DB Class ETA 150
Encyclopedia
The accumulator cars of Class ETA 150 (Class 515 from 1968) were German railbus
es used extensively by the Deutsche Bundesbahn
(DB) over 40 years. The driving cars were very comfortable to travel in because they were quiet (despite the typical whine of its DC motors), rode well on the rails due to the weight of the batteries and were pollution-free (no smoke or fumes). They ran on both main and branch lines.
They were very popular with passengers. The vehicles were nicknamed Akkublitz (Battery Lightning), Säurebomber (Battery Acid Bombers), Steckdosen-InterCity
(Socket InterCitys), Taschenlampen-Express (Pocket Torch Express) or Biene Maja (Maya the Bee - due to its noise when under way).
had placed accumulator railcars in service as early as 1907 – these were later the Class ETA 178 in the Deutsche Reichsbahn
) and evaluation of the results with the Class ETA 176 prototypes, the DB placed 232 Class ETA 150 power cars and 216 of their associated Class ESA 150 driving cars in service between 1953 and 1965.
The DB preferred to employ these two-coach sets on relatively level routes. They were rarely used on hilly lines due to the resultant high current consumption and hence limited range. In the main this only affected those vehicles stationed at Wanne-Eickel, and which were used in the Wuppertal area.
Its main areas of operation, apart from the Ruhrgebiet, were Schleswig-Holstein
, eastern Lower Saxony
, eastern Rhineland-Palatinate
(in the Westerwald
forest), south Hesse
and south Baden
. The last few railcars also worked in the area of the Rhine-Ruhr Transport Union (Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr
) or VRR until 1995.
Between 1978 and 1988 the railcars also worked from Aachen
to Maastricht
in the Netherlands
.
In 1968, under the DB’s renumbering scheme, the power cars became Class 515, and the driving cars Class 815.
Compared with the Prussian Wittfeld accumulator cars, the ETA 150s had an uneven weight distribution − the batteries were located in the middle of the coach body instead of over the bogies, so that in their last few years in service they tended to sag in the middle, which resulted in their nickname of Hängebauchschweine (Pot-bellied pigs).
(private railway), who converted them to diesel cars and designated them as Class VT 515-U.
Only a few vehicles could be preserved by museum railways because their maintenance is extremely difficult now that the maintenance of batteries at Limburg has ceased and the vehicles are required to go to charging stations. The maintenance and operation of normal railbuses is considerably easier. Number 515 556 is operational, but until it undergoes a general inspection it can only be used on the (museum) site of the locomotive depot.
The following have been preserved:
Railbus
A railbus is a very lightweight type passenger rail vehicle that shares many aspects of their construction with a bus, usually having a bus, or modified bus body, and having four wheels on a fixed base, instead of on bogies...
es used extensively by the Deutsche Bundesbahn
Deutsche Bundesbahn
The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...
(DB) over 40 years. The driving cars were very comfortable to travel in because they were quiet (despite the typical whine of its DC motors), rode well on the rails due to the weight of the batteries and were pollution-free (no smoke or fumes). They ran on both main and branch lines.
They were very popular with passengers. The vehicles were nicknamed Akkublitz (Battery Lightning), Säurebomber (Battery Acid Bombers), Steckdosen-InterCity
Intercity (Deutsche Bahn)
Intercity is the second-highest train classification in Germany, after the ICE. Intercity services are loco-hauled express services, usually over long-distances. There are Intercity routes throughout Germany, and routes generally operate with a two-hour frequency, with multiple routes giving a more...
(Socket InterCitys), Taschenlampen-Express (Pocket Torch Express) or Biene Maja (Maya the Bee - due to its noise when under way).
History
As a result of many years of favourable experience with this type of vehicle (the Prussian state railwaysPrussian state railways
The term Prussian state railways encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia...
had placed accumulator railcars in service as early as 1907 – these were later the Class ETA 178 in the Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn was the name of the following two companies:* Deutsche Reichsbahn, the German Imperial Railways during the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the immediate aftermath...
) and evaluation of the results with the Class ETA 176 prototypes, the DB placed 232 Class ETA 150 power cars and 216 of their associated Class ESA 150 driving cars in service between 1953 and 1965.
The DB preferred to employ these two-coach sets on relatively level routes. They were rarely used on hilly lines due to the resultant high current consumption and hence limited range. In the main this only affected those vehicles stationed at Wanne-Eickel, and which were used in the Wuppertal area.
Its main areas of operation, apart from the Ruhrgebiet, were Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
, eastern Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, eastern Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
(in the Westerwald
Westerwald
The Westerwald is a low mountain range on the right bank of the River Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhine Massif...
forest), south Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
and south Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
. The last few railcars also worked in the area of the Rhine-Ruhr Transport Union (Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr
Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr
The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr is the public transport association covering the area of the Rhine-Ruhr megalopolis in Germany...
) or VRR until 1995.
Between 1978 and 1988 the railcars also worked from Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
to Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
In 1968, under the DB’s renumbering scheme, the power cars became Class 515, and the driving cars Class 815.
Compared with the Prussian Wittfeld accumulator cars, the ETA 150s had an uneven weight distribution − the batteries were located in the middle of the coach body instead of over the bogies, so that in their last few years in service they tended to sag in the middle, which resulted in their nickname of Hängebauchschweine (Pot-bellied pigs).
Batches
- 515.0, 1954–1956; battery capacity: 352-437 kWh
- 515.1, 1956–1958; battery capacity: 390-437 kWh
- 515.5, 1959-1965: battery capacity: 520-603 kWh
Passenger compartments
The first batch had a high proportion of 1st class seating; this was changed for the second batch, the number of 1st class seats being reduced to just eight. All ETAs had a luggage compartment. The original 2+3 seat layout was changed in the later batches to a 2+2 configuration.- 515 003-033
- 515 101-112, 120-138 (Hamburg variant)
- 515 113-119 (Bremen variant)
- 515 501-508, 639-651
- 515 509-580, 604-638, 652-661
Livery variations
The twin-car sets were delivered in a wine-red livery. From 1975 some were repainted to beige and ocean-blue. Shortly before their retirement a few vehicles were painted in the DB’s paint scheme at that time - white and peppermint green - and ran in this livery on the Nokia Railway (today the Glückauf Railway) from Bochum Hbf to Gelsenkirchen Hbf.Preserved
Two power cars were sold to the RegentalbahnRegentalbahn
The Regentalbahn is railway company based in Bavaria, and is a subsidiary of Arriva Deutschland. It runs railway infrastructure, as well as regional and long-distance passenger services in Bavaria and Saxony with links into the Czech Republic, and Germany-wide goods trains.- Emergence of the...
(private railway), who converted them to diesel cars and designated them as Class VT 515-U.
Only a few vehicles could be preserved by museum railways because their maintenance is extremely difficult now that the maintenance of batteries at Limburg has ceased and the vehicles are required to go to charging stations. The maintenance and operation of normal railbuses is considerably easier. Number 515 556 is operational, but until it undergoes a general inspection it can only be used on the (museum) site of the locomotive depot.
The following have been preserved:
- 515 556-9 and 815 672-1 (Bochum-Dahlhausen Railway Museum)
- 515 011-5 (Bavarian Railway MuseumBavarian Railway MuseumThe Bavarian Railway Museum is a railway museum based in the old locomotive sheds at Nördlingen station in Bavaria, Germany. It is home to more than 100 original railway vehicles and has been located in the depot at Nördlingen since 1985.- History of the locomotive shed :The shed, itself, has a...
at NördlingenNördlingenNördlingen is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Bavaria, Germany, with a population of 20,000. It is located in the middle of a complex meteorite crater, called the Nördlinger Ries. The town was also the place of two battles during the Thirty Years' War...
)
Sources
- Horst J. Obermayer: Taschenbuch Deutsche power car. Frankh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1973, ISBN 3-440-04054-2
- The Akkutriebwagen ETA 150 (515) and ETA 176 (517). Eisenbahnkurier Special Nr. 12. EK-Verlag, Freiburg in the Breisgau.
- Thomas Feldmann: Steckdosen-InterCity. Erinnerung an die Class 515. In: LOK MAGAZIN. Nr. 251/Jahrgang 41/2002. GeraNova Zeitschriftenverlag GmbH München, , S. 60-61.
External links
- Bavarian Railway Museum
- Bochum Railway Museum
- The ETA 150
- Railcar Lexicon
- Maintenance of a 515 at Bw Worms
- There is a relevant English-language forum at Railways of Germany