European Railroad Discussion > What is it, where is it?

What is is and where is it? What is this used for? It is on rails...

Guessing won't hurt!

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 Builders plate for an German/UK locomotive...

Excellent guess, you are pretty close. It is indeed a builders plate. But what is the vehicle here?

EL-SD45-3632 Wrote:
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>  Builders plate for an German/UK locomotive...


Hint1: Look at the text on this second picture

Everyone: please think a little out of the sandbox but not off rails!

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There's a lot of info - confusing. Maybe a transformer / invertor for a cable car?? Chris uk

Very impressive deduction Chris! I think once we know where, we know a lot more about "what" too in addition to what you write. Which lets me to tell a story of the background for these vehicles that are / were quite common but you rarely see.

55002 Wrote:
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> There's a lot of info - confusing. Maybe a
> transformer / invertor for a cable car?? Chris uk

Hint2: The country?

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It's a builder's plate on a Swedish-operated, Swedish-built boxy electric locomotive, which is seen in more detail in the "Into the Sundown" post. ASEA is a Swedish electric engine company that made America's AEM-7 electrics that can be seen on the eastern seaboard. Heh! Heh! I'm observant, cackle cackle.

Tor in Eugene

Hmmm...even closer, great searching Toris!  ASEA (now ABB) builders plates always seemed to be rectangulars with time specific data. And you are right that this huge oval plate could be found on most Swedish locomotives until around 1970s.

Torisgod Wrote:
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> It's a builder's plate on a Swedish-operated,
> Swedish-built boxy electric locomotive, which is
> seen in more detail in the "Into the Sundown"
> post. ASEA is a Swedish electric engine company
> that made America's AEM-7 electrics that can be
> seen on the eastern seaboard. Heh! Heh! I'm
> observant, cackle cackle.
>
> Tor in Eugene

Here are three examples of ASEA plate usage.
1) Class D (the Wooden one ;)
2) Clas Oa form Malmbana
3) One of the venerable Hgs, shown at museum in Luleå, Sweden.

Hint #3: Now, what about the two first pictures above, this does not look like electric loco or does is? Im puzzled...so give a guess!
 

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Looks like editing stopped working, so notice the huge loco above in the middle carrying road number 1! Maybe the first one to have this oval plate?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/15 08:18 by McKey.

A rail mounted rotary converter to convert 50 Hz transmission line power to railway frequency [ 16 2/3 Hz ].

SZ

Edited to add:  And a quick i'net search using 'fahrbare unterwerke' shows that this is part of a four vehicle set [ The converter wagon, transformer wagon, instrument wagon, and contactor wagon ] preserved in the Lulea rail museum.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/15 10:09 by Steinzeit.

OK, great work all! WE all did it together, found an interesting piece of history and also part of the present day. 

Malmbana in the North of Sweden and Norway was the first line to be electrified ( http://www.4rail.net/visions_sweden_malmbana1.php ) . If I remember right this happened around 1914, even before Gotthard pass overhead wires were built anyway. So you will find many interesting features still preserved from that time, and later times. One of these is a mobile rotary converter of electricity. As electornics were not invented yet (for along time to come) these were mechanical. Machines were used if the real electric lines were cut of from overhead wires. So you simply drove the converter car to place and plugged it into grid via (loong) cabling. The other end behind the flywheel went to overhead wire and the railroad could operate again.

Steinzeit Wrote:
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> A rail mounted rotary converter to convert 50 Hz
> transmission line power to railway frequency [ 16
> 2/3 Hz ].
>
> SZ
>
> Edited to add:  And a quick i'net search using
> 'fahrbare unterwerke' shows that this is part of a
> four vehicle set [ The converter wagon,
> transformer wagon, instrument wagon, and contactor
> wagon ] preserved in the Lulea rail museum.

There is an older set at Luleå museum, but did you know that well over hundred of these monsters existed during the cold war! These were mostly hidden in underground caves here and there in case Soviets should attack. And in case of grid failure these machines could also be moved quickly to place, since they were almost at the right place already.

I reported in previous thread about a poor shape of Norrland Main line: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?17,3716299

A week earlier tracks had cracked under Boliden / Green Cargo ore train and a number of class Taimn wagons had tumbled all around the tracks creating havoc. Electricity was cut too. Track was fixed then but overhead wires were without electricity. So I happened by chance in Boden when two converter cars were transported towards the scene. 
 

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There were two "omformare" cars in train pulled by TGOJ colored T43 number 242. Maximum speed for this combined transportation is 20 km/h / 12 mph. One of these omformare car axle weight was way over what was allowed on Northern Main line. So once the train set of from Malmbana (which can tolerate American style axle weights) in Boden to West, guess what happened...

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You got it right: off they came on the a bank 40 kilometers West of Boden. Location is in the middle of big woods so huge road cranes were needed to lift omformare back on track

Moral? Maybe we could say that grossly exceeding allowed axle weight on lines that are really in a poor shape is NOT a very good idea...but seems to happen. 

Around 80 of these omformare vehicles are still said to exist at various depots and rolling stock works, but I can't confirm this word of mouth, so lets say some are stil there, just in case.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/15 10:48 by McKey.

Here is an addition to Steinzeit's information in the form of pictures. At the time I did not have time to make a closer inspection inside the sheds, but looks like these contraptions are well worth it! Luleå railway museum is largest in the whole Nordic and thus you could actually spend a day or two there. So far I've been three times outdside there and once inside, and not seen enough ;)   

Steinzeit Wrote:
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> A rail mounted rotary converter to convert 50 Hz
> transmission line power to railway frequency [ 16
> 2/3 Hz ].
>
> SZ
>
> Edited to add:  And a quick i'net search using
> 'fahrbare unterwerke' shows that this is part of a
> four vehicle set [ The converter wagon,
> transformer wagon, instrument wagon, and contactor
> wagon ] preserved in the Lulea rail museum.

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This is a very interesting story.  Thank yopu, John.  Gerry

You're welcome Gerry! Maybe this place should be put to your visiting list next time. We might try to accompany you and your son, so I could show you two a lot of interesting places. My Volvo anf time allowing.

I think I still have some addtions to this story, somewhere I stumbeld a couple of years ago...so hang on to thread! 

GPutz Wrote:
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> This is a very interesting story.  Thank yopu,
> John.  Gerry

Greta story, photos, and lots of info. I'm a lot more knowledgable now. Cheers, chris,uk

Thanks Chris! There will be more to this thread maybe next week once I get my pictures sorted.

55002 Wrote:
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> Greta story, photos, and lots of info. I'm a lot
> more knowledgable now. Cheers, chris,uk

Here comes a picture the mountain side cave storage for "omformare". It is totally innocent looking (as it is), you can now hardly notice it as Malmbana has been raised and the tracks no more are even connected to cave. I suppose the current side track here is meant for transportation of some electric equipment to location or surroundings. 

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