Chabówka 2021-05-19

Motor wagons in the interwar period.

Before World War II, railcars were called motor cars.

Railway motor wagons have a long history, also in Poland. Shortly after Poland regained independence, the possibility of introducing motor wagons on specific lines was seriously considered. Mainly on routes with low passenger traffic, as well as on routes where passengers, at the cost of a more expensive ticket, would get to their destination much faster. It was claimed that the motor wagon had already been improved enough to effectively replace some unprofitable express trains, and with a lower operating cost, the motor wagon could compete with a bus and even an airplane on short lines. It was estimated that motor wagons could safely reach speeds of up to 130 km/h. Secondary routes could be adapted to travel at a speed of 90 km/h. A tempting vision was a trip from Warsaw to Gdynia in 3 hours, which made a weekend trip from Warsaw to the Baltic Sea a real possibility.

In 1927, PKP bought Clayton motor cars with steam engines in England. In Małopolska, these cars were tested for 18 months. They showed some shortcomings, so they were abandoned.

The first standard-gauge diesel car was imported to Poland in 1927, from the German company TAG from Cologne. The car had a 150 HP petrol engine. The car ran on the Kraków – Wieliczka route.

The next vehicle of this type was bought by the railway from the Hungarian company “Ganz”, in Budapest, to service the local line: Kraków Główny – Kraków Grzegórzki – Kocmyrzów. Currently (2021) this line no longer exists.

Motor cars were also purchased in Germany, Austria, France and Italy. The Austro-Daimler VT 63 motor car, from 1933, ran on the Kraków – Zakopane route. The Italian motor wagon “Littorina” also arrived in Poland for tests. Until 1933, PKP had about 15 motor wagons from different manufacturers. The motor wagons were generally similar to each other, but the design solutions were very different. They were powered by petrol or diesel engines, which differed in power. Different transmissions and clutches were used. Different fuels were used.

It was decided not to look for motor wagons abroad any more, but to develop them in Poland and produce them here. It was decided to use the experience gained by PKP to date. The HCP plant (Hipolit Cegielski in Poznań) undertook production. As it was said in Poznań at “Ceglarz”. The second plant was the Warsaw wagon factory “Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein”.

HCP motor cars of the SBx series.

The design and prototype of the SBx series motor car were the exclusive work of the HCP plant. Let us immediately point out that in the period from 1934 to 1939, about 25 motor cars were built in Poznań, which differed significantly from each other. Therefore, the information in the description below may be imprecise or untrue, and time works against us.

At first glance, the first HCP motor car resembles a “Pulman” passenger car. But it has more aerodynamic shapes. The car was painted cream and blue. Some said cream and sapphire. The motor car has 2nd and 3rd class seats. But even in class 3, the seats are upholstered and soft. In class 2, tables for playing cards were prepared. Their tops have four colors of a deck of cards painted on them.

The HCP motor car has two Diesel-Saurer diesel engines installed, which consume 28 – 30 kg of diesel fuel per 100 km. The Saurer engine license was purchased in Germany. 6-cylinder Saurer BD engine, with a power of 150 HP (110 kW). Due to its lower weight, the car damages the tracks less than a regular train. The car was designed so that the average travel speed was 90 km/h, which was already considered unsatisfactory at that time. The frame and body of the car were made by welding, which at that time was a modern method of joining steel structures. The body is based on two bogies, and each bogie is two-axle. Both bogies have an identical construction. Each of them is equipped with one 6-cylinder, licensed Saurer BD engine, with a power of 150 HP (110 kW), driving the bogie axle, which is closer to the center of the car, through a 4-speed mechanical Mylius CV2 transmission. The axles are mounted in rolling bearings, which was a modern solution at that time. The car was equipped with a Westinghouse automatic brake, which was standard on PKP at that time, and a hand brake.

The interior of the box was divided into two control cabins, located at the ends of the car. There are two passenger compartments: 2nd class and 3rd class. In addition, there is a luggage compartment, a mail compartment, a heating compartment and a toilet. The car could take 75 passengers on board: 20 people in 2nd class and 55 people in 3rd class, with 11 seats being so-called “tilting”.

The streamlined shapes of the car body and the low service weight, which was 32,300 kg, allowed for achieving high accelerations and high speeds. In August 1934, the motor car underwent factory tests, and then state tests. The tests were positive, but the general opinions on the usefulness of this type of vehicle were extreme. From enthusiasm and admiration to extreme criticism. Nevertheless, further permission was issued for test drives with passengers.

On September 24, 1934, the HCP SBCgix motor car no. 90 057 covered the Poznań – Warsaw route in 3 hours and 21 minutes. During tests with passengers, the car quickly gained speed of 100 km/h. Participants of the ride even mentioned speeds of 115 km/h, and even temporarily 123 km/h. However, the passengers did not feel this speed, because the car glided gently on the rails, and not like in an automobile, where you can feel every unevenness of the road. Nevertheless, some ladies had nausea.

On September 25, 1934, the same HCP SBCgix motor car no. 90 057 set off from Warsaw to Łódź Kaliska with passengers. The route led through: Warsaw – Sochaczew – Zgierz – Łódź Kaliska. The HCP motor car no. 90 057 covered this route in 86 minutes (1 hour 26 minutes). The maximum speed was 130 km/h. Then tests were carried out on the very difficult Kraków-Zakopane route. On climbs of about 25 per mille, a speed of 50 km/h was achieved, which was a very good result.

Data T-T HCP SBCdix no. 90 057:

Total length 20.863 m. Width 2.950 m. Bogie pin spacing 12.280 m. Bogie wheelbase 3.500 m. Wheel diameter 0.910 m. Design speed 120 km/h.

PKP decided to continue purchasing similar wagons from HCP plants. Thus, a new era began for PKP. New traction appeared on most railway directorates, especially Warsaw, Krakow and Vilnius. Motor wagons could be found on the Warsaw – Sochaczew – Łódź Kaliska route.

In 1935, the HCP SBx motor wagon no. 90 059 was presented. The new production series began with the HCP SBx motor wagon no. 90 099. In this series, multiple control was introduced.

HCP SBx motor wagon no. 90 104.

SBx motor wagon no. 90 104 was built in 1939. And as it turned out, it was the last motor wagon built by the HCP plant before the German attack on Poland. SBx motor wagon no. 90104 is in the collection of the open-air museum in Chabówka and is awaiting reconstruction.

Other Polish motor wagons.

SBx motor wagons were built in the “Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein” factory in Warsaw.

In the “Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein” factory, prototypes of two motor wagons were created, which were intended for local transport. Both of them were two-axle vehicles, equipped with one Saurer diesel engine. The first was a typical passenger wagon. The second prototype was designed for mountain tourism. Inside, there was a large luggage compartment and space for skis. From December 1935 until the outbreak of World War II, these cars serviced suburban traffic in the Vilnius region.

At the same time, the “Fablok” factory in Chrzanów built SAx series motor cars, known as “Luxtorpeda”, under an Austrian license. They were equipped with MAN diesel engines with a power of 125 HP. The railway bought five such vehicles. They serviced the lines from Kraków to Zakopane, Krynica and Katowice. The Polish “Luxtorpedas” were not lucky. On the first day of the war, three of them were destroyed, as well as the Austrian original. The remaining two were evacuated to Germany at the end of the war. They returned in 1948, but in very poor condition. One of them was put into operation and used to transport workers on the Trzebinia – Siersza Wodna line. In 1954, a decision was made to scrap both vehicles.

Until the outbreak of World War II, PKP used about 50 motor cars. The largest number of them, about 25 pieces, were produced by the HCP plant.

To sum up, motor cars in Poland reached the same high technical level as airplanes in aviation. However, in general, motor cars in the whole of Europe proved their worth only on local routes, and their high maximum speed was not such a serious advantage. The problem was the capacity of the routes. When sending a motor car with 70 passengers on the route, the same safety had to be maintained as with a classic train with 1,000 passengers, so the capacity of the route was very limited. And these were times when more and more people wanted to visit distant relatives or see the Baltic Sea.

Written by Karol Placha Hetman