Inscriptions of European railway wagons
tobias b koehler
another reader of THIS group is also interested.
INSCRIPTIONS ON EUROPEAN FREIGHT CARS
The inscriptions of European standard gauge wagons are standardized,
they follow the same scheme in all the countries. Each wagon has a
unique 12-digit number.
One example:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-----+-----+-----+ ..====..
| A | B | C | || DB || UIC
+--+-----+-----+-----+ ``====''
|90|20,5t|24,5t|28,5t|
+--+-----+-----+-----+ 01 RIV-EUROP
_________ 80 DB
<_24,1_m2_> 507 8 801-9
8,7 m E 040
|---------|
KE-GP
(- 10,0m -)
+--------+
|11100 kg|
+--------+
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an open wagon in the RIC-EUROP pool.
This means:
01 RIV-EUROP: exchange procedure:
01 RIV-EUROP: pool wagon that can be used freely in the whole continent.
11 RIV-IF: Refrigerator wagons in the INTERFRIGO pool.
20: no RIV, only for interior traffic.
21 RIV (regolamento internazionale delle carrozze): wagon for
31 RIV international traffic.
80 DB: railroad company. For example 50 = DR, 55 = MAV, 71 = RENFE, 80 = DB,
81 = OeBB, 82 = CFL, 83 = FS, 84 = NS, 85 = SBB-CFF, 87 = SNCF, 88 = SNCB.
507: international code for `regular open wagon'.
8 809: serial number
-9: control digit. It is computed by multiplying the previous digits (01 80
507 8 809) with 2 and 1 alternately, adding the total of the digits and
subtracting the last digit of the resulting number from 10.
E: code letter:
E = regular open wagon with flat bottom, F = special open wagon,
G = regular closed wagon, H = special closed wagon, I = refrigerator wagon,
K = regular flat wagon, L = special flat wagon, R = regular bogie flat wagon,
S = special bogie flat wagon, T = wagon with openable roof, U = other special
wagon, Z = tank wagon.
To avoid clashes with passenger car types, the letters A, B, C, D are not
used for freight wagons.
Some freight cars have lowercase letters that denote further details. For
example, s means that this wagon can run at 100 km/h, ss means that it can
run at 120 km/h. a or aa means that it has more than the standard number of
axles. As these letters depend on the capital letter, they are too
complicated to explain them here.
040: DB-internal code number of the wagon type
UIC: vehicle compliant to standards of the Union Internationale des Chemins de
Fer (UIC)
ABC table: here you can read how much can be loaded into the wagon on different
line categories at different speeds. Branch lines are denoted by an A, heavy
traffic lines have a C. Sometimes these categories are divided into finer
subcategories. S means 100 km/h, SS means 120 km/h.
KE-GP: (or O-GP or ....) brake construction (G = freight trains, P = passenger
trains, R = express trains).
___
|_P_| : private wagon
_____ _____
<_____>: load area; |-----|: load length; O_____): tank volume;
_____
-> <-: axle distance; (- -): total length; |_____|: empty weight.
Another example:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
+------------+ +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| <+> | | A | B1 | B2 | C1C2| C3C4| D1D2| D3 | D4 |
+------------+ +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|34,5t|37,0t|49,0t|54.0t|57,0t|54,0t|63,5t|67,0t|
+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
31 RIV | S |34,5t|37,0t|49,0t|54,0t|57,0t|54,0t| 57,0t |
85 SBB-CFF +---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----------+
477 1 056-2 |120km/h| 00,0t |
Shimms +-------+-----------------------------------------------+
O-GP +-------+ UIC St
(- 12,04m -) |22790kg|
+-------+
| 24t |
+-------+
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a telescopic cowl wagon with a very verbose ABC table.
INSCRIPTIONS ON EUROPEAN PASSENGER CARS
Also the passenger cars have a common inscription system.
One example:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
,,====..
|| DB ||
''====''
+---+---+----+ +----+
71 80 75-70 415-2 WLABsmh166 |160|RIC|....| |54 t| <R> O-PR-Mg (D) |ep|
--------- +---+---+----+ |34Pl| <R> 82 t
+----+ P 63 t
+---+-----+-------+
(- 26,40 m -) -> 19,00 m <- |REV|KOPLX|13.8.92| Klimae
+---+-----+-------+
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a sleeping car
(normally all these inscriptions are all along the length of the car).
This means:
71: exchange procedure:
50: no RIC (for internal traffic)
51: RIC (regolamento internazionale delle carrozze): coach for inter-
national trains
61: EuroCity cars with RIC
71: TEN (TransEuroNuit): international sleeping car pool
80: railroad company. For example 50 = DR, 55 = MAV, 71 = RENFE, 80 = DB,
81 = OeBB, 82 = CFL, 83 = FS, 84 = NS, 85 = SBB-CFF, 87 = SNCF, 88 = SNCB.
75: car type, for example 10 to 19 = 1st class, 20 to 29 = 2nd class,
30 to 39 = 1st and 2nd class ....
70: code number for the speed, the heating type and the current system.
415: serial number.
-2: control digit. It is computed by multiplying the previous digits (01 80
507 8 809) with 2 and 1 alternately, adding the total of the digits and
subtracting the last digit of the resulting number from 10.
WLABsmh: code lettering:
A = 1st class, AB = 1st and 2nd class, AR = 1st class and restaurant,
B = 2nd class, BD = 2nd class and luggage, BS = 2nd class and service
compartment, D = luggage, WG = party car, WGS = luxury coach,
WL = sleeping car, WR = restaurant car, WS = service car.
To avoid clashes with freight car types, the letters G, L, R, S are
only used together with other letters (or with a W).
Lowercase letters are used differently by the railroad companies.
Here s = small compartments with one or two berths, m = more than
24 meters long, h = airconditioning that is fed by electric line or
axle generator. In Germany small three-digit numbers are used for the
different types.
RIC raster: here we can see (from the left to the right) the speed in
km/h (first number, here 160), RIC for internationally usable cars,
X for cars without RIC, then the abbreviations for the countries
where this car can circulate, an anchor symbol and the abbreviations
of ferry lines if this car can use the ferry, and the current systems
of this car. If this car is pressure-proof for high speed tunnel
lines, a (p) is added.
__
|__|: empty weight and number of seats.
<R> O-PR-Mg (D) |ep|: brake construction, here Oerlikon rapid disk brake
for passenger and express trains with magnetic rail brake and electro-
pneumatic control, followed by the brake performance weights.
(- -): total length; -> <- = bogie distance.
Revision raster: here we see where and when this car was last
examinated.
Klimae: heating construction; Klimae means that this car has air
condition (Klima) fed by electricity (e). Another example:
Whzde"os meams that this car has a warm water heating that can
be fed by steam, electricity or oil and has thermostatic control.
========<< tobias benjamin koehler >>========
leopoldstrasse 32 d-76133 karlsruhe
++ 49-7 21-2 32 18 uk...@dkauni2.bitnet
s_ko...@iravcl.ira.uka.de
Dik T. Winter
> 8 809: serial number
>
> -9: control digit. It is computed by multiplying the previous digits (01 80
> 507 8 809) with 2 and 1 alternately, adding the total of the digits and
> subtracting the last digit of the resulting number from 10.
serial number is 9 and the control digit 0 or the other way around. So
when a series would lead to such a conflict the number is omitted. (The
Dutch railways simply always omit both 0 and 9 as last digit of the serial
number except for especially short series. So after 8 808 comes 8 811.)
>
> E: code letter:
I note that the code letter (and also the serial code) are standardized only
for those wagons that in some way operate in a mutual agreement across borders.
There are railways that have more notations for wagons that never leave the
country.
>
> 75: car type, for example 10 to 19 = 1st class, 20 to 29 = 2nd class,
> 30 to 39 = 1st and 2nd class ....
9: 9 compartments etc. Completely standardized, but not everybody follows
the standard. For instance, a second digit 6 means a double decker car.
The standard tells us that 1st class double deckers get code 16 while both
2nd and mixed 1st and 2nd class cars get code 26, where for the latter 36
would be better. So the Dutch railways have code 26 for their mixed double
deckers while the Belgian railways have 36. But as these never cross
borders....
--
dik t. winter, cwi, kruislaan 413, 1098 sj amsterdam, nederland
home: bovenover 215, 1025 jn amsterdam, nederland; e-mail: d...@cwi.nl