Compartment car

ÖBB compartment with six seats

Side passage of a sleeping car (1952)

Two different basic types of railroad passenger cars are referred to as compartment cars .

Originally, compartment wagons were passenger coaches in which several separate compartments, each with their own entrance doors arranged on the longitudinal side of the car, were arranged in a common car body . Compartment wagons of this type used to be common in almost all of Europe and were used until the 1960s. The counterpart to this was formed by the through carriages developed by Edmund Heusinger von Waldegg with a passage on the side or in the middle of the car and separate entry areas.

After this type of compartment car was taken out of service, since the 1970s the term compartment car has mostly been used as a synonym for the classic express train car , i.e. pass-through car with protected car crossings, side corridors and compartments with opposite seats separated by partition walls, which is more precise but less common is also called side aisle car or Austrian corridor car . The counterpart to this compartment car is an open- plan car , in which the seats are usually arranged one behind the other on both sides of an aisle without partition walls.

Compartment car with side doors and no passage

Early English compartment car made up of three stagecoach compartments around 1830

Replica from 1935 of a passenger car of the third car class of Ludwig Railway from 1835 with three compartments coach without solid doors, the original under the direction of engineer Paul Camille Denis was

Original of a second class passenger car of the Ludwig Railway from 1835 with three carriage compartments and doors

Two-axle French compartment car with upper deck (Impériale) in use from 1855 to 1931

Two-axle English compartment car with a luggage compartment

Four-axle Italian Centoporte compartment car ("hundred-door")

Four-axle English compartment car type Dreadnought, built in 1919

At the beginning of the railroad era in England , two or three compartments of stagecoach bodies were usually placed on a railway chassis . The use of the old stagecoaches was chosen for the sake of simplicity, as there was simply no industry for wagon construction. In the 19th century , this type of car was therefore also referred to as the "English system passenger car" (short two- and three-axle compartment cars), in contrast to the open -plan car called the "American system passenger car" (usually long four-axle passenger car with open platforms on End of car).

In the beginning, the origin of the individual compartments from coach boxes was still clearly recognizable, but these soon merged into a coach box with many side doors - the "hundred-door car " was created. Compartment coaches without internal connection between the compartments, which in the 19th century were also classified as “no intercommunication” coaches, were built around the beginning of the 20th century . The main disadvantage of this design was that travelers could not change compartments after boarding the train, which means that when there was a large crowd it took a correspondingly long time until the travelers had distributed themselves to the free seats. In such trains, you could not go to the toilet (at that time still known as " lavatory ") or the dining car during the journey , but both facilities did not become widespread on trains until around 1890. If a toilet was available, it could only be changed to at one stop and only changed back to the compartment at the next stop. The inability to communicate with other passengers or the train crew encouraged crimes to be committed on the train. In addition, the train crew had to climb along the outside of the footboard of the car if they wanted to check the tickets during the journey , which led to a very high number of fatal accidents.

The communication problem was initially alleviated by small viewing windows between the compartments. With the need for higher travel speeds (shorter stops at the train station) and greater comfort, compartment cars were also provided with toilets (initially one per compartment) and later with inner passageways, which cost seats, but allowed a compartment change or use of the toilet within the car. Many of the early design compartment cars were later converted accordingly. However, intermediate forms between compartment and passage cars were also procured, i.e. cars that had a side entrance door in each (or every second) compartment, but also a corridor and transitions to the next car.

Countless two-, three- and four-axle vehicles in compartment car design were widespread , especially in northern Germany and especially on the Prussian state railways . They were also particularly well-known in France (sometimes called Voiture á Impériale with a second upper deck open at the side ), as a four-axle vehicle but also in Great Britain as a Compartment Car and in the Kingdom of Italy , where they were called Centoporte (hundred- door ) (sometimes also Milleporte ) .

Development in Prussia

3rd class three-axle Prussian compartment car with a brakeman's cab

Two-axle compartment cars were the norm until around 1880. After the end of the wave of nationalization of the Prussian State Railways around 1895, the quieter three-axle vehicles were purchased. For this purpose, so-called “standard parts for” were set up, which contained cars of the two-, three- and later four-axle designs. Both rigid axles and steering axles were provided for the three-axle vehicles . The wagons intended for purely suburban traffic ( Berlin , Hamburg ) had no toilets. In the other wagons, in order to keep the number of toilets low for economic reasons, a passage between several compartments was created. Numerous cars therefore had to be converted. After the turn of the century, fourth class compartment cars were also purchased.

Two- and three-axle compartment cars were initially used for all types of trains on main lines. With the advent of the express train carriages after 1892, compartment cars were mainly used in passenger trains on main routes and in urban traffic . Here, in addition to the faster change of passengers, the fact that the platforms of stations on main routes could only be entered with a valid ticket and shortly before the train was “leaving”, which shifted the control process from the conductor to the station staff, made itself felt positively. Through cars, on the other hand, were common on secondary lines, as there were often no platform barriers and it was necessary to check tickets on the train.

From 1895, four-axle compartment cars were built, especially in Prussia and Saxony (but also to a lesser extent in Baden , Bavaria and Alsace-Lorraine ), which were mainly used in the express trains introduced in 1907 and the so-called accelerated passenger trains . More than 3500 vehicles were built in several series by 1918 . The compartments in the wagons were partly connected to each other in order to get to the toilets. In the third-class cars, the steps were later fitted with water flushing.

At first, the window frames on the compartment cars - like the car bodies themselves - were made of wood , but it quickly warped. According to a patent from Julius Pintsch AG , a brass alloy was used for this from the turn of the century. These wagons had rounded upper window frames.

From 1910, the previous kerosene lighting was switched to incandescent gas lighting , which offered better light output in the dark. Because wood became expensive in the first decade of the last century, steel construction was used . However, this led to the use of inferior materials in the First World War .

The wagons of the Prussian State Railways were usually equipped with bogies with double, later triple suspension . Most of the cars were designed to be 18.55 meters long. First, single-release brakes of the Westinghouse design were used, and from the turn of the century the also single-release Knorr passenger train brake was installed. The handbrake was housed in a separate brakeman's cab at one end of the car. These were dismantled from 1930.

Occasionally, wagons were equipped with hospital compartments in accordance with sample sheets DI 23, Ib 4 and Ib 4a. For this purpose, a room comprising two sections was converted so that a couch could be accommodated in the direction of travel. To improve access, a compartment door was provided with an additional flap on both sides.

Of the 21,000 compartment cars of all types that were built, 14,000 went to other countries as reparations after the First World War , 5000 of them to the re-established Poland in 1919/1920 .

Overview of the Prussian two- and three-axle vehicles

The article is not complete. Additions are welcome.

Sample sheet	genus	DRG sketch	First year of construction	number	Compartments	Seats	Abortions	LüP [m]	axes	Wheel base [m]	Remarks
Designs based on the standards from 1878
Sheet 4	FROM	AB Pr 78	1878		1/3	6/24		10,800	2	5.0
	B.	B Pr 78	1878		4th	32
Sheet 5	A.	A Pr 78	1878		3	20th	1				with internal communication based on the “ Heusinger ” design, also known as “ Bromberger Schlafwagen ”
	FROM	AB Pr 78	1878		1/2	6/18	1
	B.	B Pr 78	1878		3	26th	1
Designs based on the standards of 1883/1884
I 4	FROM	AB Pr 83	1883		1/3	6/32		9,700	2	5.0
I 5	FROM 3	AB3 Pr 83	1883		1/3	5/28	4th	11,600	3	6,500 + 3,250
I 5a	FROM 3	AB3 Pr 89	1889/91		1/4	5/27	2	11,600	3	6,500 + 3,250	Transitional design with only 2 abortions between types I 5 and I 7
I 6	C3	C3 Pr 83	1883		5	42	4th	11,300	3	6,500 + 3,250
I 7 I.	FROM 3	AB3 Pr 83	1883		1/4	6/32		11,600	3	6,500 + 3,250
I 7 II		AB3 Pr 83	1883			5/27	2	11,600	3	6,500 + 3,250

1. ↑ For many Prussian building types, due to changes in the interiors, doors, toilets, etc. and due to new editions of the sample sheets, several sketch sheets were set up. As a rule, the sketch sheet that applies to most cars is given here.

Overview of the Prussian four-axle vehicles

Sample sheet	genus	DRG sketch	First year of construction	number	Compartments	Abortions	LüP [m]	Wheel base [m]	Remarks
First experimental designs
-	FIG	B4 Pr 90	1890	4th	2/4	3	16,700	10.9 + 2.5	KED Cöln car on the right bank of the Rhine
-	FIG	B4 Pr 92	1892	3	2 / 4½	3	17,400	11.0 + 2.5	KED Erfurt car
Older designs 1895–1904
3091 B	FIG	B4 Pr 97 et al	1895	approx. 350	2 / 4½	3	18,150	12.0 + 2.5
3092 B	ABCC	BC4 Pr 99a et al	1898	approx. 200	1/3/4	4th	18,200	12.15 + 2.5
3093 B	CC	C4 Pr 96 et al	1896	approx. 350	10	3	17,880	11.83 + 2.5
TUE 21	FIG	B4 Pr 02 and others	1901	approx. 200	2 / 4½	3	18,550	12.25 + 2.5
Tuesday 22	ABCC	BC4 Pr 03 et al	1902	approx. 200	1/3/4	4th	18,550	12.25 + 2.5
Tuesday 23	CC	C4 Pr 02 among others	1902	about 300	9	5	18,550	12.25 + 2.5	occasionally with an infirmary
Newer designs from 1904
Ib 1	FIG	B4 Pr 04 and others	1904	approx. 350	2 / 4½	3	18,550	12.25 + 2.5
Ib 1a	FIG	B4 Pr 05 and others	1905		2 / 4½	3	18.730	12.25 + 2.5
Ib 2	ABCC	BC Pr 04 et al	1904	about 250	1/3/4	4th	18,550	12.25 + 2.5
Ib 2a	ABCC	BC Pr 06	1906		1/3/4	4th	18.620	12.25 + 2.5
Ib 3	BCC	BC Pr 05	1905	about 100	3/6	3	18,550	12.25 + 2.5
Ib 3a	BCC	BC Pr 07 et al	1907		3/6	3	18.730	12.25 + 2.5
Ib 4	CC	C4 Pr 04	1904	about 450	9	5	18,550	12.25 + 2.5	occasionally with an infirmary
Ib 4a	CC	C4 Pr 06 et al	1905		9	5	18.620	12.25 + 2.5	occasionally with an infirmary
Ib 4a II	CC	C4 Pr 12	1912	approx. 650	9	4th	18.620	12.25 + 2.15
Ib 4a III	CC	C4 Pr 12a	1913		9	4th	18.620	12.25 + 2.15
Bd38 / Fig. 3, vol43	BB	B4 Pr 18	1920	40	7th	3	19.200	12.25 + 2.15
Volume 38 / Fig. 2	CC	C4 Pr 18	1920	86	9	4th	19.200	12.25 + 2.15

1. ↑ For many Prussian building types, due to changes in the interiors, doors, toilets, etc. and due to new editions of the sample sheets, several sketch sheets were set up. As a rule, the sketch sheet that applies to most cars is given here.

Use of the Prussian wagons on the Deutsche Reichsbahn

For reasons of more efficient vehicle maintenance, the middle axle of many three-axle compartment cars was removed from 1920, because it had been determined that this had no negative effects on the running properties due to the large distance between the two outer axles. In addition, 500 two-axle compartment cars (50 second class cars, 450 third class cars) of Prussian design were procured in order to remedy the shortage of wagons following the armistice taxes of 1919/20 (as part of the Versailles Treaty ). Because of the great shortage of wagons, many formerly Prussian wagons were assigned to the southern German railway directorate, so that these wagons could now be found throughout the German Empire.

From the mid-1920s, the brakeman's cab was dismantled on cars that were now running on electrified lines. With the abolition of fourth grade in 1928 many compartment coaches were pooling of compartments to load cars converted. After the DRG introduced new four-door express train wagons of the type E 30 from 1930 , several compartments were merged into one large compartment in additional wagons and designated as a load compartment .

Some of these compartment cars were used from 1930 onwards for the trains of the Ruhr Schnellverkehr . For this they received the DR railcar paint in red-beige. The window areas of the second class, however, were designed in light blue-green (RAL6004), as with the Berlin S-Bahn . 18 wagons of the compartment type were even purchased.

Development in Alsace-Lorraine

The development of the compartment wagons of the Reichs-Eisenbahnen in Alsace-Lorraine was to a large extent dependent on the development of the wagon types on the Prussian State Railways. So it is not surprising that the majority of the cars were built according to Prussian sample sheets. There were not only wagons with lantern roofs of the Prussian design, but also those with barrel roofs of the southern German design.

In addition to the important local companies such as de Dietrich from Reichshofen and the Elsässische Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Grafenstaden, all the well-known wagon factories of the empire acted as suppliers of rolling stock . The companies Gebrüder Gastell from Mainz as well as van der Zypen and Charlier from Cologne-Deutz had a larger share .

→ Main article : List of passenger cars of the Reichseisenbahnen Alsace-Lorraine

Development in Baden

At the beginning of the Baden State Railways, too, the coaches based on the "English system" - that is, two-axle compartment coaches - were used to transport passengers. And this condition lasted for almost 30 years. Multi-axle compartment cars were only introduced with the acquisitions at the turn of the century. At the same time, two-axle through cars with side aisles based on the “ Heusinger von Waldegg ” system were procured for the first time .

When bogie wagons were increasingly used for high-speed trains in the nineties of the 19th century, such vehicles were also procured in Baden. This was also necessary to ensure that the neighboring administrations - e. B. Prussia-Hesse and Alsace-Lorraine - to be able to serve the required car compensation. The four-axle compartment cars started in Baden in 1893. However, as in many southern German administrations, the wagon type was not well received, so that a total of only 20 units were purchased.

The good experience with the four-axle compartment cars prompted the administration of the state railways to deal with the procurement of three-axle compartment cars. However, it was not until 1906 that the decision was made to purchase the car for the first time.

Overview of the two-axle vehicles in Baden

group	Sample sheet	genus	DRG genus	Manufacturer	Construction year	Number	Number Compartments	Number Seats	Abortions	LüP [m]	Wheel base [m]	Remarks
older designs from 1860
24		ABC	BC bath 60		1860		1/1/2	3/4/16		8.260	4,280	Flat roof with a raised brakeman's cab, in 1903 there were still 3 pieces left
25th		B.	B bath 60		1860		0/4	0/32		8.160	3,900	without a brakeman's cab

Overview of the three-axle vehicles in Baden

As early as 1856/1857, the Baden State Railways procured three-axle compartment wagons of the 1st and 2nd class. The carriages were made entirely of wood, both in terms of the underframe and the structure. They had an axle base of 4,500 mm with car body lengths of 7,540 mm or 8,000 mm. The car bodies still had the stagecoach shape customary at the time.

group	Sample sheet	genus	DRG genus	Manufacturer	Construction year	Number	Number Compartments	Number Seats	Abortions	LüP [m]	Wheel base [m]	Remarks
older designs from 1860
12		FROM	AB3 bath 56	Blacksmith	1856		1/2	6/16		7,540	4,500	In 1902 there were still 3 cars, which were retired by 1903
36		FROM	AB3 bath 57	Blacksmith	1857		1 × 1/2 / 3	6/32		8,000	4,500	In 1902 there was still 1 car, which was withdrawn by 1903
21a	79	FROM 3	B3 bathroom 02	MAN	1902	5	2/3	10/20	2	8,000	4,500	Steering axles, Westinghouse brakes and brakeman's cab

Overview of the four-axle vehicles in Baden

The four-axle compartment vehicles in Baden were generally equipped with barrel roofs. Unless they were given to the Entente as reparations in 1919, they were retired around 1930. A car of the type C4 Bad 98 was equipped with a sick bay around 1931 (Freese) and was not withdrawn from the DB until 1956.

group	Sample sheet	genus	DRG genus	Manufacturer	Construction year	Number	Number Compartments	Number Seats	Abortions	LüP [m]	Wheel base [m]	Remarks
older designs from 1893
22nd	75	FIG	B4 bathroom 93	vdZypen	1893	5	2/4	10/28	3	16,300	10,500 + 2.5	with a barrel roof, without a brakeman's cab
23	76	FIG	B4 bathroom 93	vdZypen	1893	5	2/4	10/28	3	16,300	10,500 + 2.5	with barrel roof, with brakeman's cab
56	77	CC	C4 bath 93	MAN	1893	4th	10	74	3	17.300	11,500 + 2.5	with barrel roof and brakeman's cab
57	78	CC	C4 bath 98	MAN	1898	6th	10	74	3	17.300	11,500 + 2.5	with barrel roof and brakeman's cab

Development in Bavaria

Half-compartment car - The half-compartment, 1st class: right

As with the Prussian railways , the K.Bay.Sts.B. the compartment car was the predominant type of car at the time of the Länderbahn. Up until the 1880s, only two-axle compartment cars were built. Some of these also had the lantern roofs customary for the Prussian wagons, but otherwise, as with the other southern German railways, the vaulted roof prevailed.

From around 1890 a larger series of three-axle compartment cars was procured, which were intended for use in the fast-moving trains that were emerging at the time. While no toilets were built into the first-generation car, these have now been taken into account. The continuous air brakes also emerged. From 1890 four-axle compartment cars were also built for the express trains.

A comparison of the stock figures to the through carriages shows the following picture: - until 1860 93% of the passenger car stock were compartment wagons - by 1890 it was only about 55% - by 1910 it was still about 38% - at the end of the Länderbahn era it only about 31%

An overview of the K.Bay.Sts.B. Compartment coaches built can be found on the " List of Bavarian Passenger Cars " page .

Development in the Palatinate

The Palatinate Railways - a private railway company - was created on January 1st, 1870 through the merger of the administration and operation of the Palatinate Ludwig Railway , the Palatinate Maximiliansbahn and the Society of the Palatinate Northern Railways . The railways were nationalized on January 1, 1909, incorporated into the Royal Bavarian State Railways and run there as the railways of Bavaria on the left bank of the Rhine with headquarters in Ludwigshafen am Rhein . With the Pfalzbahnen, the compartment car was the rule as a full rail car with the exception of the express train car. Only on the local railways - e.g. B. Lautertalbahn - so-called “through” or “intercommunication cars” were used.

When the first locomotives for the new railway were ordered (1846), the then senior civil engineer Paul Denis placed an order for the delivery of 80 cars. There were class I and II seats, and those of the III. Class - partly open with side curtains, partly closed - and 4th class standing car. Except for the cast-iron wheels, the wagons were all made of wood and had the shape of carriages with curved side walls for the compartments or half-compartments (coupès), which was common at the time.

	Total passenger cars	including compartment cars
1860	123	123
1880	352	352
1900	668	635
1910	912	857
1918	995	898
March 31, 1920	967	872

As the second generation of compartment cars, AB and C types with 8850 mm length overhang and 4700 mm wheelbase were purchased from 1861. These then already had an underframe made of iron longitudinal members, wooden cross members and buffer beams as well as wooden superstructures. The original carriage shape of the superstructure was given up in favor of straight front and side walls, with the side walls being slightly indented in the lower area.

The features of the third generation of compartment cars - procured from 1868 to around 1890 - were then a raised brakeman's seat (free seat brake) or a brakeman's cab and skylight or lantern roof as in the Prussian compartment cars.

From 1892, the next generation of compartment cars followed, which now had barrel roofs in place of the skylight roofs and thus corresponded to the design that was mainly widespread in southern Germany at the time.

The procurement of the compartment cars related to the procurement of the other passenger cars in the years 1860 to 1920 as shown in the adjacent list.

Similar to the Grand Ducal Baden State Railways, the Palatinate Railway's acquisition of the four-axle compartment was driven by the compulsion to balance wagons with the neighboring companies. With the introduction of the express trains around 1900, the Pfalzbahn purchased a total of 22 wagons of this type, twelve of the ABB category with seven compartments and two toilets and ten of the CC category with ten compartments and four toilets.

A detailed overview of the Palatine compartment coaches is available on the "List of Palatinate Passenger Cars" page

Remarks

1. ^ Emil Konrad, The Passenger Cars of the German State Railways, Part II

Development in Saxony

Soon after its creation, the wagon construction company of the Leipzig-Dresden Railway was granted the license to produce for other railways. In a catalog from 1843, in addition to the usual two- and three-axle compartment cars based on the English model, some very large four-axle vehicles were also offered; It has not yet been finally clarified whether these were all built. In the 1860s, the Association of German Railway Administrations agreed on a recommendation according to which passenger and freight wagons should be built as short as possible and with two axles. Since Max Maria von Weber , director of the “Royal Directorate of the Eastern State Railways” until 1869 , played a key role in the creation of this recommendation, state railroad cars were usually purchased as short cars with three to four compartments. The LDE, for example, continued to procure much larger wagons, so that at the end of the nationalization there were also three-axle wagons with five to seven compartments in the state railroad's inventory.

Express train Dresden - Leipzig in summer 1901 at full speed in Kötzschenbroda station ; Locomotive X ${\displaystyle \textstyle {\mathfrak {V}}}$ (probably No. 176), Pw3ü Sa 99, C4 Sa 98, AB4 Sa 99, AB4 Sa 01 and other, smaller compartment cars

In the 1880s, the procurement policy changed again. The locomotives became stronger and faster, so the cars had to be built to be more stable. The wagons got bigger and three-axle vehicles with five to seven compartments were also procured. They also wanted to offer travelers more comfort . Therefore, the cars began to be equipped with toilets and initially the first and second class compartments were given bench windows. But also in 1892 a series of six type 110 wagons was delivered in addition to the type 109 (BC Sa 92) wagons with toilets. Except for the missing toilets, both were identical. From 1895, the third class compartments were also given bench windows. Fourth-class travelers were not allowed the luxury of light-colored cars, because the corresponding Reichsbahn designs only had windows in the doors.

Just as typical as the skylight roof was for Prussian wagons, a simply curved roof was for Saxon wagons. (But - here and there - no rule without exception!) Initially, the wagons still had a fairly flat roof. From the mid-1990s, the higher-class cars were given a more curved roof. From 1898 the four-axle third-class compartment cars with the more curved roof were also delivered. They received their own type designation (type 141, C4 Sa 98; in contrast to the flat-roof wagons of type 142, C4 Sa 97). The last wagons of the class 156, C Sa 95 were also delivered with a higher roof (probably 4 pieces from 1901), but were not given their own class designation.

Common to all the cars of this era were the brakeman's cabs on the car roofs (with the exception of the few examples that were still built without any brakes), the gill ventilators above the doors (and in some cases also above the windows), the doors with a rectangular cross-section and the similarly shaped windows with wooden frames.

There were no real fourth-class compartment cars in Saxony. Likewise, there were no mixed-class cars with fourth-class rooms in normal operation. The fourth class was only offered in local transport anyway. Therefore, there was almost no four-axle fourth class. Originally, fourth-class wagons had no (i.e. standing room only) or very sparse interior fittings (for passengers with loads). As a result, they were mostly designed as open plan cars.

The passenger coaches built in Saxony after the turn of the century represent a new generation of vehicles. Higher arched roofs were now common. The gill fans in the side walls have been replaced by roof fans. The doors had rounded corners at the top. Except in fourth grade, the windows were given metal frames with rounded corners. This served to increase comfort, because the narrower frames increased the actual window area. The length of the car grew and with it the wheelbase increased. But even with an axle base of eight to nine meters, the cars were built as two-axle vehicles. One experimented with different spring suspensions in order to optimize the driving behavior. An example of the Bi Sa 13 was given a three-axis drive on a trial basis, but this did not bring any decisive advantages, because it remained with this one-off. The four-axle vehicles no longer ran on standard bogies, but on bogies of American design, the so-called gooseneck bogies .

After 1910, no two- or three-axle compartment wagons were actually procured in Saxony. Those vehicles that had the typical side wall doors of the compartment cars also had an end platform and transition devices (for the staff), so that they were initially run as through cars. Even the early Reichsbahn had the crossings closed, so that they only appear as compartment cars in the Reichsbahntype sheets. They had open compartments with side aisles. In many of these cars there was also a separate compartment. Fourth class cars had two large rooms with a central aisle and cross seats. They had load compartments at the ends of the car. For this purpose, the outer double benches had been replaced by longitudinal seats. The design from 1921 had full seating.

In 1912 four observation cars were procured for the Windbergbahn (type 140a, C Sa 12) . In terms of design, they went completely new ways. The layout of the cars corresponded to later tram cars. Inside there was a large room with a central aisle with four compartments and large windows. There were another 10 seats on the glazed end stages. Since the carriages had no transition facilities, they were run like compartment cars.

Overview of the Saxon two- and three-axle vehicles

Older types: selection of the most important types. Newer designs complete. There were further substructures on the Reichsbahn through reconstruction. However, only the interior was changed (e.g. removal of seats for load compartments, conversion from second to third class, etc.).

Genus Saxony	Sketch sheet DRG	First year of construction	number	As of 1930	Compartments	Abortions	LüP [m]	Wheel base [m]	Remarks
Older three-axle vehicles
FROM	B3 Sa 88	1888	49	41	1/4	4th	13,230	8.5
C.	C3 Sa 86	1885	61	27	6th	4th	12,830	8.0	2 cars without brakes
C.	C3 Sa 91	1891	17th	12	6th	4th	12,830	8.0
C.	C3 Sa 95	1895	93	63	6th	4th	12.945	8.0
Older two-axle vehicles
FROM	B Sa 91	1891	32	17th	1/3	3	8,500	5.5
BC	BC Sa 92	1892	11	18 (?)	2/3	2	10.160	5.5
BC	BC Sa 99	1899	32	23	2/3	2	10.160	5.5
C.	C Sa 95	1895	64	51	5	2	9.725	5.5
C.	C Sa 95/32	(1932)	7th	-	5	2	9.725	4.5	Conversion for the Windbergbahn
Newer designs
B.	B Sa 13	1913		87	6th	1	14.770	8.5
B.	B3 Sa 13/14	1913	1	1	6th	1	14.770	8.5	triaxial
BC	BC Sa 17	1917		114	2/4	1	13,600	7.0
C.	C Sa 11	1911		167	7th	1	14.740	8.5
C.	C Sa 12	1912	4th	4th	(1)	1	10,300	4.5	Windmill wagon
C.	C Sa 14	1914		20th	7th	1	14.370	8.0
C.	C Sa 16	1916		233	6th	1	12.770	6.5
D.	Ctr Sa 13	1912		290	(2)	1	14.310	8.5
D.	Ctr Sa 16	1916		124	(2)	1	13,840	7.5
D.	Cd Sa 21	1921	175	175	(2)	1	13,840	7.5	complete seating in both large rooms (8 "virtual compartments")

1. ↑ The wheelbase of some C Sa 95s was shortened in the 1930s in order to be able to use them on the Windbergbahn. According to Jürgen Schubert ( Die Windbergbahn , transpress, Berlin 1982, or alba, Düsseldorf 1982, ISBN 3-87094-202-9 ), a total of 7 cars were converted in this way.
2. ↑ A B Sa 13 was supplied on a trial basis with a three-axle drive.
3. ↑ Floor plan like a tram car: large area with central aisle (4 "virtual compartments"), closed end stages, no crossings; therefore run as a compartment car.

Overview of the Saxon four-axle vehicles

Genus Saxony	Sketch sheet DRG	First year of construction	number	As of 1930	Compartments	Abortions	LüP [m]	Wheel base [m]	Remarks
Older types
FIG	B4 Sa 97	1897	10	8th	1/5	6th	16.010	9.5 + 2.5
FIG	B4 Sa 99	1899	60	51	1½ / 6	6th	19,370	13.0 + 2.5
FIG	B4 Sa 01	1901	10	10	2/6	6th	19,870	13.5 + 2.5
ABCC	BC4 Sa 01	1901	29	32 (?)	1/3/5	6th	19,830	13.5 + 2.5
BCC	BC4 Sa 97	1897	3	3	3/5	6th	17.830	11.5 + 2.5
CC	C4 Sa 95, C4tr Sa 95	1895	22nd	- 20	8 5	4th	15,950	10.0 + 2.5	Flat roof
CC	C4 Sa 97, C4tr Sa 97	1897/98	76	- 69	9 6	4th	17.330	11.0 + 2.5	Flat roof
CC	C4 Sa 98, C4tr Sa 98/33	1898	283	232	9	4th	17.330	11.0 + 2.5
Newer designs
FIG	B4 Sa 11	1911		19th	2/6	2	20,330	13.9 + 2.15
BCC	BC4 Sa 13	1913		2	4/5	2	20,110	12.5 + 2.15
BCC	BC4 Sa 16	1916		20th	4/5	2	20,110	12.5 + 2.15
CC	C4 Sa 11	1911		152	10	2	20,000	13.5 + 2.15
CC	C4 Sa 13	1913		128	9	2	18,370	11.0 + 2.15

1. ↑ In 1930 the number of C4 Sa 98 cars was given as 214, three of which were C4kr Sa 98 cars with a sick bay in the middle of the car. For this purpose, the middle double compartment was combined, the door in the middle of the car was removed and the other was widened to 1000 mm by a second wing. This compartment had space for a mobile stretcher, a wheelchair, cupboards, a washbasin and a bench for accompanying persons. For the C4tr Sa 98/33, 18 pieces are specified in this source, but significantly more vehicles will have been redesigned in this way by the time the cars are finally parked, after all the conversion was without great effort. The first of these conversions was probably used as a fourth class car. Later, it was more likely that individual compartments were redesigned to become load spaces than the entire car.

Use after World War II

Repair of a Centoporte compartment car (Tipo 1928R) at the DR

Most of the compartment cars were converted into conversion cars by the Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) in the 1950s . At the latest with the decision to no longer use wagons with wooden car bodies in public transport, the last ones until the mid-1960s were parked.

At the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR), about every second door was initially removed in many compartment cars to simplify maintenance, whereby several compartments were combined. In addition, the last remaining brakeman's cabs were no longer available. In the 1960s, many compartment cars were converted into reko cars. The last two-axle railroad vehicles disappeared by 1970.

Four-axle compartment cars, also of foreign designs (for example Italian Centoporte), could be found until the early 1970s. The last standard compartment cars of the early Deutsche Reichsbahn were used in the east of Saxony ( Reichsbahndirektion Cottbus ) until the mid-1970s (almost exclusively cars of the former fourth class).

Compartment cars with side doors on trams

Compartment railcar of the Alexandria tram in Egypt (1903)

In contrast to the railways, there used to be very seldom compartment cars in trams in which several separate compartments, each with their own access doors attached to the longitudinal side of the car, were arranged in a common car body. Such trams were mainly found on the Alexandria tram in Egypt , which opened as a horse-drawn tram as early as 1860 , whereby these vehicles, built at the request of the tram company in Belgium, were part of the original equipment and, apart from the different type of car body, did not differ technically from the ordinary railcars.

The reason for using these compartment cars was the division into car classes and also (or later only) the separation into separate compartments for men and women (today in Alexandria either the blue three-car trains have the middle sidecar or the yellow ones Two-car trains, the front car is reserved for women). These unique "tram compartment cars" were practically uncommon elsewhere and therefore, unlike the compartment cars, could never find significant distribution on the railroad and ultimately went out of use in Alexandria itself in the 1950s.

In the early days of electric trams, many Central European companies also had so-called summer sidecars . These were vehicles that had a roof as protection against rain and sun, but no (solid) side walls. The boarding was done directly via the side running boards. The advantage of this design was the large capacity with low weight. This was particularly important when operating with horses, but many businesses with pure railcar traffic also initially procured such vehicles. However, their number was never high. Corresponding railcars were as good as not procured in Central Europe, as railcars were too expensive to be used only seasonally. By the First World War, however, these cars had been replaced by more modern vehicles or converted into ordinary cars.

Compartment car with side aisle and protected crossings

Sketch of a French compartment car with side aisle (nine compartments)

From the end of the 19th century, the compartment cars with side aisles that are still common today were built. The first wagons of this type were used in Prussia in the newly introduced express trains from 1892 . They were and are equipped with transitions to the next car protected by a bellows , which is still used today in pressure-tight vehicles, or by a rubber bead . The design with side aisles is also common for sleeping cars and couchettes , in addition to seating cars . The modern, open- plan car developed from the passage car , the interior of which is divided into one or more large rooms with a central aisle, is to be distinguished from the compartment car of today's design .

Development in Germany

First class compartment in an IC

Compartment Interior view of a compartment car with side aisle of the second class in an ICE 1 before the redesign

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the compartment car with a side aisle was almost exclusively used in long-distance transport until the 1970s . While air-conditioned cars were common in the first class, mostly non-air-conditioned cars with twelve compartments were used in the second class . At the end of the 1970s, the Deutsche Bundesbahn decided against air-conditioned second class compartment cars and in favor of large-capacity cars with 80 seats .

In 1988 the Federal Railroad procured second class compartment wagons again (type Bvmz 185) which, in addition to the normal compartments, also offered compartments with four seats, opposite which seats were arranged in the open plan style. This area of ​​the car was later converted into a normal large area.

In the GDR, 24.5 meter long compartment cars, the UIC-Y cars, were built in the 1960s . 26.4 meter long compartment cars were increasingly built for the Deutsche Reichsbahn in the 1980s. As with the UIC-Y cars, these UIC-Z cars were non-air-conditioned compartment cars.

Around the time of German reunification, there were major changes with the new Interregio train type : Many compartment cars from east and west were converted, and non-air-conditioned cars were created with five compartments between which there are small large areas. Some of these cars are still used in IC trains today. The ICE 1 trains that were built at the same time were also based on mixed wagons with compartments and an open-plan area.

With the ICE 2 built in the mid-1990s , people turned completely to the greater area. Today, instead of compartment cars, open- plan cars with a central aisle are used, which offer a higher capacity and more window seats, but less privacy. They are cheaper to purchase and operate. The trend is towards larger areas; the ICE 4 trains no longer have compartments either.

At Deutsche Bahn there are almost only compartment cars in first class for Intercity and Eurocity trains, for car trains and for night traffic. Compartment cars are mainly used on the Hamburg-Cologne Express ; In regional transport, the alex also uses compartment cars in both car classes.

Development in Switzerland

The article is not complete. Apart from the mountain railways and funiculars, the compartment cars that were procured from the founding years of the railway up to the 1950s are completely missing. Additions are welcome.

Eurofima compartment car of the Swiss Federal Railways in Freiburg main station (2004)

In Swiss domestic traffic, with the exception of mountain railways and funiculars , compartment cars are little known. For express trains , especially in international traffic, several series of compartment cars with side aisles were built.

A first series of RIC wagons , still very much based on the standard wagons (Switzerland, standard gauge) , was created as early as the 1950s . Together, the lower roof height and was SIG - bogies . The length was 23.70 meters.

The later RIC cars, built from 1969, correspond to the UIC-X type . While the first-class cars only had nine compartments, like the UIC-Z-Type , the second-class cars initially had twelve compartments. From 1972 vehicles were procured that only had eleven compartments in the second class. Although the car series is assigned to the X-type, they correspond more to the later type UIC-Z. A large number of these cars were redesigned as Bpm open- plan cars from 1989 onwards . They were given an SBB IC paint scheme similar to the EW IV car and are now mainly used in domestic traffic. The first-class carriage were to escort the rolling road of Hupac Ltd rebuilt.

The Eurofima coaches with first class compartments from 1977 remained in operation until 2010, initially in orange-light gray C1 paintwork , later in EuroCity colors (gray tones with white stripes and red doors). The cars have since been sold to foreign railway companies (Deutsche Bahn, RegioJet ). Second-class compartment cars were no longer procured in this generation and in the subsequent EuroCity cars. This does not apply to couchette cars of the Eurofima design from 1978.

In addition, there are first class compartments in some EW III cars (today at BLS ).

For structural reasons, some first-class compartments were built into the ICN multiple units, due to the weight of the pantograph above .

Development in Austria

Second class compartment in the multiple unit of the ÖBB 4010 series

In contrast to Switzerland, in Austria the compartment car has also asserted itself in long-distance domestic transport. The UIC-X cars purchased from 1957 and their predecessors were all compartment cars, as were the Eurofima cars of the 1970s and related types.

The newest compartment cars in Austria are pressure-ready first and second class cars that were procured in the early 1990s . With the upgrading program since 2002, some of the first class compartment cars have been converted into open seating cars.

The class 4010 multiple units used until 2008 offered most of the seats in compartments, but after the conversion of the former first-class compartments into second class, only one open-plan first class car was available there.

The new high-speed train, railjet , has no compartment cars.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mück, Wolfgang: Germany's first railway with steam power. The royal privately owned Ludwig Railway between Nuremberg and Fürth . ( Dissertation at the University of Würzburg ). Fürth 1985 (2nd revised edition), pp. 115-126
2. ^ Report on the tram in Alexandria .
3. ^ Farewell to a piece of railway history - discontinued model of the compartment car In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of August 11, 2016
4. ↑ Jörg Thomann: ICE 4 without compartments. Nobody wants to talk anymore . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . November 15, 2016, ISSN  0174-4909 ( online ).
5. ↑ Siemens press release .
6. ↑ At 230 km / h through Austria ( Memento from December 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Article in the courier .

literature

• Claus Burghardt, Wolfgang Hensel, Wolf-Dietger Machel: Museum railway car between the Baltic Sea and the Ore Mountains . 1st edition. Transpress Verlag, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-344-70724-8 .
• Ralf Roman Rossberg : History of the Railway . Sigloch Verlag, Künzelsau.
• Emil Konrad: The passenger coaches of the German national railways. Volume 1: Prussia . Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 3-440-05042-4 .
• Emil Konrad: The passenger coaches of the German national railways. Volume 2: Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden . Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-440-05327-X .
• Jens Freese: The passenger carriages of the grand ducal Baden state railways . EK Verlag GmbH, Freiburg 2001, ISBN 3-88255-767-2 .
• Albert Mühl: The Pfalzbahn . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 3-8062-0301-6 .
• Royal Central Railway Office: Memo book for the vehicles of the Prussian-Hessian State Railway Administration. Edition 1915 . Berlin 1915.
• Wolfgang Schivelbusch: History of the railway journey. On the industrialization of space and time in the 19th century . 5th edition, Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 978-3-596-14828-8 , p. 67 ff.
• Karl-Ernst Hertam: Saxon compartment cars before the turn of the century . Hermann Merker Verlag, 1998 (issue Modellbahn-Journal II / 1998).
• Karl-Ernst Hertam: Saxon compartment cars from the turn of the century . Hermann Merker Verlag, 1999 (issue Eisenbahn-Journal 2/1999).
• Hermann Hoyer: History of the four-axle compartment car, parts I and II . Eisenbahn Magazin Alba Verlag, Düsseldorf 2004 (Issue 1, p. 31 ff. And Issue 3, p. 32 ff).
• Imperial General Direction: Directory of the passenger and baggage cars of the Reichs-Eisenbahnen in Alsace-Lorraine from 1911 with additions until 1914 . Strasbourg in Alsace 1914.
• Vehicle fleet directory of the Kgl. Bayer. State Railways - Palatinate Network . (Compiled according to the status of March 31, 1913).

Web links

Commons : Interior Views of Compartment Cars  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Commons : Compartment car with no passage  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Preserved Prussian C3 compartment car at the South German Railway Museum in Heilbronn .