Lesson #5.3
In continuing our study of electric vehicles, let us look at a former racing champion, Weltschaft the Class 103 locomotive.
The first prototypes of the Class 103 (or Baureihe 103 in German) appeared on Deutsche Bundesbahn in 1965, and service began in 1970. They could reach speeds of 200 km/hr (120 mph) and were the flagship of DB. Many of the early locomotives pulled first-class services, but in 1979 second class was added to the InterCity lines.
One famous passenger train that pulled by a Class 103 was Rheingold.
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Although once a common sight on Germain lines, the Class 103 were not to last after the InterCityExpress was introduced in the early 1990s. Just as Weltschaft would be replaced by Ruhrgold the ICE, so too were his brethren taken from the railroad in favor of the more modern machines. Unfortunately, the Class 103 were not well maintained for monetary reasons, and many suffered from wear and tear.
“By the early 1990s, the intensive utilisation however, had resulted in an increasing number of defects. This tendency was intensified by the fact that DB, striving to be privatized, had significantly cut back on maintenance... Considering wear and tear, DB decided to replace these locomotives with the new Class 101, which entered service in 1996. In the following years, Class 103 was relegated to lesser duties, but the locomotive had not been designed for frequent stops, so wear increased at an even quicker pace. After a brief comeback in 1998, when all InterCityExpress units were temporarily taken out of service after the Eschede train disaster, the remaining Class 103 units were retired from regular service by 2003.“ (Wikipedia)
However, this was not to be the end of the story for Weltschaft. “A total of 17 Class 103 have been preserved, with at least five units still operational. Two units are still part of DB rolling stock and are frequently used for test runs.” Could he one day return to race?
