VR Class Hr11

Last updated
VR Class Hr11
Hr11 1953.jpg
Hr11 number 1953 at Helsinki railway station in 1965.
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-hydraulic
BuilderValmet Oy
Build date1955
Total produced5
Specifications
Configuration:
   AAR B-B
   UIC B′B′
Gauge 1,524 mm (5 ft)
Wheel diameter960 mm (3 ft 2 in)
Length15.4 m (50 ft 6 in)
Loco weight66.5 tonnes (65.4 long tons; 73.3 short tons)
Transmission Mekydro hydraulic-mechanical
Performance figures
Maximum speed120 km/h (75 mph)
Power output2 × 600 hp (450 kW)
Career
Operators VR
First run1955
Withdrawn1972
DispositionNo 1950 preserved at the Finnish Railway Museum, others scrapped

The VR Class Hr11 was the first class of line-haul diesel locomotives used by Valtionrautatiet (Finnish State Railways). Only five units were built, all delivered by Valmet in 1955. The Maybach diesel engines used in the locomotives proved highly unreliable, resulting in a complete overhaul of the engine-transmission system in 1956–58, but this did not solve all of the reliability problems. The Hr11 series was withdrawn from service in 1972.

Contents

History

VR (Finnish Railways) started a modernization project in the early fifties. VR had a small amount of diesel and gasoline-powered railcars since the 1920s, but in 1952 VR had only steam locomotives.

Modern aluminum-carriage diesel powered express multiple units (Dm3 and Dm4) were introduced in 1952. Related to these orders, VR ordered in 1952 five passenger train diesel locomotives with hydraulic transmission from Valmet Oy, Tampere. The locomotives were delivered in 1955. [1]

Technology

The locomotives had originally two six-cylinder Maybach MD320 diesel engines driving each their own Maybach Mekydro K64B hydraulic-mechanical gearbox. The engines and transmission were placed in the bogies. The engine-transmission units proved to be very unreliable, and in 1956–58 a complete overhaul was done. Among other improvements, the engines were fitted with turbochargers, which increased the power from 450 hp to 600 hp, but simultaneously lowered the RPM from 1700 to 1500 r/min. The new engine designation was Maybach MD325. The gearboxes were changed to another type, Mekydro KL64. After the upgrade, the engines were reasonably reliable, but the reliability of the Maybach Mekydros did not improve significantly. [1]

Operation

The locomotives carried a gray livery, with wine-red broad stripes. The gray color and sleek looks earned it the nickname Lentävä susi (Flying Wolf). They pulled mainly passenger trains between Tampere, Helsinki and Turku. All units were abandoned in 1972.

Preservation

No 1950 is stored at the Finnish Railway Museum.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Locomotive</span> Self-propelled railway vehicle

A locomotive is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the use of these self-propelled vehicles is increasingly common for passenger trains, but rare for freight trains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VR Group</span> State-owned railway company in Finland

VR-Group Plc, commonly known as VR, is a government-owned railway company in Finland. VR's most important function is the operation of Finland's passenger rail services with 250 long-distance and 800 commuter rail services every day. With 7,500 employees and net sales of €1,251 million in 2017, VR is one of the most significant operators in the Finnish public transport market area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diesel locomotive</span> Locomotive powered by a diesel engine

A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels. The most common are diesel-electric locomotives and diesel-hydraulic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 52</span> Class of 74 C-C diesel-hydraulic locomotives

The British Rail Class 52 is a class of 74 Type 4 diesel-hydraulic locomotives built for the Western Region of British Railways between 1961 and 1964. All were given two-word names, the first word being "Western" and thus the type became known as Westerns. They were also known as Wizzos and Thousands. The final Class 52 locomotives were withdrawn from service in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road switcher locomotive</span> Type of railroad locomotive

A road switcher locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive designed to both haul railcars in mainline service and shunt them in railroad yards. Both type and term are North American in origin, although similar types have been used elsewhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 43 (Warship Class)</span> Class of 33 B′B′ 2200hp diesel-hydraulic locomotives

The British Rail Class 43 diesel-hydraulic locomotives were built by the North British Locomotive Company (NBL) from 1960 to 1962. They were numbered D833–D865.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampella</span> Finnish heavy industry manufacturer

Oy Tampella Ab was a Finnish heavy industry manufacturer, a maker of paper machines, locomotives, military weaponry, as well as wood-based products such as packaging. The company was based mainly in the Naistenlahti district of the city of Tampere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 42</span> Diesel-hydraulic railway locomotive used in Great Britain

The British Rail Class 42 Warship diesel-hydraulic locomotives were introduced in 1958. It was apparent at that time that the largest centre of expertise on diesel-hydraulic locomotives was in West Germany. The Western Region of British Railways negotiated a licence with German manufacturers to scale down the German Federal Railway's "V200" design to suit the smaller loading gauge of the British network, and to allow British manufacturers to construct the new locomotives. The resultant design bears a close resemblance, both cosmetically and in the engineering employed, to the original V200 design. Warship locomotives were divided into two batches: those built at BR's Swindon works were numbered in the series D800-D832 and D866-D870, had a maximum tractive effort of 52,400 pounds-force (233,000 N) and eventually became British Rail Class 42. 33 others, D833–D865, were constructed by the North British Locomotive Company and became British Rail Class 43. They were allocated to Bristol Bath Road, Plymouth Laira, Newton Abbot and Old Oak Common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 35</span> Class of diesel-hydraulic locomotives

The British Rail Class 35 is a class of mixed-traffic B-B diesel locomotive with hydraulic transmission. Because of their Mekydro-design hydraulic transmission units, the locomotives became known as the Hymeks. They were numbered D7000-D7100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DB Class V 200</span> Class of 86 German twin-engined diesel-hydraulic locomotives

DB Class V 200 was the first series production diesel-hydraulic express locomotive of the German Deutsche Bundesbahn and – as Am 4/4 – of the SBB-CFF-FFS in Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VR Class Dv12</span>

The Dv12 is the standard Finnish medium-weight diesel-hydraulic road switcher operated by VR. As all the main lines of Finnish railway network have been electrificied, the locomotive is designated mostly to unelectrified, less frequently used side lines. Occasionally it may still pull cargo trains on main lines. It has also been put in service as a shunter, replacing older classes Dv15 and Dv16 as they were retired. A total of 192 locomotives were built by Lokomo and Valmet between the years 1963 and 1984. As of 2022, the oldest Dv12 units still in use are 59 years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krauss-Maffei ML 2200 C'C'</span>

The diesel-hydraulic locomotive ML 2200 C'C' was a 6 axle variant of the DB Class V 200 series of locomotives, which were built for Yugoslav State Railways (JDŽ) by manufacturer Krauss-Maffei.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renfe Class 340</span> Class of Spanish diesel-hydraulic locomotive

The Class 340 of Renfe were a class of 4-axle diesel-hydraulic locomotives built by Krauss-Maffei for the Spanish Railways. The design is similar in outward appearance and technology to the DB Class V 200. 32 units were built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baldwin RP-210</span>

The RP-210 was a streamlined 1,000 hp (750 kW) locomotive built in 1956 by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton, specifically to operate with the experimental, all-aluminum Train-X coaches that were built by the Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company. The model represented Baldwin's attempted entry into the lightweight passenger locomotive market, but only three of the low-slung diesel-hydraulic units were produced. The first RP-210 was built for the New York Central Railroad to power their Ohio Xplorer train between Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, and a pair was purchased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad to double-end their Dan'l Webster, running between New York City and Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VR Class Hr1</span> Finnish steam locomotive

The Hr1 class was the largest passenger express steam locomotive built in Finland. Twenty-two were built between the years 1937–1957. They were numbered 1000–1021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Railways DFH shunting locomotives</span> Class of Chinese diesel-hydraulic locomotives

The China Railways "Dongfang Hong" diesel-hydraulic locomotive classes DFH2, DFH5, DFH6, and DFH7, built from the 1970s to 1990s, were all used as shunters on the Chinese railway network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VR Class Tve2</span> Diesel shunting locomotive

VR Class Tve2 was a VR Group diesel shunting locomotive. They were ordered from the Saalasti Oy engineering company and built between 1962 and 1964. Locomotives was sent to the Turenki sugar factory. A total of 8 units. The manufacturer's designation for the model was OTSO2 and OTSO2/VR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VR Class Dr12</span>

VR Class Dr12 was a heavy diesel-electric locomotive of Valtionrautatiet. The first 6 locomotives were ordered in 1956. They entered service between 1959 and 1963. The locomotives were built by 2 manufacturers, Valmet and Lokomo, both based in Tampere. All Hr12 class locomotives with even numbers were produced by Valmet, while all odd numbers were produced by Lokomo. The locomotives were withdrawn in the early 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VR Class Dr13</span>

VR Class Dr13 was a heavy diesel locomotive used by VR Group. The Dr13 was designed by the French company Alstom. The class consisted of 54 locomotives, of which the first two were built by Alstom’s factory in Belfort, France and were shipped to Finland in 1962, while the rest were built in Tampere at the factories of Lokomo and Valmet. The first Dr13 series locomotive came to Finland on 24 October 1962. The Dr13 series was introduced between 1962 and 1963, and the last units were withdrawn by June 2000.

The Indian locomotive class WDM-3 is a type of diesel-hydraulic locomotive that was developed by Henschel for Indian Railways in 1962. The model name "WDM-3" stands for broad gauge (W), Diesel (D), Mixed traffic (M) engine, 3rd generation (3). These locomotives were put into service between 1970 and 1971, and a total of eight were built between 1962 and 1970. However, they were decommissioned at Gooty in 1995 and are now retired from service.

References

  1. 1 2 "Hr11-veturin tekniikkaa". Resiina. Museorautatieyhdistys ry, Suomen Rautatiehistoriallinen Seura ry: 12–19. April 1992. ISSN   0356-0600.