Steyr-Mercedes SML 14H 256

Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG
SML 14H 256
Intercity bus Steyr-Mercedes SML 14H 256
Manufacturer:	Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG
Manufacturer chassis:	Mercedes Benz
Design type:	Intercity bus
Production period:	1975-1986
Axes:	2
Engine:	OM 402
Power:	256 hp
Gearbox overdrive version:	ZF synchronous six-speed transmission S 6-65
Gearbox mountain gear version:	ZF all-claw six-speed gearbox AK 6-65
Length (mm):	11,293
Width (mm):	2,500
Height (mm):	3,070
Seats:	51
Standing room:	37
Weight (kg):	16,000
Previous model:	Steyr SL 12H 210
Successor:	Steyr SL 11 HUA 280
Similar models:	Mercedes-Benz O 303

The Steyr-Mercedes bus (SML) is a 14-row rear engine - Omnibus with the 256-hp Mercedes-Benz V8 diesel engine OM 402 , abbreviation SML 14H 256 . It was built on Mercedes-Benz O-303 chassis by Steyr Daimler Puch in Vienna-Simmering .
The SML was called O 303  14 UEP at Daimler-Benz . Here, 14 also meant the number of rows of seats, UE stood for overland and P for podium, i.e. H. the vehicle was manufactured at Daimler-Benz as a CKD kit up to the height of the platform .

Between 1976 and 1986 a total of 998 copies of the bus were delivered to the Austrian Post and the ÖBB -kraftwagendienst (KWD). At least 14 other vehicles were sold to private customers.

The length is 11,293 mm, the width 2,500 mm and the wheelbase 5,623 mm. It is fully air-sprung with a rigid axle at the front and reaches 102 km / h with a 6-speed manual transmission . The (two) double-wide swinging doors are each 1,100 mm wide. The bus offers 51 seats and 37 standing places, the trunk between the axles holds 6 m³.

Legendary on the SML is the powerful V8 DB diesel engine with its characteristic engine noise from the double pipe exhaust. Together with the Gräf & Stift GSÜH240M12, it was the first air-suspended bus for the post office and railways in Austria. But the mechanical ZF manual transmission and the short wheelbase, and thus the maneuverability, were also appreciated. The buses were therefore very suitable for mountain routes, where they were also used as ski buses. The locations are, for example, the Großvenediger in Austria or the mountain roads in Bosnia.

customer

The first delivery to the Austrian Post took place on March 22, 1976 with PT 12.561, the last in September 1986 with PT 14.005. In total, the Austrian Post received 614 vehicles between 1976 and 1986. The Steyr chassis number for vehicles of the Austrian Post began with 539 and after a hyphen followed the running counter starting with 1. In addition, each vehicle also had a 14-digit Mercedes-Benz chassis number as a number in the chassis (starting with 301 224). Unfortunately, this was not recorded in the vehicle documents.
The delivery took place over the following years:

Deliveries to the Austrian Post

year	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986
Extraditions	6th	0	70	64	59	60	81	67	79	73	55
Identification PT ...	12,561-12,566	-	12,848-12,917	12,977-12,988 12,991-13,012 13,022-13,048 13,097-13,098 13,104	13,105-13,153 13,157-13,166	13,226-13,282 13,349-13,351	13,358-13,402 13,431-13,455 13,476-13,487	13,537-13,548 13,553-13,604 13,607-13,608 13,612	13,636-13,670 13,679-13,714 13,732-13,733 13,750-13,753 13,756-13,757	13,758-13,769 13,771-13,792 13,801-13,839	13,889-13,911 13,913-13,937 13,999-14,005

The Austrian Federal Railways presented their first SML in the course of the traffic management conference on January 21, 1976. The first SML of the railway was registered on May 7, 1976 with the registration number BB 4.601. The delivery ended on April 24, 1986 with BB 4,984. A total of 384 vehicles were delivered to the railway between 1976 and 1986. The Steyr chassis number for vehicles of the Austrian Federal Railways began with 538 and after the hyphen followed the running counter again beginning with 1.
The delivery was spread over the following years of construction:

Deliveries to the ÖBB

year	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986
Extraditions	4th	26th	66	45	37	40	39	45	37	33	12
Identification BB ...	4,601-4,604	4,605-4,630	4,631-4,696	4,697-4,741	4,742-4,778	4,779-4,818	4,819-4,857	4,858-4,902	4,903-4,939	4,940-4,972	4,973-4,984

In addition, Deutsche Bahn took over three SMLs later used from the Post, initially BB 4,985 (ex PT 13,810) and BB 4,986 (ex PT 13,917), and later BB 8,001 (ex PT 13,705).

The biggest buyers besides post and rail were the Gruber GmbH & Co KG transport company in Grafendorf near Hartberg and the Austrian Mineral Oil Administration in Vienna, each with five vehicles. The Federal Gendarmerie received further new vehicles, and a works bus remained with the Steyr company . The Ramseller Verkehrsgesellschaft , a bus company in Matrei am Brenner , the companies Theo Jaki and Franz Wennesz in Andau were also among the new customers of the Steyr company . The Steyr chassis number for vehicles to private customers began with 540. Only the Steyr factory bus had an ÖBB chassis number 538-290. A hyphen was followed by a consecutive number, which for the SML began with 540-14 (Gruber) and ended with 540-27 ( Gendarmerie - Vienna ).

variants

There was a variant with a single-leaf, single-width front door, both as a line version and as a long-distance bus. However, these were only procured in very small numbers. The long-distance line variant possessed u. a. Ventilation, lighting, curtains and sliding windows at every seat. In addition, comfortable travel seats and a tour guide's seat have already been installed. The long-distance bus existed even before the face-lift. A rare example of this is PT 13.608, which now operates as a school bus in Bosnia, built in 1983, chassis number 539-376.

An example of the line design with a narrow, single-leaf front door is PT 13.733, VIN 539-449, built in 1984, which is now in service at Travnik Trans in Travnik , Bosnia.

Occasionally, SML were also ordered ex works in a mountain gear version with a special ZF all-claw six-speed manual transmission AK 6-65.

Facelift

As with the Mercedes-Benz O 303 , a facelift took place in 1983 with a new cockpit, gray plastic cladding of the headlights , darker tinted windows and other things. a. the installation of a retarder . Before the facelift, only a few vehicles had eddy current brakes , which were regularly used on steep terrain. The previously chrome-plated window surrounds and frames were delivered in black after the facelift.

At the railroad, the model upgrade began on August 8, 1983 with BB 4,887, Steyr chassis number 538-287, i.e. the 287th vehicle for the railroad. The Austrian Post started the facelift on October 3, 1983 with PT 13.590, Steyr chassis number 539-392, hence the 392nd car for the Post.

Predecessor and successor

Its predecessor was the Steyr SL 12H 210 , which was also built by Saurer and Gräf & Stift from 1968 to 1978 , but not with the participation of Mercedes-Benz. Its successor was the Steyr SL 11 HUA 280 , which was built under this name from 1986 to 1992. The first prototypes of the successor were produced in 1984 under the name SL 11 HUA 250 . In 1988, the successor to the Steyr engine 9 FUA was replaced by the Daimler-Benz engine OM 447 hLA. From 1992 the successor received a Volvo B-10-B chassis and was sold as Volvo / Steyr SL 12 HUA 285 .

Whereabouts

Due to austerity measures, neither the railway nor the post received a "historic" SML.

Only four vehicles are known in Austria:

• A ski bus (ex. Austrian Post, PT 13.810, VIN 539-554) was at Steiger-Reisen in Neukirchen am Großvenediger. This bus is now for restoration true to the original at Oldtimer Busfreunde Klagenfurt KG.
• The original Gruber Verkehrsbetriebe vehicle in Hartberg (VIN 540-19), built in 1982, is now for sale with a damaged gearbox.
• A vintage car (ex Austrian Post, PT 13.935) first made it to a collector in Upper Austria. An original restoration was planned for the long term. It was the post bus, which was formerly stationed in Vorarlberg and was intended as the Austrian Post Museum bus. This bus had changed hands several times in the meantime. Among other things, he was planned for a renovation at Red Bull for several years. In the meantime, however, the bus was unfortunately sold in 2018 and exported to Africa via Hamburg.
• The PT 13.640, VIN 539-412, ex Post also survived as a residential bus in Upper Austria, at least until 2018.
• There is also an SML, built in 1977, as a racing van in Parndorf in Burgenland.

In Germany, the restoration of two original ÖBB buses as old-timers were planned in Horb.

• On the one hand it was BB 4.767, ex ÖBB, VIN 538-167, year of construction 1980 in first version. BB 4.767 was completed in 2016 and is available for special trips at oldiebusse.com.
• The second SML still to be restored is BB 4.919, ex ÖBB , VIN 538-320, built in 1984, face-lifting. BB 4.919 is the formerly designated Tyrolean museum bus of the railway. Its restoration is at least in the long term to strengthen the registered ex. BB 4.767 planned.

In Horb, the former Postbus PT 13.786, VIN 539-512, built in 1985, existed until October 31, 2014, before it was scrapped for spare parts production due to its poor condition and replaced by PT 13.662, VIN 539-482, built in 1984 in April 2015 has been. In the meantime, at the beginning of September 2019, due to its poor condition, PT 13.662 was also largely dismantled to obtain spare parts.

There is also a registered SML in North Rhine-Westphalia (ex Austrian Post, PT 12.890, VIN 539-71): Zegra asparagus, Waldfeucht (field workers), registration number HS-ZE 39 (ex Stemmler Kastellaun).

There are also some surviving vehicles, including in former Yugoslavia and Russia.

• 

  First execution BB 4.767 after its restoration (2013–2015) on February 14, 2016 in Vienna

• 

  ÖBB KWD Steyr-Mercedes SML 14H 256, prototype BB 4.601

• 

  Steyr-Mercedes SML 14H 256, BB 4.732 , built in 1979

• 

  Steyr-Mercedes SML 14H 256 PT 13.442 , built in 1983, 1994 at the train station in Bregenz in a mixed federal bus and post outfit

• 

  Steyr-Mercedes SML 14H 256, BB 4.920 , year of construction 1984

• 

  SML 14H 256 Face-Lifting , built in 1986

• 

  Two ÖBB SMLs ( BB 4.962 and BB 4.941 ) frame two of their successors

• 

  SML 14H 256, PT 13.733 , with single-leaf front door, built in 1984

• 

  SML 14H 256, 2013 in Bosnia

Individual evidence

1. ↑ extinguishing - Pötschner: 90 years post bus . ISBN 3-925301-97-6
2. ↑ Erich Novak: 70 years of vehicle service on the Austrian Federal Railways . ISBN 3-9500743-0-9
3. ↑ Johann Kopács: The Austrian Saurer-Werke. Volume 1 Company history 1906–2006 . ISBN 3-9501854-6-1
4. ↑ Horst Schaffer, Walter Schwarz: Post buses. New vehicles made in Austria 1947 to 1997. ISBN 978-3-200-03915-5
5. ↑ Steiger Reisen: Archived copy ( memento of the original from April 23, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ Oldtimer Busfreunde Klagenfurt KG: http://www.busfreunde-klagenfurt.at/691.html
7. ↑ Gruber Verkehrsbetriebe: http://www.vb-gruber.at/
8. ↑ Lucky8-Performance Speed ​​Shop: http://www.lucky8-performance.com/?page_id=356
9. ↑ oldiebusse.com: http://www.oldiebusse.com .
10. ↑ BahnBus.net: http://www.bahnbus.net/
11. ↑ stadtbus.de: http://www.stadtbus.de/2012/ Einsatz_o303.htm .