Brohltalbahn VT 50
| Brohltalbahn VT 50 | |
|---|---|
 historical photo
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| Numbering: | Brohltalbahn VT 50 Brohltalbahn VB 50 |
| Quantity: | 1 |
| Manufacturer: | DWK Kiel |
| Year(s) of manufacture: | 1926 |
| Retirement: | 1939 |
| Axis formula: | (1A)(A1) |
| Gauge: | 1000 mm (meter gauge) |
| Length over coupling: | 18.000 mm |
| Pivot spacing: | 12.500 mm |
| Bogie axle stand: | 1.550 mm |
| Empty mass: | 23.000 kg |
| Service Mass: | 30.600 kg |
| Top speed: | 35 km/h |
| Installed Power: | 150 hp (110 kW) |
| Engine Type: | DWK |
| Engine design: | Six-cylinder four-stroke petrol engine |
| Rated speed: | 1.000/min |
| Power Transfer: | mechanical |
| Seating: | 16 2nd class 55 3rd class |
| Classes: | 2./3. |
The Brohltalbahn VT 50 was a four-axle narrow gauge powered rail car for the Brohltalbahn. It was manufactured in 1926 by Deutsche Werke Kiel AG in Kiel and was intended to streamline the company’s operations.
The railcar was converted to wood gas power in 1932 and to a sidecar in 1939. The car still exists today and is operated by the company as a Vulkan express.
History and use
The VB 50 as Volcano Express
In order to end the mixed traffic on their network, the Brohltalbahn purchased a railcar from DWK in Kiel and designated it VT 50. With this vehicle, passenger service could be carried out in a pure manner and the travel time on the Brohltalbahn between the end points could be halved.[1]
After the advent of diesel railcars, the VT 50 was no longer economical and was equipped with a wood gasification boiler.[2] This saved fuel and allowed the use of domestic raw materials. The cost of benzene operation was about RM 30 per operating day, it could be reduced to RM 5.4 with the wood gasifier. By 1934, the railcar had clocked up 430,000 kilometres of mileage since entering service.[3] Before the conversion, the consumption of benzene is said to have been 100 l/100 km travel.[1] With the addition of further railcars of the KBE 305…311 series and their conversion to diesel engines, there was no longer any use for the VT 50. It was converted into a sidecar in 1939 by removing the engine.
Thus the car remained in service until the end of regular passenger train service in 1961. It was used with the 11 sm locomotive in the last passenger train on the Brohltalbahn. The car was preserved and used as a line passenger car.[4]
After the first special trips with the Vulkan-Express were carried out on the remaining section of the Brohltalbahn in 1977, this offer was carried out regularly from 1992 by the Interessengemeinschaft Brohltal-Schmalspureisenbahn (IBS). The VN 50 was converted into a saloon car for this purpose.[4]
Constructive features
The railcar belonged to the DWK model series V.[5] In this model series, for the first time on DWK railcars, the entire machine system, including its trough-shaped machine support frame in the center of the bogies, was mounted in the track pans.[6] The machine system could be replaced without lifting the car body.[7] To do this, the machinery was freely accessible and replaceable by lifting flaps. The wagon body was of all-steel construction as a riveted design and had the typical head shape of the DWK wagons.[8] It was supported by coil springs on the cradle beams of the bogies. The underframe carries the box frame, which is covered with two millimetre thick sheet metal. All sheet metal joints are riveted. The interior was made of plywood.
The petrol engine transmitted its power to a four-speed gearbox via a dry clutch operated by foot. This was shifted mechanically with gear shifts and allowed speeds of up to 35 km/h in the individual gears. The inner wheel sets of each bogie were driven by cardan shafts and axle drives. The wheel sets were mounted in roller bearings.
For water cooling, several finned radiators were arranged on the roof. The passenger compartment was heated by the engine cooling water. Also on the roof was the fuel tank. The fuel was fed to the carburettor via protected pipelines through the natural gradient.[7]
Literature
- Gerd Wolff: 90 Years of the Brohl Valley Railroad. EK Verlag, Freiburg 1991, ISBN 3-88255-530-0.
- Dr. Rolf Löttgers: Die Triebwagen der Deutschen Werke Kiel. Uhle & Kleimann, Lübbecke 1988, ISBN 3-922657-61-3, pp. 70-71.
Web links
- Photo of the VB 50 on the Brohltalbahn in 1967 by Eisenbahnstiftung Joachim Schmidt
- Website about the history of the Brohltalbahn with mention of the VT 50
- Photo of the VB 50 as saloon car for the Vulkan Express
Individual references
- ↑ a b Website about the Brohltalbahn with mention of the VT 50
- ↑ Photo of the VT 50 with wood gasifier
- ↑ Dr. Rolf Löttgers: The Railcars of the Deutsche Werke Kiel. Uhle & Kleimann, Lübbecke 1988, ISBN 3-922657-61-3, pp. 70-71.
- ↑ a b Presentation of the VB 50 as a salon car
- ↑ Rolf Löttgers: The railcars of the Deutsche Werke Kiel. Publisher Uhle and Kleimann, Lübbecke 1988, ISBN 3-922657-61-3, page 154
- ↑ Rolf Löttgers: The railcars of the Deutsche Werke Kiel. Publisher Uhle and Kleimann, Lübbecke 1988, ISBN 3-922657-61-3, Page 51
- ↑ a b Rolf Löttgers: The railcars of the Deutsche Werke Kiel. Publisher Uhle and Kleimann, Lübbecke 1988, ISBN 3-922657-61-3, page 52
- ↑ Heinz Kurz: Die Triebwagen der Reichsbahn-Bauarten. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 1988, ISBN 3-88255-803-2, p. 11
- Rail vehicle (track gauge 1000 mm)
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