DR Class 243
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The DR Class 243 is a universal
electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a Battery (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...
of the
Deutsche Reichsbahn The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'' (), also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the Weimar Republic, German national Rail transport, railway system created after th ...
which is used for general rail service.
Deutsche Bahn (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...
lists the locomotive as Class 143. The locomotives of class 143/243 still belong to the most successful class of German electric locomotives.


Development

Beginning in 1976, the
Deutsche Reichsbahn The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'' (), also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the Weimar Republic, German national Rail transport, railway system created after th ...
recommenced their railway electrification efforts in the wake of the
1973 oil crisis In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after Eg ...
, which had also affected the
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countries. Prior to this, Deutsche Reichsbahn had mainly acquired Russian-built diesel locomotives, such as the class 120 and the DR Class 130 family, as the Soviet Union had been providing the GDR with inexpensive heavy oil and diesel fuel. '' VEB Lokomotivbau und Elektrotechnische Werke Hennigsdorf'', the only manufacturer of electric locomotives left in the
GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...
, was subsequently ordered to develop a modern lightweight, eight-wheel electric locomotive for both passenger and medium freight services, which was to be based on the heavy DR Class 250 Co'Co' freight locomotives. The bodywork and other mechanical components were developed and built at LEW's Hennigsdorf works, while the traction motors and other electric equipment were manufactured by EMW
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
and various other producers. The prototype for this new locomotive type was designated 212 001. It was built in 1982 and first presented at the
Leipzig Trade Fair The Leipzig Trade Fair () is a major trade fair, which traces its roots back for nearly a millennium. After the Second World War, Leipzig fell within the territory of East Germany, whereupon the Leipzig Trade Fair became one of the most importan ...
that year. As built, the locomotive was capable of a maximum speed of . It underwent extensive route trials before being disassembled for evaluation purposes, and while being reassembled was modified for a lower top speed of , which had been specified for all following production locomotives. At this time, the locomotive was redesignated 243 001. Owing to its special livery of white with crimson stripes, 243 001 was given the nickname ''Weiße Lady'' (White Lady). Production of the new class began in 1985 after 243 001 had proven satisfactory during her trial period.


Series Production


DR Class 243

In the 1980s, few lines on the East German railway network were prepared for speeds exceeding , which had been the principal reason for Deutsche Reichsbahn having specified 120 km/h to be the top speed for their Class 243 locomotives. In 1984, the first batch of 20 locomotives was delivered, followed by 80 in 1985, 100 in 1986, 110 in 1987 and 114 in 1988. By the end of 1989, five hundred locomotives had been completed. From the factory, the DR locomotives were painted dark red with a white stripe. Locomotives operated by DB subsidiaries are painted in ''verkehrsrot'', a brighter shade of red. Beginning with 143 302, all locomotives built from 1987 onwards have a slightly redesigned body with slightly more streamlined cab sections, reducing energy consumption by about 5% due to reduced drag. From 1988 onwards, the batch known as Class 243.8 was fitted with
multiple-unit train control Multiple-unit train control, sometimes abbreviated to multiple-unit or MU, is a method of simultaneously controlling all the traction equipment in a train from a single location—whether it is a multiple unit comprising a number of self-powered ...
equipment. After these had been delivered, a further 109 locomotives without multiple unit train control were delivered till December 1990, resulting in Deutsche Reichsbahn having a fleet of 636 Class 243 locomotives at their disposal. 243 659 was the very last Class 243 locomotive to be commissioned, entering service on 2 January 1991. Following
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, freight traffic in the former
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
saw a sharp downturn, leading to large numbers of locomotives being put into preserved storage. Beginning in August 1990, 243 922 (later redesignated 143 922) was thus hired to the
Südostbahn The Südostbahn (German language, German, ) – commonly abbreviated to SOB – is a Switzerland, Swiss railway company, and a network in Central Switzerland, Central and Eastern Switzerland. It resulted from the merger of the Schweizerische S ...
(Swiss South-Eastern Railway). Also, increasing numbers of 243s were reallocated to
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and
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
for testing by
Deutsche Bundesbahn Deutsche Bundesbahn (, ) or DB () was formed as the state railway of the newly established West Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained the state railway of West Germany u ...
.


DBAG Class 143

The following year more locomotives were moved to the west where they were used on the Schwarzwaldbahn, the Höllentalbahn, the
Rhein-Ruhr S-Bahn The Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn () is a Metropolitan area, polycentric S-bahn network covering the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan regions in Germany, Metropolitan Region in the Germany, German States of Germany, federated state of North Rhine-Westphalia. This inc ...
and goods trains from Dortmund. After the DB and DR were combined in 1994 to form Deutschen Bahn AG the Class 143 locomotives were used on many more lines in the former
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
. The former 212 001 remained the property of LEW and after testing by the DR from 1982 to 1984 was used for various measuring and experimental tasks. In 2002 it was sold to EKO-Trans and (now numbered 143 001) was painted in their red and silver livery. In May 2008 143 001 was repainted orange with the logo of its new owner,
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. Six Class 143 locomotives (041, 069, 186, 191, 286, 874) have been sold to Bahn- und Hafenbetriebe der Ruhrkohle AG and a further six (179, 204, 257, 344, 851, 864) to Mitteldeutsche Eisenbahn Gesellschaft (MEG) where they have been renumbered as MEG 601–606.


DBAG Class 114.1 and 114.3

Many Class 143 locomotives were in use for passenger traffic and on longer
Regionalbahn The ''Regionalbahn'' (; lit. Regional train; abbreviated ''RB'') is a train categories in Europe, type of Regional rail, local passenger train (stopping train) in Germany. It is similar to the Regionalzug (R) and Regio (Swiss railway train), R ...
and
Regional-Express In Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, the Regional-Express (; RE, or in Austria: REX) is a type of regional train. It is similar to a semi-fast train, with a top speed of and an average speed of about as it calls at fewer stations than ''R ...
services, so the maximum speed of was awkward, especially as the carriages often had a maximum speed of . It was planned to rebuild some locomotives with higher maximum speeds of , which would be classified as Class 114.3 and Class 114.1 respectively. 143 171 was rebuilt with a maximum speed of and renumbered as 114 101. During the rebuilding the
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was replaced with a newer model of type SSS 87 and the
train protection system A train protection system is a railway technical installation to ensure safe operation in the event of human error. Development Train stops The earliest systems were train stops, as still used by the New York City Subway, the Toronto rapid ...
and brake equipment were adapted for higher speeds. The
gear ratio A gear train or gear set is a machine element of a mechanical system formed by mounting two or more gears on a frame such that the teeth of the gears engage. Gear teeth are designed to ensure the Pitch circle diameter (gears), pitch circles of e ...
between the motors and wheels was also changed and dampers were fitted between the locomotive body and the bogies. 143 120 was rebuilt into 114 301 with a maximum speed of . This did not require changes to the gear ratio or the fitting of dampers. Both rebuilt locomotives were tested in test service and normal use around Magdeburg. The upgrading to cost €300,000 per locomotive and upgrading to cost €48,000 per locomotive. For this reason only speed increases to have followed.


DR Class 212 to DBAG Class 112

Following German reunification, the rail routes to
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
were rebuilt with a maximum speed of more than . The Deutsche Reichsbahn had no locomotives capable of this speed so it had to acquire new faster locomotives. However, the Class 212 locomotives had originally been designed with a maximum speed of . After four prototype locomotives (numbered 212 002 to 212 005, the number 212 001 had originally been used for 143 001 and was not reused) a series of 35 locomotives (212 006 to 212 040) was delivered. The Class 112 locomotives became an unexpected symbol of
German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...
because they were the first locomotive class to be used by both the
Deutsche Reichsbahn The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'' (), also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the Weimar Republic, German national Rail transport, railway system created after th ...
and the
Deutsche Bundesbahn Deutsche Bundesbahn (, ) or DB () was formed as the state railway of the newly established West Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained the state railway of West Germany u ...
. DR and DB each ordered 45 slightly improved locomotives of Class 112.1 from
AEG The initials AEG are used for or may refer to: Common meanings * AEG (German company) ; AEG) was a German producer of electrical equipment. It was established in 1883 by Emil Rathenau as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte El ...
, who had taken over LEW Hennigsdorf as they had owned the factory in 1946. The decision for DB to order Class 112.1 locomotives was mainly to support the factory at Hennigsdorf as DB would have preferred a universal locomotive such as the Class 120. After overcoming a few initial problems the Class 112 were mainly used on
InterRegio The InterRegio, often shortened to IR, is a train categories in Europe, train category for mainly domestic train services in use in some European countries, with Swiss Federal Railways operating the most dense network. InterRegio trains are semi ...
trains. In 1995, 112 025 (the former 212 025) was renumbered as test locomotive 755 025. Following the end of InterRegio services and the upgrading of
Regional-Express In Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, the Regional-Express (; RE, or in Austria: REX) is a type of regional train. It is similar to a semi-fast train, with a top speed of and an average speed of about as it calls at fewer stations than ''R ...
rolling stock for speeds of the Class 112 locomotives are used predominantly for regional services. On 1 January 2004
DB Fernverkehr DB Fernverkehr AG (, "DB Long-Distance Traffic") is a semi-independent division of Deutsche Bahn that operates long-distance passenger trains in Germany. It was founded in 1999 in the second stage of the privatisation of Deutsche Bahn, under the ...
transferred all its Class 112.1 locomotives to
DB Regio DB Regio AG () is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates regional and commuter train services in Germany. It is a 100% subsidiary of the Deutsche Bahn Group and therefore part of the DB Regio business segment, which also includes DB Regionn ...
.


DBAG Class 114

All 38 locomotives of Class 112.0 were reclassified as Class 114 on 1 April 2000 because up to this time these locomotives had been used exclusively for regional trains in Berlin, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and there were several differences between these locomotives and the Class 112.1. Following the transfer of the remaining Class 112 locomotives to DB Regio the reason for the different classifications is unnecessary as there are similar differences between locomotives within Class 143.


DBAG 755 025

The '' VES-M Halle'' (Research Institute Halle) needed a fast electric locomotive for their measuring and test trains. In January 1995 they received 112 025 which was renumbered 755 025. Today it is numbered 114 501.


References

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External links


www.br143.de
{{German electric locomotives Electric locomotives of Germany 15 kV AC locomotives
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Bo′Bo′ electric locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1982 Standard-gauge locomotives of Germany Passenger locomotives LEW locomotives zh:德国铁路143型电力机车