DR Class 250

Deutsche Reichsbahn Baureihe 250
(Deutsche Bahn Baureihe 155)

Class 155 hauling a freight train through Leinefelde/Thuringia.

Type and origin Power type Electric Builder LEW Hennigsdorf Total produced 273

Specifications Configuration: ​  • UIC Co'Co' Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Length 19.6 m (64 ft 4 in) Loco weight 123.0 t (121.1 long tons; 135.6 short tons) Electric system(s) 15 kV 16.67 Hz AC Catenary Current source Pantograph Traction motors Six Train brakes Knorr airbrake, electric brake Safety systems Sifa / PZB / LZB

Performance figures Maximum speed 120 km/h (75 mph) Power output 5,400 kW (7,200 hp) Tractive effort 480 kN (110,000 lbf)

Career Operators Deutsche Reichsbahn Deutsche Bahn AG Class DR: Baureihe 250 DB: Baureihe 155 First run 1974 Last run Still in service

The Deutsche Reichsbahn (East Germany) Class 250 (known since 1992 as Deutsche Bahn AG Class 155) is a German electric locomotive used on freight trains. Nicknamed the “Electric Container” or “Powercontainer” due to its distinctive carbody shape. The less favorable nickname “Stasi-Container” is also heard every now and then. It was the most powerful locomotive in the former GDR.

In the mid-1960s, it became apparent that engine classes 211 and 242, in production since 1961, were not powerful enough, so DR built a new, 6-axled, electric locomotive suitable for all classes of traffic. In 1974 three prototypes were built by LEW Hennigsdorf, the leading builder of railway locomotives in the GDR. A series of 270 locomotives were delivered between 1977 and 1984. They were mainly used for heavy cargo trains as well as the fast Städteexpress-train services of DR (comparable with InterCity).

After the reunification of Germany, railway traffic in East Germany slumped. The locomotives were renumbered as class 155, and many of them also operated in West Germany. After Deutsche Bahn was restructured, the engines were assigned to DB Cargo (later Railion, now DB Schenker Rail) for freight services. Since 1998, some locomotives have been used for spare parts. Approximately 200 are still in existence and can be seen throughout Germany pulling all sorts of freight trains. Today the 155s remain indispensable for DB Schenker, Deutsche Bahn's railway cargo carrier.

The locomotives have two 3-axled bogies. Each axle is powered by a single-phase, series-wound, AC motor. The torque is transferred by a double-sided spur gear to a hollow shaft, and by an elastic rubber cone flange to the wheels. Each motor has an own cooling blower. Two scissor-shaped pantographs collect the current of 15 kV / 16.7 Hz from the catenary. Recently, many of these pick-ups have been refitted as modern single-arm pantographs.