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amici della Ferrovia Genova - Casella
FGC
Gmeinder D1
As
we receive a lot of information request about this new FGC diesel locomotive
from people who live in other Countries, we decided to write this small note
about this equipment.
FGC
D1 belongs to the DB Class V52.
The
DB Class V 51 (from 1968: DB Class 251) and DB Class V 52 (from 1968: DB
Class 252) are classes of almost identical narrow gauge 4 axle diesel
hydraulic locomotives built in 1964 for the Deutsche Bundesbahn, being built
for 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) and 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge
lines respectively.
Both
are outwardly similar to the standard gauge DB Class V 100 and were built to
replace steam locomotives on the narrow gauge lines in Baden-Württemberg.
In
fact, in the early 1960s the narrow gauge railways of Baden-Württemberg
were still operated by 13 outdated steam locomotives. To enable their
withdrawal, and to continue operations on the 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
and 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge railways the state of
Baden-Wuerttemberg subsidized the production of diesel locomotives by the
Deutsche Bundesbahn.
Thus
the Deutsche Bundesbahn was asked to provide locomotives with suitably low
axle load, suitable for both freight and passenger work, and which were
suitable for use on small radius curves. High speed was not a primary
requirement, more so on ease of maintenance and a reliable design.
The
Gmeinder company in Mosbach / Baden put forward a design for a 4 axle, twin
bogied machine, which was similar to the MaK 400 BB machines made in 1959
for the Alsen´sche Portland-Cementfabrik KG in Itzehoe which had a gauge of
860 mm (2 ft 9 7⁄8 in) - having similar power transmission via a
hydraulic gearbox.
Both
classes shared the same design: a four axle narrow-gauge diesel locomotive
with two two axle bogies which was at the time a modern design. All machines
had two MWM diesels each with an output of 270 hp (200 kW) @ 1600 rpm.
located in the longer end, with the shorter end containing the auxiliary
diesel engine, the batteries, the compressor and the diesel tanks.
The
transmission was via a torque converter type "TwinDisc 11500
MS450" with a MaK produced final drive of the type MaK 3.162.04. The
locomotive's maximum service speed was 40 km/h (25 mph) thought the actual
top speed was around 65 km/h (40 mph).
The
starting tractive effort is 132 kN (30,000 lbf) - remarkable for such a
small locomotive. The Sifa safety system was fitted but not Indusi because
of the slow speeds the trains used on the branch lines.
In
1963 Gmeinder was given a license to build the locomotives and the
construction went smoothly, with the three V 51, and the two V 52
locomotives being delivered in 1964, both being identical in all but the
wheelsets. Both classes were numbered from 900 onwards - narrow gauge steam
engines had class numbers 900 upwards.
The
two V 52 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge locomotives were delivered in
1964 to the narrow gauge Schmalspurbahn Mosbach-Mudau (Mosbach-Mudau) line
(the Odenwaldexpreß) to replace the 4 steam locomotives that were working
there.
Despite
working well the new diesels could not stop the decline of the minor routes
of the state of Baden-Württemberg: The line from Mosbach to Mudau still had
good levels of freight traffic, but passenger use was not so good;
consequently the use of the V 52s on its single track did not last as long
as was originally intended.
The
two locomotives remained on the Mosbach-Mudau; being suited to freight work;
and because of five manufacturing companies using the line at Sattelbach and
Krumbach Limbach. Roll-blocks were used to transport standard gauge freight
wagons on the meter gauge track. Additionally both were still used for
passenger trains, which were worked with four passenger cars procured with
state funds in 1965.
From
1968 the locomotives were reclassified as DB Class 252
Nevertheless,
despite the freight work and dieselization in 1973 the line closed. Both
units rebuilt to standard (1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)) gauge and sold to
local private rail companies to recover the state grant which was used in
their purchase.
As
part of the rebuilding at Gmeinder the cab of 252 901 was broadened giving
an unusual and unharmonic appearance. It went as '62' to the Albtalbahn in
Karlsruhe.
In
1974 the second locomotive 252 902 (ex V 52 902) became "VL 46-01"
on the Südwestdeutsche Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft mbH (SWEG) (Southwest German
railway company) (since 1984: Southwest Deutsche Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft)
and worked on the Kaiserstuhlbahn.
In
1985, both engines were sold via the handling company NEWAG in Oberhausen to
the Italian company Gleismac Italiana SpA in Gazzo di Bigarello (Mantua).
From there, in 1987, 252 901 went without any structural changes to the
construction company Francesco Ventura SrL in Paola (southern Italy) where
it was numbered as "7152 T".
252
902 was converted back to meter gauge (in which the original appearance was
restored) and sold to the narrow-gauge Ferrovia Genova-Casella (FGC) (Genoa)
in 1986. It started its service
on Genoa-Casella railway on 21 June 1987 as “D1” but, because of its
hydrodynamic Voith transmission, experimented several troubles e it has been
set aside since 1993.
In
2008 the railway owner decided to put back in service the loco and a
complete rebuild was planned. Tesmec Tesmec Srl in Monopoli (Bari), a
society of Tesmec Group Spa specialized in designing and manufacturing
railway vehicles and special equipment for operations on railway lines,
refurbished Gmeinder D1.
They
installed a new diesel and replaced the original hydrodynamic Voith
transmission with a more useful hydrostatic transmission. Additional, they
set up a new hydraulic system to feed other external systems and they
completely rebuilt the pneumatic and electrical systems. They did the same
with deteriorated structural parts and they restored the control panels on
the driver's desk. Original commands has been integrated with new devices
like accelerator, lights, etc..
Particularly,
they installed a single diesel engine Iveco Cursor C13 in-line 6-cylinder,
calibrated to the power of 375 kW at 2100 rpm / min, connected to the
coupler where are flanged the variable displacement pumps for the traction
and the additional hydraulic pumps. The hydraulic power generated by the
pump is sent to the two variable displacement hydraulic motors, each on a
flanged gearbox with two transmission ratios (Fast / slow drive), centrally
housed under the chassis in order to replace the old grouper / inverter. The
kinematic chain of transmission, starting from the two gearboxes continues
with the reducers / distributors of trucks and from these to the two-wheel
cart of salt, through cardan shafts.
From
the aesthetic point of view, we note the presence of a single exhaust pipe
and a new aeration grill on the forepart that houses the motor. The loco was
finally colored in blue and white livery in use on “Ferrovia Genova
Casella”.
The
loco has official come back in service on 23 November 2015 after the
official test run.
FGC,
which totally borrows to “Regione Liguria” (Italian local government),
is still the D1’s owner and payed for the restoration work.
FGC
has been closed to regular service since November 2013 due to important work
on the line, like the rebuilt of Fontanassa and Crocetta bridges.
Unfortunately, the railway was also several damaged during the great storm
that hit Genoa in October 2014. Therefore, nowadays several work are going
on the line in order to re-open it as soon as possible. D1 is currently
employ in maintenance train that refurbish these yards.
Line
opening to regular service is scheduled in May 2016.
After that date, D1 would be used as recovery loco or for special
services included charter train.
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