Talgo
Encyclopedia
Talgo is a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 manufacturer of railway
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

 vehicles. It is best known for a design of articulated railway passenger cars in which the wheels are mounted in pairs, but not joined by an axle
Axle
An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to its surroundings, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle...

, and being between rather than underneath the individual coaches. Another feature of the design is the suspension
Suspension (vehicle)
Suspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose — contributing to the car's roadholding/handling and braking for good active safety and driving pleasure, and keeping vehicle occupants...

, which allows the vehicle to passively tilt into curves, aiding passenger comfort.

Corporate history

TALGO is the Spanish acronym for "Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol" (Goicoechea-Oriol light articulated train), Alejandro Goicoechea and José Luis Oriol being the founders of the company.

Talgo Patents S.A. was originally incorporated in 1942.

In March 2007 Talgo sold its Finnish rolling stock manufacturing subsidiary Talgo Oy to its local management and other Finnish investors. The company, which Talgo had owned for only seven years, reverted to its previous name of Transtech Oy
Transtech Oy
Transtech Oy is Finland's major domestic manufacturer of railway rolling stock. It specialises in building railway vehicles for extreme climatic conditions, such as those encountered in Finland.-History:...

. The company spends 10 to 12 percent of revenues on research and development, but the main revenue source is the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 railway operator Renfe
RENFE
Renfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm "Iberian gauge" and 1435-mm "European gauge" networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF .- History :The name RENFE is derived from that of the former Spanish National...

.

Technology

Talgo trains are best known for their unconventional articulated railway passenger cars design in which the wheels are mounted in pairs, but not joined by an axle
Axle
An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to its surroundings, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle...

, and are between rather than underneath the individual coaches. Talgo trains fitted with variable gauge axles
Variable gauge axles
A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge caused by two railway networks with differing track gauges....

 can change
Break-of-gauge
With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transloaded...

 rail gauge
Rail gauge
Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...

 - for instance at the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 (1668 millimeters)/French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 (1435 millimeters) border.

Since the introduction of the Talgo Pendular
Tilting train
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about or seated passengers to feel squashed by the outboard armrest due to...

 in 1980, the train tilts naturally outwards on curves, making it more comfortable for the passengers. The system also allows the train to run faster on some lines, especially on curves. The carriage tilting system pivots around the top of the suspension columns, which has the effect of partially cancelling out the effects of the lateral acceleration when cornering.

Trains

Talgo trains are divided into a number of generations. They come in both locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

 hauled and self propelled
Multiple unit
The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...

 versions.

Talgo I

The Talgo I coaches were built in 1942, at the "Hijos de Juan Garay" Factory in Oñate (Gipuzcoa), Spain. The train's traction unit was made in Valladolid, in the workshops of the "Compañia de Norte". Built as a prototype it broke numerous speed records.

Talgo II

Talgo II coaches and locomotives were first built in 1950 at the American Car and Foundry Company
American Car and Foundry Company
American Car and Foundry is a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock. One of its subsidiaries was once a manufacturer of motor coaches and trolley coaches under the brand names of ACF and ACF-Brill. Today ACF is known as ACF Industries LLC and is based in St. Charles, Missouri...

 (ACF) works in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 under the direction of Spanish engineers, and entered service in Rock Island Line, servicing the Jet Rocket train, between Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 and Peoria
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...

. One was also trialed on the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...

 until 1958 but saw little success. Talgos were also built for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States from 1872 to 1968 which served the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts...

 for their "John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams (train)
The John Quincy Adams was a named train of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, between New York, New York and Boston, Massachusetts. The John Quincy Adams was an attempt by the New Haven to modernize rail travel and lure people out of their cars...

" train (New York, New York to Boston, Massachusetts), and the Boston and Maine Railroad
Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...

 for their "Speed Merchant
Speed Merchant (train)
thumbThe Speed Merchant was a named train of the Boston and Maine Railroad, between Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine. The Speed Merchant was purchased by the Patrick B...

" train (Boston, Massachusetts to Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

)
.
In Spain Talgo II trains entered revenue service soon after, with total success, and were not retired until 1972.

Talgo III

Talgo III coaches and locomotives entered service in 1964, introducing longer cars and easy directional reversibility of the cars. The Talgo III RD variant was equipped with variable gauge axles
Variable gauge axles
A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge caused by two railway networks with differing track gauges....

, and ran the first through train from Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

 to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 as well as Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

 to Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

 in 1968, despite the difference
Break-of-gauge
With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transloaded...

 in rail gauge
Rail gauge
Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...

.

Talgo Pendular

The Talgo Pendular (Talgo IV and Talgo V, also VI & Talgo 200 or 6th generation), introduced in 1980, created the "natural tilting" train, using a passive system that tilts the carriages with no need for electronic sensors or hydraulic equipment. The wheels are mounted on monoaxles between the carriages, and sitting on top of the monoaxles are suspension columns. The carriages are attached to the top of the suspension columns and swing outwards when the train travels round a bend.

In 1988 they were used on trials for Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

 on Boston-New York corridor in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and on Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...

 lines in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. Trial commercial services with Talgo cars in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 commenced in 1994 between Seattle and Portland, and from 1998 different trains have been used on the Amtrak Cascades
Amtrak Cascades
The Amtrak Cascades is a passenger train route operated by Amtrak in partnership with the states of Washington and Oregon in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and the province of British Columbia in Canada...

 services from Vancouver, British Columbia south to Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

, continuing south via Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 to Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...

.
Talgo 200 series trains are also in use in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

 for the overnight train Almaty–Astana.

Talgo VII

The Talgo VII introduced from 2000 is used as locomotive hauled train set as well as intermediate cars for the multiple unit
Multiple unit
The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...

s Talgo 250, Talgo 350 and Talgo XXI. The carriages are similar to the Talgo Pendular type but have an air-controlled hydraulic brake
Hydraulic brake
The hydraulic brake is an arrangement of braking mechanism which uses brake fluid, typically containing ethylene glycol, to transfer pressure from the controlling unit, which is usually near the operator of the vehicle, to the actual brake mechanism, which is usually at or near the wheel of the...

 system and power supply from head end power
Head end power
Head end power or electric train supply is a rail transport term for the electrical power distribution system on a passenger train. The power source, usually a locomotive at the front or “head” of a train or a generator car, generates all the electricity used for lighting, electrical and other...

 instead of diesel engine-generator
Engine-generator
An engine-generator is the combination of an electrical generator and an engine mounted together to form a single piece of equipment. This combination is also called an engine-generator set or a gen-set...

s in the end cars. Talgo VII trains have cars with two pairs of wheels in the middle rather than at one end.

Talgo VIII

The Series VIII passenger cars are similar to the Series VII cars, but are designed for the North American market. Talgo made an agreement in 2009 to build a manufacturing facility in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 which will initially supply two 14-car trainsets for the Amtrak Hiawatha Service. The company expressed hope the plant will later be used to build trains for other U.S. rail projects.

Early in 2010, the Oregon Department of Transportation announced that it had negotiated the purchase of two 13-car trainsets for use in the Pacific Northwest rail corridor between Eugene and Vancouver, British Columbia. These trainsets are to be manufactured in Wisconsin, and are slated to be delivered in 2012.

Talgo 250

The Talgo 250 is a dual voltage electric train (AC/DC) equipped with variable gauge axles
Variable gauge axles
A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge caused by two railway networks with differing track gauges....

. Due to this, they are used for the services using high speed lines as well as conventional broad gauge lines. A Talgo 250 train consist of two power car
Power car
A power car is a railroad vehicle that is closely related to the locomotive. What differentiates the two is their construction or their use. A true locomotive can be physically separated from its train and does nothing but provide propulsion . A power car, on the other hand, is frequently an...

s and 11 Talgo VII intermediate coaches. Developed for RENFE
RENFE
Renfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm "Iberian gauge" and 1435-mm "European gauge" networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF .- History :The name RENFE is derived from that of the former Spanish National...

 (classed as S-130).

The Uzbekistan Railways ordered two Talgo 250 sets of a Russian gauge version in 2009. The first set arrived to Tashkent in July 2011

Talgo 250 Hybrid

The Talgo 250 Hybrid is dual voltage dual power train equipped with variable gauge axles. The train is therefore also able to operate on non-electrified lines. A Talgo 250 Hybrid train consist of two power cars, two technical end coaches and nine Talgo VII intermediate coaches. The trains are developed for RENFE
RENFE
Renfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm "Iberian gauge" and 1435-mm "European gauge" networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF .- History :The name RENFE is derived from that of the former Spanish National...

 and classed initially as S-130H, later as S-730). They are rebuilt from existing Talgo 250 trains.

Talgo 350

The Talgo 350 entered service as the RENFE AVE Class 102 marking the company's entry into the high-speed train manufacturing market. Tests with the prototype commenced in 1994, and Talgo 350 trains have been operating at a top commercial speed of 330 km/h on the Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

-Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

 and Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

-Valladolid
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...

 line since December 22, 2007. This series of trains are designed to reach a speed of 350 kilometre per hour, although present lines and commercial services limit the speed at 330 kilometre per hour.
The train consists of two power car
Power car
A power car is a railroad vehicle that is closely related to the locomotive. What differentiates the two is their construction or their use. A true locomotive can be physically separated from its train and does nothing but provide propulsion . A power car, on the other hand, is frequently an...

s and Talgo VII intermediate cars with improved brakes and additional primary suspension.

Talgo XXI

Talgo XXI is a project for a high speed diesel-powered train, that operates in push-pull with one or two power car
Power car
A power car is a railroad vehicle that is closely related to the locomotive. What differentiates the two is their construction or their use. A true locomotive can be physically separated from its train and does nothing but provide propulsion . A power car, on the other hand, is frequently an...

s and Talgo VII intermediate cars. The North American version has four-axle power cars in compliance with United States FRA regulations. Only one train in compliance with European UIC
International Union of Railways
The UIC , or International Union of Railways, is an international rail transport industry body.- Brief history :The railways of Europe originated as separate concerns. There were many border changes after World War I and the Treaty of Versailles. Colonial railways were the responsibility of the...

 standards has yet been built. Its manufacturers claim that the train has reached speeds of 256 km/h on the Olmedo - Medina del Campo high speed experimental line on 9 July 2002 (but this claim is unsubstantiated and unverified, and therefore not recognized as an official record) which has led to a claim for the world speed record for a diesel train.
After the test runs the train was sold to the Spanish infrastructure authority ADIF as a measuring train for high speed lines.

Talgo AVRIL

Talgo is developing a train that is currently in the concept stage known by the name "AVRIL"
Talgo AVRIL
Talgo AVRIL is the codename given to a high-speed train that Talgo is currently developing. It stands for "Alta Velocidad Rueda Independiente Ligero" .-Details:...

, which stands for "Alta Velocidad Rueda Independiente Ligero" ("Light High-Speed Independent Wheel"), which is intended for top speeds of 380 km/h. The system is intended to include underfloor traction in the front and rear vehicles, with the intermediate carriages having the Talgo Pendular system (which cannot use motored axles on the axles corresponding to the system).

Variable Gauge Axles (VGA)

In addition to the multiple unit
Multiple unit
The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...

s with Variable Gauge Axles, Talgo constructed in 2005 a prototype of a VGA locomotive ( the L-9202, TRAV-CA, 130-901 or Virgen del Buen Camino ).

See also

  • Amtrak Cascades
    Amtrak Cascades
    The Amtrak Cascades is a passenger train route operated by Amtrak in partnership with the states of Washington and Oregon in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and the province of British Columbia in Canada...

  • Articulated car
    Articulated car
    Articulated cars are rail vehicles which are consist of a number of smaller, lighter cars which are semi-permanently attached to each other and which share common trucks. They are much longer than single passenger cars, and on the TGV Réseau, for example, 8 cars are joined this way...


  • EMD LWT12
    EMD LWT12
    The EMD LWT12 was an experimental diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1956 and 1958, and designed to pull light high-speed passenger trains...

  • FM P-12-42
    FM P-12-42
    The P-12-42, also known as the Speed Merchant, was a streamlined, locomotive built between 1957–1958 by Fairbanks-Morse, specifically to operate on each end of the Talgo train produced by American Car and Foundry...

  • Talgo XXI

  • Tilting train
    Tilting train
    A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about or seated passengers to feel squashed by the outboard armrest due to...

  • UAC TurboTrain
  • Wheelset (railroad)
    Wheelset (railroad)
    A wheelset is the wheel-axle assembly of a railroad car. The frame assembly beneath each end of a car, railcar or locomotive that holds the wheelsets is called the bogie...



External links

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