DB Class VT 11.5

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DB VT 11.5
DB Classes 601 and 901
Class 601 in TEE livery, 1970 Munich Hauptbahnhof
Number(s) VT 11 5001–5019
601 001–019
Quantity 19 power cars[1]
Manufacturer MAN, LHB, Wegmann
Year(s) of manufacture 1957
Retired 1988 (DR 1991)
Axle arrangement B'2+2'2'+2'2'+2'2'+2'2'+2'2'+2'B
Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Length over couplers Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value).
Width Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value).
Service weight 214 t (211 long tons; 236 short tons)
Axle load 18 t (18 long tons; 20 short tons)
Top speed 160 km/h (99 mph)[1]
Installed power 2 × 760 kW (1,030 PS) MTU or 2 × 810 kW (1,100 PS) Maybach
Driving wheel diameter  950 mm (37.40 in)
Carrying wheel diameter 900 mm (35.43 in)
Motor make/model MTU 12V 538 TA 10 or
Maybach MD650/aB
Nominal rpm 1,500/min
Power transmission hydraulic
Tank capacity 2 × 2,150 L (470 imp gal; 570 US gal)
Brakes Disc brake, Electromagnetic track brake
Seats 122 + 46 in the dining section
Coach class 1st

The trainsets of Class VT 11.5 (often simply called TEE) were diesel multiple units built by Deutsche Bundesbahn in 1957 and used for Trans Europ Express (TEE) services. They carried first-class seating only. When the UIC numbering scheme became effective on January 1, 1968, the power heads of the trainsets were renamed to Class 601 whilst the middle cars became Class 901. They were used for TEE service from 1957 until 1972 and thereafter on German InterCity services.[1]

History

The VT 11.5 was based on the pre war Kruckenberg DRG SVT 137 155[2] and the experiences with the postwar DB Class VT 10.5.[3]

Mostly the trainsets consisted of two motor units, one dining and kitchen car, one dining and bar car and three coaches.[4]

The weight of a seven-unit trainset was 230 t, the length was 130 m.

Motor units and coaches were coupled by automatic Scharfenberg couplers, thus allowing trainsets up to ten units and coupling of two trainsets.[5]

File:DSB-MA460.jpg
DSB-MA460

From 1963 a second series of these trains were sold to the Danish State Railway (DSB) for use as national express trains (lyntog, meaning lightning trains).[6] This was a modified version which could be separated into two independent units and loaded on to the Great Belt ferries, and a total of 5½ whole or 11 half units were sold.[7] It was given the designation "litra MA", ranging from MA 460 to 470. In 1990 these trains were phased out from Danish service and donated to a Polish railway (first private in Poland - Lubuska Kolej Regionalna Spółka z o.o.). After collapsing private railway (1994), all these trains were scrapped. [8] MA 460 survives at the Danish Railway Museum.

Operational

Trans Europ Express

The first trains were commissioned in 1957 and used on the following international TEE routes:

  • TEE 31/32 Rhein-Main Frankfurt/Main – Amsterdam
    2 December 1957 – 27 May 1967[9]
  • TEE 74/75 Saphir Dortmund – Oostende
    15 July 1957 – 26 September 1971[10]
  • TEE 77/78 Helvetia Hamburg Altona – Zürich
    14 October 1957 – 1 March 1965.[11]
  • TEE 168/185 Paris-Ruhr Dortmund – Paris Nord
    23 December 1957 – 29 May 1960 & 30 May 1965 – 31 May 1969 [12]

In the 1960s, due to ongoing electrification, routes like the TEE Helvetia were changed to electric locomotive-hauled train sets. The diesel trainsets were reallocated to other TEE routes:

  • TEE 155/190 Parsifal Hamburg Altona – Paris Nord
    29 May 1960 – 29 September 1968[13]
  • TEE 25/26 Diamant Dortmund – Antwerpen
    30 May 1965 – 29 September 1971 [14]
  • TEE 84/85 Mediolanum München – Milan
    1 June 1969 – 28 September 1972[15]

Intercity

Class 601 in DB-Touristik livery 1986, München südring

In 1971, DB started their new first-class-only InterCity system, using mainly the 601 series on the non-electrified InterCity routes.[16] The regular maximum speed was set to 160 km/h for seven-unit trains. For trains up to 10 units the 602 was used. In 1979, the InterCity system was expanded and second-class compartments were introduced for these trains, meaning the end of 601/602 use for these trains.[17]

Tourism

From 1980, the 601/901 was used for special tourist services.[17] The trains had ten units; sometimes two trainsets were coupled to form a 20-unit train. This "Alpen-See-Express" ran scheduled from Hamburg and Dortmund to southern German and Austrian destinations, including Berchtesgaden, Lindau, Innsbruck and Salzburg. This service ended in 1988, when all 601s except the two scrapped (601 002 and 901 403) were sold to Italy.[18]

Deutsche Reichsbahn

File:DB Baureihe VT 11 mit DR Logo.jpg
Class 601 with DR Logo, Berlin Zoologischer Garten

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 led to a new life for the 601 as an InterCity train. One of the 10-unit trains was loaned from Italy to the East German Reichsbahn (DR) and served from July 27, 1990, to September 29, 1990, as InterCity Max Liebermann on the route Hamburg–Berlin.[19] One part of this train had been repainted blue-beige and is still to be seen at the Augsburg Railway Park museum. It today houses a restaurant run by celebrity chef Alfons Schuhbeck.

Technical details

Class 601

The VT 11.5, later 601 had two motor units at the head and the tail of the train. Each one had an 809 kW diesel from MTU and a hydraulic transmission from Voith or Maybach. The maximum speed was 140 km/h (87 mph), later 160 km/h (99 mph). All coaches were air-conditioned.[20]

Class 602

File:DB Museum Nuernberg Trans Europe Express.JPG
Class 602 at the DB Museum, in Nuremberg.

Four VT 11.5 were rebuilt in 1970 and received 2,200-horsepower (1,600 kW) gas turbines from KHD in place of their original 1,100-horsepower (820 kW) engines.[1] They were renumbered as Class 602 001–004 (ex-Class 601 nos. 012, 003, 007 and 010, respectively)[1] and used for DB InterCity service. During test runs a train with two 602 and two coaches ran 200 km/h. Since the turbines caused some problems and had higher fuel consumption, the 602 were taken out of service in 1979.[21]

Preservation

One trainset has been preserved in operating condition by DB, consisting of power cars VT 11.5 5014/19[1] and eight unpowered cars, and it operates occasionally on special excursions, including for private hire. The only other car preserved from this series is VT 11.5 5012 (as 602 003, its later number), preserved at the Nuremberg Transport Museum.[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Das grosse TEE Buch p. 28
  3. ↑ Das grosse TEE Buch p. 31
  4. ↑ Reisen 1. Klasse p. 31.
  5. ↑ Reisen 1. Klasse p. 24.
  6. ↑ Reisen 1. Klasse p. 50.
  7. ↑ Reisen 1. Klasse p. 49.
  8. ↑ Reisen 1. Klasse p. 53.
  9. ↑ La Légende des TEE p. 184.
  10. ↑ Das grosse TEE Buch p. 74
  11. ↑ TEE Züge in Deutschland p. 81.
  12. ↑ TEE Züge in Deutschland p. 76.
  13. ↑ La Légende des TEE p. 200.
  14. ↑ TEE Züge in Deutschland p. 113.
  15. ↑ TEE Züge in Deutschland p. 95.
  16. ↑ Reisen 1. Klasse p. 74.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Reisen 1. Klasse p. 108.
  18. ↑ Reisen 1. Klasse p. 116.
  19. ↑ Reisen 1. Klasse p. 122.
  20. ↑ Reisen 1. Klasse p. 43.
  21. ↑ Reisen 1. Klasse p. 46.

Works cited

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External links

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