SBB-CFF-FFS Be 4/6 12301

The Be 4/6 12301 was one of four test locomotives, the SBB ordered in June 1917. The locomotive should, as well as your three sisters Be 3/5 12201, Be 4/6 12302 and Ce 14201 6/8I come on the Gotthard railway used to obtain experience for series orders. The Be 4/6 12301 was the MFO variant of express locomotive for the Gotthard. She had been built according to the terms of the specifications of the SBB. Except for occasional Drove to the main workshop in Bellinzona she appeared on the Gotthard but not on. However, the construction itself proved. The locomotive worked for 44 years in various services. When Lokomotivpersonal the locomotive was popular because of her, even at top speed, smooth running. Technically, however, was much more complicated than their sisters Be 4/6 12302 and Be 4/6 12303-12342.

5.2.1 Main Circuit
5.2.2 Auxiliary Control
5.2.3 Electric brake
5.2.4 Vielfachsteuerung

Prehistory

In November 1913, the electrification of the Gotthard route from Erstfeld to Biasca was decided by the Board of Directors of SBB. With the outbreak of the First World War, the SBB were forced to increasingly larger timetable restrictions because of the coal shortage. This went so far that in the autumn of 1918 with the exception of milk trains ran on Sundays no more moves.

Among other routes therefore the Gotthard route for electric operation was stepped prepared. This electrification was completed in 1920.

For operation, the SBB much needed passenger and freight locomotives.

Specification

SBB is required by the industry to fulfill the following requirements specification:

Maximum speed 75 km / h
Transport of 300 tonnes trailer load at 26 ‰ slope at 50 km / h
Reliable start at 26 ‰ gradient and acceleration the same load at 50 km / h in 4 minutes
Three return trips Lucerne - Chiasso within 24 hours ( 1,360 miles)
Electric brake for braking the locomotive weight in the gradient
Possibility of multiple unit control.

Procurement and project

The order for the passenger locomotive was issued as follows:

Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon: Design and construction of passenger locomotive

In addition to compliance of the requirements specification the SBB gave the designers great freedom when working out the designs.

Commissioning

On March 21, 1919, the locomotive was delivered as the first sample locomotive. A month later she was already used for instruction drives the locomotive staff.

Technology

The mechanical part

Landing gear

The chassis consisted of two bogies. In each bogie were two drive axles, designed as a salmon bites barrel axis and a countershaft. The roll axis had a side game of 2x70mm relative to the bogie frame.

Tractive force

The transfer of the train and impact forces carried by the drive axles on the two bogies. From there, the forces were outside forwarded to the tow hook and buffers. Inside the bogies of the train and pull force transmission via a so-called tender coupling were connected. The locomotive body was not involved in the transmission of forces.

Drive

The bogie frame two traction motors were stored. These two motors driven through both sides sprung sprocket on the big gears each having a countershaft. The drive pin of the countershaft was connected by a vertically moving slide block with a slotted rod ( rod triangle ). This drove the two drive axles of the bogie.

Locomotive body

The locomotive body consisted of a continuous bridge with screw-on, removable part, box parts. The bridge was supported by rotary pans that were among the cabs on the bogies. Two additional sprung support pans were located next to each on the outside of the box. Behind the engines were located further role supports. Before the cabs themselves Stems, which were separated by a longitudinal passage were. This separation, as well as the transition plates and the front doors had to be present, because after view at that time the locomotive from the train forth had to be reached. For the ventilation of the traction motors were located on both sides of the box per two blinds. Des could be controlled pneumatically by both Lead stalls.

Brake system

The automatic Westinghouse brake and the Regulierbremse ever had a brake cylinder on both sides of the drive axles. The following axes were unrestrained. Each cab had a hand brake that acted on each bogie.

The electrical part

Main circuit

Two current collector, which could be controlled by a valve in each cab, initiated the contact line current to two chopping blades on the roof of the locomotive body. This separating knives were from the machine room to operate by hand. From the chopping blades of the power of a lightning protection coil and the pneumatically operated main switch was led to the oil-cooled transformer, which was located in the center of the locomotive body. This was high-voltage side can be switched for 15,000 V or 7,500 V. The low voltage side was divided into two and each had eleven taps. The rolling step switch were in the longitudinal direction on both sides of the transformer. It could, as in the Be 3/5 12201 23 speed steps can be switched. The control of the step switch was made by the leader stands out by means of a vertical control wheel, which had to be rotated once per level. A scram was present. Should a position switch fail, this could be separated. With the remaining ones could then, with 12 speed steps, still to be further down. The four pneumatically operated reversing switch were placed on the traction motors. These were connected in parallel.

Auxiliaries

On the locomotive to those described below, operated with 220 V auxiliary operations were:

Two reciprocating compressors in the Stems front and rear left
A fan on the roof for forced ventilation of the cooling fins of the transformer bay
Two fan groups to ventilation of the traction motors
Convertor to charge the battery in the front right front
Cab heater.

Feeding the Zugsheizung carried by the transformer via an oil main switch on the clutch cable.

Electric brake

The electric brake was tested in June 1919 at the Lötschberg. It was found to be too unreliable then removed.

Vielfachsteuerung

The locomotive was equipped with a multiple unit control. It has been tested practically never.

Operational use

The locomotive was delivered the first of the four test locomotives on 21 March 1919. She was then almost immediately for instruction trips in the region of Bern used. But apparently many teething problems were still to cure, are made at this time no scheduled commercial operations. Another reason for this was the planned experiments with the electric brake on the Lötschberg railway. On September 1, 1919, the locomotive was officially adopted by the SBB. This was followed by assignments with passenger trains to Spiez and partly also to the Brig After a break in 1920, the locomotive resulted in regularly scheduled service with the present in delivery Be 4/6 12303-12342 regular train services on the Lötschberg to Brig

It was soon clear that the locomotive would never schedule used on the Gotthard. On 31 May 1921 she had her last regularly scheduled service on the Lötschberg. From then on she led, from Bern, freight trains to Basel and Biel.

From 1937, the locomotive came into the yard Renens near Lausanne, where she had the task to haul freight trains to be decomposed to the task level.

On January 1, 1962, she was the main workshop Yverdon allocated so that the consuming About Drove to Bellinzona could be prevented. Yverdon was not very pleased with the access of the classic car. But the end was approaching very soon. On March 7, 1963, short-circuit produced an explosion in the transformer. The fire department was unable to delete a timely manner the fire erupted, the locomotive was completely gutted. It was canceled in August 1963 in the main workshop Bellinzona.