The so-called Austauschbauart wagons were German railway vehicles produced from the late 1920s onwards which had common components built to agreed standards.
The German term Austauschbau ('interchangeable component manufacture') is a manufacturing concept. The idea was initially used in the field of mechanical engineering, but is now the basis for industrial mass production techniques.
Fundamentals
The basis of Austauschbau manufacture is that:
Any quantity of part 'A' produced at different times and in different places, must match any quantity of a similarly produced part 'B' without further finishing being required.
In short, it is a system of common, mandatory, standard production tolerances and fits that are specified for components, based on their function. To comply with the standards, special machines and tools are used that also meet precise tolerances. In addition, measurement tools and training are needed, to ensure compliance with the guidelines, both during manufacture and as part of quality control afterwards. Part of the principle is to design in as many standard parts as possible - screws, bolts, etc. - right from the concept stage. Austauschbau has enabled the division of labour and specialisation in modern industry, leading to economic mass production of complex machines, tools and vehicles.
From about 1921, by order of the Reich Transport Ministry (RVM), almost all goods wagons were marked with the name of their owner, "Deutsche Reichsbahn", the name of a so-called "class district" (Gattungsbezirk), a wagon number ( Wagennummer) and category letters (Gattungszeichen). The wagon bodies were painted in red-brown livery (paint number 11a), the wagon roofs in light grey (paint number 47) and the chassis, railings, etc., in a black colour (paint numbers 14,24,33).
In 1927 the DR switched over to standard colours (Einheitsfarben) based on the RAL colour system 840-B. From 1940, the livery colours were changed again, for example, from December 1941 the iron roofs of covered wagons were painted grey-black (RA 7021) and no longer in green-grey, and, from 1942, most of the wagons only bore the letters "DR", the name of the class district, a wagon number and a category letter.
From 1921 all goods wagons with the same or similar functions were grouped into so-called class districts which were the names of German cities, mostly those in which there was a Reichsbahn divisional HQ. From 1926, the DRG introduced the following additional class districts:
Additional class districts of the Deutsche Reichsbahn from 1926
Class districts
Category letters
Wagon type
Design
Period
Königsberg
O
Open wagon
Austauschbauart
from 1924
Trier, later Saarbrücken
G, R, Gk
Ferry van
Austauschbauart
1927–1935
Wuppertal, formerly Elberfeld
K
Lidded wagon
State railways, Verbandsbauart, Austauschbauart
from 1930
German Austauschbauart railway vehicles
From the mid-1920s, in the spirit of such interchangeable component manufacture, the Deutsche Reichsbahn began to use a greater number of standard parts. The idea was that, by specifying tight production tolerances, to enable the easy interchangeability of as many part as possible both within and between various vehicle classes, in order to make maintenance cheaper and easier. To that end the Joint Wagon Standards Committee (Allgemeine Wagennormungsausschuss or Awana), as well as the German Institute for Standardisation or DIN, developed the relevant norms. The construction of wagons to these principles began in 1927.
Whilst the various goods wagons that resulted are frequently classified as Austauschbauart wagons, when it comes to passenger coaches the term is only applied to the regular variants of the so-called 'thunderboxes' (Donnerbüchsen).
Standard goods wagons
The first Austauschbauart goods wagons were based on the extremely successful Verbandsbauart or DSV wagons. Of the original 11 types of DSV wagon, eight were standardised into Austauschbau versions and built in significant quantities. The two short open wagon (O) types were not longer up-to-date, so that no A6 wagons and only 32 A1 wagons were made. Also outmoded were the cradle wagons (A5) produced in a small batch of 26 units. Their role had been subsumed in the meantime by the eight-wheeled rail wagons (Schienenwagen) built in large numbers.
The wagons were initially fitted with Kunze-Knorr brakes. Several were built to be adaptable for Soviet broad gauge and designated with the letter secondary letter r. From 1933, the transition from rivetted to welded technology reduced the dead weight of the vehicles and increased the maximum load correspondingly. At about the same time the Hildebrandt-Knorr brake became standard, so that the majority of welded wagons were equipped with them.
In the middle of the 1930s, several types appeared with a longer axle base that enable faster running. Some of these wagons were equipped with steam heating pipes (secondary letter h) in order to enable their inclusion in passenger trains.
The numbers of Austauschbauart wagons never approached those of the DSV wagons because, to begin with, the worldwide economic crisis caused a reduction in the demand for transportation. Only with the start of the Second World War did the transport requirement rise again. As a result, the Oppeln (from 1937) and Stuttgart (from 1938) classes quickly became the most numerous Austauschbauart wagons built by far.
All these vehicles were of robust construction, in contrast with their successors the wartime wagon classes (Kriegsbauart), which meant that they remained in service with both German railway administrations for decades after the war without much modification.
Covered vans "G(r) Kassel", "G(r)(h)s Oppeln"
Late success: the "short Oppeln" built from 1937 rapidly became the most numerous Austauschbau goods wagon.
The covered vans of the Kassel class were based on the DSV's A2 wagon, the most striking differences being the use of a barrel roof instead of a flat roof and the brakeman's cab being located at floor level directly on the undercarriage rather than being elevated. The wagon body was stabilised by a diagonal reinforcing brace in the sections of wall next to the doors. In order to be able to use the undercarriage of the Om wagon (see below), the wagon body was shortened by 200mm, so that the loading length was now only 7,720mm.
From 1937 the axle base was increased to 6,000mm in order to give it better riding qualities; as a result the top speed could be set at 90km/h (secondary letter s). These exclusively welded wagons were grouped into the Oppeln class. The "short Oppeln" was the most numerous Austauschbauart with 28,000 units being built. In contrast to the "long Oppeln", (see below), it had a triangular strut frame.
Eight-wheeled rail wagon "SSl(a) Köln"
This flat wagon, built from 1928, was longer and, at 40 tons, also had a higher maximum load than its Verbandsbauart predecessor based on technical drawing A3. The most obvious new feature was the fish belly girder. All wagons had a hand brake. On the welded versions which appeared from 1934 there was an open, foldaway brakeman's platform instead of the brakeman's cab (secondary letter a), in order to be able to transport longer loads over the ends of the wagon.
The Austauschbau stake wagon was 600mm longer than the A4DSV wagon, so that the undercarriage now matched that of the "GlDresden" (see below). Optically the wagons can be recognised easily by their trapezoidal strut frames. Most of the 1,600 or so wagons were fitted with wheelsets for transition to broad gauge. Between 1936 and 1938 about 1,200 welded wagons were built with three-dimensional, diagonal strut frames and without hand brakes. They were also fitted with Kunze-Knorr brakes, the only mass-produced, welded wagons to get them.
Rms Stuttgart with 8m axle base, after removal of stakes and waybill basket, finally used as a slag wagon
From 1938 the axle base was increased from 7,000mm to 8,000mm and the wagons equipped with a three-dimensional, diagonal strut frame again. This stable design enabled a top speed of 90km/h and, from 1943, the maximum load to be raised to 20 tons (secondary letter m). The other design innovations were driven by the requirements of the Wehrmacht. For example, the end walls, made entirely from steel, served simultaneously as gangways and, as with the "SSlaKöln"(see above), the brakeman's cab was omitted in favour of a folding brakeman's platform. For strategic reasons the secondary letter r was not, at first, written on the broad-gauge-compatible vehicles. Almost 24,000 of these robust vehicles were built up to 1943. In 1994 more than 1000 examples entered the DB AG, not being retired until the end of 1997.
Lidded wagons "K Elberfeld / Wuppertal"
These lidded wagons were longer (length over buffers with/without hand brake: 9,100mm/9,800mm) and had a greater axle base (4,000mm) than their forebears designed on the basis of technical drawing A7. The side walls were now divided into two panels by a vertical brace either side of the door. With the renaming of the recently formed town of Barmen-Elberfeld to Wuppertal in 1930 the designation of this class also changed.
Livestock wagons "V Altona / Hamburg"
Just like the A8DSV wagon, a livestock van also appeared in Austauschbau configuration that, in terms of dimensions, maximum load and technical properties, was the same as the covered van (see above). Initially built with rivetted technology, in 1936/37 another 27 welded wagons were built, all without hand brakes. With the absorption of Altona into Hamburg, the class name also changed from 1938.
Large volume covered vans "Gl(t)(r)(h)(s) Dresden", covered vans "G(e)hs Oppeln"
Dresden Gltrhs
These large volume, covered goods wagons can be distinguished from the A9DSV wagon version by their different roof shape, trapezoidal strut frame and diagonal braces on the wagon body in the section next to the door. They were built in rivetted and, later, in welded form in various configurations: with end doors on one or both ends and sometimes with exchangeable wheelsets and/or steam heating pipes. The Gl wagons were often used in Leig-Einheit pairs for the transportation of express, part-load goods.
From 1933 onwards, 650 Dresden class wagons were built, still in rivetted form, with an axle base increased from 7,000mm to 7,700mm. These demonstrated excellent running qualities and were therefore permitted to be used at speeds up to 90km/h (secondary letter s). However it was problematic that the wagons did not fit on most weighbridges due to their long axle base. Even the wagons built from 1935 with a 7,000mm axle base, were in spite of their long overhang, authorised for 90km/h running.
After these experiences a completely new goods wagon was developed and built from 1934. It was produced only with a hand brake, and had a 7,000mm axle base and overall length over buffers of 10,800mm. It had, like the Gl Dresden with a 7,700mm axle base, a trapezoidal strut frame and very good riding qualities as a result of its short overhang. Because its size was between that of the Gl and G wagons, it was grouped into the newly formed Oppeln class. To distinguish it from the later, shorter, type (see above) it is often referred to as the "long Oppeln".
Open goods wagons "Om Königsberg, Breslau, Essen"
The open goods wagons of the Königsberg class, with a 20-ton maximum load were manufactured from 1927 in Austauschbau form. They could barely be distinguished from the A10Verbandsbauart versions which had been built from 1923. As a result, the literature often wrongly cites the first year of manufacture of the Austauschbau form as 1923 or 1924. Its 9,100mm long undercarriage over buffers (9,800mm with hand brake) had a 4,500mm axle base and was also used for the other wagon classes "GKassel"(see above) and "VAltona"(see above) as well as numerous special and private goods wagons.
From 1935 to 1939 close to 4,000 welded Om wagons appeared, without handbrakes, that were grouped into the Breslau and Essen classes.
From 1939 the production of these wagons in Germany was halted in favour of the larger Omm wartime open wagons (Kriegsbauart) with a 25-ton maximum load. By contrast, in several occupied territories during the Second World War, rivetted Königsberg class wagons were built in significant quantities, so that between 1927 and 1941 a total of just under 20,000 examples were produced.
The Om wagons were retired by the DB in the 1960s, but they were still indispensable in the DR in East Germany until the 1970s.
Rail wagons "Sm Augsburg"
This four-wheeled, flat wagon with 8,000mm axle base, 12,988mm loading length, 20 ton maximum load and no hand brake was built from 1927. It differed from the Verbandsbauart version based on technical drawing A11 in a large number of design details. Including the welded wagons, a total of about 700 were built up to 1938.
Only 20 units were made in 1939 with fish belly girders and interchangeable wheelsets, and classified as "Smr Augsburg". The design was however too expensive in comparison with the "Rs Stuttgart" (see above).
Despite all attempts at standardisation the 'special goods wagon' group became ever larger. Many standard components like the undercarriage with a 4,500mm axle base, were used here. There was a range of wagons for special purposes, that were often designed to facilitate loading and unloading:
As early as 1923 (thus to start with, not built as Austauschbau versions), four-wheeled, refrigerated vans (Kühlwagen) were built with modern insulation that, unlike the insulated vans used previously, were also suitable for the transportation of fish and frozen meat (Class Gk... Berlin).
For ferry services with England, covered vans (Gfh), refrigerated vans (Gfkhs) and stake wagons (Rfh), all with a smaller loading gauge, were built from 1927. They were similar to the rivetted Austauschbau wagons (Class Trier, from 1935: Saarbrücken).
Eight-wheeled, covered vans were procured in 1934 (Class GGhs Dresden). These had a loading room and were significantly bigger than Gl vans Because they were very costly to build and maintain in comparison with four-wheeled vehicles, they were only produced in small numbers. Equally rare were the special vans for racehorses (GGvwehs Dresden).
The Talbot ballast hoppers with controllable discharge were built from 1926 and classified as departmental wagons. They were manufactured from 1928 in large numbers in a revised design based on Austauschbau principles. In the following years the design was changed several times.
For coal transportation in the Saar a four-wheeled hopper, with rapid discharge, was developed from that of the Prussian state railways (Otm(m) Mainz).
Coal, coke and ore transportation over long distances could be achieved smoothly and considerably more efficiently from 1924 using trains composed of saddle-bottomed wagons (Sattelwagen) (Class OOt(n) Oldenburg, from 1935: Saarbrücken).
For the conveyance of coal and coke from inland ports to the iron works in the Ruhrgebiet, special bucket wagons (Kübelwagen) were developed in 1933 (Ok Nürnberg).
Special well wagons were built in small series or as one-offs to various sizes and maximum loads (Class U).
In addition there was a great number of private goods wagons, e.g. fishtank wagons for live fish, beer vans and wine wagons, heated fruit vans, dry bulk goods wagons (for goods in powder form), tank and carboy wagons, all of which used components of the Austauschbau wagons as far as possible.
A mineral wagon or coal truck is a small open-topped railway goods wagon used in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to carry coal, ores and other mine products.
The Adler was the first locomotive that was successfully used commercially for the rail transport of passengers and goods in Germany. The railway vehicle was designed and built in 1835 by the British railway pioneers George and Robert Stephenson in the English city of Newcastle. It was delivered to the Bavarian Ludwig Railway for service between Nuremberg and Fürth. It ran officially for the first time there on 7 December 1835. The Adler was a steam locomotive of the Patentee type with a wheel arrangement of 2-2-2 or 1A1. The Adler was equipped with a tender of type 2 T 2. It had a sister locomotive, the Pfeil.
Bavarian branch lines comprised nearly half the total railway network in Bavaria, a state in the southeastern Germany that was a kingdom in the days of the German Empire. The construction era for branch lines lasted from 1872, when the first route, from Siegelsdorf to Langenzenn, was opened, to 1930, when the last section of the branch from Gößweinstein to Behringersmühle went operational.
The German term Verbandsbauart describes both a type of goods wagon as well as a type of tram.
Goods wagons or freight wagons, also known as goods carriages, goods trucks, freight carriages or freight trucks, are unpowered railway vehicles that are used for the transportation of cargo. A variety of wagon types are in use to handle different types of goods, but all goods wagons in a regional network typically have standardized couplers and other fittings, such as hoses for air brakes, allowing different wagon types to be assembled into trains. For tracking and identification purposes, goods wagons are generally assigned a unique identifier, typically a UIC wagon number, or in North America, a company reporting mark plus a company specific serial number.
The system of German railway wagon classes (Wagengattungen) was introduced in Germany in 1902 and 1905 by the Prussian state railways based on their system of norms, and was soon taken up by the other state railways (Länderbahnen). On the formation of the Deutsche Reichsbahn, the system became mandatory across the whole of Germany. In the course of the years more and more adjustments to it were made. It was finally replaced between 1964 and 1968 when the two German railway administrations - the Deutsche Bundesbahn and the Deutsche Reichsbahn - adopted the internationally standard UIC classifications for passenger coaches and goods wagons. Today, the system is still regularly being used for narrow gauge goods wagons, because these were not generally given UIC designations, as well as on many historical vehicles.
The Royal Bavarian State Railways had, at different times, three different goods wagon classification systems that roughly correspond to the early, middle and late period of the state railway era in Bavaria:
In German railway engineering, norms (Normalien) are standards for the design and production of railway vehicles. In the 1880s and 1890s, Prussian norms were developed for the locomotives, tenders and wagons of the Prussian state railways under the direction of the railway director responsible for railway engineering, Moritz Stambke. Later, these were largely adopted by the other state railways (Länderbahnen) in Germany.
Kriegsbauart refers to railway goods wagon classes that were developed during the Second World War for the Deutsche Reichsbahn. The start of the war was an arbitrary dividing line for the classification of goods wagons, and did not represent any technological change. In the period shortly before the war, goods wagons were already being designed from a military perspective. This was particularly true for the stake wagons of 1938, which are occasionally referred to as a 'pre-war class' (Vorkriegsbauart) of wagons.
Open wagons form a large group of railway goods wagons designed primarily for the transportation of bulk goods that are not moisture-retentive and can usually be tipped, dumped or shovelled. The International Union of Railways (UIC) distinguishes between ordinary wagons and special wagons (F/6). Open wagons often form a significant part of a railway company's goods wagon fleet; for example, forming just under 40% of the Deutsche Bahn's total goods wagon stock in Germany.
Flat wagons, as classified by the International Union of Railways (UIC), are railway goods wagons that have a flat, usually full-length, deck and little or no superstructure. By contrast, open wagons have high side and end walls and covered goods wagons have a fixed roof and sides. Flat wagons are often designed for the transportation of goods that are not weather-sensitive. Some flat wagons are able to be covered completely by tarpaulins or hoods and are therefore suitable for the transport of weather-sensitive goods. Unlike a "goods wagon with opening roof", the loading area of a flat is entirely open and accessible once the cover is removed.
A covered goods wagon or van is a railway goods wagon which is designed for the transportation of moisture-susceptible goods and therefore fully enclosed by sides and a fixed roof. They are often referred to simply as covered wagons, and this is the term used by the International Union of Railways (UIC). Since the introduction of the international classification for goods wagons by the UIC in the 1960s a distinction has been drawn between ordinary and special covered wagons. Other types of wagon, such as refrigerated vans and goods wagons with opening roofs, are closely related to covered wagons from a design point of view. Similar freight cars in North America are called boxcars.
The covered goods wagons of classes Glrhs Dresden and Gltrhs Dresden were first placed in service in Germany by the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft in 1937. The wartime (Kriegsbauart) wagon, the DRB Glmhs Leipzig, and the wartime passenger wagon, the DRB MCi-43, were based on the Dresden classes.
The International Union of Railways groups all special classes of railway goods wagon into Class U in its goods wagon classification system.
The Victorian Railways used a variety of both 4-wheel and bogie open wagons for the transport of a wide range of loads.
The fleet of Great Western Railway wagons was both large and varied as it carried the wide variety of goods traffic on the Great Western Railway (GWR) in the United Kingdom. This was the railway company that operated for the longest period of time in the country and covered a large geographical area that included big cities such as London, industrialised areas including the West Midlands, areas of coal and mineral mining such as South Wales, and Somerset and other important agricultural districts. In 1902 the company owned 59,036 wagons, and by 1926 this had risen to 88,580.
The wagon with opening roof is a type of railway goods wagon that is, nowadays, defined and standardised by the International Union of Railways (UIC) as Class "T". They are a large category of rail vehicle, predominantly used for the transport of hygroscopic bulk commodities such as cement, plaster, lime, potash and grain.
The Victorian Railways used a variety of air-cooled and iced wagons for the transport of all manner of goods. This page covers the history and development of the various classes, and how they changed through their lives.
Goods wagons of welded construction were developed and built by the Deutsche Reichsbahn in Germany from 1933 to about 1945. With the introduction of welding technology in 1933 almost all wagon components were joined by welding and no longer by rivetting. This enabled goods wagons to be designed, for example, for higher speeds or for higher payloads through the use of different types of steel and other engineering changes, but their further development was so heavily influenced by the exigencies of the Second World War that, as early as 1939, the Deutsche Reichsbahn had to temper the design of goods wagons to the new economic circumstances. Because there were overlaps in the change from the Austauschbauart - goods wagons made with interchangeable components - to the new welded classes, the period of the changeover cannot be exactly defined. Several standard goods wagons and their classes are covered in other articles. Goods wagons built during the Second World War that were purely intended for military transport use, are covered under the article on Kriegsbauart - wartime classes.
Class districts were a classification system for railway goods wagons used by the Deutsche Reichsbahn (1920–1945) in Germany between the wars.
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