The Baureihe E 40 is a German Standard electric locomotive (German: ''Einheits-Elektrolokomotive'') commissioned by the

Deutsche Bundesbahn The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB (German Federal Railway) was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remaine ...

in 1955, designed for

freight train Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) haul ...

s. Since the 1968 renumbering, it is listed as Class 140 and Class 139.

Development

In 1950, the

introduced two general types of electric locomotives with standardised components: A twelve-wheel (UIC: Co'Co') freight train locomotive as successor for the class E 94 and an eight-wheel (UIC: Bo'Bo') general purpose electric locomotive as successor for the class E 44. A new feature was that the driver was seated, whereas formerly they had to stand. During the construction period the speed requirement for a general purpose locomotive (working title E 46, then changed to class E 10) was increased to that point that the layout was one for an express train locomotive. Two types were not found sufficient to cover all needs, so the Einheits-Elektrolokomotiven program was changed to four general types: Light passenger train locomotive ( class E 41), express train locomotive ( class E 10), freight train locomotive class E 40 and heavy freight train locomotive ( class E 50). All four classes were designed to share as many components as possible.

Production and design of Class E 40

The class E 40 basically is a class E 10 without electric brake, altered gear ratio for lower speed and correspondingly higher

tractive effort As used in mechanical engineering, the term tractive force can either refer to the total traction a vehicle exerts on a surface, or the amount of the total traction that is parallel to the direction of motion. In railway engineering, the term t ...

along with additional minor changes. As all other types of the ''Einheitslokomotiven'' program the class E 40 had welded bogies with central pins. Instead the formerly used axle hung motors it used a

quill drive A quill is a writing tool made from a moulted flight feather (preferably a primary wing-feather) of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen, the metal- nibbed pen, the fountain pen, and, eventuall ...

with a circular rubber spring as a connecting element ("Gummiringfeder" in German) reducing unsprung mass. The control unit had 28 power settings. 879 units were built, making it the ''Einheitslokomotive'' (standard locomotive) of its era. The original speed was 100 km/h, this was enhanced to 110 km/h in 1969 in order to allow better usability also for commuter trains. A sub-series, known as 140.8, were equipped for push-pull train operation. In 1968 class E 40 was renumbered to class 140.

Subclass E 40.11

Starting in 1959, 31 locomotives were equipped with electrical brakes (as all class E 10 units were) for the ramp near Erkrath-Hochdahl between

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

and

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; "''Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and tow ...

and the Höllentalbahn in southern Germany. Nowadays these engines are in service around

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, with recent services to Austria, where the electric brake is very useful. In the beginning of the 1990s some additional class 139 (as they were renumbered in 1968) were built by equipping class 110 units with class 140 bogies and gearboxes from class 110 units pulled out of service. Both class 140 and class 139 are being replaced by newer constructions such as class 145, class 185 and class 189. It is widely expected that the last units will be scrapped before 2010, though the higher than expected increase in railway freight traffic has created some traction shortages, thus some class 140 units are being overhauled.

External links

E 40 profile and pictures on Trainspo
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