Wismar Railbus

Wismar Railbus, Hannover version
Wismar railbus belonging to the DGEG
Number(s)	DRG 133 009-012, DRG 135 077-080, DB VT 89 900-901
Quantity	57
Manufacturer	Waggonfabrik Wismar
Year(s) of manufacture	1932–1941
Retired	various
Wheel arrangement	0-2-2
Axle arrangement	A 1
Track gauge	750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in), 900 mm (2 ft 11 7⁄16 in), 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge, 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Length over buffers	10,100 mm (33 ft 1 5⁄8 in) *
Empty weight	6.1 t (6.0 long tons; 6.7 short tons) *
Adhesive weight	3.05 t (3.00 long tons; 3.36 short tons) *
Top speed	56 km/h (35 mph) *
Installed power	29 kW (39 PS; 39 hp) / 37 kW (50 PS; 50 hp))
Motor make/model	Ford AA, Ford BB
Power transmission	Mechanical
Brakes	Drum brake
Parking brake	Hand brake
Seats	24 *
Standing places	18 *
Coach class	3rd
* refers to the VT 133 009/010.

The 'Hanover version' of the Wismar railbus (Wismarer Schienenbus) was developed in the early 1930s as a light railbus for economical passenger services on branch lines in Germany.

As early as the 1920s, light branch lines (the so-called Kleinbahnen) were looking for ways to operate lightly used routes as cheaply as possible. The overwhelmingly employed mixed trains were very slow because of the time needed for shunting wagons. In addition, only a few trains ran each day. In order to offer faster and more frequent services, railbuses were procured. Because they tended to be one-offs and the technology was not always fully mature, they were often expensive. So attempts were made to use the experience and components from the manufacture of buses. Experiments with converted buses were not successful as their engines were not powerful enough and, moreover, they were not designed for push-pull operations.

In 1932 the Triebwagen- und Waggonfabrik Wismar AG (Wismar Railcar and Coach Company) built a light, twin-axled railbus, that could be made cheaply because it used numerous components from the manufacture of road vehicles. For example, 40 horsepower Ford petrol engines were installed, together with their drives. The use of road vehicle drives with five forward gears and one reverse gear made the installation of two engines necessary. These were located outside the vehicle body and gave the railbus an unmistakable appearance.

The Wismar railbus was very much of interest to both Kleinbahnen and private railways due to its low costs. In 1932 a prototype was delivered for the Lüneburg–Soltau Kleinbahn. It was so successful that the Hanover State Kleinbahn Office (Landeskleinbahnamt Hannover) ordered a batch of nine vehicles for a number of Kleinbahnen.

The Wismar railbus had several advantages. Firstly, it was cheap: at 25,000 Reichsmarks, roughly half the cost of a normal railcar. Secondly, it was easy to maintain - the engines were very accessible and spare parts could be obtained from any Ford dealer - and, thirdly, it was relatively comfortable because, although it only offered 3rd class accommodation, the seats were upholstered.

In 1936 the Wismar coach factory offered 5 different variants:

In practice, however, very few vehicles were delivered exactly in accordance with their basic specification. Generally vehicles were manufactured to the requirements of the customer and about a third could not really be grouped easily into one of the basic classes.