Kraków 2023-02-22
Motor cars in the period 1918 - 1939.
Railway motor cars have a long history, also in Poland. Motor cars before the Second World War were called motor cars. Immediately after Poland regained its independence, the possibility of introducing motor wagons to selected lines was seriously considered. Mainly on routes with low passenger traffic, as well as on routes where passengers, at the expense of a more expensive ticket, will get to their destination much faster. It was claimed that the motor car is already so improved that it can effectively displace some unprofitable fast trains, and with a lower cost of operation, the motor car can compete with the bus and even with the plane on short lines. It was estimated that motor cars could safely reach speeds of up to 130 km/h. Minor trails may be adapted to travel at a speed of 90 km/h. A tempting vision was a trip from Warsaw to Gdynia in 3 hours, which made a real trip from Warsaw to the Baltic Sea on Sunday.
In 1927, PKP bought Clayton type motor cars with steam engines in England. In Lesser Poland, these wagons were tested for 18 months on the Kraków - Wieliczka route. The wagons showed some shortcomings, so they were abandoned.
The first standard-gauge diesel wagon was brought to Poland in 1927 from the German company TAG from Kiel. The wagon had a petrol engine with a power of 150 hp. The transmission was mechanical. The wagon ran on the Kraków - Wieliczka route.
Another vehicle of this type was purchased by the private railway company from the Hungarian company "Ganz", in Budapest, for the service of the local line: Kraków Główny - Kraków Grzegórzki - Kocmyrzów. Currently (2023) this line no longer exists.
The Italian motor wagon "Littorina" also arrived in Poland for trials.
Until 1933, PKP had about 15 motor cars of various manufacturers. Motor cars were generally similar to each other, but the construction solutions were very different. They were powered by petrol or diesel engines that differed in power. Various gears and clutches were used. Different fuels were used.
FABLOK SAx 90 Luxtorpeda motor cars.
Luxtorpeda was a diesel car that was the pride of PKP and Poland. The plans of the vehicle were made by Austro-Daimler, and the manufacturer was Fablok. SAx 90 wagons were produced in the period 1933 - 1935. The wagon received aerodynamic shapes.
In 1933, PKP rented a motor car from Austro-Daimler-Puch (Austrian designation VT63). After the tests, blueprints were bought and production was started at the Fablok factory. A test car was also purchased, which was marked SAx 90080 in PKP. On the basis of the purchased plans, the construction was polonized. The lead engineer was Klemens Stefan Sielecki. 5 copies of the SAx 90081 - SAx 90085 were built in the Fablok factory. All 6 cars were stationed in Krakow until the outbreak of World War II. In 1936, one Luxtorpeda wagon set a record for the journey on the Kraków - Zakopane route, with the result of 2 hours 18 minutes. During the German bombings in September 1939, 4 out of 6 Luxtorpeda wagons were destroyed. The other two wagons carried the Germans on the Kraków - Zakopane route. In 1945, the wagons were stolen by the Soviets, but returned to Krakow in 1948, destroyed. One of the wagons served as a spare parts warehouse for the other, which transported workers to the Siersza mine in Trzebinia. Around 1954, both wagons were cut up for scrap. No copy has survived.
T-T data Luxtorpeda type SAx 90: Axle arrangement (1A)'(A1)'. Service weight 19,600 - 22,000 kg. Length 22.50 m. Width 2.80 m. Height 2.64 m. Wheel diameter 1.03 m. Engines Pich 2 x 59 kW or MAN 92 kW. Design speed 100 km/h or 115 km/h. Torque converter. Number of seats depending on the car: 48 - 56. There was a place for skis in the cars going to Zakopane.
HCP motor cars of the SBx series.
In 1933, it was decided not to look for motor cars abroad anymore, but to develop them in Poland and produce them here. It was decided to use the previous experience gained by PKP. Production was undertaken by the HCP plant (Hipolit Cegielski in Poznań). As it was said in Poznań at "Ceglarz". The second plant was the Warsaw wagon factory "Lilpop, Rau and Loewenstein".
The design and prototype of the SBx series motor car was the exclusive work of HCP. We will immediately point out that in the period from 1934 to 1939, about 25 motor cars were built in Poznań, the lengths of which differed significantly. Therefore, the information in the description below may be imprecise or untrue, and time works against us.
The first HCP motor car at first glance resembles a "Pulman" type passenger car. But it has more aerodynamic shapes. The car was painted cream and blue. Some said creamy sapphire. There are 2nd and 3rd class seats in the motor car. But even in 3rd class the seats are upholstered and soft. In class 2, tables for playing cards were prepared. Their tops have the four colors of a deck of cards painted on them.
The HCP motor car is equipped with two Diesel-Saurer diesel engines, which consume 28 - 30 kg of diesel fuel per 100 km. The Saurer engine license was bought in Germany. Saurer BD 6-cylinder engine, 150 hp (110 kW). Due to its lower weight, the wagon damages the tracks less than a regular train. The wagon was constructed in such a way that the average travel speed was 90 km/h, which was considered unsatisfactory at that time. The underframe and body of the wagon were made by welding, which at that time was a modern method of joining steel structures. The box is based on two bogies and each bogie has two axles. Both carts have the same structure. Each of them is fitted with one 6-cylinder, licensed Saurer BD engine, 150 hp (110 kW), driving through a 4-speed mechanical transmission of the Mylius CV2 system, the axle of the bogie, which is closer to the center of the car. The axles are mounted in rolling bearings, which was a modern solution at the time. The car was equipped with an automatic Westinghouse brake, which was a standard on PKP at that time, and a hand brake.
The interior of the box was divided into two control cabins, located at the ends of the car. There are two passenger compartments: 2nd and 3rd class. In addition, there is a compartment: luggage, postal, heating and toilet. The car took 75 passengers on board: 20 people in the 2nd class and 55 people in the 3rd class, but 11 seats were so-called "reclining".
The streamlined shapes of the car body and the low service weight of 32,300 kg allowed for high acceleration and high speeds. In August 1934, the motor car passed factory tests and then state tests. The tests were positive, but the general opinion about the usefulness of this type of vehicle was extreme. From enthusiasm and admiration to extreme criticism. Nevertheless, further approvals for test drives with passengers were issued.
On September 24, 1934, the motor car HCP SBCgix No. 90 057 covered the Poznań - Warsaw route in 3 hours and 21 minutes. During tests with passengers, the wagon quickly gained a speed of 100 km/h. Participants of the ride even mentioned a speed of 115 km/h, and even temporarily 123 km/h. Passengers, however, did not feel this speed, because the carriage glided gently on the rails, and not like in an automobile, where every unevenness of the road could be felt. Nevertheless, some ladies felt nauseous.
On September 25, 1934, the same motor car HCP SBCgix No. 90 057 set off from Warsaw to Łódź Kaliska with passengers. The route led through: Warsaw - Sochaczew - Zgierz - Łódź Kaliska. HCP motor car No. 90 057 covered this route in 86 minutes (1 hour 26 minutes). The maximum speed was 130 km/h. Then tests were carried out on a very difficult route from Kraków to Zakopane. On uphill stretches of 25 per mille, the speed of 50 km/h was reached, which was a very good result.
Data T-T HCP SBCdix No. 90 057: Overall length 20.863 m. Width 2.950 m. Bogie pivot spacing 12.280 m. Bogie wheelbase 3.500 m. Wheel diameter 0.910 m. Design speed 120 km/h.
PKP decided to continue purchasing similar wagons from HCP plants. In this way, a new era began for PKP. The new traction appeared on most railway directorates, especially those in Warsaw, Krakow and Vilnius. Motor cars could be found on the Warsaw - Sochaczew - Łódź Kaliska route.
In 1935, the HCP SBx motor car No. 90 059 was presented. The new production series began with the HCP SBx motor car No. 90 099. This series introduced multiple control and the possibility of attaching light passenger cars.
In 1934, the HCP SBx motor car No. 90057 was delivered to PKP. In 1935, HCP SBx vehicles No. 90058, 90059, 90060, 90065 were delivered. In 1936, 5 SBx motor cars were delivered by the Lilpop, Rau and Loewenstein factory in Warsaw. Also in 1936, the HCP plant delivered motor cars of the SBx series No. 90076, 90077, 90078, 90079, 90086. These vehicles had a Voith hydraulic transmission. By the end of 1939, the plant in Poznań was to deliver another 15 wagons. The interior was supposed to have wider seats; not 5 seats in a row, but 4 seats. A certificate for a cruising speed of up to 140 km/h was envisaged.
The motor car SBx No. 90 104 presented in the picture was built in 1939. And as it turned out, it was the last motor car built by the HCP plant before the German invasion of Poland. The motor car SBx No. 90104 is in the collections of the open-air museum in Chabowka and is awaiting reconstruction.
Motor cars "Lilpop, Rau and Loewenstein".
In the "Lilpop, Rau and Loewenstein" factory, prototypes of two two-axle motor cars were created, which were intended for local transport. Both of them were two-axle vehicles equipped with a single Saurer diesel engine. The first was a typical passenger car. The second of the prototypes was constructed with mountain tourist traffic in mind. Inside, there was a large luggage compartment and a place for skis. The wagons had the designation SC90, SCi90 series. Serial production of these wagons was started. Attached passenger cars, marked Ci93, were developed for these motor cars. From December 1935, until the outbreak of World War II, these wagons served suburban traffic in the Vilnius region. After the Second World War, few vehicles were operated until the 70s of the 20th century.
In the "Lilpop, Rau and Loewenstein" factory, motor cars of the SBx series were also built, very similar to the cars built in HCP. The layout of the entrance door and windows was different. The head of the train and its basic dimensions were identical. In 1936, the company delivered wagons with serial numbers: 90087, 90088, 90089, 90090, 90091.
Motor cars "Zieleniecki and Fitzner" in Sanok.
Motor cars were also produced by the well-known company "United Machinery, Boiler and Wagon Factory - Zieleniecki and Fitzner - Gamper S.A." in Sanok. The company built, among others, motor carriages of the SCgx No. 90 series. The carriages were made as passenger and postal carriages. At least three wagons of the SBx series, no. 90092, 90093, 90094, were built in Sanok.
Until the outbreak of World War II, PKP used about 50 motor cars. Most of them, about 25, were produced by the HCP plant. Most motor cars were stationed at DOKP Warszawa. They serviced the routes Warsaw - Katowice and Warsaw - Krakow through Kielce. Two wagons were combined into one train and in the town of Tunel they were separated to Katowice and Krakow. There was a relation between Warsaw and Katowice via Częstochowa. There was a relation between Warsaw - Białystok - Suwałki. From August 1, 1939, the Warsaw - Poznań connection was launched. About 4 wagons of the SBx series were stationed in Skarżysko Kamienna. They operated on the following routes: Skarżysko - Katowice, Skarżysko - Łódź. Also 4 wagons were in Lviv. 11 motor cars of the SCi series (no. 90030, 90066, 90067, 90068, 90069, 90070, 90071, 90072, 90073, 90074, 90075), 3 cars of the SBCix series (no. Ci series trailers.
To sum up, motor cars in Poland have reached the same high technical level as airplanes in aviation. However, in general, motor cars throughout Europe have proven themselves only on local routes, and their high top speed was not such an important asset. The problem was in the throughput of the trails. By launching a motor car with 70 passengers on the route, the same safety had to be maintained as with a classic train with 1,000 passengers, so the capacity of the route was very limited. And those were the times when more and more people wanted to visit distant relatives or see the Baltic Sea.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman