SBB Be 4/6 12303-12342
| Be 4/6 | |
|---|---|
 Be 4/6 No. 12320
|
|
| Number: | 40 |
| Manufacturer: | SLM , BBC |
| Year of construction (s): | 1920-1923 |
| Retirement: | until 1976 |
| Axis formula : | (1'B) (B1 ') |
| Gauge : | 1,435 mm |
| Length over buffers: | 16,500 mm |
| Height: | 4,550 mm |
| Service mass: | 107 t 12303–12312 110 t 12313–12342 |
| Friction mass: | 77 t 12303–12312 80 t 12313–12342 |
| Top speed: | 75 km / h |
| Hourly output : | 1'230 kW (1'960 PS) at 52 km / h 1'500 kW (2'040 PS) at 52 km / h |
| Continuous output : | 1'180 kW (1'600 PS) at 56 km / h 1'310 kW (1'780 PS) at 56 km / h |
| Driving wheel diameter: | 1'530 mm |
| Impeller diameter: | 950 mm |
| Brake: | electrical resistance brake |
The Be 4/6 of the series version was built as an express locomotive for operation on the Gotthard Railway. Conceptually, it was a bogie locomotive and largely corresponded in the mechanical part to the test locomotive Fb 2x2 / 3 11302 . Unlike this, it was actually used on the Gotthard for a longer period of time.
prehistory
In November 1913, the SBB board of directors decided to electrify the Gotthard route from Erstfeld to Biasca . With the outbreak of the First World War , the SBB were forced to increasingly restrict their timetables due to the scarcity of coal. This went so far that in autumn 1918 there were no more trains running on Sundays with the exception of the milk trains.
In addition to other routes, the Gotthard route was therefore also being prepared for electrical operation. This electrification was completed in 1920.
The SBB urgently needed passenger and freight locomotives for operation.
As it was recognized very quickly that the delivery of the four test locomotives Fb 3/5 11201 , Fb 2x2 / 3 11301 , Fb 2x2 / 3 11302 and Fc 2x3 / 4 could not be waited for, the SBB ordered from SLM in May 1918 and BBC on the basis of an assessment of the submitted construction drafts for the test locomotives the Be 4/6 12303–12312 for passenger train operations.
In July of the same year, the successor order for numbers 12313-12342 was made. An important criterion for the order was an even distribution of the delivery of passenger and freight locomotives between the individual companies (see also Ce 6/8 II ).
Specification book
The SBB required the industry to meet the following specifications:
- Top speed 75 km / h
- Transport of 300 t trailer load on a 26 ‰ gradient at 50 km / h
- Safe starting on a 26 ‰ incline and acceleration of the same load to 50 km / h in 4 minutes
- three return journeys Lucerne - Chiasso within 24 hours (1,360 km) with a 15-minute stop at the terminus.
The latter condition clearly shows the increase in the utilization of the locomotives that the SBB expected compared to steam operation.
On September 23 and 24, 1922, test drives took place with the number 12328 in order to check the conditions of the specifications in practice. The test train with a weight of 302 t was driven three times from Lucerne to Chiasso and back over a period of 25 hours . After the second return trip, a one-hour stop was made in Lucerne for precise control and relubrication. The average speed was 62 km / h with a pure driving time of 21 hours and 51 minutes, which was remarkable for the conditions at the time. 55–60 km / h were reached on the 26 ‰ ramps. During a start-up attempt, the measuring train was able to reach the required speed in 2½ minutes instead of 4 minutes. The permissible temperatures were never exceeded during the entire test phase.
Ordering and project planning
The order for the passenger locomotive was placed with SLM and BBC . While the SLM was responsible for the running gear and car body, the electrical equipment came from the BBC.
SLM year of construction and SLM serial number (company number);
1919; 2660-2670 (12303-12312)
1920; 2706-2711 (12313-12318)
1920; 2761-2770 (12319-12328)
1922; 2806-2819 (12329-12342)
Installation
The first locomotive (12303) was accepted by the SBB on February 1, 1920, the last on April 9, 1923 (12342).
technology
The mechanical part
The technology was largely adopted from the test locomotive Fb 2x2 / 3 11302 .
landing gear
The chassis consisted of two bogies . In each bogie, two were driving axles , one as bites salmon trained Wheel shaft and a countershaft . The running axles had a side play of 2 × 70 mm compared to the bogie frame.
Traction transmission
The tensile and impact forces were transmitted from the drive axles to the two bogies. From there, the external forces were transferred to the draw hooks and buffers. Inside, the bogies for the transmission of tensile and compressive forces were connected via a so-called close coupling . The locomotive body was not involved in the transfer of forces.
drive
In the bogie frame two traction motors were stored. These two motors drove the large gears of a jackshaft via pinions that were sprung on both sides . The elaborate slot drive rods were not used, as this drive technology proved to be very maintenance-intensive. The outer drive axle of the bogie was driven directly from the jackshaft via a drive rod . A pin on the inner side of this drive rod drove the inner drive shaft via a second drive rod. Due to the larger diameter of the drive axles, the axles were in one plane with the shaft of the back gear so that the arrowhead of the rods, as with the Fb 2x2 / 3 11302, was not present here.
In operation, this construction with a single drive (see SBB Ae 3/6 I and SBB Ae 4/7 ) was much more restless and, unlike the slot drive rods , was therefore not used for higher speeds.
The gear ratio was 1: 3.5 for numbers 12303–12312, and 1: 3.2 for the following locomotives.
Locomotive body
The locomotive body consisted of a continuous bridge with bolted-on box parts without a front end. It was only supported on both bogies. Tensile and compressive forces were not taken over by him.
Braking system
The automatic Westinghouse brake and the regulating brake acted on the drive axles for each bogie. The running axles were unbraked. Each driver's cab had a handbrake that worked on the respective bogie.
The electrical part
The electrical technology was also largely adopted from the Fb 2x2 / 3 11302 test locomotive .
The first series 12303-12312 was built under time pressure. An electric brake was therefore not installed. Elements of the test locomotive Fb 2x2 / 3 11302 were adopted in almost unchanged form. This was especially true for the traction motors and the reversing switch .
The 12313 locomotive and all others were equipped with more powerful traction motors. The option to switch to 7,500 V was no longer installed from the 12329 locomotive. This had to be planned beforehand, as the Gotthard Railway was initially only operated with 7,500 V, 16 ⅔ Hz instead of 15,000 V, 16 ⅔ Hz due to feared flashovers caused by sooting of the insulators due to the still existing steam operation.
From number 12313, an electrical resistance brake was installed. The traction motors acted as single-phase generators. The braking energy was destroyed in resistances. Like the reversible pole shunts, these were arranged on the roof of the locomotive body for cooling. The protective hoods of this facility significantly shaped the appearance of the locomotives. A brake transformer was installed to excite the traction motors, and it obtained its power from the main transformer via the step switch. The reversing switches were therefore much more complicated than with the numbers 12303-12312. The effect of the electric brake used cannot be compared with modern applications. It was also relatively complicated to use. First the step switch had to go back to the "0" position. The reversing switch could then be switched to "braking". Only then could the step switch be switched up again in braking mode. The effect of the electric brake was also comparatively small. It was barely enough to keep a locomotive moving alone as it descended on the Gotthard southern ramp.
Since both pantographs always had to be raised with the simple contact strips initially used, the pantographs were mounted on the box ends and the braking resistors on the inside in order to reduce the stress on the catenary lines for numbers 12329–12342. However, this arrangement resulted in many pantograph derailments. That is why the pantographs of these locomotives were relocated inwards, as with their predecessors, via the pivot points of the bogies and the braking resistors outside. The locomotives, however, kept their slightly protruding roofs. The locomotives 12302-12328 were equipped with small sun roofs over the driver's cab windows in the 1940s.
The numbers 12311 and 12312 were equipped with multiple controls in 1921 . The facility was tested between Bern and Thun . The other locomotives were not converted. The facility was expanded again on the two locomotives.
Conversions
The Be 4/6 have never been modified in any major way. Almost all adjustments were made due to changed regulations or operational simplifications. This shows that the locomotive industry and its engineers, with no practical experience, could build a locomotive that could do its duty until the 1970s.
The following changes were made:
- from 1931 installation of the safety control for one-man operation
- from 1935 equipped with the light day signal. This is a red lamp that was placed above the middle headlamp . This enabled the driving authorization to be displayed. This means that there is no longer a need to put a red disc on the headlamp.
- from 1937 installation of the Signum train protection system .
- from 1950 removing the heating cables. The train heating was then only connected via the heating cable of the first car.
- from 1953 expansion of the changeover switch for the heating voltage, only 1000 V remained.
- from 1954 welding of the front doors and removal of the transition plates, welding of the doors on the driver's cab side.
- from 1955 installation of heated windscreens on driver's side.
- from 1960 replacement of the rod buffers with sleeve buffers.
Towards the end of his career, attempts were still made to remedy two serious disadvantages of the Be 4/6. To improve the poor vertical running properties of the locomotive, the support elements of the 12335, 12338 and 12340 locomotives were replaced by rubber elements in 1956/57. The running properties were hardly better and the rubber blocks deformed. The locomotives were then dismantled. Efforts to strengthen the electric brake were more successful. In January 1956, the number 12316 was changed by the Bellinzona main workshop as follows :
- Stronger field excitation of the traction motors through series instead of parallel connection of the primary windings of the brake transformer.
- Mechanical locking of the control controller, so that when braking could only be switched up to level 11.
For testing purposes , the locomotive was used specifically on the SOB from the Zurich depot .
The 12331 locomotive was further modified in 1957:
- DC resistance brake through field excitation from the braking transformer via an externally ventilated rectifier
- Countercompound resistance, which counteracted the rectified excitation voltage and the excitation current in such a way that the braking force remained roughly the same between 25 km / h and 75 km / h.
- Replacement of the cast iron braking resistors with ribbon resistors.
The 12331 variant brought a large increase in braking force down to low speeds, but it was complicated and not very reliable. On the occasion of an R2 revision, the entire braking system was removed in the summer of 1967. The locomotive subsequently ran without an electric brake until it was retired. The braking resistors with the characteristic hoods on the roof have also been removed.
The 12316 variant was less powerful, but much simpler and required a relatively small conversion effort. In 1960 the order for the locomotives 12313–12342 (without 12331) was placed and completed a year before the first locomotive was decommissioned!
Operational use
Between February 1 and June 30, 1920, the first series (12303–12312) was put into operation in the Bern depot. They first had to prove themselves before trains on the Lötschbergbahn to Brig . The numbers 12303–12307 came to the Erstfeld depot in early summer 1920 . From there, they were used for test drives and instruction drives on the first electrified section from Erstfeld to Göschenen . Locomotives 12308–12312 followed them between October and December 1920.
Between August 1921 and January 1922 the numbers 12303-12307 were moved back to Bern. In 1924, the entire first series without an electric brake (12303–12312) was assigned to the Zurich depot. With the exception of the 12303, which stayed in Bern from 1929–1947 and 1950–1955, all locomotives in this first series stayed in Zurich until 1962. They were then assigned to the Winterthur depot until they were retired .
Locomotives 12313–12316 of the second batch were delivered to Bern from January 12, 1921 to July 19, 1921 and were used before trains to Brig. In July 1921, however, they were moved to Erstfeld.
Locomotives 12317–12342 were delivered directly to the Gotthard between April 1921 and April 1923 and distributed to the Erstfeld and Bellinzona depots. In 1924 the Lucerne depot was given the numbers 12313–12340. In November 1927 some of them came to Olten . The Zurich depot was given the numbers 12313 and 12314 in 1928 and 1929.
The first division of duties of the Be 4/6 are interesting. These are the scheduled services. This does not include required services, pre-tensioning service, extra and trial trains. The first roster for electrical operation on the Gotthard did not include a Be 4/6. The services between Erstfeld and Airolo were provided with six Ce 6/8 II and another A 3/5 600 . From October 31, 1920, three Ce 6/8 II and three Be 4/6 were in scheduled service.
The services divided between Erstfeld and Bellinzona from June 1, 1921 were as follows:
- 3 Be 4/6 Bellinzona depot
- 3 Ce 6/8 Depot Biasca
- 3 Be 4/6 Erstfeld depot
- 3 Be 4/6 Erstfeld depot
The distribution of the Be 4/6 in the summer of 1928 was as follows:
| Numbers | Depots | scheduled services |
|---|---|---|
| 12303-12313 | Zurich | 9 |
| 12314-12318 | Lucerne | 2 |
| 12319-12324 | Olten | 4th |
| 12325-12332 | Bellinzona | 3 |
| 12333-12342 | Erstfeld | 6th |
After the Zurich Be 4/6 had hauled a pair of express trains from Zurich to Chiasso and back in 1926 , they did not appear at the Gotthard in 1928. The only express train they hauled between Schaffhausen and Zurich was train 164 Berlin - Milan . Otherwise, they were only responsible for running passenger and freight trains in District III (Eastern Switzerland).
1928/1929 was the last timetable period with exclusive guidance of the express trains on the Gotthard by Be 4/6 and Be 4/7 . A year later, a Zurich Ae 4/7 was already leading the first pair of express trains to Chiasso and back.
The apparently poor utilization of the Be 4/6 in District II (Northern / Central / Southern Switzerland ) with 28 machines and only 15 scheduled services is deceptive. A large operational reserve had to be available on the Gotthard route for extra trains, double guides and tensioning services. The scheduled services came to a daily mileage of 463 km. This was more than double the number of locomotives in Zurich.
The Olten locomotives also ran almost exclusively freight trains between Thun, Basel and Zurich on daily mileages of 369 km. The two Lucerne services consisted of the management of two freight trains to Olten and a pair of express trains to Chiasso and back. The Lucerne services achieved an average daily mileage of 337 km.
In May 1938 the deposit allocation presented itself as shown below.
| Numbers | Depots | scheduled services |
|---|---|---|
| 12303 | Bern | 1 |
| 12304-12314 | Zurich | 8th |
| 12315-12319 | Olten | 5 |
| 12320-12322 | Lucerne | 2 |
| 12323-12328 | Bellinzona | 4th |
| 12329-12342 | Erstfeld | 8th |
The Ae 4/7 , Ae 8/14 11801 and Ae 8/14 11851 took over the highly qualified traffic on the Gotthard .
The Be 4/6 of the Bellinzona depot carried passenger trains, local freight trains and were active in the prestressing service. They achieved daily outputs of up to 545 km. A locomotive only ran between Bellinzona and Locarno . A second led passenger trains from Chiasso to Bodio .
The Erstfeld machines ran passenger trains from Lucerne to Chiasso and performed pre-tensioning and intermediate service on the Gotthard. They also ran trains between Lucerne and Sempach and Wolhusen . With the routing of train 60 between Lucerne and Erstfeld, they still had an express train left.
The two Lucerne services mainly consisted of the management of freight trains to Olten and Langnau . The Oltner machine mostly carried freight trains to Bern, Basel, Biel and Zurich.
Distribution and use hardly changed in the following years. In 1957 the following picture emerged:
| Numbers | Depots |
|---|---|
| 12303-12320 | Zurich |
| 12321-12325 | Biel |
| 12326-12330 | Lucerne |
| 12331-12342 | Bellinzona |
In 1955, Be 4/6 were assigned to the Biel depot for the first time to run trains in the Jura . With the increased occurrence of the Ae 6/6 , the last Be 4/6 disappeared from the Gotthard in 1962. From now on, they only performed service in the plains. The Zurich locomotives were moved to Winterthur . In 1963 the following distribution existed:
| Numbers | Depots |
|---|---|
| 12303-12322 | Winterthur |
| 12323-12334 | Biel |
| 12335-12342 | Lucerne |
The numbers 12323–12330 remained in Biel until they were retired. The 12335–12342 followed their predecessors in 1965 to Winterthur. They were followed in 1967 by the numbers 12331–12334. This resulted in the greatest concentration of Be 4/6 during the entire service life of the machines. However, the end of its life was slowly becoming apparent. The locomotives required more and more repairs and maintenance. After the national exhibition Expo64 , the number 12312 was the first machine to be retired in April 1965. The number 12339 was scrapped in February 1976 as the last of the series.
Three machines remained:
The Be 4/6 12332 was first erected as a memorial in Baden from 1974 . From 1982 it has been in the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne. The number 12339 came to Italy in February 1976 in exchange for a three-phase current locomotive . She has been there since 1994 for support at a private club. This locomotive has been back in Switzerland since April 18, 2010 and is looked after by the Swisstrain Club . The number 12320 left the main workshop in Bellinzona on July 25, 1975 after a major overhaul . Outwardly, it has been roughly restored to its original state. It also got its original reddish brown paint. Since then it has been in the Winterthur depot and is sent out from time to time for light missions.
The fact that the locomotive series had 45 to 55 years of service behind it without major modifications shows the proven quality of the construction, which had to be designed and built with little experience with prototypes.
In terms of external appearance, the locomotive could be described as elegant for the conditions at the time. The running properties were rather mediocre. The locomotive was characterized by a more or less violent vertical shaking. In addition, there was the noise of the oil pump in the driver's cab on side I. The locomotive was therefore only moderately popular with the staff. In particular, you were not at all pleased when you had to perform a whole day's work with her.
gallery
Be 4/6 12341 on the SLM data sheet
Railway accident in Bellinzona, April 23, 1924
Be 4/6 12313, Lugano, 1925
Be 4/6 12320 between Rämismühle-Zell and Rikon
Be 4/6 12320 pulls the RAe TEE II 1053
Source
- Hans Schneeberger: The electric and diesel traction vehicles of the SBB . Volume I: years of construction 1904–1955. Minirex AG, Lucerne 1995, ISBN 3-907014-07-3 .
Further literature
- Claude Jeanmaire: The electric and diesel traction vehicles of Swiss railways . The locomotives of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). 2nd Edition. Verlag Eisenbahn, Villigen 1979.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ SLM-Lomomotiven 1971–1984 Published by the Association of Rolling Material Directory Switzerland 1984 ISBN 3-907976-01-0 pages 76-79