One of the nice things about German railways is that they still haven’t been convinced of the advantages of fixed train sets, so it is still quite normal to see rakes of carriages being hauled about by locomotives. I can’t help thinking this is far more flexible than having fixed rakes, because you can expand trains at peak times and replace defective carriages or locomotives far more easily than you could with a permanently coupled six-car train.
This flexibility makes economical sense too: when DB Cargo/Railion/Schenker ordered a massive number of new locomotives (designated class 145) from Bombadier’s TRAXX range to replace their ageing class 110, 140, 141 and 150 units to haul mid-weight freight trains, it was a fairly easy matter for DB Regio to add on an order for a 160km/h version in the same bodyshell to upgrade their 100km/h double deck trains for local and medium distance stopping services. Try doing that with a Pendolino.
It’s not just the federally-owned Deutsche Bahn that caught onto the advantage of a proven standard design: a number of private freight operators ordered TRAXX units and a diesel version is in use by some private passenger companies. Bombadier now make all new body shells with a fuel filler and air intake even if they are destined to carry a pantograph, which shows there really is a prototype for anything.
And so to the obvious question: what would a narrow gauge version look like? Let’s assume that the Körshtalbahn or another concern like the late lamented Schwarzwaldbahn ordered a small fleet of units from Bombadier, based on Traxx Technology. Let’s further assume that they ordered electric and diesel versions. This isn’t as silly as it may sound: there was a proposal for an electrified narrow gauge line from Freiburg to Todtnau, which would have met the non-electrified line from the south. The reason it was never built is a mystery, but had it been constructed, it would now be part of Freiburgs metre gauge rapid transit system, the VAG.
In this case I don’t think it’s too much to suggest a slightly smaller version of the same locomotive, probably with some complex name like nTRAXX for express trains on the Körschtalbahn and the Schwarzwaldbahn. Maybe the two railways would make the order together- which would lead to some interesting details if, for example the Schwarzwald system used rollbok transporters and therefore needed high-level buffers. In that case I imagine the headlights would be pushed down and replaced with standard gauge drawgear on the smaller nTraxx units- or maybe the order would be standardised so the lines could swap locomotives with minimal work. This was pretty common amongst the German narrow gauge railways, who passed stock around all the time. This could open up many more possibilities on the KÖB, with a ‘local’ n-TRAXX unit being stabled alongside a borrowed VAG liveried unit when there was a motive power shortage. There’s a tempting thought.
It means building two very similar locomotives, but I’ll keep the idea ready.
[...] Vote n-TRAXX [...]