German Reichsbahn class 250
DB AG class 155
The Reichsbahn had the class 250 manufactured for universal use with heavy passenger and freight trains. It was designed with a LEW conical spring drive for a speed of 160 km/h, but was only approved for 125 km/h due to the infrastructure in the GDR. The locomotives, which were also otherwise developed according to then modern points of view, were taken over by the DB AG in 1994 as the class 155 and initially continued to be used to haul heavy passenger trains, too. But with the railway reform, they came to DB Cargo, what limited their use to freight service. Due to their shape, they were also called “Kraftcontainer” or “Hochleistungscontainer”, both nicknames meaning something like “High-powered container”. The last locomotives were phased out in 2019.
Technical data
General
- Built
- 1974, 1977-1984
- Manufacturers
- LEW Hennigsdorf
- Wheel arrangement
- C-C
- Gauge
- 1,435 mm (Standard gauge)
Dimensions and weights
- Length
- 19.60 m
- Wheelbase
- 14.50 m
- Service mass
- 123 t
- Adhesion mass
- 123 t
- Rigid wheelbase
- 3.30 m
- Axle load
- 20.5 t
Power
- Power source
- electric - AC
- Hourly power
- 5,400 kW (7,342 PS)
- Continuous power
- 5,100 kW (6,934 PS)
- Top speed
- 125 km/h
- Starting effort
- 480.0 kN
Calculated values
- Factor of adhesion
- 1 : 2.51
- Power-to-weight ratio
- 43.9 kW/t
- Adhesive weight/Total
- 1 : 1.00
