Test facility in Schlauroth

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The Schlauroth test facility is an extensive facility for testing various requirements for rail vehicles. The test facility has several test stands and extensive track systems. The system was once the test field for the development and testing center for the automatic central buffer coupling and was used for tests on the UIC central buffer coupling type Intermat. It later operated under various names as a test facility for the Deutsche Reichsbahn. After the fall of the Wall, the facility was privatized and has been operated by TÜV Süd Rail since 2008.

location

The test facility is located on Rauschwalder Flur, a district of Görlitz. However, it was still called the Schlauroth experimental facility , as the neighboring Schlauroth marshalling yard is also named after the Görlitz district of Schlauroth . The facility was built on parts of the former marshalling yard and is located between this and the former Reichsbahn repair shop Görlitz in the north and the Görlitz – Dresden railway line in the south. South of the former Saxon and Prussian railway welfare houses, the Görlitz-Rauschwalde stop was built in 1999 . Regional passenger trains stop here. The rail vehicles that are to be tested here reach the site via the freight railway from Görlitz station. The route leads over the Berlin – Görlitz railway line and past the former Sot signal box (later B1 ) to the test site. The TÜV system is the only remaining user of this siding.

Maxim-Gorki-Straße connects the test site to the road network to the east. It leads past the Schlaurother water tower to Wiesbadener Straße and is the only road connection to the site.

history

Development and testing center for the automatic central buffer coupling

At the beginning of the 1960s, a competition for the development of the best automatic coupling variant for the European continent began between the two competing railway associations - the International Union of Railways (UIC) and the Organization for the Cooperation of Railways (OSJD) . The coupling variants that had existed until then were based on the non-rigid principle. The couplings could be moved vertically against each other and therefore did not offer any possibility of connecting air pressure and electrical lines via the mechanical coupling at the same time.

The GDR belonged, like most socialist countries of OSJD and founded for research on this subject on 20 August 1964, the development and testing center for the automatic central buffer coupling (EMF) . The design offices were housed in the VEB Waggonbau Bautzen . Soviet specialists were also involved in the development. In addition, designers from the testing and development center of the Wagenwirtschaft (VES-W) in Delitzsch also worked on the project. The headquarters of the EMK was in Berlin .

Locations in Dresden-Klotzsche , Leipzig-Wahren , Rentwertshausen and Görlitz were available for the test facilities . The choice finally fell on part of the Schlauroth marshalling yard in Görlitz. Engineers from VES-W and university graduates from all over the GDR were recruited for the test facility. Most of the craftsmen came from the Görlitz railway depot (Bw Görlitz) and the Reichsbahnausbesserungswerk Görlitz (Raw Görlitz). In place of track groups F and G of the marshalling yard, extensive track systems and several test stands were built.

Eastern welfare building

The development of the AMK was jointly financed by the member railways of the OSJD. Foreign exchange was also available for purchasing measurement technology from western countries, as a successful development promised foreign exchange income in the billions. By 1966 the former Prussian and Saxon welfare buildings of the marshalling yard were cleared and made available to the employees of the test facility. The Prussian building was converted into an office building. The Saxon building served as a dormitory and social building from 1969. Until 1967, numerous offices were still housed in Reko vehicles . The external employees slept in Soviet long-distance cars, which were bought cheaply because they were damaged during a flank drive when crossing Halle-Ammendorf . The guarding transport police sat in a saloon car of the former imperial court train . The first test rigs were also initially in the open air and later under tents. In the course of time, most of the test benches were given a permanent upgrade. The largest structure was the 36 m long test hall with a continuous canal track and a 3.2 t overhead traveling crane .

All development variants of Intermat went through test bench, single car and track trials one after the other. For example, the gripping area of ​​the coupling could be examined on the geometric test bench, i.e. whether the coupling also enables safe coupling in the curved track or in track twisting. In the climatic chamber, assemblies or components could be tested in a temperature range between −40 and 80 ° C. Operational and fatigue strength tests could be carried out on the dynamic pendulum test stand with 21 t pendulum masses and numerical sequence control. The pendulum mass could be increased to 28 t.

Furthermore, on the run-up test stand, railway wagons could be pulled onto a drainage hill with an electric winch and a cable car and automatically uncoupled. The uncoupled car ran into a stationary vehicle at speeds of up to 15 km / h. The coupling was tested in critical track geometries. The automated process was monitored by an employee in the tower next to the track. After the successful test bench and single wagon tests, the tests in the train followed. The train consisted of 50 two-axle wagons with a total tensile load of 1500 t. During rapid braking, longitudinal pressure forces of up to 2000 kN were generated. The train also ran through the various track geometries in order to exclude inadmissible wheel relief and, as a result, wheel lifting or derailment. A railway slewing crane was available for railing derailed vehicles .

From 1970 the external employees were given the opportunity to move into a new apartment in the Weinhübel district . With this, most of the rooms in the Saxon welfare building were vacated and could now be used as office or overnight rooms for guests. The long-distance cars that were no longer needed were converted into measuring, accompanying and workshop cars for test trains.

After attempts to adapt the OSJD and UIC couplings on the Schlaurother track system and in various climatic regions of Northern Europe and Central Asia, the OSJD coupling variant INTERMAT type 6.901 was presented at the end of 1977. It can be coupled with the UIC central buffer coupling, but the two railway organizations do not agree on a common model. The OSJD railway companies, however, lacked the necessary money for the comprehensive implementation in their countries and the UIC member states increasingly concentrated on high-speed traffic. Until the 1990s, groups of commuter freight wagons were used, which were recognizable by their white diagonal stripes on the side and were used for long-term testing of the coupling systems, but an automatic central buffer system has not yet been implemented in Europe.

Expansion of the area of ​​responsibility from the 1970s

The research and development plant of the Deutsche Reichsbahn in Blankenburg in the Harz Mountains received the order to develop a new small ice brake. They were supposed to brake the wagons that came from the drainage mountain and entered the direction tracks and bring them to a standstill without a coupling. This should make the stumbling block superfluous. The GDR wanted to make itself independent of purchases from the western company ASEA with its own development. The ASEA screw brakes were patented and therefore could not be reproduced. Furthermore, the company's products cost valuable foreign currency. The small ice brakes developed have been tested on the test facility since 1974. For the tests, the Schlaurother received the GDR's first radio-controlled diesel locomotive - a V 60 . For the tests, a local freight train was driven daily from the neighboring marshalling yard over the test field with the small ice brakes.

The most successful system was the three-force brake - a pneumatically controlled beam brake with a wear strip that presses against the wheels. The three-force brakes were used for the first time on the track field of the neighboring Schlauroth marshalling yard. The Raw Görlitz took over the series production in Hall III built in 1974 for the EMK. With the new field of activity, the Schlauroth test facility has now been subordinated to the Vehicles and Workshops section . The main goals were now opportunities for rationalization in the repair system, which were primarily pursued with electronic and computer-aided control systems.

Since 1978 the National People's Army (NVA) has also carried out regular tests on the site. Among other things, she tested a trapping system for fighter planes on the basis of freight wagons rolling down. On the test stands were shot bolt connections in wood, stone and steel tested for strength. Among other things, they were used in the construction of temporary military bridges .

Since 1981 the test facility has operated under the name of prototype and test facility . Together with the Raw Schöneweide in Berlin , a ticket vending and dialogue machine was developed . The machine was also tested for correct functioning in the climatic chamber. On January 1st, 1988 the DR founded the Scientific and Technical Center (WTZ) and the Schlaurother test facility was officially called the Center for Control and Automation Technology (ZSA) . During this time, road-rail vehicles and track rollers for the transport of heavy loads were developed and tested. Rolling stands of the Voroshilovgrad and Oebisfelde designs were tested for the rapid removal of damaged locomotives . In 1988, for the first time since the end of the war, an electric locomotive made a guest appearance in Görlitz - 250 196-3 .

After the turn

On January 1, 1991, the name was changed again - central testing facility (ZV) . The test facility with its numerous navigable track radii was meanwhile unique in the Reichsbahn area. The surrounding wagon construction companies Bautzen, Görlitz and Niesky also used the facility for their needs. For example, examinations of freedom of movement in tight bends, journeys over ferry ramps, evidence of derailment safety and longitudinal compressive rigidity were carried out on new vehicles.

With the turnaround, however, many clients and orders for the test facility were lost, B. the NVA and the electronic control technology for the repair shops. For the lifting equipment department , new pillars were created with the marketing of the DR railway slewing cranes and with the adaptation of DR regulations in lifting technology for the transport of goods and people to DB regulations. Employees in the average service department dealt with the transport of dangerous goods and fire protection . A training and exercise train was set up for railway workers and fire fighters, which was used for on-site anti-accident training.

Despite a staff reduction from 145 in 1980 to 100 in 1993, the test facility was not included in the required facilities of the research and development potential of both state railways. The average service was subordinated to the Brandenburg-Kirchmöser location and the test personnel to the Minden / Westphalia research institute . In 1997 the test facility was closed by Deutsche Bahn .

privatization

The company IVM Engineering Joint-Venture took over the test site from Deutsche Bahn and shortly afterwards it was transferred to IVM Railmotive and in 2002 finally to Brunel Railmotive . With effect from August 20, 2008, TÜV Süd Rail took over the Brunel Railmotive and thus also the Schlauroth test site. In 1999 Railmotive acquired a V 22 diesel locomotive for company traffic. Even today, the test site is used by various vehicle manufacturers to investigate their vehicles.

On October 2, 2012, at around 11 a.m., a fatal accident occurred in the test field. During the test of a shock absorber, in which the railway wagon with its buffers is driven against a buffer stop, a part came loose that fatally injured an employee of the contracting company standing next to the test field. The 34-year-old man died of his injuries at the scene of the accident.

Track systems

The track system is approx. 3 km long on an area of ​​approx. 30,000 m². The individual tracks are between 9 and 645 m long. The so-called operating field with a head and side loading ramp on track 15 comprises five head tracks with the numbers 11 to 15. The drainage hill 1 in the east and 2 in the west as well as the ferry boat ramp comply with UIC regulations. On the overrun test stand, the car rolling down the hill can be driven onto a stationary car at a speed between 3 and 15 km / h. This simulates the approach of a freight wagon.

Test possibilities

Testing devices at the time of the EMK

Coupling devices could be tested on the pendulum mass test bench. For this purpose, the couplings were attached to a pendulum mass with a maximum mass of 28 t, which represented the mass of the car and then deflected. After the pendulum masses were released with the couplings in the upper position, they hit the lower coupling point with max. 22.56 km / h together. This enabled the permanent impact and wear resistance to be tested. The gripping and coupling behavior could be checked on the geometric test bench. For this purpose, the vertical offset angle could be 3.5 °, the horizontal offset angle 20 °, the height offset 240 mm and the lateral offset 450 mm.

There was also a push-pull frame in which the coupling devices could be clamped and loaded with 2500 kN pressure or 2000 kN tensile force. The force was applied hydraulically. In order to simulate different climatic conditions there were two climatic chambers. In the large climatic chamber with 41 m³ of usable space, temperatures between −40 ° C to +50 ° C and in the small chamber with 2 m³ of usable space a temperature range of −80 ° C to +120 ° C could be simulated.

In the flow test bench, the influence of the coupling on the breakdown speed of the pressure wave in the train was measured and assessed on line couplings, shut-off taps and hose connections by means of comparative tests. A reserve air volume of 1200 m³ with a pressure of up to 784.5 kPa (8 at) was available for this.

Today's testing options

In 1991 the test facility was approved as a test center by the Federal Railway Authority . Static and dynamic load cases according to EN 12663 can be simulated. According to crash standard EN 15227 , complete vehicle fronts can be checked in what is known as collision scenario 1 (DIN EN 15227: 2011-01; collision scenario 1: "Frontal collision of two identical train units") and component tests can be carried out on the head ramp. This includes e.g. B. checking the required longitudinal compressive or tensile stiffness of the car body. Tests for safety against derailment can also be carried out in the twisted measuring track curve in accordance with EN 14363 , in the crossover in accordance with UIC 530-2 and in the pushing test in accordance with UIC 510-2 . Furthermore, vehicle parameters such as B. the roll pole, the coefficient of inclination and the torsional hardness can be determined. Finally, the traditional vehicle components of the EMK can also be tested in the test facility: buffers, couplings and drawbars.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Rettig: Görlitz railway junction . 1994, p. 185 .
  2. ↑ a b Rettig: Görlitz railway junction . 1994, p. 187 .
  3. ^ Rettig: Görlitz railway junction . 1994, p. 187 f .
  4. ↑ a b c Rettig: Görlitz railway junction . 1994, p. 188 .
  5. ^ Rettig: Görlitz railway junction . 1994, p. 188 f .
  6. ↑ a b c Rettig: Görlitz railway junction . 1994, p. 189 .
  7. ↑ a b deutsche-kleinloks.de: vehicle portrait LKM 262620 . Retrieved November 22, 2012 .
  8. ↑ eurailpress.de: 40th anniversary of the Railmotive test facility in Görlitz . Retrieved November 22, 2012 .
  9. ↑ a b c merte.de: Brunel GmbH, Railmotive Section, Maxim-Gorki-Str. 25, 02827 Görlitz-Rauschwalde . Retrieved November 22, 2012 .
  10. ↑ eurailpress.de: TÜV Süd RAIL takes over Brunel Railmotive . Retrieved November 22, 2012 .
  11. ↑ Ralph Schermann: Worker dies in an accident . In: Saxon newspaper . October 4, 2012 ( online [accessed November 20, 2012]).
  12. ↑ During the crash test: workers hit by the buffer part - dead . In: Chemnitzer Morgenpost . October 4, 2012 ( online [accessed November 20, 2012]).
  13. ↑ wirtschaftssenioren.ba-bautzen.de: The Schlauroth outdoor facility . Retrieved November 22, 2012 .
  14. ↑ wirtschaftssenioren.ba-bautzen.de: The overrun test stand . Retrieved November 22, 2012 .
  15. ↑ wirtschaftssenioren.ba-bautzen.de: The dynamic test bench . Retrieved November 22, 2012 .
  16. ↑ wirtschaftssenioren.ba-bautzen.de: The geometric test bench . Retrieved November 22, 2012 .
  17. ↑ wirtschaftssenioren.ba-bautzen.de: The push-pull framework . Retrieved November 22, 2012 .
  18. ↑ wirtschaftssenioren.ba-bautzen.de: The large climatic chamber / The small climatic chamber . Retrieved November 22, 2012 .
  19. ↑ wirtschaftssenioren.ba-bautzen.de: The flow test bench . Retrieved November 22, 2012 .
  20. ↑ tuev-sued.de: Görlitz . Retrieved September 30, 2018 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 9 ′ 0.2 ″  N , 14 ° 56 ′ 21.6 ″  E