DB Class Köf III
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| Type and origin | |
|---|---|
| Builder | Gmeinder, Jung, Orenstein & Koppel, Windhoff |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Configuration: |
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| • UIC | B |
| Gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
| Length | 7.83 m (25 ft 8 in) |
| Axle load | 11 t (10.8 long tons; 12.1 short tons) |
| Loco weight | 22 t (21.7 long tons; 24.3 short tons) |
| Fuel type | Diesel fuel |
| Prime mover | RHS 518A Motorenwerke Mannheim |
| Engine type | (?) |
| Transmission | 331/332 Chain drive 333/335 Shaft drive |
| Train brakes | Knorr type air brakes |
| Performance figures | |
|---|---|
| Maximum speed | Class 331 Köf 10: 30 km/h (19 mph) Classes 332,333,335: 45 km/h (28 mph) |
| Power output | 177 kW (240 hp) |
| Tractive effort | Starting: 83.4 kN (18,750 lbf) |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Number in class | 331: 3 332: 317 333/335: 251 |
| Numbers | Köf 10 001-003 ; 331 001–003 Köf 11 001-317 ; 332 002, 005–062, 064-210, 212-317, 601, 602, 701, 702, 801, 901 Köf 12 001 ; 333 001-251, 525..716, 335 004..251 |
| Locale | Germany |
| Delivered | 1959–1965 |
The DB railways Köf III class (after 1968 named classes 331,332,333 and 335) are light two axle shunting locomotives of Deutsche Bahn AG.
The German national railways had already procured small locomotives of classes Kö I (up to 39 hp or 29 kW) and Köf II (up to 149 hp or 111 kW for light shunting duties at small and medium-sized railway station. These locomotives were attached to their particular station and their use resulted in shortened travel times of mixed trains since the train locomotives did not need to complete all of the shunting work before the train could proceed to the next destination.
After the Second World War the small locomotives of the Köf II class were in much demand and overused, but the use of a more powerful shunting locomotive such as the class V 60 was precluded, primarily for cost reasons: Small locomotives of the Köf type were cheaper to operate since the driver did not need to be a fully qualified locomotive driver.
In the 1950s, in order to close the gap between the small locomotives (German:Kleinlok) and the V 60 the German Federal Railroad defined a new class of small locomotives - the Köf class III - as having a maximum power of 250 hp or 190 kW) and worked with the locomotive manufacturer Gmeinder to develop suitable locomotives.
In 1959 8 prototypes were delivered and given the temporary class name Köf 10 (maximum speed 30 km/h) and Köf 11 (max. speed 45 km/h). 5 were of the Köf 11 type, the other 3 were Köf 10. The K in Köf indicates the locomotive is a small locomotive, the ö indicates diesel fuel (from the German for 'oil'), alternatives are b for petrol (German:benzol), d for steam (German:Dampf) meaning vapor, s indicates battery power. The third letter indicates the transmission type - f here indicates hydraulic transmission (German:Flüssigkeitsgetriebe - "Fluid drive") - therefore the prefix Köf indicates a small locomotive with diesel engine and hydraulic power transmission.
These 8 prototype models all differed in gearing and engine type for comparison purposes: this led to a standard locomotives with a Mannheim works engine of type RHS 518A with a nominal power of 177 kW (237 hp) and hydraulic transmission of type L213U from Voith, drive to the wheels was by chain drive - these were given the classification name: Köf 11
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