DB Class 403

The Series 403 is a former multiple unit of the German Federal Railroad, which was built in only three copies. As the first German high-speed train, he is an early precursor of the Intercity Express and was regarded in the 1970s as a showpiece of the German Railways.

Each unit consisted of two powered end cars and two intermediate driven car. The intermediate cars were thereby designated as Series 404. One of the two was an open seating car, the other was designed as a half dining car with 24 seats.

Because of the characteristic front-end design of the train got the nickname of Donald Duck and Great White Shark.

Technology

Each car of the 403 is driven separately and performs the necessary drive technology under the floor of the car with. Only with the ICE 3 returned the German train back to a comparable design.

Manufacturers were LHB for the end cars, MBB for the intermediate cars, MAN for the bogies and AEG, BBC and Siemens for the electrics.

The innovations of the 403 counted the track curve-dependent tilt technology, which allowed on winding roads by 30 per cent higher speeds than conventional trains to ride. But also needed the 403 well-developed routes such as the railway line from Munich to Augsburg for his maximum speed limit of 200 km / hr. There he completed numerous test drives for the Federal Railroad Central Office in Munich, with a documented top speed of 225 km / h was achieved. The body could be tilted into curves by up to four degrees; due to fixed to the roof -mounted pantograph only a maximum slope of two degrees was practicable. Moreover, since the roll axis was too low, it came to complaints from passengers who complained of nausea when cornering. Then the tilting technology was disabled completely in control mode. The installed for the tilting air suspension served from now on only the travel comfort.

Numerous components of the 403 were from the large series of designed for the S -Bahn Series 420 The monocoque and the skin were made of aluminum. Corrosion and material fatigue due to weak dimensioned bearing parts led to an early withdrawal of the series.

The car bodies were inclined side walls because of the tilting technology. The windows were gold-vaporized. The doors were designed as sliding doors and had a swivel sliding step, which was extended at low platforms.

The ground color was pebble gray (RAL 7032) with a dark brown band of windows (RAL ), which was defined top and bottom with an orange stripe. As Lufthansa Airport Express the color Pebble gray was a wide strip in melon yellow (RAL 1028) below the window, the chassis area was black gray.

The current collectors were sitting on the end cars, one each of the end car was prepared for the installation of a second current collector according to Swiss standard, at times was even such a mounted.

In the IC - use drove the 403 always as four-part set with two intermediate cars, in later use as Lufthansa Airport Express ( LHA ), but also three - or five -car trains were used with one or three intermediate cars. The 403 also allowed the coupling and driving up to three complete sets; but in practice only the Lufthansa Airport Express was coupled with up to two sets.

Operational use

The contract for the construction of the three railcars was issued May 24, 1970.

On 2 March 1973, the first 403 of the DB was passed. The regularly scheduled deployment began with the winter schedule 1974/1975. The operational use in intercity service lasted only until the winter schedule 1978/1979. In the four years of the plan of operation train operated mostly its regular route between Munich and Bremen. The inflexible and costly operation of a four -car train, the lack of suitable routes, the personnel consuming half dining car, and the launch of the second car class at the InterCity made ​​the 403 obsolete quickly. As a result, the trains were temporarily used only for measurement and special trips.

Lufthansa Airport Express

On endeavor of the Ministry of Transport the railcar class 403 came from the March 28, 1982 on behalf of and with the coloring of the German airline Lufthansa Lufthansa Airport Express to use. Between the airport Dusseldorf and Frankfurt wrong trains, partly as a five -piece, or coupled units, as a direct and ( for Lufthansa ) cost effective aircraft replacement. The trains were allowed to be used only with plane tickets and were classified operationally as a TEE. The case traveled left Rheinstrecke provided shelter for travelers to enjoy one of the most beautiful German railway lines. The Lufthansa Airport Express was up in the 1990s used to avoid short domestic flights.

Train sequence and seat capacity

Upon his entry into the train offered at regular configuration with four cars a total of 183 seats, of which 24 are in the restaurant area of the half dining car of the series 404.1. The 18 seats in Greater compartment of the dining car could not be used with plug-in tables for the restaurant, they could not therefore be reserved. As with the 601 series only places the first car class were, as is usual in pre-1979 intercity transportation offered.

The Lufthansa later built into each of the four cars a galley, a, whereby the space in the four-part standard composition reduced to 151 seats. Of these, 36 were located in the former half of the dining car of the series 404.1, which was henceforth fully recorded as the bar area. The resulting superfluous kitchen was converted into a baggage compartment.

Withdrawal and termination

A surprising end came when in 1993 considerable corrosion damage to the aluminum structure of the vehicles were discovered. For their remedy neither the German nor the Federal Railroad Lufthansa wanted to pay. After the retirement of the trains parked in Nuremberg and fell rapidly.

In 2001, the vehicles were purchased by the Prignitzer Eisenbahn GmbH (PEG ) and towed to Berlin-Spandau. Following the unit 403 001/ 403 002 came after Putlitzstrasse, while the other two units were parked in Meyenburg. After the dissolution of the PEG facilities in Putlitzstrasse and the progressive destruction of the car parked in Meyenburg units by vandalism, some vehicles have been temporarily transferred to Neustrelitz. The state of 403 is described as beyond repair and most still rolled. The Museum Association of Railway Prignitzer wanted put a copy back to the original state, when he tried to use the two other trains as spare parts. After this project failed, provided the PEG from November 2009, all three units for sale to which finally took place a year later: At least two sets went to an unknown dealer, the third was reportedly ( according to statement of PEG ) to the Nuremberg Transport Museum DB sold, which, however, immediately denied this.

Whereabouts

The end of 2010 by obtaining a private person, the three units and left them to the club Eschenauer culture roundhouse ( Secu ) eV. In February 2011, the unit 403 005/ 403 006 of Meyenburg was transferred to the Saxon aspen grove. Then the unit 403 001/ 403 002 of Putliz was also transferred to aspen grove and stopped there on the grounds of Pressnitztalbahn in March 2011.

In June 2011, three vehicles were finally transferred to the VIS Halberstadt, where an assessment and possibly should be a work-up of two units. In May 2013 it was announced that negotiations with the National Express Rail GmbH ( a subsidiary of National Express Group and the IntEgro Transport GmbH) were performed over a 15-year lease from 2015. Here, initially, a four-car train can be rented if necessary reinforcement of the train is to be tested by other cars. To make a bet as an advertising medium possible, should be completed by then, an investigation pursuant to § 32 EBO including new paint. In addition to the elimination of vandalism digital wireless train the galleys of the Lufthansa Airport Express train - to be removed, the metropolitan area will seat with more seats, to be installed, in addition to be made a conversion to PZB 90.

The end of 2013 it was foreseeable that at least one unit may return to the operating service. The train is intended to serve as an advertising medium for the results obtained from NX Rail regional rail services in North Rhine -Westphalia. Other intermediate cars to be worked, as far as running these trips successful. Report expected costs of around one million euros per reclaimed car.