Prototype
History
The Class 103 was for more than three decades the
flagship of the German railways. This Co’Co’ locomotive was specifically
designed to pull premium passenger trains at top speeds of 200kph (125mph),
even though at the time of design there were hardly any routes capable of
accommodating such speeds, thus reducing it operationally to 160kph top speeds
through 1977. Over the course of its service life, the 103 gradually was
displaced from premium long distance trains by the arrival of dedicated high
speed ICE trains in the 90s, as well as the 103's successors, the Class 120 and the Class 101, both of which have push-pull capability unlike the 103. Although slated for retirement in 1990, many 103s were kept active after
German reunification in order to permit DB to serve its now suddenly vastly
expanded network. The 103 saw a further limited renaissance in 2008
and 2009, when a number of units were reactivated to pull substitute trains
following the grounding of all ICE trains to investigate and repair possible wheel
fractures. At least four operational 103s remain with DB
Fernverkehr AG, with several others on static display in various museums around
Germany.
The production series 103.1 represented the
state of the art of 1970s electric locomotive construction and remains one of
the most powerful electric locomotives ever built. Its initial tractive force
of 312kN up to a speed of 140kph remains unrivalled even by more modern
three-phase electrics. A handful of units were modified for high speed testing
and set various German speed records going up to 283kph. Even when the InterCity system was expanded to include 2nd Class coaches in 1979, and train compositions went from four to six coaches single class to seven to fourteen coaches in the two-class version, the 103 fulfilled its new assignment with distinction. As it was considered a
relatively expensive locomotive to operate and maintain, DB management aimed at
keeping these engines running as much as possible to generate maximum revenue.
As a result, the 103 still holds utilization records with DB in excess of
350,000 operational kilometers per year per locomotive.
 |
| Pre-production prototype No. 1 with its original designation as E03 001, distinguishable from the production model by its single row of vents and silver roof and trim. (wikimedia) |
Its iconic streamline shape, its speed and its ubiquitous
presence at the head of most German premium long-distance trains made the 103 the
childhood dream of all wannabe train engineers and consequently resulted in a
plethora of models being offered in every imaginable scale. But before looking
at the offerings in N-scale, we should note a few visual variations of the
prototype’s shape and paint schemes.
Variants
The original pre-production series was named E03 (before
the introduction of the computer numbering system in 1968, whereupon it was
redesignated 103.0), of which four prototypes were produced in 1965 and used
for extensive testing. It is easily distinguishable from the production series
103.1 by its single row of vents. The production series 103.1 (145 units built
from 1970 to 1974) had a second row of vents added to address overheating
issues identified during the testing of the four prototypes. Additionally, the
last 30 production units (plus one engine rebuilt after an accident) were
lengthened by 70cm (noticeable by a larger distance between the side window and
the access door) in order to address engineers’ complaints of cramped quarters
in the streamlined nose.
 |
| 103 235-8, one of the surviving operational stretched cab versions in the classic TEE colors, pulling a special train of restored 1968 Rheingold coaches. (wikimedia) |
The 103 wore a number of paint schemes over the
course of its service life. As it was originally designed to pull exclusive 1st
class only Trans Europ Express trains, the four pre-production engines were
originally painted in largely the same scheme as the then-current TEE
flagships, the E10.12 electric (a.k.a. 112 Class) and the Vt 11.5 DMU (a.k.a.
601 Class): silver roof with red trim, beige body with a Bordeaux-red lower
side and a black bottom frame, plus a decorative Bordeaux-red
stripe around the nose, with a black cast-iron DB logo attached to the nose.
The first production models retained largely the same scheme, apart from losing
the silver coloring and red trim around the roof. During the 80s, the cast iron
logo was often replaced with a red DB sticker. In addition, a handful of later units
had a Bordeaux-red bottom frame instead of the dark grey.
 |
| 103 113-7, a surviving operational short cab 103 with the more rare red bottom frame. Compare also the painted DB logo to the cast iron DB sign attached to 103 235-8 above. (wikimedia) |
Originally, all 103s were delivered with scissor type
pantographs. These were found to be problematic at higher speeds, especially
when traveling under the Austrian catenary system. After a number of incidents
in Austria, in which crosswinds caused the scissor pantographs to entangle
themselves in the overhead wire and tear it down, the scissor pantographs were
replaced gradually between the early and mid-1970s by single arm pantographs.
Initially the single arm pantographs were not available in sufficient numbers,
so single arm pantographs from brand new Class 111 engines were swapped with
scissor pantographs from the 103, as the 111 traveled only at
lower speeds. Both types of pantographs were factory painted in red, but that
paint was often covered in grime so that representations in dark grey or black
would not be visually inaccurate. Also, all 103s had initially skirts around
front end of each bogie. These were removed between 1981
and 1982 on all units, as aerodynamic effects around these skirts caused
ballast and ice to become airborne and damage the trailing coaches at higher
speeds.
 |
| A typical orient-red 103 with dark grey vents operating an InterRegio train - one of the 103's typical assignments in the 90s and early 2000s. (wikimedia) |
In 1987, DB introduced a new paint scheme, whereby all
locomotives, regardless of operational scope, would be painted orient-red with
a white ‘bib’ on the nose. Most 103s were repainted in this scheme as they came
up for overhaul, though a few remained in the original red/beige until
retirement. Many, though not all, orient-red 103s had a dark grey box around
the side vents. As the Deutsche Bundesbahn was converted from a state
enterprise to the publicly traded Deutsche Bahn AG, the old DB logo was
gradually replaced by the more slender DBAG logo on both the orient-red and the
remaining red/beige engines.
Four special paint schemes exist (of
course all of them were represented in N scale in order to stretch sales of an
old mold a little more):
- 103 109-5, though the ninth to be built, was the first series production 103 delivered
to DB and as such initially had a slightly deviating scheme, with a silver box
with pointy ends painted around the vent area, as well as a red stripe around
each nose that extended further past the doors. It kept this (increasingly tattered) livery until 1987,
at which point it received the regular red/beige but with a red bottom frame.
 |
| 103 101-2 in its unique Lufthansa Airport Express, pulling the namesake three coach train, which operated between Stuttgart Hbf and Frankfurt Airport. (wikimedia) |
- 103 101-2 was painted in Lufthansa Airport Express
livery from 1991 to 1993 for the new route from Frankfurt Airport to Stuttgart.
This engine is preserved in Darmstadt in its later orient-red livery in largely
operational condition but without last checks and certifications which it would need for actual operation.
- 103 220-0, a later stretched-cab version, was painted in a multicolored
blue/green/yellow scheme for the DB Touristikzug (with matching coaches). This engine was until this coming weekend preserved
in this livery in Neustadt a.d. Weinstraße in largely operational condition but
without operational checks and certification. It is due to be returned to DB for repainting in classic red-beige TEE livery and will go on display at the DB Museum in Koblenz-Lüztel.
- In 2000 DBAG introduced yet another livery, whereby all
locomotives would be painted traffic red with a white bar on the nose and grey
bottom and top. As the 103s were slated for retirement already, none were
scheduled to be repainted in this livery. But the Austrian model train
manufacturer Roco put up some sponsoring money to have one engine, 103 223-3,
repainted in the new livery. This engine is preserved in that scheme at the DB
Museum in Koblenz-Lützel in non-operational condition, having been scavenged
for spare parts to keep other units operational.
More on individual N-Scale offerings in the next instalment. In the meantime, here are some (German language) resources and just nifty web finds on the Class 103:Der Zugindianer (pictures, data - hasn't been updated in a while)
IC-Lok (production index, pictures, Flash animations)
103er (production index, data, pictures)
Gallery of Class 103 pics on Bahnbilder.de
Gallery of Class 103 pics on Drehscheibe Online
Latest issue of Class 103 special issue from Eisenbahn Journal
Standard reference book on Class 103 by Michael Dostal, latest edition
mdr TV episode celebrating 40 Years of the Class 103
Classic DB TV advertising featuring the 103
Second Classic DB TV ad featuring 103
Trailer for the 1977 film "Rheingold"
No comments:
Post a Comment