INTRO: Three pre-production dual-system Class 185 freight locos for German Railway are equipped to operate using ERTMS/ETCS, although delays in the development of Specific Transmission Modules in each country to form the interface with existing signalling mean that conventional train protection systems will be used initially
TRIALS with a trio of pre-production Class 185 electric locomotives are already well under way. Built for DB Cargo by Adtranz to run under 15 kV 16 2/3 Hz and 25 kV 50Hz catenary, the units will succeed the 25 thyristor-controlled Class 181.2 dual-voltage locos built in the mid-1970s for hauling trains from Germany into France and Luxembourg. Once trials with the first three units are complete, Adtranz will begin delivering the rest of the fleet, giving DB Cargo the opportunity to use its own traction far from its home territory. One loco has already visited Denmark, and tests in Luxembourg are anticipated by the end of the year.
The initial three locos have been delivered with ERTMS/ ETCS equipment, although this will remain unused until the necessary Specific Transmission Modules are developed in the various countries where the locos will eventually run.
The significance of ERTMS/ETCS for international freight traffic was underlined on July 11 by Sven Flore, Head of Traction with DB Cargo, when he accepted the first loco from Adtranz in Kassel (RG 8.00 p491). ’A loco able to run from Sweden to Italy would need to be 2m longer to accommodate all the antennae’, he said. Rolf Gammert, Project Manager for DB locomotives with Adtranz, confirmed that signalling and train control systems were ’the biggest problem’ in developing interoperable motive power.
A Class 185 fitted to run in Germany costs DM4·85m, a price that reflects the unusually large size of the fleet. As many as 400 will be built for domestic and international duties, making the Class 185 contract the largest loco order in Germany for 50 years. The units were ordered in 1994 as an option to a contract for 80 Class 145 locos.
Delivery is set to commence immediately after completion of the Class 145 build in January 2001 with 50 locos a year rolling off the Kassel production lines until 2008. Bodyshells are fabricated in Poland and shipped to Kassel for final assembly, a process that takes around three weeks.
Mechanically, the 185 is almost identical to the Class 145, although the roof below the pantographs is 175mm lower to meet the requirements for running in France. The body is of all-welded construction, and traction rods transmit forces between the body and the Flexifloat bogies.
Up to four pantographs can be accommodated on the roof, although most units will be fitted with just two. Three pan widths are used in the nine countries where Class 185 is capable of operating: 1950mm in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Denmark; 1800mm in Sweden and Norway; and 1450mm in Switzerland, France and Luxembourg.
Power at either voltage is taken through the main circuit-breaker, which is the same as that used on Class 145 and the high speed Class 101 passenger loco. Secondary windings on the main transformer are connected to independent traction power converters, one per bogie. Each consists of a two-phase four-quadrant controller feeding one three-phase inverter per bogie through a nominal 2·8 kV intermediate DC circuit.
The use of individual GTO thyristors capable of switching 3kA at 4·5 kV is sufficient to sustain an output of 6000 kW on a four-axle locomotive, so in this respect Class 185 has considerable unused potential. The four asynchronous axle-hung traction motors have a continuous rating of 4200 kW.
Today’s power electronics mean that for a given output the space occupied by power conditioning equipment is only 75% of that needed on the first generation three-phase locomotives of Class 120.
Of particular interest is the cab design, which has three touch-screen displays. On the driver’s right is the display for the electronic working timetable, which is now standard on DB’s new motive power. The display immediately in front of the driver has several functions, one of which is to allow the driver to choose the network on which the train is to operate. Once the driver has touched the relevant symbol on the display, the locomotive will pick the correct pantograph and configure itself electrically for the chosen railway’s power supply.
To the driver’s left is the fault diagnosis screen; this is also used to select the correct automatic train protection and train control equipment. This is a separate function from the choice of network, because the changeover points for signalling and train protection do not necessarily coincide with the location where the power supply changes. The train radio panel is located to the left of the fault diagnosis screen.
Up to four Class 185 locos can work in multiple.
TABLE: Main data of Class 185
Wheel arrangement Bo-Bo
Power supply 15 kV 16 2/3Hz 25 kV 50Hz
Length mm 18900
Width mm 2978
Height mm 4210
Bogie centres mm 10400
Bogie wheelbase mm 2600
Wheel diameter, new mm 1250
Starting tractive effort kN 300
Continuous rating kW 4200
Maximum speed km/h 140
Weight tonnes 82
CAPTION: Class 185 is destined to become the mainstay of motive power for DB Cargo’s international services
CAPTION: The cab of a Class 185 has three touch-screen displays
CAPTION: On this display the driver is offered a choice of networks; once the railway’s symbol is selected, the locomotive configures itself for the relevant power supply. The driver chooses the train protection system on a different screen, as changeover points for power supply, train protection and signalling systems do not always coincide
