Ausbesserungswerk
Encyclopedia
Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft
The Deutsche Reichsbahn – was the name of the German national railway created from the railways of the individual states of the German Empire following the end of World War I....
(DRG) period between the two world wars these facilities were called Reichsbahnausbesserungswerke (RAW) (Reichsbahn repair shops).
Terminology
Whilst the term Ausbesserungswerk was used by the former Deutsche BundesbahnDeutsche Bundesbahn
The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...
in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
after the war, the railway workshops in the Deutsche Reichsbahn in East Germany continued to refer to them as Reichsbahnausbesserungswerke until 1992. The term Hauptwerkstatt was also commonly used by state railways (Länderbahn) or private railways and they are still called that today, for example, in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. In general the Deutsche Bahn AG (DB AG) today uses the term Werk (works); these facilities belonging to the DB Instandhaltung Gmbh (DB Maintenance Co Ltd).
Functions
In contrast to the BahnbetriebswerkBahnbetriebswerk
A Bahnbetriebswerk is the equivalent of a locomotive depot on the German and Austrian railways. It is an installation that carries out the maintenance, minor repairs, refuelling and cleaning of locomotives and other motive power. In addition it organises the deployment of locomotives and crews...
e, that are responsible for routine, everyday tasks, Ausbesserungswerke specialise in major repairs, general inspections and the refurbishment of exchangeable components. In addition they handle the conversion and modernisation of vehicles, as well as the construction of new vehicles in some cases. On top of the maintenance of vehicles, most Ausbesserungswerke also carry out the manufacture of turnout
Turnout
Turnout may refer to:* Turnout , a rotation of the leg which comes from the hips, causing the knee and foot to turn outward, away from the center of the body* Turnout , a British film...
s, the construction of signal gantries, platform roofing and similar steel structures. Depending on the particular specialisation of an individual Ausbesserungswerk it may also be described as a Reisezugwagenwerk (coach works), Güterwagenwerk (goods wagon works) or Weichenwerk (turnout works).
History
With the expansion of the railway network from the middle of the 19th century a large number of Ausbesserungswerke sprang up in the entire German speaking world. During the transition from maintenance-intensive steam tractionSteam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
to the more maintenance-friendly electric
Electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...
and diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
s, as well as the increasing rationalisation of workshop operations, the number of Ausbesserungswerke needed could be reduced significantly. Today the Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
only retains the Ausbesserungswerke at Neumünster (coaches), Cottbus (diesel locomotives), Chemnitz (components), Paderborn-Nord (goods wagons), Witten (turnout works), Bremen (diesel locomotives), Kassel (diesel railcars), Krefeld-Oppum (electric railcars), Dessau (electric locomotives), Fulda (components), Nuremberg (electric railcars), Meiningen (historic vehicles, goods wagons and snow clearing equipment), Eberswalde (goods wagons), Zwickau
Zwickau
Zwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
(goods wagons) and Wittenberge (coaches). In addition, there are Hauptwerkstätten for the Berlin S-Bahn
Berlin S-Bahn
The Berlin S-Bahn is a rapid transit system in and around Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It consists of 15 lines and is integrated with the mostly underground U-Bahn to form the backbone of Berlin's rapid transport system...
at Berlin-Schöneweide and the Hamburg S-Bahn
Hamburg S-Bahn
The Hamburg S-Bahn is a railway network for public rapid mass transit in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. Together the S-Bahn, the Hamburg U-Bahn, the AKN railway and the regional railway form the backbone of railway public transport in the city and the surrounding area...
at Hamburg-Ohlsdorf.
The Deutsche Bahn AG aside, the Austrian Federal Railways, Swiss Federal Railways and large private railways have their own Hauptwerkstätten. In Weiden, Stendal and Delitzsch Ausbesserungswerke belonging to the DB AG and its predecessors have been transferred to private ownership.
A private Ausbesserungswerk in Unterhausen (Bavaria) at Neuburg an der Donau
Neuburg an der Donau
Neuburg an der Donau, literally Neuburg on the Danube River, is a town which is the capital of the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in the state of Bavaria in Germany.-Divisions:The municipality has 16 divisions:-History:...
maintains goods vehicles, mainly tank wagons.
Typical layout
U-Bahn and tram repair shops
Hauptwerkstätten for railway vehicles are not just found on normal railways, but also on the U-Bahn (underground) and tramTram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
ways. Due to the comparatively small number of vehicles to be maintained the Hauptwerkstätten are in most cases attached to tramway sheds (Bahnbetriebshöfen). An example of a tram workshop is the Hauptwerkstätte of the Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
tramway system.
Former Ausbesserungswerke in Germany
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Alstom Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are... ) Stadler Rail Stadler Rail AG , based in Bussnang, Switzerland, is a Swiss manufacturer of rail passenger cars.In 1942 Ernst Stadler founded the Stadler Engineering Office which later became Stadler Rail.- Factories :... works) |
External links
- Overview of the Ausbesserungswerke of the Deutsche Bahn AG
- Overview of the Ausbesserungswerke of the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn
- Overview of the Ausbesserungswerke of the Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1932
See also
- BahnbetriebswerkBahnbetriebswerkA Bahnbetriebswerk is the equivalent of a locomotive depot on the German and Austrian railways. It is an installation that carries out the maintenance, minor repairs, refuelling and cleaning of locomotives and other motive power. In addition it organises the deployment of locomotives and crews...
- Bahnbetriebswerk (steam locomotive)
- Motive power depotMotive power depotMotive power depot, usually abbreviated to MPD, is a name given to places where locomotives are stored when not being used, and also repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds", or, for short, just sheds. Facilities are provided for refuelling and...