Articulated car

An articulated train is a train whose cars are supported on shared drives. They can not be separated in normal railway operation and found today in both high-speed passenger transport such as mass transit use. Compared to conventional trains from passenger cars have articulated trains a lower empty weight, since for the same length of train fewer drives and parts of the brake equipment for the entire train must be placed only once. Most articulated trains are running with Jacobs bogies, which simultaneously also connect the car body together. For trains, which use short car body, these can be built wider compared to conventional passenger cars, so that the gauge is better utilized. Disadvantages are the higher compared to conventional trains axle loads and the inability to adjust the train to the volume of traffic. In rail freight transport, the principle is applied to the two-piece flat car and split double-deck container wagons.

History

The first Gleiderzüge were built in the 1930s. Early examples were in Germany, the double-decker streamlined pull trains of Lübeck- Büchener Railroad or the Flying Hamburger in America built by Goodyear Comet of New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.

In the 1940s, the members of the Talgo trains developed in Spain. In this system, the intermediate carriage at one end a Losradsatz, while the other end is supported on the adjacent carriage.

After the Second World War was followed by the double-decker articulated trains of the Deutsche Reichsbahn. They consisted of first two, then four - to five -piece, firmly connected cars and have been used with push-pull train. The train called the units DB13 ( DBv ) and DB7 ( DBz, then DBx ) as a double -decker trains, only the original five -part DGB12 ( DGBE and DGBge ) with the rule bogies under the intermediate cars DGBZ were referred to as double-decker articulated trains.

In the German Federal Railroad two articulated trains the VT 10.5 locomotives were purchased in the 1950s, which proved unsuccessful. The trains with six diesel engines per train were too high maintenance and prone to failure.

In France, the TGV used in high-speed trains were running as members. Your car body are shorter and wider compared to normal passenger cars.

Examples

Articulated trains with Jacobs bogies:

• Zephyr trains of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
• Double-decker streamlined Wendezug the LBE
• TGV
• 425 series
• DB Class VT 10.5
• Bombardier Talent

Articulated trains of other types:

• Talgo