BT RBDe 4/4
The Bodensee-Toggenburg-Bahn ( BT ) procured 6 type RBDe 4/4 multiple units , which are now part of the SOB as RBDe 566 071-076 after the merger to form the Swiss Southeast Railway (SOB).
The railcars are a joint development of the then BLS Group and BT, and belong to the « Privatbahn-NPZ » group. The intermediate and control cars are an in-house development of BT, which subsequently served as a model for the control cars of the SBB NPZ and the BD 281–285 and Bt 984–987 of the Sihltal-Zürich-Uetliberg-Bahn (SZU). In contrast to the remaining vehicles of the private railway NPZ, they cannot be connected to normal rolling stock on the side of the pedestrian crossings, as they have deeper tunnel crossings that are not built according to UIC standards. For maneuvering and transferring, they can be coupled with other vehicles thanks to the lower-lying UIC coupling, but the maximum speed is limited to 40 km / h.
concept
For the regional traffic, which was to be heavily denser from 1982 with the introduction of the regular timetable, especially the suburban traffic in the agglomeration of St. Gallen, the BT needed more efficient and more numerous shuttle train compositions. Until then, the BT had only six shuttle trains, two of which were built as conversions in its own workshop with electrical equipment from 1931. The other trains have not yet been commuted. The four shuttle trains with high-performance railcars were also required for traffic on the direct route between Northeastern Switzerland and Central Switzerland (now the Voralpenexpress ).
The six new commuter trains were planned as fixed units RABDe 4/12 , but technically they were single vehicles that could in principle also be used in a different configuration, as two- or four-part commuter trains. The use of a motor car and a control car, both of which have a driver's cab without a transition option, was and is imperative. The principle of the fixed unit and the striving for the deepest possible car floor (at a time when low-floor was not yet known) led to a lowering of the car junction and equipment with well-sealed tunnel junctions. This enabled the entry platforms to be lowered to 885 mm above the SOK (compared to 1030 mm for the BLS control and intermediate cars). The 37 ° angle of inclination of the entrance was also adopted for the railcar, but because of the electrical equipment under the car floor, there was one more step. The double-leaf swing doors are flush with the outside when closed. In contrast to the pivoting sliding doors, these doors have no guides on the outside. The seat divider is 1750 mm in the second class and 2090 mm in the first class (control car).
The electrical equipment is characterized by the thyristor control, also called phase control . This is fed from a transformer of the LOT 2100 type with a radial construction. The DC traction motors are of type 4FXM3252 from the BBC K series. A BBC rubber drive type BGA 20.01 is used for power transmission. The built-in resistance brake allows the train to be braked electrically to a standstill.
The first train consisted of the RBDe 4/4 71, the intermediate car B 371 and the control car ABt 171. The following trains were composed the same, but the vehicles had the last digits 2 to 6.
commitment
When the timetable changed in May 1982, only trains 71 and 72 were ready for use. This required the full use of all four high-performance railcars and a replacement composition with BT locomotive Be 4/4, a BD, an SBB light steel car and the ABt 142 from the self-built suburban shuttle trains. The reserve was at zero by the arrival of train 73. With the usual careful, preventative maintenance, this difficult period was mastered without any significant problem.
The increase in traffic led to the desire to extend the trains by one car. So in 1991 six more intermediate cars B 381–386 came into operation, which were lined up in the six shuttle trains with the same end digits. The wagons were identical to the B 371–376, but had SIG instead of Wegman bogies and were equipped with magnetic rail brakes.
The four-part compositions turned out to be too large for certain uses. A regrouping of vehicles was not possible because of the special transitions. The B 381–386 were converted back in 1996. They each received a rubber bead transition on one side with a carriage transition at normal height, so that they can only be used in pairs. This made the following formations possible, the car numbers are only an example:
- B 371 with RBDe-ABt as a three-part composition
- B 371 and 372 with RBDe-ABt as a four-part composition
- B 381–382 with RBDe-ABt as a four-part composition (381 and 382 coupled to the rubber bulge end)
- B 382–381 lined up in any shuttle train with a locomotive or high-performance multiple unit (382 and 381 coupled with a tunnel crossing)
The fixed assignment of vehicles with the same final digit was thus abandoned.
The SOB planned to replace the trains with Stadler Flirt and offered them for sale. But there were no interested parties.
The intermediate wagons 381–386 have been repainted in individual Voralpenexpress compositions since the timetable changed at the end of 2013 . The shuttle trains are used for some smaller services, including since June 2014 as the S27 Siebnen-Ziegelbrücke without an intermediate car.
literature
- Bodensee-Toggenburg-Bahn, new shuttle trains RABDe 4/12 , A4 brochure with articles from BT, BBC, FZA and SIG, 1982, 38 pages plus a type sketch.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Used vehicles (SBB brochure) ( Memento of December 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 3.7 MB)