to the Ae 3/6 III , which was equipped with a trailer bogie on one side. The longer construction was hoped for better guidance in the tracks.
Electric Construction
On delivery, the locomotives were equipped with two pantographs and an oil master switch . The transformer is located in the middle of the locomotive. The voltage of the traction motors is controlled via electropneumatic individual switches ( hops ). This allows a particularly light construction of the locomotive, but also ensures a somewhat coarse gradation of the pulling force, which was particularly noticeable when approaching.
The locomotives were neither equipped with multiple controls nor with electric brakes .
Conversion for use in front of car trains
In the 1960s, the locomotives from the last lot with the numbers 10218-26 were converted for use in front of car trains . This included the installation of a remote control , the replacement of the main oil switch with a main compressed air switch and the installation of anti-skid protection . A pantograph had to be removed so that the main compressed air switch could be placed on the roof.
Operational use
The increasing traffic demanded more car trains through the Gotthard and Simplon tunnels . The 9 locomotives from the last lot were therefore converted for this service. They replaced the Be 4/6 railcars in front of the special shuttle trains (flat cars with protective roofs for cars and control cars with motorcycle compartments) .
Locomotive 10226 was on the old Hauenstein line with the only shuttle train used on this line from 1971 . The lack of an electric brake made the locomotive rather unsuitable for this application.
Scrapping
The first locomotives were decommissioned towards the end of the 1960s after heavy wear and tear or major damage. With the opening of the Gotthard road tunnel, car train operations ceased, so that more locomotives became redundant. In 1981 14 machines were still in operation: three locomotives were assigned to the Brig depot, the rest to the Olten depot, where it was used in Ae-3/6 I services. The last machines were scrapped in 1983 .
Locomotive 10217 has been preserved as an operational historic vehicle in the Bern depot in a green color and belongs to the SBB Historic Heritage Foundation (SBB Historic).
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Where is the plain? , a radio broadcast by Swiss Radio and Television (SRF) from Sunday, March 4, 2012, 9:15 a.m., accessed on December 12, 2019
- ↑ History, Unter Strom - how Switzerland was electrified, by Stefan Boss , an article from July 8, 2018 in Swissinfo.ch (SWI), accessed on December 12, 2019