Luxtorpeda

Luxtorpeda was a common name of a famous Polish train, which ran on some of the most important rail routes of Poland in the 1930s. A Luxtorpeda consisted of a single, first-class only railcar, with its own internal combustion engine.

Luxtorpeda (roughly translated as English: luxury torpedo) was not the official name of these trains — in the timetable they were called "Pociąg Motorowo-Ekspresowy MtE" ("Motor-Express Train", Motor then meaning an internal combustion engine). The common name was inspired by the unusual look of the railcar (streamlined and some 1.5 m lower than the standard rail carriage) and its high operational speed. Luxtorpedas looked like a hybrid between a limousine and a bus.

The design of a Luxtorpeda was based on an Austrian railcar type VT63 with two gasoline engines, which had been produced since early 1930s by the Austro-Daimler company. Such a railcar was leased (later purchased) by the Polish State Railways in 1933. As successful tests were carried out on Polish rail lines, Poland bought a license for the railcar.

Engineer Klemens Stefan Sielecki of The First Factory of Locomotives in Poland Ltd. (usually referred to as Fablok) in Chrzanów started becoming highly involved in 1935 with the development of the construction of Luxtorpeda, which was a technical innovation in its time. Also in 1935 he was nominated as deputy head of the technical department. In 1936 Fablok built five Polish Luxtorpedas under his guidance. The Luxtorpedas by Fablok were slightly different from their Austrian counterparts, the biggest difference being the use of more powerful Diesel engines which were able to reach a speed of 115 km/h.

PKP luxtorpedas were allocated a class SAx and numbered 90 080 (Austrian-made) and 90 081 to 90 085 (Polish-made). It was decided to equip Polish-built luxtorpedas with diesel type D4086 engines supplied by MAN AG, in contrast to the gasoline engines of the Austrian version. This change was due to a lower fuel cost, as well as the reduced fire and explosion risk. The water-cooled engines were mounted at each end of the railcar, at the front of the driving cabins. Transmission was hydraulic (torque converter and fluid coupling), supplied by Voith. Each engine had its own mechanical reversing gear and transmission, both located underneath the cabin. The speed of both engines could be controlled from one cab, but starting and stopping them, reversing, as well as switching between the two transmission systems (at the speed around 75–80 km/h, or 46.60 to 49.70 mph), had to be done independently for each engine. Therefore, in most cases two drivers were needed. They communicated with each other using a signalling system that consisted of a set of colour lights and an electric bell.

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