#railbus

...is a song by Flanders & Swann, commemorating the little rural stations which got the chop from the Beeching Axe, and was mentioned by @lizamezzo in connection with this post.

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@dduane and I travelled on something similar back in 2000, going from Freiburg-im-Breisgau to Jechtingen by way of Breisach.

The trains got smaller with each change, from an ICE high-speed to a Regional to the last one, a diesel railbus rather like this - some of which, I've read, needed only six paying passengers to turn a profit.

That sounds a bit optimistic, IMO, though at the time we were travelling (mid-afternoon) it was full of schoolkids as well as people who'd clearly been to the market in Freiburg.

During a mere 15-minute run through the woods and vineyards between Breisach and Jechtingen, it stopped at three other small stations to let various folk on and off - which looked very like "properly serving the community" to us.

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It's always been highly suspicious that Dr Richard Beeching was instructed to "improve railway efficiency" (i.e. close unprofitable lines) by the same Minister of Transport, Ernest Marples, who had "an interest in" (i.e. was making money from) the companies which were building motorways - and who later fled to Europe just before his prosecution for tax fraud...

In addition, Beeching may have massaged his figures by recording only the rail use at slackest times, rather than at morning and evening rush-hours, but that too is only a suspicion.

Anyway, here's the song.

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On The Slow Train.

ZLSM Simpelveld (NL) Dampflokomotive "Bonne" Abfahrt Zug von Simpelveld nach Kerkrade 28.12.2024 kurz auf Parallelfahrt mit Uerdinger Schienenbus-Garnitur Richtung Vetschau .

ZLSM Simpelveld (NL) Steam locomotive ‘Bonne’ departure train from Simpelveld to Kerkrade 28.12.2024 briefly on parallel journey with Uerdingen railbus set towards Vetschau.

ZLSM Simpelveld (NL) Locomotive à vapeur « Bonne » départ train de Simpelveld vers Kerkrade 28.12.2024 brièvement sur trajet parallèle avec garniture d'autorail Uerdinger en direction de Vetschau.

The Dm12. Lipokas (Slipper) aka Vankka (Stout, Solid) aka Konkka (Bankruptcy), aka Peräkylän Pendolino (Backwater Pendolino... a dear child has many names. These stout boys are currently our only diesel railbuses in use, operating the slow-stopping services on non-electrified routes. They're also our newest multiple units in operation at the time of writing (the Sm6 Allegro trains are newer, but currently not in operation).

A two-carriage Dm12 train in the current livery at Haapamäki, 2020. My photo.

Since I love context, to understand the Dm12 we need to go back over 30 years. Our previous mainstay railbus class, the Dm7, was retired in 1988. Diesel multiple units (DMUs) remained in use on some local services using the Dm9 units (downgraded from the original express services), but these too were withdrawn in 1990. No new diesel multiple units were built to replace either class; instead, services previously operated with DMUs were replaced by locomotive-hauled trains using blue carriages (which were in turn replaced by the new Intercity coaches on many long-distance trains). This resulted in some funny combinations, such as a single carriage being hauled by a single locomotive.

As should have been obvious from the start, not having any DMUs was A Very Bad Idea. Already in 1995 our Pieksämäki workshop rebuilt a second-class blue carriage into a DMU by putting in two bus engines and fitting control cabs at both ends. This single Dm10 unit was used successfully for three years around eastern Finland, but our illustrious leadership decided not to proceed any additional conversions due to the projected relatively short lifespan, instead ordering 16 brand new units from Alstom. The first of these Dm11 units were delivered in 1997... and quickly discovered to be heavier and noisier than specified, and the windshield had an unfortunate habit of freezing so the driver could not see. Already in 1997, we canceled the contract and all units were returned to the builder (reportedly they were eventually sold to Cuba).

Left: The sole Dm10. Photo Nikolas Lintulaakso, Wikimedia Commons. Right: A rake of Dm11's inbound to Helsinki to be returned to the builder. Photo Jarkko Voutilainen, Vaunut.org.

Several new rounds of tenders were held over the subsequent years, none of which resulted in acceptable bids, until finally in 2001 ČKD Vagonka (today a part of Škoda Transportation) in the Czech Republic offered railbuses that fulfilled the specifications of the tender put out on that year. 16 units were ordered, with an option for 20 (which we never took up – a mistake, as we shall see).

A two-carriage Dm12 rake at Seinäjoki, with the first car in the original livery apart from the added green high-visibility tape in the front. My photo.

The Dm12 railbuses finally entered service in 2005-2006. They have a service speed of 120 km/h and a capacity for 62 seated passengers. Funnily enough, they actually weight 8 metric tons more than the Dm11's abandoned due to excess weight. The new railbuses replaced locomotive-hauled trains on the routes Pieksämäki-Joensuu-Nurmes, Iisalmi-Ylivieska, Savonlinna-Parikkala, Jyväskylä to Tampere and Seinäjoki via Haapamäki and Karjaa-Hanko. Due to the better acceleration compared to locomotive-hauled trains, two stations (Oriveden keskusta and Kolho) could be (re-)opened without increasing travel times.

However, it quickly turned out the 16 Dm12's were not enough to cope with the passenger demands on all these services, and most notably Jyväskylä-Seinäjoki reverted to locomotive-hauled trains already in 2007 (but returned to Dm12's in 2011). For reasons unknown to the author, despite the clear need for more railbuses the option for additional units was never taken up, and no additional DMU's of other design have been ordered to date, despite there being more demand than the Dm12 can cope with on many routes.

The middle passenger compartment of a Dm12. Otto Karikoski, Wikimedia Commons.

Perhaps a reason for not building any more Dm12's is their unfortunate habit of catching fire. Between 2007 and 2022, Dm12's have burnt no less than 15 times. The whole class has been out of service due to the fires twice, first in 2012 and again in 2022. One unit was damaged so badly it had to be withdrawn from service entirely. And the fires have not been the only problems with the class, often less than a half of the Dm12's have been in operable condition.

1. My father's side of the family hates me because I don't technically drive a train! (Except grandpa, he's fine with it.)

2. My mother's side of the family hates me because I don't technically drive a bus (even though my mom suggested driving railbuses since she had a friend named Sharon who did it and enjoyed it).

3. I technically have a studio apartment, but I mainly hang out in the only rail shed at @thebuslot ! I even forward my mail there! I also have a cat that rides in the railbus with me, but it's hard to snap a picture of it.

4. I have crashed the railbus over 20 times, and 5 of those times weren't my fault! Hooligans switched the railswitch to a part of a city that didn't have a railbus line and built buildings over railroad tracks! Two of those times I accidentally crashed into police stations directly into jail cells!

5. I have accidentally gone around the world 3 times because the railway companies refuse to update the switching mechanisms!