Multiple-units - Germany (1945-1994): books - history (1/2)

Die Baureihe VT 10.5 - Die Gliedertriebzüge Senator' und 'Komet' der Deutschen Bundesbahn

When the lifting of the ban on the development and construction of new rail vehicles imposed by the Allies after the end of the war in 1945 became foreseeable, the pioneer of the rapid transit concept, Franz Kruckenberg, and the Reichsbahn in the United Economic Area, later the Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB), made initial contact in March 1948.
President Frohne campaigned for the continuation of the successful railcar construction of the pre-war period and supported the resulting concept of light metal articulated multiple units.
Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) built a day train (VT 10 501) on behalf of the DB, while Wegmann manufactured a night train (VT 10 551) for the Deutsche Schlafwagen- and Speisewagengesellschaft (DSG).

Both trains, initially seven-carriage, had a largely identical drive concept with truck engines, hydromechanical transmissions and cardan shafts. The sleeping car train rested on Jakobs bogies, while the day train was given Kruckenberg's single-axle running gear for the separation points between the sections.
The book deals with the groundbreaking innovations of the time, including wider carriages, spacious interiors, air conditioning and an enclosed toilet.

Presented at the German Transport Exhibition in Munich in 1953, the trains became advertising vehicles for the new Federal Republic. Although not all expectations were met and they were withdrawn from scheduled service early, they paved the way for further projects for the companies involved, such as LHB, MAN and Wegmann, including the DB's TEE multiple unit (VT 11.5) from May 1957.

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Die Baureihen VT 08 und VT 12.5 - Die 'Eierköpfe' der Deutschen Bundesbahn'

They acquired cult status among railway enthusiasts, but after just ten years they became an early victim of electrification: the first diesel railcars built for the German Bundesbahn after 1945, the VT 08 for long-distance traffic and the VT 12 for regional traffic.

The period from the start of development to the decommissioning spanned almost forty years: after being used in high-quality F-train traffic and temporarily in TEE services as well as in long-distance district traffic, they gradually migrated to the "provinces" of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein after just a few years.
After the turning point in 1945, the VT 08 were also the first German vehicles that could travel to western countries such as Paris, Amsterdam, Ostend or Zurich.

This series book describes the technical development of the railcars from 1948, not forgetting the test vehicles VT 20.5 and the experimental railcar VT 92.5, and gives a detailed overview of the operational history from the "Münchner Kindl" in 1952 to the "Kopenhagen Express" in 1954 to the decommissioning in 1985 and the two preserved museum trains.
The six VT 08.8 saloon and hospital railcars built for the US Army also have their place. Information on the home of the railcars and their schedules complement the operational picture.

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Die TEE-Triebwagen der Deutschen Bundesbahn - Baureihe VT 11.5 - Entwicklung, Geschichte, Einsätze

The VT 115 series railcars once ushered in a new era for the German Bundesbahn: that of international TEE traffic! For more than ten years, their use was associated with such illustrious names as "Helvetia" or "Parsifal". After being "demoted" to IC honors, they were then used as the "Alpen-See-Express" in the 1980s in tourist traffic between northern Germany and the southern German holiday resorts.
Even after around 30 years of intensive use, the former TEE railcars were still very popular. It is therefore not surprising that even after they were decommissioned in 1988, they still caused a stir, whether as a luxury train in Italy or - briefly returned to Germany - as the "Max Liebermann" between Berlin and Hamburg.

With this book, the renowned specialist author Rüdiger Block has created a worthy monument to the former TEE railcar. In addition to the comprehensive presentation of the technology and the operational history of the VT 11.5/601 and the gas turbine trains of the 602 series, the foreign TEE railcars and the Danish variant of the VT 115 are also described in detail.
Numerous original documents and a representative picture section in the well-known EK quality round off the portrait of this beautifully designed railcar.

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Diesel- und Elektrotriebwagen der Deutschen Bundesbahn

This eighth volume of "Farbbild-Raritäten" is dedicated to the railcars of the German Bundesbahn. These include vehicles taken over from pre-war stocks as well as those newly developed before the transfer to Deutsche Bahn AG on January 1, 1994.
In addition to introductory texts, the book offers a selection of impressive photos, the oldest of which bring the early days of the Bundesbahn back to life with their colorful mixture of Reichsbahn types and new "egg heads", with the legendary TEE (VT 11.5) or the various rail buses, and then span the new regional railcars of the 1980s to the first generation of high-speed trains.
At the end of the book, some unusual rail service railcars are presented.

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Triebzug-Legenden der DB - Von den 'Eierköpfen' zum ICE

VT 08.5, VT 11.5, ET 403, InterCity-Experimental - from the early 1950s to the late 1980s, legendary designs have shaped the history of multiple units at DB.
It all began when DB put its first new streamlined multiple units into service in April 1952, which later earned the nickname "eggheads". With their elegant design, VT 08.5 and VT 12.5, ET 30 and ET 56 were synonymous with progress on rails.

In the 1960s, the VT 11.5 became a legend that stood for speed, design and luxury. As the flagship of the TEE network, it ran to Milan and Zurich, Amsterdam, Ostend and Paris.
And in 1985, the InterCity Experimental (ICE) was finally put into service, the prototype of a new generation of high-speed multiple units that still shape the image of long-distance rail transport today.

Separate chapters of this 240-page collection, which is based on the popular special editions of the Eisenbahn-Journal, are devoted to the futuristic but short-lived articulated trains "Komet" and "Senator" of the VT 10.5 series and the ET 403, which was nicknamed "Donald Duck" by railway fans and connected the airports of Düsseldorf and Frankfurt between 1982 and 1993 as the Lufthansa Airport Express.

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