European Railroad Discussion > DB Uerdingen railbuses.

Between 1950 and 1971, DB (West German Railway) received 3306 Uerdingen railbuses, including power cars, trailers and power cars with a baggage compartment.
These were diesel mechanicals with twin Bussing diesel engines and a five speed transmission.

When they initially replaced steam hauled branch line trains, they were spurned but in time it was apparent that these railcars actually preserved branch line service for a couple of decades. In time, the German travelling public and railfans came to appreciate them. All were withdrawn by 2000, but many are preserved. Before that, many became maintenance of way vehicles.

This image taken in 1969 show a DB railbus and trailer in the Bavarian town of Hof.

East Germany also had similar railbuses operating on the DR rail network.

These railbuses have been produced in model form in HO by several European manufacturers. 
 

Great photo of a classic service in Germany.
I also like the old wagen being unloaded in the freight tracks in back.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/01/19 17:24 by Bob3985.

Bob3985 Wrote:
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> Great photo of a classic service in Germany.
> I also like the old wagen being unloaded in the
> freight tracks in back.

Notice also an old coach in maintenance service at the far left of the picture.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/01/19 17:29 by eminence_grise.

As a child I rode a late night train from Munich to Bad Tolz in  1967 or 1968 (I believe). Would it have been a train like this?

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

As a GI in Bad Kreuznach, Germany in 1975, I rode my share of these, especially on the run to Mainz.

Here's a shot of the DR version in Bansin Seebad.  It was January 1994 and technically all was DB, but the DR presence lasted a long time in some areas.  I had taken the sleeper overnight from Warsaw to Swinoujscie.  At that time the line across the border was closed and you had to either walk or take a taxi to Seebad Ahlbeck where you caught one of these railbuses.  The bridge between Wolgaster Fahre and Wolgaster Hafen was closed for repairs so again you had to walk a short distance.  I was doing this to get to Putbus to ride the narrow gauge to Gohren which at that time was still DB.  I still have the through DB ticket from Bergen to Gohren.

Gordon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/19 06:52 by gbmott.

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Some ended their days at the other end of the world, in Uruguay. In December 1985 this set is about to leave Montevideo's General Artigas station.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/19 10:47 by 86235.

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The East German railbuses were newer, introduced in 1964 , but like the similar West German railbuses were withdrawn in 2000 after re-unification .
They differed by having a slight bulge on the cab front, and three front windows. They had a single 6 cylinder KVD diesel engine connected to a hydro-mechanical gearbox.
They came in both power car and trailer configuations, DR Class VT.209, DB class 771-772. Most were built by Bautzen. They were capable of multiple unit operation of up to 6 cars.  Several survive in preservation.

A number of them were donated to Cuba, and are seen at Havana Christina station in 2003. A pair were used to carry participants in a TUT tour to a sugar mill. The second image shows them at Bejucal, awaiting train order clearance.

The controls are shown, the German style air brake control is to the left, with the horn toggle beside it. Beyond that, I'm not sure what the other controls are. I'm guessing one of the levers is a selector (Forward-Neutral-Reverse) and another is a throttle. With hydro-mechanical transmission, there would also be a gear change lever. Anyone know?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/19 13:09 by eminence_grise.

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I remember riding this type of equipment outside of Hamburg in 1971. The engineer collected fares at front door. Then he shifted gears as we accelerated. Stops were very rural - just a grade crossing often. One axle in back and one in front. They rode very solidly.

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British Railways imported five DB style railbuses from Waggoneau & Machinenbau in 1958, two of which are shown at Haworth on the Keithley & Worth Valley heritage line.
These cars were on an elevated frame to serve high level platforms.

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