SNCF ETG

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ETG (in front of the T 1009 turbo power unit) in Nevers , 1989

The ETG series of the French state railway SNCF was a four-part multiple unit in which one of the power cars was driven by a gas turbine .

prehistory

In the mid-1960s, the SNCF recognized the need to counter the increasing competition from aircraft by using faster trains. This led to the decision to test the use of gas turbines in locomotives.

The predecessor of the ETG was the loner TGS (Turbine à gaz spéciale), a double multiple unit with which the use of a gas turbine in rail traffic was successfully tested. The two-part train, initially referred to as the TGV (Turbotrain à Grande Vitesse), was created in 1967 by converting a train from the X 4300 series , the origin of which could be recognized by the corrugated side walls. The X 4365 railcar remained largely unchanged , except for the conversion of the front for aerodynamic reasons and the replacement of the bogies. He kept the 295  kW six-cylinder diesel engine from Poyaud , which was used to start up the ETG and when driving slowly .

The previously unpowered control car XR 8579 was also converted into a railcar. He received a gas turbine of the type Turmo III C3, which was otherwise used in helicopters and made 810 kW. It was only switched on while driving from a certain speed and switched off again before each stop or at low speed. A laboratory was set up in the former 2nd class room . The new vehicle numbers were TA 101 for the turbo and TA 102r for the diesel engine. The TGS was tested on various routes and reached top speeds of up to 239 km / h.

History and description

After the successful trials with the TGS, the SNCF quickly decided to acquire ten four-part gas turbine trains for the Paris-Cherbourg railway line . The trains called ETG (Elément à Turbine à Gaz) sprang from the platform of the “Caravelles” , which was recognizable by the corrugated side walls. Unlike the TGS, however, these were newly built vehicles. As the precautionary measure did not want to do without the additional diesel drive, one power end was left with the underfloor-mounted diesel engine, in this case the Saurer SDHR with an output of 295 kW. The other power car took on the 736 kW gas turbine of the Turmo III H1 type. Two non-powered sidecars were coupled between the power cars .

The power cars received aerodynamically advantageous shaped heads and a triple headlights . Like the TGS, the multiple units started with the diesel drive, the gas turbine was only switched on at a certain speed. They were up to 160 km / h fast, 87.18 m long over buffers and weighed 145.3 t. The power transmission carried out at the gas turbine via a Voith - hydraulic transmission L 411 RU, in the diesel engine by means of a mechanical eight speed transmission of De Dietrich . The ten multiple units were built in 1969/70; the first train was used in March 1970. Due to their success on the route from Paris Saint-Lazare via Caen to Cherbourg , four more trains were delivered in 1972.

Power cars and sidecars soon received new series designations: T 1000 for the turbo heads and T 1500 for the diesel power heads. Each multiple unit had 166 2nd and 32 1st class seats, as well as a dining compartment with 14 seats. Two trains could run as a double unit .

In 1975, the coatings of the five-part succession series were RTG displaced from their range and ran henceforth in the rapid transit in the region Rhône-Alpes , z. B. on the connection between Lyon-Perrache and Grenoble, which was not electrified at the time . After their electrification in 1985, the ETG migrated on routes west of Lyon, e.g. B. to Clermont-Ferrand and Bourgogne , from. In this context, the 1st class was reduced and the dining compartment was removed.

The trains last ran at TER Rhône-Alpes. Its high fuel consumption led to the first shutdowns as early as 1989. The plan to create seven three-car trains with a T-1500 diesel power unit each was not implemented. With the arrival of the X 72500 series , the last ETG disappeared from planned operation in 1999.

Whereabouts

ERTMS test train X 1501/02 at La Barque-Fuveau station (2019)

No original train from the ETG has been preserved, the last one was scrapped in 2007. The two diesel power units T 1511 and T 1512 were combined in 1993 under the series designation X 1500 as X 1501/02 to form a double multiple unit for test purposes. Among other things, they were used for tests on the satellite-based positioning of trains and the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). The train, known as “Astrée”, remained on loan from the SNCF to the Train touristique du center-Var museum .

Web links

Commons : SNCF ETG  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rame TGS (Turbine à gaz spéciale) en essais entre Vierzon et Châlon-sur-Saône at openarchives.sncf.com, accessed on February 4, 2018
  2. ↑ a b TGS SNCF at trains-europe.fr, accessed on February 4, 2018
  3. ^ Georges Mathieu: Le matériel moteur de la SNCF . 1st edition. Éditions La Vie du Rail, Paris 1992, ISBN 2-902808-48-8 , p. 212 f .
  4. ↑ a b Élements à Tourbine á Gaz (ETG) SNCF at trains-europe.fr, accessed on February 4, 2018
  5. ^ X 1500 SNCF at www.trains-europe.fr, accessed on February 4, 2018