Kraków 2024-12-16

Passenger wagons type 23W.

In 1939, the stupid Germans started World War II and lost a lot. During World War II, the HCP plant in Poznań was taken over by the Germanic arms concern Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken, was called DWM Posen and produced rolling stock for the needs of the Germans. On January 22, 1945, the Germans left the HCP factory, stealing machine tools, machinery and other equipment, and on January 28, 1945, it was occupied again, this time by the Soviets. On February 8, 1945, the Cegielski Plant was transferred to the Provisional State Board and nationalized.

After the end of World War II, the Polish State Railways had about 6,500 passenger cars. However, the number of active cars was much smaller and amounted to only 3,500 cars. These were mainly two-axle and three-axle passenger cars. Many of these wagons were of wooden construction. The capacity of these wagons was small, in relation to the needs. Therefore, covered freight wagons, temporarily adapted for passenger transport, as class 4, were often added to passenger trains. In addition, in the first years, in the regained territories, hooligan attacks on PKP trains were common. Windows were broken in the wagons, smoke candles and even incendiary materials were thrown in.

In Poland, the Hipolit Cegielski Plant in Poznań returned to wagon production and a new plant “PaFaWag” in Wrocław joined. The Poznań plant built 486 wagons for PKP in the period 1946-1950. The first to be built were wagons for long-distance and international traffic. Local traffic was serviced by old, pre-war wagons, mostly abandoned by the Germans.

Passenger wagons type 23W.

The first passenger car design was developed in the period 1945-1946. It was a type 23W, class 3 car, developed from scratch, using pre-war experience. The reason was the lack of pre-war documentation and restrictions in access to raw materials, for example fabric for upholstery. That is why the car had hard, wooden benches. Type 23W (1A) cars of the Chxz series have metal boxes, completely welded. The cars weigh 35,000 kg and are 7,500-10,000 kg lighter than pre-war cars. The type 23W car, after some time, received a new designation 1A. Type 1A cars (originally 23W/1) had a layout of 10 compartments and two toilets at the ends. Since 1947, PaFaWag and HCP began producing modified passenger cars of various types and classes, based on the 1A type car (originally 23W/1). The 2A (originally 23W/2) and 8A cars also had a 10-compartment layout.

These cars were characterized by narrowed ends, which is why they were called “narrowers”, and in everyday speech “pikes”. Polish “narrowers” were the first four-axle passenger cars of Polish construction, with an all-steel structure. These cars were built in the period 1928-1944 in three Polish factories: Lilpop, Rau & Loewenstein in Warsaw, HCP in Poznań, and the Zieleniewski United Machine, Boiler and Wagon Factories in Sanok. The pre-war and post-war cars had common dimensions; width 2.90 m, length from 21 m to 22 m. All were supported by two four-axle bogies and were walk-through wagons. The difference was the doors in the front walls, which could be single or double, tilted.

Since 1950, construction work was carried out related to the modernization and improvement of solutions, the basis of which were the 23W (1A) and 56W (5A) wagons. The 56W type wagon (later 3A) was built to a higher standard. It had 8 compartments and two toilets at the ends. The 3A wagons had several development versions. There were type 4A (originally 56W/2), type 6A (originally 56W/4) and type 7A wagons. The 5A version (originally 56W/3) was designed as 8 compartments and was divided into 4 class 2 and 4 class 3 compartments, and after 1956 changed to class 1 and class 2.

Type 10A, 11A and 13A cars were designed based on type 1A, for night transport (sleeper cars) and had several characteristic features. At the front of the cars there were coal bunkers installed, for firing the heating furnace. There were 11 compartments in the car and two toilets at the ends.

In HCP, production of type 1A family cars began in 1946 and lasted until 1957. During this time, 476 type 23W cars were produced; including 30 10A cars (initially 40W). These were cars in which the upper part of the backrest of the couch was lifted upwards on hinges, supported by two supports and hung on two canvas belts attached to the ceiling, creating a place to lie down. In the period 1948-1950, 25 examples of sleeper cars of type 11A were built. In the period 1954-1956, 100 examples of luggage cars of type 1F/2F were built based on type 1A. In the period 1956-1957, 82 luggage cars of type 3F were built based on type 1A.

Type 1A (23W) cars were also produced in ZNTK Ostrów Wielkopolski, from 1948. In the period 1948-1950, about 143 type 2A (32W/2) cars were built. In the period 1952-1955, about 504 type 8A and 8A/1 cars were built. From 1959, type 108A cars were built, and from 1961, type 108AJK cars.

In 1948, one restaurant car was built at PaFaWag. In the period 1950-1956, 685 cars were built at PaFaWag; type 3A (122 cars), type 4A (155 cars), type 5A (50 cars), type 6A (155 cars), type 7A (203 cars). In the period 1952-1954, 31 type 13A sleeper cars were built. In 1954, HCP built a prototype of the 14A sleeper car, the series production of which was undertaken by the PaFaWag factory. In 1948, 40 copies of postal cars of types 1G and 3G were built. In the period 1962-1964, 100 copies of luggage cars of type 3F were produced. In 1963, one car with an X-ray machine was built, which was designated type 401C. In 1964, 15 copies of luggage cars of type 201C (4F) were built for international traffic. The cars of the 1A family were used for a very long time and underwent a number of modifications, modernizations and changes.

For 6 years, Polish factories had to produce passenger cars for CCCP, type 52W and 66W, for tracks with a width of 1520 mm. Poland had to pay extra for this production.

Production technology of 23W type wagons and derivatives.

Wagon bodies were made of thin steel sheets (1-1.5 mm) by welding. The internal skeleton was also made of steel profiles. The technologies for manufacturing wagon bodies were changed. Previously, the skeleton was built first and the skin sheets were mounted on it. Later, the skin sheets were placed on a template and the skeleton elements were mounted to them, which ensured perfect repeatability of subsequent boxes. The skin sheets were pre-profiled in a metal template, by heating them with burners and then cooling them with water. The window openings were cut out on presses instead of cutting them out with burners. Traditional acetylene-oxygen welding was gradually replaced with CO2 welding. Migomat 160 type welding machines were used, which performed spot welding. The bodywork is made of 10HA steel sheet, 1-1.5 mm thick. The templates on which the sheets were profiled were equipped with a pneumatic pressure, which replaced the screw pressure.

The remaining equipment was dominated by wood; both wooden profiles, as well as fibreboard and plywood. Later, laminates were introduced, which were produced in various colours, imitating different types of wood.

There was progress in painting wagon bodies. Instead of hand painting with a brush, spray painting began, which was much more efficient. Instead of toxic, oil-based minium paint, which caused occupational diseases, UIC3 primer paint was used to prime wagon bodies (all external and internal surfaces). A special paint set based on alkyd products and emulsion putty was used for external painting of wagon bodies, which replaced the previously used oil set. Polish Research Institutes were already working on polyurethane paints. Coatings made with an alkyd set last from 2 to 3 years, and coatings made with a polyurethane set last at least 5 years and, moreover, do not change color (do not fade).

Written by Karol Placha Hetman