DB Class VT 12.5

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DB Class VT 12.5
DB Class 612/912

612-800-19-17.jpg

Classes 612 (VT12.5) and 613 (VT12.6, ex VT08.5) at the Brunswick depot in 1983
In service 1953–1985
Manufacturer Waggonfabrik Josef Rathgeber (except 1957 VMs: Waggon- und Maschinenbau GmbH Donauwörth)
Constructed
  • 1953 (VT+VM+VS × 4),
  • 1957 (remainder)
Number built
  • VT: 12
  • VM: 13
  • VS: 4 (+5 from VT 08.5)
Number in service Nil
Number preserved
  • VT: 2
  • VM: 2
Formation
  • 2-car: VT+VS
  • 3-car: VT+VM+VS
  • 3-car: VT+VM+VT
  • 4-car: VT+VM+VM+VT
Fleet numbers
  • VT12 501–512 → 612 501–512
  • VM12 501–513 → 912 501–513
  • VS12 501–504 → 912 601–604
  • VS12 505–509 → 913 609–613
Operator(s) DB
Specifications
Train length 3-car: 77.81 m (255 ft 3 in)
Maximum speed 140 km/h (87 mph)
Weight 3-car: 121.4 tonnes (119.5 long tons; 133.8 short tons)
Transmission diesel-hydraulic
UIC classification 3-car: B′2′+2′2′+2′2′
Safety system(s) Sifa / Indusi I54

The VT 125 is a former diesel multiple unit commissioned by the Deutsche Bundesbahn from 1953 onwards. It was commonly used with either two or three car configurations, using the VM 12 middle car and VS 12 driving van trailer. Three-car trains were usually made up of two motor units and one unpowered middle car. The trainsets were routinely made up from twelve driving cars, four control cars and 13 middle cars and used in city express services. The VT 125 was used in regional traffic, with first and second class saloon seating.

Diesel multiple unit Diesel-powered railcar designed to be used in formations of 2 or more cars

A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also generally classed as DMUs. Diesel-powered units may be further classified by their transmission type: diesel–electric (DEMU), diesel–mechanical (DMMU) or diesel–hydraulic (DHMU).

Deutsche Bundesbahn state railway of the Federal Republic of Germany (1949–1993)

The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained the state railway of West Germany until after German reunification, when it was merged with the former East German Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) to form Deutsche Bahn AG, which came into existence on 1 January 1994.

Contents

History

With the experience gained from the VT 92 test car, the VT 125 was conceived for regional services and worked these until 1984. Four sets of a motor unit, centre coach and control coach were supplied in 1953 as VT/VM/VS 12 501–504. In 1957 eight motor units, VT 12 505–512, and nine centre coaches, VM 12 505–513 were added. Five superfluous VS 08.5 units were converted into control cars in about 1957 and designated VS 12 505–509. This second delivery was also aimed at train ferry services to Denmark. Until 1971 the long distance variant, VT 085 was adapted to the VT 125 and, after its conversion, designated as the VT 126. From 1968 the VT 125 bore the EDV class number 612, the VT 126 was redesignated as the Class 613. After initially operating from Cologne and Dortmund the DMUs were based for many years at the Hamburg-Altona railway depot and, from 1982, stationed at the Brunswick depot. [1]

Train ferry ferryboat carrying railroad cars onboard

A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as distinguished from "auto ferries" used to transport automobiles. The wharf has a ramp, and a linkspan or "apron", balanced by weights, that connects the railway proper to the ship, allowing for the water level to rise and fall with the tides.

Technology

The VT 125 was derived from the express DMU, the VT 085. Externally it differed from the VT 085 only in that it had centre doors and wider end doors. On delivery the four first trainsets also differed in also having 3rd class accommodation; this was changed to 2nd class accommodation after the 1956 class reform. Another difference was to do with the heating system: the VT 125 had central, oil-fired, hot water heating for up to three coaches which was housed in the power car, while the VT 08 had independent oil-fired heating in each coach. This restricted the ability to freely combine it with the VT 08.5.

The driving car had a cab which was somewhat larger than that of the VT 08.5, but, like the latter, had a luggage and postal section. In addition, there was an open compartment with 44 seats and aisle 2+2 for the 3rd class (2nd class) and a depth of 1600 mm. In the centre coach there was a similar open compartment in one half; and in the other half a 3rd class open compartment with 28 seat plus, towards the end, a 2nd class open compartment with 20 seats and 2,000 mm depth. In the driving car there was a 2nd class open compartment with 20 seats and a 3rd class open with 16 seats at one end and, towards the driving cab, two 3rd class opens with 24 and 16 seats respectively.

Open coach

An open coach is a railway passenger coach that does not have compartments or other divisions within it and in which the seats are arranged in one or more open plan areas with a centre aisle. The first open coaches appeared in the first half of the 19th century in the USA. The prototype for their design were the passenger cabins in the river steamers which were then widespread in America. As a result of their origin they were originally known in Europe as "American system passenger coaches" or "American coaches" and the idea soon caught on in European railway companies. Initially they were mainly used for rural regional services, whilst urban local trains and local-distance services were dominated by compartment coaches. Several European railways, for example the Royal Württemberg State Railways or the Swiss Northeastern Railway, however, preferred open coaches from the start for all types of train.

Surviving examples

In 1988 the DB leisure group BSW-Gruppe VT612 Stuttgarter Rössle took over diesel power car 612 506/507 with centre cars 912 501 and 507 for a museum project (driving car 912 601 was used for spares). After successful restoration the driving car was christened in honour of the heraldic stallion on Stuttgart's coat of arms by the Lord Mayor of the city, Manfred Rommel, and given the name Stuttgarter Rössle ("Little Stuttgart Stallion"). In 2006 the Stuttgarter Rössle was taken over by the DB ZugBus Regionalverkehr Alb-Bodensee (RAB), a sister company of Deutsche Bahn. It has since been used for heritage trips. In 2008 it was stored for renovations. On 2 December 2013, the driving car was reassembled. A problem in the power train of the driving bogie of the TK 507 prevented the brakes being replaced in 2014 in by the RAB at the Ulm Depot. On 22 August 2015 the Stuttgarter Rössle was transferred to Ulm by locomotive no. 218 410. It is currently being worked on at the Fahrzeugwerk Miraustraße (FWM) near Berlin.

Stuttgart Place in Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Stuttgart is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Stuttgart is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known locally as the "Stuttgart Cauldron." It lies an hour from the Swabian Jura and the Black Forest. Its urban area has a population of 609,219, making it the sixth largest city in Germany. 2.7 million people live in the city's administrative region and another 5.3 million people in its metropolitan area, making it the fourth largest metropolitan area in Germany. The city and metropolitan area are consistently ranked among the top 20 European metropolitan areas by GDP; Mercer listed Stuttgart as 21st on its 2015 list of cities by quality of living, innovation agency 2thinknow ranked the city 24th globally out of 442 cities and the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranked the city as a Beta-status world city in their 2014 survey.

Manfred Rommel German politician

Manfred Rommel was a German politician belonging to the Christian Democratic Union, who served as Mayor of Stuttgart from 1974 until 1996. Rommel's policies were described as tolerant and liberal, and he was one of the most popular municipal politicians in Germany. He was the recipient of numerous foreign honours. He was the only son of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and his wife Lucia Maria Mollin (1894–1971), and contributed to the establishment of museums in his father's honour. He was also known for his friendship with George Patton IV and David Montgomery, the sons of his father's two principal military adversaries.

Deutsche Bahn State-owned national railway company of Germany

Deutsche Bahn AG is a German railway company. Headquartered in Berlin, it is a private joint-stock company (AG), with the Federal Republic of Germany being its single shareholder.

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References

  1. Teigeler, W., Jahrbuch des Eisenbahnwesens, 1968, p. 175.