German Reichsbahn Battery Railcar No. 581/582 to 615/616

These vehicles, also known by their later DB designation ETA 179, were put into service by the Reichsbahn from 1926 dubbed the “six-axle storage railcar”. A total of only 17 units were built, but these were used very extensively, especially on branch lines. Some locomotives achieved mileages of almost 10,000 km per month in the thirties.

The railcars consisted of two parts, each of which had three axles approximately equally spaced. The inner axle was driven, the energy for it came from accumulators mounted under the floor. With the state of the art at the time, these accounted for a considerable part of the total weight and, with their total capacity of 225 kWh, allowed operation for around three hours. With an output of 142 to 172 kW and a service weight of at least 70 tons, the cars reached 60 km/h, which was sufficient for branch lines and spared the batteries.

All but one survived the war and were then used by both German railway administrations. The Bundesbahn received eleven units and used them as ETA 179 until 1960. The Reichsbahn received the remaining five and continued to operate them with the original numbering. They were last used in the Gotha area and were retired in 1968. One of these is the only survivor today, having returned to its last operational area in 2001 in a very badly weathered condition. Since then it has been painstakingly restored to its original state.