VT 98 Railbus Discovery

Madman

Madman

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Many of you may already have knowledge of the fact that the prototype VT 98s actually shifted gears. Or at least that's what the author of the video on Youtube told me. Now, I'm not sure if the driver actually shifts a gear shift, or if it's automatic. But I found it very interesting.

http://youtu.be/lbNTxvXCl6I

Here is his reply to my question to him on Youtube;
Ja, es ist wirklich so! Das Soundprojekt beneutzt den Originalsound des VT98. Dabei werden zunächst beide Motoren nacheinander gestartet, und beim Beschleunigen wird das Schalten eingespielt. Das soundmodul kann man bei Zimo kaufen.
Google translation;
Yes, it really is! The sound project beneutzt the original sound of the VT98. Initially, both engines are started, and when accelerating, switching recorded. The sound module can be purchased at Zimo.
 
Love that vid - Probably an auto or semi-auto box and call me sad but I find the sound of the revving engine and the clunking of the transmission quite exciting to listen to.

Probably reminds me of a gentler time when I travelled a lot on the older DMU's on my local branch line.
 
Madman said:
Many of you may already have knowledge of the fact that the prototype VT 98s actually shifted gears. Or at least that's what the author of the video on Youtube told me. Now, I'm not sure if the driver actually shifts a gear shift, or if it's automatic. But I found it very interesting.
Click to expand...
The driver selects each of the 6 gears manually, but the transmission is semi-automatic (presumably an epicyclic gearbox?). The Uerdingens used bus engines and gearboxes like 1950s DMUs in the UK. There is a picture of the driver's console here: http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php..._Führerstand.jpg&filetimestamp=20080505194245 with the gear selector prominent on the console.
 
Amazing! Why I never thought of a geared locomotive, I'll never know. But that just shows how little I thought I knew about trains. I do know that some locos are hydraulic in their power transmission to the wheels however. The RDCs, over here are one example. If I am not mistaken, so is the loco that is represented by LGB's 21510. I really didn't want to hyjack my onw thread, but the subject seems to lend itself to discussion of these types of locos.
 
Madman said:
Amazing! Why I never thought of a geared locomotive, I'll never know. But that just shows how little I thought I knew about trains. I do know that some locos are hydraulic in their power transmission to the wheels however. The RDCs, over here are one example. If I am not mistaken, so is the loco that is represented by LGB's 21510. I really didn't want to hyjack my onw thread, but the subject seems to lend itself to discussion of these types of locos.
Click to expand...

Well hijack away it's your thread! If it helps at all, designers in Europe in the 1950s came up independently with very similar answers to the same problem of how to create a relatively cheap motorised unit. Road vehicle diesel engines were proven in service and had gearboxes which were assumed to work in rough environments. Experience was readily available in the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland regarding multiple-unit diesel-engined trains, though designers in Great Britain were somewhat slow to absorb the lessons learned there. Mechanical transmission through bus gearboxes to bus engines was the standard on the UK's railways (with exceptions south of London) from around 1955 to 1980.
 
Of possible interest.

Here is a video of the driver of a Tatra M131 railbus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsETzWPlrFk&feature=related

The Tatra bus had an air cooled (normal for Tatra) V12 diesel coupled to a manual transmission with a pneumatic clutch that is activated when shifting (you can hear the hiss in the video). The gearbox had four gears in either direction, controlled by either end of the bus, even tho Czech railcars had a designated front (P - prední) and rear (Z - zadní), sometimes marked with a large P or Z.

Many railcars could have manual gearboxes due to the nature of their operation: running light compared to a proper locomotive where more torque is required for operation from a dead start due to load, so an electric or hydraulic drive makes more sense for instant torque.

Also of interest watching this video, the railbus shifts a LOT easier and smoother than the Tatra 603 sedan a friend of mine owns. Driving that car requires hunting for gears, the pattern (four on the column) is vague at best compared to most Euro column shift cars.

EDIT- the GSC platform does not like Czech text apparently...
 
the Tatra 603 sedan a friend of mine owns. Driving that car requires hunting for gears, the pattern (four on the column) is vague at best compared to most Euro column shift cars.
Click to expand...
Thread Drift = ON
I had a really lucky escape from poverty in the early nineties.
This was before the Czech Government banned the export of Tatras.
While I was making plans to visit CZ, and return with a Tatra, I was made redundant.
I consoled myself with the thought that having no job and no Tatra left me better off than having a job and a Tatra.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEglqDfGYM0 Thread Drift = OFF David
 
Hmm, knew of no export ban, my friend has bought several cars from CZ including from the Tatra museum and rebuilder Ecorra.
http://lanemotormuseum.org/tatra-the-last-fifty-years

Now, an attempt to get back to topic, the Tatra museum in Koprivnice has rail vehicles on display and books and the like.
 
Well, I never knew that RDC's had hydraulic transmission - thanks for that ! One of the Vicinal autorails acquired an american tank engine, complete with crash gearbox and a manual clutch I could stand on to no effect.
 
Probably the best sounds I've heard, were they lifted from a microsoft train-sim file? it sounds as good.
 
You'll have to ask the video owner. Just click on the link I posted and post the question.
 
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