Historical perspective Electrifying history

A long tradition in electric railway engineering

NORBERT LANG – It may come as a surprise that – long before the emergence of globalization – technical developments in different countries of the western world occurred largely in parallel, despite differ- ences in conditions and mentalities. This is defi nitely true for the development of railway electrifi cation and vehicles. Depending on whether a country had rich coal deposits or huge hydropower resourc- es, the reasons to electrify railways would have differed. Even so, many notable innovations occurred simultaneously yet independently.

88 ABB review 2|10 sons, Charles E. L. and Sidney Brown 1 Early milestones also worked on equipment for electric lo- comotives (It was Charles Brown who – 1890: A predecessor company of ABB later cofounded BBC.) Together the two Sécheron in supplies the first sons designed the first mainline electric electric tramcars in France to the city of for the 40 km Burgdorf–Thun Clermont-Ferrand. railway (picture on page 88). This was a – 1892: The world’s first electric is installed at the Mont-Salève near freight locomotive with two fixed speeds Geneva, using 500 V DC. (17.5 and 35 km/h) powered by 40 Hz – 1894: Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon (MFO) three-phase AC. The transmission used supplies the first electric tramcars to straight-cut gears and had to be shifted Zurich. – 1896: BBC builds electric tramcars for the during standstill. Two large induction mo- Swiss city of . The Swedish ABB tors drove the two axles via a predecessor company ASEA, founded in and coupling rods. The 1883, starts its electric traction business voltage was limited to a maximum of with tramcars. – 1898: BBC equips the Stansstaad–Engel- 750 V by law. berg and Zermatt–Gornergrat mountain railways as well as the Jungfraubahn to In 1903, ABB Sécheron’s predecessor the summit of the Jungfraujoch at 3,500 m company CIEM (Compagnie de l’Industrie above sea level. – 1901: ASEA supplies electrified tramcars Electrique et Mécanique) electrified the to the city of Stockholm. narrow-gauge railway from St-Georges- de-Commiers to La Mure in France using direct current at an exceptionally high voltage (for the time) of 2,400 V using a could not be approved due to the double overhead contact wire system. high voltage, the contact wire was car- Almost simultaneously yet independently, ried laterally on wooden poles. As agreed Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon (MFO) and before the commencement of the trial, or most manufacturers, the de- BBC each initiated a landmark electrifi- the overhead wire was removed after its velopment of electrification cation project on the Swiss Federal Rail- completion and the line reverted to steam technology started with - way (SBB) network. F ways. In 1890, a predecessor of ABB's business in Sécheron, Geneva, MFO: Single-phase alternating The electric trac- supplied France’s first electric tramcars current to Clermont-Ferrand ➔ 1. These were Between 1905 and 1909, MFO tested a tion vehicle in par- soon followed by the world’s first electri- single-phase 15 kV/15 Hz electrification cally operated mountain rack railways. In on a section of the former Swiss “Natio- ticular, in a way the 1898 another ABB predecessor, BBC, nalbahn” railway between Zurich-See- most harmonic and equipped several mountain railways, in- bach and Wettingen (now part of the Zu- cluding the world-famous Jungfraubahn rich suburban network). The first most beautiful climbing to the 3,500 m high Jungfrau- locomotive used was equipped with a ro- joch, using a 40 Hz (later 50 Hz) three- tary converter and DC traction mo- means of electrical phase system. tors ➔ 3. In 1905, a second locomotive and mechanical was added ➔ 4. This used the same axle Although local transport systems and arrangement (B’B’), but the bogies both engineering, con- mountain railways have also undergone had a 180 kW single-phase series-wound huge technical developments since the motor fed directly from the transformer’s sistently presents early years, this article will focus on de- tap changer. (Tap-changer control was in new and very inter- velopments on standard-gauge mainline later years to become the standard con- railways. trol method for AC and was esting design prob- not to be displaced until the advent of Electrification with different power power electronics.) The axles were driven lems to be solved. systems via a speed-reduction gear, jackshaft and -- Karl Sachs It is a little known fact that it was Charles coupling rods. The maximum speed was Brown Sr. (1827–1905), whose name 60 km/h. The motors used salient stator operation (it was finally electrified in lives on as one of the B’s in ABB, who poles and phase-shifted field commuta- 1942). However, experiences gained were founded SLM ➔ 2 in 1871. The company tion. This locomotive performed so well to have far-reaching consequences. produced steam and that the earlier locomotive was adapted locomotives and for many decades was accordingly. Between December 1907 BBC: Electric power for the to supply the mechanical part (ie, body, and 1909 all regular on this line Simplon frame and running gear) of practically all were electrically hauled. Because over- In late 1905, BBC decided to electrify (at Swiss electric locomotives. Brown’s two head contact wires centered above the its own cost and risk) the 20 km single-

Electrifying history 89 3 MFO experimental locomotive no. 1 with rotary converter and 4 MFO experimental locomotive no. 2 with single-phase traction DC traction motors motors

2 Abbreviations of railway and manufacturing companies Walter Boveri ASEA Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget, Västeras, Sweden (1983–1987). objected to the In 1988, ASEA merged with BBC to form ABB. BBC Brown, Boveri & Cie. AG, Baden, (1891–1987) operation of utility BLS -Lötschberg-, , Switzerland DB Deutsche Bahn AG (German Railways) and railway grids MFO Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon AG (1876–1967). Acquired by BBC. at different fre- ÖBB Österreichische Bundesbahnen (Austrian Federal Railways) SAAS Société Anonyme des Ateliers de Sécheron, Geneva, Switzerland (1918–1969). quencies. Among Acquired by BBC. SBB Schweizerische Bundesbahnen () others, his inter- SLM Schweizerische Lokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik, , Switzerland (Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works, est. 1871). Acquired by Adtranz in 1998. vention led to the SJ Statens Järnvägar (Swedish State Railways, became a public limited company in 2001) compromise of 2 using 16 /3 Hz for track under the be- Until all locomotives were completed, tween Brig (Switzerland) and Iselle (), three locomotives of a similar design railways. which was then approaching completion. were rented from the Valtelina railway. An important argument for electrification was the risk that carbon monoxide from At the time it was already realized that steam locomotives could present to pas- asynchronous AC motors offered several sengers should a break down in the advantages for traction applications, in- long tunnel. However, only six months cluding robustness and simpler mainte- remained until the tunnel’s inauguration. nance due to the absence of a commu- Electrification was carried out using a tator. Disadvantages, however, included 2 three-phase supply at 16 /3 Hz / 3 kV fed the coarse speed graduation resulting from two dedicated power stations lo- from pole switching and the double-wire cated at either end of the tunnel. The overhead line of the three-phase supply, same power system was also adopted which added to the complexity of turn- on the Valtelina railway in Northern Italy, outs. Three-phase motors were thus to the Brenner and the Giovi lines as well as remain relatively rare in traction applica- the line along the Italian Riviera. The ini- tions until recent times when power elec- tial fleet comprised two locomotives of tronic converters were able to alleviate type Ae 3/5 (1’C 1’) ➔ 5 and two Ae 4/4 their shortcomings without compromis- (0-D-0), all using induction motors. ing their strengths. Speed was controlled using switchable stator poles. The low-mounted low- In 1908, SBB took over this installation. speed motors drove the axles via multi- In 1919 two further locomotives were part coupling rods. The locomotives had added and the electrification extended to an hourly rating of 780 kW and 1,200 kW Sion. A second tunnel bore was com- respectively and a top speed of 75 km/h. pleted in 1921. The three-phase era on

90 ABB review 2|10 5 BBC three-phase AC locomotive of the Simplon tunnel line, 1906 6 Determining the optimal electrification system

In 1904 the “Schweizerische Studienkommis- sion für den elektrischen Bahnbetrieb” (Swiss Study Commission for Electric Railway Operation) was formed to “study and clarify the technical and financial prerequisites for the introduction of an electric service on Swiss railway lines.” Different railway electrification systems were investigated in detailed studies, taking into account recent experience. Results and findings were published on a regular basis. In 1912, the commission concluded that a single-phase current system using an overhead line with 15 kV and approximately 15 Hz was the preferable system for the electrification of Swiss main lines.

the Simplon ended in 1930 when the line 6/8 (1’Co)(Co1’) locomotives using the have been able to withstand the tough was converted to the standard single- proven single-axle quill drive to BLS. operating conditions. 2 phase 15 kV / 16 /3 Hz ➔ 6. These pulled heavy passenger and goods trains until well after the second world The electrification of the Gotthard line Electrification of the Lötschberg war. progressed so rapidly that there was vir- railway tually no time to adequately test the trial With gradients of 2.2 to 2.7 percent and Electric operation on the Gotthard locomotives. Orders had to be placed curve radii of 300 m, the railway from line quickly. BBC/SLM supplied 40 passen- Thun via Spiez to Brig operated by BLS In view of the oppressive shortage of ger train locomotives (1’B)(B1’), and and completed in 1913 has a distinct coal during the first world war, in 1916 MFO/SLM supplied 50 freight locomo- mountain railway character. From an ear- SBB decided to electrify the Gotthard tives (1’C)(C1’). Both types were ly stage, it was intended to operate the railway using the power system that had equipped with four frame-mounted mo- twin-track Lötschberg tunnel electrically. already proven itself on the Lötschberg tors driving the axles via a jackshaft and As early as 1910, BLS decided in favor of line. SBB asked the Swiss machine and coupling rods. With an hourly rating of the 15 kV / 15 Hz system of the Seebach– electrical industry to provide prototype 1,500 and 1,800 kW and top speeds of locomotives in 75 and 65 km/h respectively, these loco- view of later win- motives were able to fulfill expectations AC motors offered several ning orders. To en- and handle traffic for a long time to come. sure the line’s In fact, these Gotthard locomotives be- advantages for traction appli- power supply, the came iconic among Swiss trains. This is cations, including robustness construction of particularly true for the 20 m long freight three high-pres- version with articulated frames, the so- and simpler maintenance sure hydrostorage called Crocodiles ➔ 8, which continued power plants (Am- in service for nearly 60 years. This type due to the absence of a steg, Ritom and has been copied in various forms in dif- commutator. Barberine) was ferent countries, and even today it is still commenced im- a “must” on every presentable model mediately. railway. Wettingen trial. The frequency was later 2 increased to 16 /3 Hz. The BLS thus BBC’s cofounder Walter Boveri vehe- Contributions by Sécheron paved the way not only for the later elec- mently objected to the operation of na- In 1921/22 ABB’s predecessor company, trification of the Gotthard railway but also tional utility and railway grids at different Sécheron, supplied six Be 4/7 locomo- for the electrification of railways in Ger- frequencies. Among others, his interven- tives (1’Bo 1’) (Bo’) for the Gotthard rail- many, Austria and Sweden, all of which tion led to the compromise of using way. They were equipped with four indi- 2 adopted this system. 16 /3 Hz (= 50 Hz / 3) for railways. vidually driven axles with Westinghouse quill drives ➔ 9. Despite their good run- In 1910 MFO and SLM jointly supplied a Boveri also suggested equipping loco- ning characteristics, no further units were 1,250 kW prototype locomotive to BLS motives with mercury-arc rectifiers, a ordered as SBB was initially wary of the with a C-C axle arrangement ➔ 7. Follow- technology that had already proven itself single-axle drive. For its less mountain- ing successful trials, BLS ordered several in industrial applications. However, the ous routes, SBB ordered 26 Ae 3/5 Be 5/7 (1’E1’) 1,800 kW locomotives, time was not yet ripe for converter tech- (1’Co 1’) passenger locomotives with an the first of which was delivered in 1913. nology on railway vehicles as the volumi- identical quill drive and a top speed of In 1930, SAAS supplied the first of six Ae nous mercury containers would hardly 90 km/h. Weighing 81 t, these machines

Electrifying history 91 7 Trial locomotive for the Lötschberg railway, 1910 8 SBB Crocodile Ce 6/8 built by MFO for goods transport on the Gotthard line

were considerably lighter than other tween Stockholm and Gothenburg was spite a well-known Swiss design critic types. Ten similar units with a 2’Co 1’ electrified, with ASEA supplying the claiming that these machines had a wheel arrangement (Ae 3/6 III) followed 1,200 kW 1’C1’locomotives. “monkey face,” they remained a charac- later. These three types were generally teristic feature on SBB lines for several referred to as Sécheron machines and Successful single-axle drive decades. Some continued in service until were mainly used in western Switzerland. After commissioning the electric service the 1990s. The last were still in operation in the ear- on the Gotthard line, SBB extended its ly 1980s when they were mostly to be railway electrification onto the plains and Post-war trends: bogie locomotives found on the car transporter trains of the into the Jura mountains. By 1927, con- Most locomotives described so far had Gotthard and Lötschberg . tinuous electric operation was possible combinations of carrying axles and pow- from Lake Constance in the east to Lake ered axles, a feature inherited from steam ASEA’s activities in the railway sector Geneva in the west. BBC/SLM devel- locomotive design. In 1944, however, Similarly to Switzerland, electrification of oped the Ae 3/6 II (2’Co1’) passenger BBC/SLM broke with this tradition and the Swedish state railways started before locomotives that incorporated a new supplied BLS with the first Ae 4/4 the first world war. From 1911 until 1914, single-axle drive. This drive concept, (Bo’Bo’) high-performance bogie loco- the 120 km long so-called Malmbanan or named after its inventor Buchli, consist- motives with all axles powered. These “ore line” was electrified. Its main pur- ed of a double- pose was to transport magnetite ore lever universal-joint from mines in Kiruna to the port of Narvik arrangement in a The so-called Crocodile (Norway), a port that remains ice-free all single plane that year due to the Gulf Stream. Sweden has acted between the locomotives became iconic huge hydropower resources. The Porjus frame-mounted hydropower plant supplies the power for motor and the among Swiss trains. this railway, which is operated with sin- sprung driving 2 gle-phase 15 kV at 16 /3 Hz (initially axle ➔ 10. 114 locomotives of this type 3,000 kW machines could reach a top 15 Hz). By 1920, the electrification had entered service on SBB. The design speed of 120 km/h. From then, on, virtu- been extended via Gellivare to Lulea on proved so satisfactory that the initial ally all railway companies opted for bogie the Gulf of Bothnia. The Norwegian sec- speed limit of 90 km/h could be raised to locomotives. In 1946, SBB received the tion of the line was electrified in 1923. 110 km/h. The type was a huge success first of 32 Re 4/4 I light express locomo- The mountains traversed are of medium for Swiss industry and led to export or- tives, followed by 174 of the much more height, and the gradients of 1.0 to 1.2 ders and license agreements for similar powerful Re 4/4 II for express trains. The percent are considerably lower than locomotives for Germany, Czechoslova- latter are still in operation today. With a those on Swiss mountain railways. How- kia, France, Spain and Japan. In total, weight of 81 t and a rating of 4,000 kW ever, the heavy ore trains placed high de- some 1,000 rail vehicles with Buchli they can reach 140 km/h. mands on the locomotives. ASEA sup- drives must have been built. plied the electrical equipment for 12 ASEA also turned to the development of 1,200 kW articulated locomotives (1’C) Longer and heavier international trains bogie locomotives. The first Bo’Bo’ type (C1’) with side-rod drive, as well as for on the Gotthard and Simplon lines soon Ra was introduced in 1955 ➔ 11. With its two similar 600 kW express locomotives demanded more powerful locomotives. beaded side panels, the “porthole” win- (2’ B 2’). 10,650 kW four-axle locomo- Developed from the type described dows and its round “baby face” the ma- tives for express goods services were above and using the same BBC Buchli chine reflected American design trends. later added, and mainly operated in pairs. drive, 127 Ae 4/7 (2’Do1’) locomotives Like its Swiss counterparts, it was In 1925 the 460 km long SJ mainline be- were built between 1927 and 1934. De- equipped with two traction motors per

92 ABB review 2|10 9 Sécheron type single-axle quill drive 10 Buchli single-axle drive manufactured by (Sécheron) BBC (BBC 12395)

The springing helped decouple the movement The motor shaft attached to the upper cog and of the axle from that of the motor, reducing the axle to the lower. track wear. bogie. Weighing only 60 t, it was capable state components soon found their way and the Sihltal railways (Switzerland), the of a top speed of 150 km/h. These loco- into locomotives. Between 1965 and Re 450 and Re 460 of SBB and the motives proved highly satisfactory and 1983, BLS purchased 35 Re 4/4, series Re 465 of BLS. remained in service until the 1980s. In 161 locomotives ➔ 12. Instead of using 1962, the first type Rb rectifier locomo- single-phase AC, the traction motors High-speed trains tives were introduced, followed by the were fed with half-wave rectified and re- Between 1989 and 1992, German rail- type Rc thyristor locomotives in 1967. actor-smoothed DC. The oil-cooled sol- ways (DB) commissioned 60 ICE (Inter- The latter were also supplied to Austria id-state diode rectifier was fed from the city Express) trains, which were based (type 1043) and the United States (type transformer tap changer. These locomo- AEM-7, built under license by General tives had two traction motors per bogie, Motors). connected in parallel to reduce the risk From a design per- of slippage on steep inclines. The loco- From rectifier to converter technology motives have an hourly rating of nearly spective, a single- From a design perspective, a single- 5 MW and have proven themselves ex- phase AC motor phase AC motor is largely identical to a tremely well. One machine was modified DC motor. However, speed or power with thyristor-based converters and suc- is largely identical control is simpler with DC. While some cessfully tested on the Austrian Semmer- countries chose to electrify their mainline ing line. As a result, ÖBB ordered 216 to a DC motor. networks with DC using a voltage of locomotives of a similar design (type However, speed or 1,500 or 3,000 V, others sought to ac- 1044) from ABB in Vienna. quire locomotives with onboard rectifiers power control is converting the AC supply to DC. One of The combination of frequency converters the downsides of DC electrification is and asynchronous motors proved to be simpler with DC. that the line voltage must be relatively particularly advantageous. It allowed a low as transformers cannot be used. This largely uniform drive concept to be real- on the technology of the E120. ABB was leads to higher conduction losses requir- ized that was essentially independent of involved in their development. The trains ing more frequent substations. Manufac- the type of power supplied by the con- consisted of two power cars with con- turers thus long sought ways of combin- tact wire. This enabled some standard- verter-controlled three-phase induction ing DC traction with AC electrification ization and also made it easier to build motors and 11 to 14 intermediate pas- (see also MFO’s first Seebach-Wettingen locomotives able to work under different senger cars. During a trial run on the locomotive described above). It was not voltages and frequencies for international newly completed high-speed line be- until vacuum-based singe-anode mercu- trains. Furthermore, the use of robust tween Hamburg and Frankfurt, one of ry tubes (so-called ignitrons or excitrons) three-phase induction motors saved on these trains reached a speed of were developed that rectifier locomotives maintenance due to the absence of com- 280 km/h. were built in large numbers (mostly in the mutators while also offering a higher United States and some Eastern Bloc power density, meaning motors could In 1990, ABB supplied the first of 20 countries). either be made smaller or more powerful. X2000 tilting high-speed trains to SJ for Examples of BBC and ABB locomotives express service between Stockholm and The semiconductor revolution in elec- using this arrangement are the E120 of Gothenburg. They use GTO converters tronics was to change this, and solid- DB, the Re 4/4 of Bodensee-Toggenburg and induction motors and can reach

Electrifying history 93 11 ASEA type Ra bogie locomotive of the Swedish State Railways 12 Re 4/4, series 161 rectifier locomotive of BLS, 1965

1 2

33

d = 1,300

7,800 2,2002,900 4,900 2,900 2,200

15,100

200 km/h. The type is now also used on Since 2002 ABB has maintained a close other lines in Sweden, enabling reduc- strategic cooperation with . tions in journey times of up to 30 per- Stadler is an internationally operating cent. rolling stock manufacturer that emerged from a small Swiss company, which orig- Streamlining the railway business inally produced diesel and battery-elec- Arguably, no other products of the ma- tric tractors for works railways and in- chine or electrical industry were consid- dustrial lines. The company is now an ered as prestigious by the general public important international supplier of multi- as railway vehicles, and although exports ple unit passenger trains. In recent years did occur, administrations generally pre- ABB has developed new components for ferred to buy from domestic suppliers. different overhead line voltages and fre- However, this paradigm began to change quencies as well as for diesel-electric in the late 1980s and 1990s. Notably, the traction applications. ABB supplies the prefabrication of parts allowed consider- transformers, traction converters, on- able reductions of lead times. Further- board power supply systems and battery more, such prefabricated subassemblies chargers used on Stadler trains. Starting permit final assembly to be carried out in 2011, 50 new Stadler double deck virtually anywhere. For the industry, this trains will enter service on SBB. Norbert Lang shift – combined with market liberaliza- Archivist tion – resulted in a transition from com- Today, ABB also has strategic agree- ABB Switzerland plete manufacturing for a local market to ments with other rolling stock manufac- [email protected] component delivery for a global market. turers and supplies strategic compo- nents to Alstom, Siemens and Further reading The ABB railway business today Bombardier. Although the company no – Bugli, Ralph W. (ed.). (1983) Electrifying Experi- Following the merger of ASEA and BBC longer operates as a manufacturer of ence. A Brief Account of The ASEA Group of to form ABB, the respective transporta- complete trains, ABB’s involvement with Sweden 1883–1983. – Haut, F. J. G. (1972) Die Geschichte der elek- tion system businesses were formed into and commitment to railways remains trischen Triebfahrzeuge. Vol. 1. an independent company within the ABB strong. – Huber-Stockar, E. (1928) Die Elektrifikation der Group. In 1996, ABB and Daimler Benz Schweizer Bundesbahnen. merged their railway activities under the – Machefert-Tassinn, et al. (1980) Histoire de la traction electrique, 2 vols. name ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation – Sachs, K. (1973) Elektrische Triebfahrzeuge. (Adtranz). Adtranz also acquired the 3 vols. Swiss companies SLM and Schindler – Schneeberger, H. (1995) Die elektrischen und Waggon in 1998. In 1999 ABB sold its Dieseltriebfahrzeuge der SBB, Vol. I: Baujahre 1904–1955. stake in Adtranz to DaimlerChrysler – Teich, W. (1987) BBC-Drehstrom-Antriebstechnik which later sold its railway sector to fur Schienenfahrzeuge, Mannheim. Bombardier. Thus today, ABB no longer – (1988-2010) ABB Review. builds complete locomotives, but contin- – (1924–1987) ASEA Journal (engl. ed.). ues to supply different high-performance – (1914–1987) BBC Mitteilungen – (1928–1943, 1950–1987) BBC Nachrichten components for demanding traction ap- – (1921–1970) Bulletin Oerlikon. plications. – (1929–1972) Bulletin Secheron

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