SNCF 040 GA
| 040 GA | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Numbering: | 040 GA 1 |
| Number: | 1 |
| Manufacturer: | Renault |
| Year of construction (s): | 1952 |
| Axis formula : | Bo'Bo ' |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Length over buffers: | 16,180 mm |
| Height: | 4220 mm |
| Width: | 2700 mm |
| Trunnion Distance: | 9000 mm |
| Bogie axle base: | 2600 mm |
| Service mass: | 66 t |
| Top speed: | 110 km / h |
| Continuous output : | 846 kW |
| Driving wheel diameter: | 900 mm |
| Drive: | Gas turbine |
The locomotive 040 GA 1 was a unique piece of the French state railway SNCF . It was built as the first prototype with a gas turbine drive in 1952. Manufacturer of the machine was the work of railway vehicles of the company Régie Nationale des Usines Renault (RNUR) in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges .
prehistory
The French car manufacturer Renault started building rail vehicles after the First World War . Mine and small locomotives as well as railcars were initially built in its main plant in Boulogne-Billancourt . In 1949 the company bought a factory in Choisy-le-Roi , and the railway sector was relocated from Île Seguin to its facilities in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges. Renault developed large diesel and gas turbine locomotives for the first time in 1952/53 .
Numerous railway companies hoped to improve the performance of locomotives through the use of gas turbines . As early as 1948, the US Union Pacific Railroad had received a locomotive equipped in this way from the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and General Electric with the GE 101 . By 1961, another 55 gas turbo-electric machines were delivered to the railway company, in which the electricity for the electric traction motors was generated by means of gas turbines .
History and description
The 040 GA 1 was built at the same time as the 040 DF 1 (later BB 60041) diesel locomotive , with which it shared many components, based on the 5070 that Renault built for the various gauges of the countries of the former French colonial empire . Outwardly, it differed from the 040 DF 1 primarily through a higher roof structure, a different arrangement of the round side windows and large side ventilation grilles at one end of the vehicle, which gave it an asymmetrical appearance. Both locomotives were painted dark green with a narrow yellow "belly band" below which, on the 040 GA 1, a V-shaped, downwardly drawn yellow stripe was added in the front area. In contrast to the ALCO locomotives, which were driven by electric motors, the 040 GA 1 was driven mechanically by cardan shafts . A free-piston machine from the manufacturer Sigma ( Pescara , model GS-34), coupled with an 846 kW Rateau gas turbine, served as the gas generator . The Pescara engine - instead of a combustion chamber with a constant volume and a compressor - made it possible to significantly increase the efficiency of the turbine. A 90 hp auxiliary diesel engine supplied the compressors, fans, generator and oil pumps.
The locomotive was in service for passenger and freight trains for eight years - from March 1952 to July 1960 - before it was returned to the manufacturer by the SNCF. Initially, it was assigned to the La Chapelle depot at the Gare du Nord station in Paris . There it was briefly used by express trains on the Paris – Cambrai route and covered 414 km a day. In the first year of operation there was already a mileage of over 100,000 km. The ease of use, the smooth running, the economical consumption of diesel fuel , the simple construction and the uncomplicated maintenance were emphasized. In 1958 it was moved to La Rochelle and ended its career in front of passenger trains ("trains omnibus") to Fontenay-le-Comte .
The experience gained flowed into the construction of the type 5050 , the first representative of which left the Renault factory in 1959. However, the use of gas turbines could not establish itself in French locomotive construction. On the other hand, the principle was applied to the multiple units called Turbotrains , which were put into service by the SNCF between 1967 and 1976. The TGV 001 prototype, completed in 1972 for the planned French high-speed network , also obtained its energy from a gas turbine.
Web links
- Detailed description of the 040 GA 1 (type 5070)
- Photos of the 040 GA 1 and the 040 DF 1
- SNCF diesel en electric with photo of the 040 GA 1 in the Gare du Nord station in Paris
- La locomotive à turbine à gaz , film from 1953 on Youtube
literature
- Thierry Leleu: La grande encyclopédie des locomotives françaises. 1 - les locomotives et locotracteurs diesel . Éditions du Cabri, Breil-sur-Roya 2013, ISBN 978-2-914603-60-7 , p. 17th ff . (French).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Ferrovissime . Issue 64, p. 28 f. (French, 1001mags.com accessed on January 22, 2019).
- ^ A b Thierry Leleu: La grande encyclopédie des locomotives françaises. 1 - les locomotives et locotracteurs diesel . Les Éditions du Cabri, Breil-sur-Roya 2013, ISBN 978-2-914603-60-7 , p. 17 (French).
- ↑ a b Locomotive turbo-diesel Renault 1OOO CV. (French, PDF) at gibitrains.pagesperso-orange.fr, accessed on January 21, 2019.