Wismar railbus
Encyclopedia
The 'Hanover version' of the Wismar railbus (Wismarer Schienenbus) was developed in the early 1930s as a light railbus
for economical passenger services on branch lines in Germany
.
operations.
In 1932 the Triebwagen- und Waggonfabrik Wismar AG
(Wismar Railcar and Coach Company) built a light, twin-axled railbus, that could be made cheaply because it used numerous components from the manufacture of road vehicles. For example, 40 horsepower
Ford
petrol engine
s were installed, together with their drives. The use of road vehicle drives with five forward gears and one reverse gear made the installation of two engines necessary. These were located outside the vehicle body and gave the railbus an unmistakable appearance.
The Wismar railbus was very much of interest to both Kleinbahnen and private railways due to its low costs. In 1932 a prototype was delivered for the Lüneburg–Soltau Kleinbahn. It was so successful that the Hanover State Kleinbahn Office (Landeskleinbahnamt Hannover) ordered a batch of nine vehicles for a number of Kleinbahnen.
The Wismar railbus had several advantages. Firstly, it was cheap: at 25,000 Reichsmarks, roughly half the cost of a normal railcar. Secondly, it was easy to maintain - the engines were very accessible and spare parts could be obtained from any Ford dealer - and, thirdly, it was relatively comfortable because, although it only offered 3rd class accommodation, the seats were upholstered.
In 1936 the Wismar coach factory offered 5 different variants:
In practice, however, very few vehicles were delivered exactly in accordance with their basic specification. Generally vehicles were manufactured to the requirements of the customer and about a third could not really be grouped easily into one of the basic classes.
Up to 1941 59 units of these vehicles were produced and delivered to various railway companies at home and abroad in different rail gauges. In 1935 the Deutsche Reichsbahn
took over four railbuses from the Saar railways, that were numbered 133 009 to 133 012, four, more powerful, railbuses with a longer wheelbase
were given numbers 135 077 to 080. Although several of these wagons were destroyed during the Second World War or were left abroad after the war had ended, four of these railbuses subsequently joined the Deutsche Bundesbahn
fleet, where they were allocated numbers VT 88 900 to 902 (long wheelbase) and VT 89 900 (short wheelbase).
Following the nationalisation of private railways in the GDR, several examples also ended up in the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn, who allocated them the numbers VT 133 505–510, 513–515 (1,435 mm) and 524–525 (750 mm). Railbuses VT 133 513–514 which were remotored in the early 1960s with 47 hp Phänomen Garant
lorry diesel engines were renumbered at first to VT 135 501–502.
Due to the long engine bonnets at each end of the railbus that housed the motors for driving in either direction, this railbus was nicknamed the 'Pig's Snout' (Schweineschnäuzchen). The vehicles proved to be a real saviour for the Kleinbahnen, because the high costs of the generally loss-making passenger services on north German light branch lines were able to be considerably reduced. Often the Hanover versions of the railbus replaced trains that only consisted of a loco and one or very few coaches, which were therefore very expensive to operate. But it only needed six paying passengers for the railbus to make a profit.
A total of 25 railbuses and 3 trailer cars were also delivered to private railways in Spain between 1933 and 1937. Of the vehicles taken over by the Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles (RENFE) after the nationalisation of the railways in Spain, four railbuses were rebuilt and fitted with more powerful engines. Others were rebuilt into unmotorised luggage vans. All the railbuses in Spain were retired at the end of the 1960s.
One feature of this vehicle were the rubber-sprung wheelsets, with rubber elements being inserted between the tyre and the wheel body. So this design feature, which was used on the ICE
express, is not actually a modern discovery. However, as a result of the short wheelbase of only 3.5 m to 4 m the vehicle tended to hunt slightly.
The prototype had revolving doors, but most of the production models had 740 mm wide sliding doors.
At each end there was an identical motor installation with Ford petrol engines, that drove the first axle via a four-geared drive and cardan shaft. Only the front motor facing the direction of travel was used and was operated by the driver's cab at that end. When shunting or if an engine failed, the railbus could also be driven in reverse.
Students from the Bauhaus
school, the famous German design school, helped with the interiors. That can be seen from the clear shapes and the design of the upholstery. The walls were clad with plywood and the floor covered with linoleum. The seats were upholstered and the windows could be partly wound down. The driver's seat, at the end which was not in use, was folded up so that the entrance remained clear. Heating was initially provided by a fresh air heater using the warmth of the engine; later Webasto heaters were installed as well. The interior was electrically lit.
To begin with, Ford AA motors (the lorry version of the Ford Model A) were used, but in 1935 more powerful Ford BB motors were installed, enabling the top speed to be increased from 50 km/h to 60 km/h. These railbuses may be recognised by the vertical grills on the radiators.
Only two examples of the wood-fired version were built. They had a wood burner installed inside the wagon, replacing a group of seats. These are distinguishable by the missing window.
Later various motors were installed in the rebuilds, the Deutsche Reichsbahn in the GDR using Robur
Typ 4 KVD 12,5 SLR engines.
In order to be able to carry large items of luggage and goods, many railbuses were fitted with roof racks, which were also common on buses. The space next to the bonnets was also often used to attach wire mesh baskets or bicycle racks.
Another new feature was the livery, with a red coach body and beige window strips.
Even various passenger and luggage trailers were offered, but only the Fliegerkommandantur List had one of these trailers delivered from Waggonfabrik Wismar.
Some of the railbuses for the Saar railways were quite different from the standard models. After procuring two of the standard railbuses, two more were ordered with wider doors and benches running fore-and-aft, and a further four railbuses with 6 m wheelbase and diesel motors with common Mylius drives, that enabled the vehicle to be driven with both engines simultaneously and both axles to be driven.
In addition they had 50 hp diesel motors by Humboldt-Deutz
.
include vehicles belonging to the:
examples include vehicles owned by the:
The former DB-VT 89 900 (ex DRG VT 133 010, ex Saarbahn 72) is at present (2008) being restored by railway fans in Wismar.
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...
for economical passenger services on branch 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...
.
History
As early as the 1920s, light branch lines (the so-called Kleinbahnen) were looking for ways to operate lightly used routes as cheaply as possible. The overwhelmingly employed mixed trains were very slow because of the time needed for shunting wagons. In addition, only a few trains ran each day. In order to offer faster and more frequent services, railbuses were procured. Because they tended to be one-offs and the technology was not always fully mature, they were often expensive. So attempts were made to use the experience and components from the manufacture of buses. Experiments with converted buses were not successful as their engines were not powerful enough and, moreover, they were not designed for push-pullPush-pull
Push–pull may refer to:In electronic technology:*Push–pull output, type of electronic circuit*Push–pull converter, in electronics, is a type of DC to DC converter that uses a transformer*Push–pull connector, an electronic cable connector...
operations.
In 1932 the Triebwagen- und Waggonfabrik Wismar AG
Waggonfabrik Wismar
Waggonfabrik Wismar was a manufacturer of railway vehicles from 1894 to 1947. The company was based in Wismar in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in Germany.- History :...
(Wismar Railcar and Coach Company) built a light, twin-axled railbus, that could be made cheaply because it used numerous components from the manufacture of road vehicles. For example, 40 horsepower
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
petrol engine
Petrol engine
A petrol engine is an internal combustion engine with spark-ignition, designed to run on petrol and similar volatile fuels....
s were installed, together with their drives. The use of road vehicle drives with five forward gears and one reverse gear made the installation of two engines necessary. These were located outside the vehicle body and gave the railbus an unmistakable appearance.
The Wismar railbus was very much of interest to both Kleinbahnen and private railways due to its low costs. In 1932 a prototype was delivered for the Lüneburg–Soltau Kleinbahn. It was so successful that the Hanover State Kleinbahn Office (Landeskleinbahnamt Hannover) ordered a batch of nine vehicles for a number of Kleinbahnen.
The Wismar railbus had several advantages. Firstly, it was cheap: at 25,000 Reichsmarks, roughly half the cost of a normal railcar. Secondly, it was easy to maintain - the engines were very accessible and spare parts could be obtained from any Ford dealer - and, thirdly, it was relatively comfortable because, although it only offered 3rd class accommodation, the seats were upholstered.
In 1936 the Wismar coach factory offered 5 different variants:
| Type A | Type B | Type C | Type D | Type E | |
| 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... (mm) |
1,435 | 1,435 | 1,435 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| Wheelbase Wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel... (mm) |
4,400 | 4,000 | 3,500 | 4,000 | 3,500 |
| Length (mm) | 11,610 | 10,100 | 10,100 | 11,150 | 10,100 |
| Width (mm) | 2,902 | 2,902 | 2,902 | 2,430 | 2,430 |
| Weight (kg) | 6,600 | 6,200 | 6,600 | 6,200 | 5,800 |
| Seats | 40+16 | 30+16 | 26+14 | 22+13 | 24+14 |
| Remarks | Toilet Charcoal gas |
Toilet Luggage compartment |
In practice, however, very few vehicles were delivered exactly in accordance with their basic specification. Generally vehicles were manufactured to the requirements of the customer and about a third could not really be grouped easily into one of the basic classes.
Up to 1941 59 units of these vehicles were produced and delivered to various railway companies at home and abroad in different rail gauges. In 1935 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...
took over four railbuses from the Saar railways, that were numbered 133 009 to 133 012, four, more powerful, railbuses with a longer wheelbase
Wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel...
were given numbers 135 077 to 080. Although several of these wagons were destroyed during the Second World War or were left abroad after the war had ended, four of these railbuses subsequently joined 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 '...
fleet, where they were allocated numbers VT 88 900 to 902 (long wheelbase) and VT 89 900 (short wheelbase).
Following the nationalisation of private railways in the GDR, several examples also ended up in the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn, who allocated them the numbers VT 133 505–510, 513–515 (1,435 mm) and 524–525 (750 mm). Railbuses VT 133 513–514 which were remotored in the early 1960s with 47 hp Phänomen Garant
Robur (truck)
Robur was a marque of the Volkseigener Betrieb VEB Robur-Werke Zittau of East Germany . It mainly produced 3-ton trucks. The vehicles were produced in the town of Zittau in what now is South-East Saxony...
lorry diesel engines were renumbered at first to VT 135 501–502.
Due to the long engine bonnets at each end of the railbus that housed the motors for driving in either direction, this railbus was nicknamed the 'Pig's Snout' (Schweineschnäuzchen). The vehicles proved to be a real saviour for the Kleinbahnen, because the high costs of the generally loss-making passenger services on north German light branch lines were able to be considerably reduced. Often the Hanover versions of the railbus replaced trains that only consisted of a loco and one or very few coaches, which were therefore very expensive to operate. But it only needed six paying passengers for the railbus to make a profit.
A total of 25 railbuses and 3 trailer cars were also delivered to private railways in Spain between 1933 and 1937. Of the vehicles taken over by the Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles (RENFE) after the nationalisation of the railways in Spain, four railbuses were rebuilt and fitted with more powerful engines. Others were rebuilt into unmotorised luggage vans. All the railbuses in Spain were retired at the end of the 1960s.
Design
The wagon body rested on a frame consisting of two lattice girders that converged at the front and rear. The girders had holes in them to save weight. The entire construction was welded, which meant that the Wismar railbus was the first fully welded railway vehicle in Germany. Its profiles were creased and the suspension springs were mounted on rubber sections. The entire railbus weighed just 6 tonnes.One feature of this vehicle were the rubber-sprung wheelsets, with rubber elements being inserted between the tyre and the wheel body. So this design feature, which was used on the ICE
Ice
Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...
express, is not actually a modern discovery. However, as a result of the short wheelbase of only 3.5 m to 4 m the vehicle tended to hunt slightly.
The prototype had revolving doors, but most of the production models had 740 mm wide sliding doors.
At each end there was an identical motor installation with Ford petrol engines, that drove the first axle via a four-geared drive and cardan shaft. Only the front motor facing the direction of travel was used and was operated by the driver's cab at that end. When shunting or if an engine failed, the railbus could also be driven in reverse.
Students from the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
school, the famous German design school, helped with the interiors. That can be seen from the clear shapes and the design of the upholstery. The walls were clad with plywood and the floor covered with linoleum. The seats were upholstered and the windows could be partly wound down. The driver's seat, at the end which was not in use, was folded up so that the entrance remained clear. Heating was initially provided by a fresh air heater using the warmth of the engine; later Webasto heaters were installed as well. The interior was electrically lit.
To begin with, Ford AA motors (the lorry version of the Ford Model A) were used, but in 1935 more powerful Ford BB motors were installed, enabling the top speed to be increased from 50 km/h to 60 km/h. These railbuses may be recognised by the vertical grills on the radiators.
Only two examples of the wood-fired version were built. They had a wood burner installed inside the wagon, replacing a group of seats. These are distinguishable by the missing window.
Later various motors were installed in the rebuilds, the Deutsche Reichsbahn in the GDR using Robur
Robur (truck)
Robur was a marque of the Volkseigener Betrieb VEB Robur-Werke Zittau of East Germany . It mainly produced 3-ton trucks. The vehicles were produced in the town of Zittau in what now is South-East Saxony...
Typ 4 KVD 12,5 SLR engines.
In order to be able to carry large items of luggage and goods, many railbuses were fitted with roof racks, which were also common on buses. The space next to the bonnets was also often used to attach wire mesh baskets or bicycle racks.
Another new feature was the livery, with a red coach body and beige window strips.
Even various passenger and luggage trailers were offered, but only the Fliegerkommandantur List had one of these trailers delivered from Waggonfabrik Wismar.
Some of the railbuses for the Saar railways were quite different from the standard models. After procuring two of the standard railbuses, two more were ordered with wider doors and benches running fore-and-aft, and a further four railbuses with 6 m wheelbase and diesel motors with common Mylius drives, that enabled the vehicle to be driven with both engines simultaneously and both axles to be driven.
In addition they had 50 hp diesel motors by Humboldt-Deutz
Deutz AG
Deutz AG is an engine manufacturer, based in Cologne, Germany.-History:The company was founded by Nikolaus Otto, inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine, in 1864 as N. A...
.
Preserved
At least 10 examples have been preserved. See the list of preserved steam locomotives in Germany.Standard gauge
Those of standard gaugeStandard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
include vehicles belonging to the:
- Bochum-Dahlhausen Railway Museum (Bremen-Thedinghausen line, T2)
- Verein Verkehrsamateure und Museumsbahn (Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen VT 0509)
- Darmstadt-Kranichstein Railway MuseumDarmstadt-Kranichstein Railway MuseumThe Darmstadt-Kranichstein Railway Museum a railway museum in the German city of Darmstadt. It is also the largest railway museum in the state of Hesse....
(Lüchow-Schmarsau line, T 141) - Museums-Eisenbahn Minden (Wilstedt-Zeven-Tostedt line, T145)
- Museum Buurtspoorweg Boekelo–Haaksbergen (Delmenhorst-Harpstedt line, T 148)
- Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen (OHE) (VT 0508).
Narrow gauge
Narrow gaugeNarrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
examples include vehicles owned by the:
- Deutscher Eisenbahn-VereinDeutscher Eisenbahn-VereinThe Deutscher Eisenbahn-Verein or DEV was founded in November 1964 as the Deutscher Kleinbahn-Verein . Its purpose was the preservation of a working branch line with all its installations as a living open air museum...
(German Railway Society) in Bruchhausen-VilsenBruchhausen-VilsenBruchhausen-Vilsen is a municipality in the Diepholz district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated southeast of Bremen. The nearby communities of Berxen, Bruchhöfen, Bruchmühlen, Dille, Gehlbergen, Heiligenberg, Homfeld, Nenndorf, Riethausen, Stapelshorn, Wöpse, Oerdinghausen, Scholen,...
(Steinhude Lake railway, T 41, 1000 mm) - Borkum branch line (T 1, 900 mm), still in regular service.
The former DB-VT 89 900 (ex DRG VT 133 010, ex Saarbahn 72) is at present (2008) being restored by railway fans in Wismar.
Literature
- Bohlmann, Dieter-Theodor. Die Wismarer Schienenomnibusse der Bauart Hannover, Zeunert, Gifhorn, 2001 (Reprint), ISBN 3-924335-27-3
- Löttgers, Rolf. Schienenbusse in Deutschland. Die Serienwagen von Henschel, Wismar, Uerdingen und MAN, Franckh, Stuttgart, 1982, ISBN 3-440-05044-0
External links
- Fahrzeugübersicht über Wismarer und andere Schienenbusse
- Der Wismarer Schienenbus des DEV
- Website zur Wismarer Waggonfabrik
- There is a relevant English-language forum at Railways of Germany