Experimental Three-phase Railcar
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The three-phase railcar () was an experimental
three-phase Three-phase electric power (abbreviated 3ϕ) is a common type of alternating current (AC) used in electricity generation, Electric power transmission, transmission, and Electric power distribution, distribution. It is a type of polyphase system ...
high-voltage
alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current that periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time, in contrast to direct current (DC), which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in w ...
powered high speed
railcar A railcar (not to be confused with the generic term railroad car or railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coa ...
concept developed by the "Research Association for High-speed Electric Railways" (, St.E.S.) in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
at the beginning of the 20th century to assess the possibilities in using electric motive power for
rail transport Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
(see
three-phase AC railway electrification Three-phase AC railway electrification, which promised some advantages over established DC electric rail power and steam traction, started at the turn of the twentieth century. The first standard gauge line, from 1899 to 1933, was from Burgdorf t ...
).
Siemens & Halske Siemens & Halske AG (or Siemens-Halske) was a German electrical engineering company that later became part of Siemens. It was founded on 12 October 1847 as ''Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske'' by Werner von Siemens and Johann Geor ...
and
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 ...
built cars that in 1903 set an overall speed record at , faster than any other manned vehicle for nearly a decade until the German-built
Blitzen Benz The Blitzen Benz is a race car built by Benz & Cie in Mannheim, Germany, in 1909. In 1910 an enhanced model broke the world land speed record. It was one of six cars based on the Grand Prix car, but it had an enlarged engine, , capacity with , i ...
set records on US beaches. It set the
railway speed record This article provides an overview of speed records in rail transport. It is divided into absolute records for rail vehicles and fastest connections in the timetable. Current speed records The world record for a conventional wheeled passenger ...
, which stood until the 1931
Schienenzeppelin The () or rail zeppelin was an experimental railcar which resembled a Zeppelin airship in appearance. It was designed and developed by the German aircraft engineer Franz Kruckenberg in 1929. Propulsion was by means of a pusher propeller loca ...
and as the electric rail speed record until 1954.Zossen.de
The three overhead lines and other challenges were impractical for the time being, though. Since the 1960s, advances in
semiconductor A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. Its conductivity can be modified by adding impurities (" doping") to its crystal structure. When two regions with different doping level ...
inverter technology allow to generate three-phase AC, from a single overhead line in many modern electric locomotives, from a DC battery in electric cars, or from DC photovoltaic panels into the AC grid.


Background

The 19th century saw the invention of the modern railway and their rapid expansion into national networks in Europe and worldwide. During this period motive power was confined to steam locomotives, some of which by mid-century were capable of top speeds of , with average express journey speeds of . The 1880s saw the development of electric power and its application to rail transport. Electric power offered several advantages over steam; it is more efficient, allowing more rapid acceleration, and a higher power output when necessary. Its disadvantage is the high initial cost of the infrastructure involved, such as the power production and distribution system needed. 1879 saw the demonstration of an experimental system by
Werner von Siemens Ernst Werner Siemens ( von Siemens from 1888; ; ; 13 December 1816 – 6 December 1892) was a German electrical engineer, inventor and industrialist. Siemens's name has been adopted as the SI unit of electrical conductance, the siemens. He ...
in
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 ...
, which was followed by an electric tramway at
Lichterfelde Lichterfelde may refer to: * Lichterfelde (Berlin), a locality in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin, Germany * Lichterfelde West Lichterfelde West is part of Lichterfelde (Berlin), Lichterfelde in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough of Berl ...
, in 1881, and heavy rail applications in 1890 (the
City and South London Railway The City and South London Railway (C&SLR) was the first successful deep-level underground "tube" railway in the world, and the first major railway to use Railway electrification in Great Britain, electric traction. The railway was originally i ...
) and 1895 (the
Baltimore Belt Line The Baltimore Belt Line was constructed in Baltimore, Maryland, by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in the early 1890s to connect the railroad to its new line to Philadelphia and Jersey City (the terminal serving New York City). It include ...
). Most electric trams and railways used DC power which had limitations. To study the possibilities of AC, for the upcoming
Three-phase AC railway electrification Three-phase AC railway electrification, which promised some advantages over established DC electric rail power and steam traction, started at the turn of the twentieth century. The first standard gauge line, from 1899 to 1933, was from Burgdorf t ...
that started in mountain areas of Switzerland and Italy, in 1899 a consortium of ten of the largest and wealthiest companies in Germany joined to form the "Research Association for High-speed Electric Railways"( ''Studiengesellschaft für elektrische Schnellbahnen'', or St.E.S.) to examine the possibilities of high-speed electric rail travel.


Research Association for High-speed Electric Railways

The St.E.S consortium, which included
Siemens & Halske Siemens & Halske AG (or Siemens-Halske) was a German electrical engineering company that later became part of Siemens. It was founded on 12 October 1847 as ''Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske'' by Werner von Siemens and Johann Geor ...
, the engineering company
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 ...
, and the
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...
, was founded on 10 October 1899 and given leave to electrify a length of the
Royal Prussian Military Railway The Royal Prussian Military Railway (German: ''Königlich Preußische Militär-Eisenbahn''), also called the ''Königliche Militär-Eisenbahn'' (Royal Military Railway, KME), was a Prussian state railway, operated by the army, between Schöneberg ...
between
Marienfelde Marienfelde () is a locality in southwest Berlin, Germany, part of the Tempelhof-Schöneberg borough. The former village, incorporated according to the Greater Berlin Act of 1920, today is a mixed industrial and residential area. Geography The ...
, near Berlin, and
Zossen Zossen (; , ) is a German town in the district of Teltow-Fläming in Brandenburg, about south of Berlin, and next to the B96 highway. Zossen consists of several smaller municipalities, which were grouped in 2003 to form the city. Geography Sinc ...
, a distance of . The line was electrified with
three-phase power Three-phase electric power (abbreviated 3ϕ) is a common type of alternating current (AC) used in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. It is a type of polyphase system employing three wires (or four including an optional neu ...
at 10 kV/50  Hz, using three overhead lines on poles that were about high located at the side of the track. This work was completed by the spring of 1901.


The three-phase railcar

The society commissioned two railcars for testing. These were built by , a
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
rolling-stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can be ...
manufacturer established in 1845 and consortium member, with Siemens and AEG supplying the electrical equipment. The cars were of standard size, with a capacity for 50 passengers, mounted on two six-wheel
bogie A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets (two Railroad wheel, wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes ...
s, the outer axle being motorized. The power was drawn down from the three power cables running along the side of the track by three vertical catenaries, mounted on two towers fore and aft on the roof of the carriage. The electrical system was rated at 6–14 kV, operating at 25–50 Hz, giving a power equivalent of . The summer of 1901 saw a series of early test runs, already culminating in record-breaking speeds of . These tests revealed weaknesses in the
trackbed The track bed or trackbed is the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links. Background According to Network Rail, the trackbed is the layers of ...
, which had to be re-laid. Following this, in the autumn of 1903, a series of high-speed runs were achieved; of , by the Siemens railcar, on 6 October, and , by the AEG railcar, three weeks later, on 28 October 1903. This set a
railway speed record This article provides an overview of speed records in rail transport. It is divided into absolute records for rail vehicles and fastest connections in the timetable. Current speed records The world record for a conventional wheeled passenger ...
for electric locomotives which stood for the next 51 years.Zossen.de
The tests had shown what was possible with electric motive power, but the three-phase system was too complex, and the cost of installation too prohibitive, for general use across the rail network. With this the St.E.S was wound up and the infrastructure dismantled. Advances in technology, particularly in
semiconductor A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. Its conductivity can be modified by adding impurities (" doping") to its crystal structure. When two regions with different doping level ...
s, offered new possibilities with the three-phase system in the late 20th century.


See also

*
Three-phase AC railway electrification Three-phase AC railway electrification, which promised some advantages over established DC electric rail power and steam traction, started at the turn of the twentieth century. The first standard gauge line, from 1899 to 1933, was from Burgdorf t ...
*
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), ...


Notes


References

* {{cite book, year=2014, title=The Train Book: The Definitive Visual History, publisher=
Dorling Kindersley Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...
, ISBN=9780241187890, ref={{harvid, Dorling Kindersley, 2014 Rolling stock innovations Land speed record rail vehicles German inventions Electric rail transport