Battery electric multiple unit
A battery railcars ( AT or ETA), rarely also called memory railcars, is an electrically powered rail railcar whose driving power comes from batteries that drive electric motors appropriate.
Advantage of these vehicles is a cleaner and quieter operation without exhaust or coal consumption without the railway line must be equipped with an overhead line itself. A disadvantage is the mass of the batteries, which increases the vehicle weight and the limited mileage per charge between 300 and 600 kilometers. The battery power cars have a higher original price and maintenance than internal combustion vehicles and need a network of charging stations along the routes traveled.
Germany
Back in 1887 established the Royal Bavarian State Railways, the first German battery railcars in service. Acquaintance were built from 1907 Wittfeld - Akkumulatortriebwagen the Prussian state railways.
In the Federal Republic of Germany, the development took place with the splinter genus ETA 176 (later 517 series ) continued in the area of the state railway. Eight rail cars of this type emerged in the years 1952 to 1954. Another new development AG took place in the Maschinenbau Kiel, in 1953 delivered a small series of battery railcars for the Alster Northern Railway.
From 1955, eventually followed by the large-scale ETA 150, the later series 515 The last of the 232 vehicles were until 1995, now painted and modernized light gray - green, on the former Nokia -Bahn (RB 46) from Gelsenkirchen pan - Eickelmann Central Station Bochum used.
Besides accumulator railcars there are also battery locomotives, which are used for example as operating vehicles in subways, in the mining and industrial railway traffic.
United Kingdom
When British Rail to 1958-1962 was an experimental two-car multiple unit British Rail Bemu ( Bemu stands for Battery Electric Multiple Unit ) in operation. This single specimen was fitted instead of the diesel engines typically range British Rail Derby Lightweight with electric motors and a battery - battery.
The built for ferry services from London Victoria Station to Dover and Folkestone ten "Boat Train" baggage railcar trains British Rail Class 419 ( built between 1951-1961 ) were electrically operated with power supply rail. For the arrival and departure of the non-finished with busbars Kai- tracks they had an extra battery supply on board. They were in 1991 were withdrawn from the regular and for some years used as Akkuloks currently are all parked in various museum storerooms.
United States
The Edison -Beach- battery railcars ( Edison Beach battery rail car ) were developed by Thomas Edison and Ralph H. Beach, the latter. As head of the company Railway Storage Battery Car Company and the Electric Car & Locomotive Corp. Such a railcar was used in the Alaska Railroad as No. 105. The special features of the Edison Beach battery railcar heard the Beach - drive system with independently rotating wheels, in which the wheels are individually driven through a gearbox by a traction engine.