Vossloh G6
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
650 109-8 in the STK livery, photographed at the TRAKO 2013 fair in Gdańsk on September
24, 2013.
In 2016 650 109-8 was returned to Vossloh; this
picture was taken at the Brühl-Vochem depot on August 30, 2016, by Kai Mund (many thanks for permission!).
650 076-9 in the VPS livery, photographed at the InnoTrans 2010 fair in Berlin on September 26, 2010, by someone
who wishes to be known as MPW57 (source: www.commons.wikimedia.org).
G6 side drawing; source: www.loks-aus-kiel.de. |
Maschinenbau Kiel GmbH, commonly known as MaK, was founded in 1948 as a
successor of earlier Deutsche Werke AG. Three main divisions of this company
produced military vehicles (sold to Rheinmetall in 1990), locomotives (sold to Siemens in 1994) and marine engines
(sold to Caterpillar in 1997, MaK brand being
retained). After six years, Siemens
sold the locomotive division to Vossloh AG, who
in 2004 decided to develop new rail vehicles under their own brand name. In 2008 Vossloh introduced new family of diesel locomotives, referred
to as the ‘5th Generation’, which included three-axle G6 and
four-axle G12/DE12 and G18/DE18; ‘G’ and ‘DE’ indicated hydraulic and
electric transmissions, respectively. Four-axle line locomotives, fitted with
MTU powerplants
rated at 1200 hp or 1800 hp,
have been built in rather moderate numbers. G6 switcher, on the other hand,
attracted greater interest. Until now, number of delivered and ordered
locomotives of this type has exceeded 130 examples. Two basic variants are fitted
with 910 hp Cummins
QSK23-L and 940 hp MTU 12V 1600 R50 diesels. The www.loks-aus-kiel.de website lists 76
and 40 examples of these sub-types, respectively. According to some sources, Caterpillar C27 rated at 885 hp was also tested, but it seems that locomotives with
this powerplant have not been ordered in quantity.
Major recipients of this type have included Verkehrsbetriebe Peine-Salzgitter
GmbH (VPS) transport and
logistic company (43 examples, all with Cummins
engines) and BASF SE (16 examples,
all with MTU engines, with orders
for more). At the time of writing, 37 G6s were owned by the
manufacturer and used for development purposes or leased to various operators
for tests. One of them, Cummins-powered 650 109-8 (650 is German class
designation of this type) was exhibited at the InnoTrans 2012
international fair in Berlin in September 2012 and later tested by Wrocław-based STK
(Specjalny Transport Kolejowy)
company. In the STK livery it was
again exhibited at the TRAKO 2013
fair in Gdańsk. Later it was transferred to Koleje Bałtyckie
and finally returned to Vossloh in 2016. Until now, no firm orders from Polish operators
have been placed. G6s are currently certified in Germany, Poland, France and
Sweden, so chances to encounter one are not negligible. Apart from 650 109-8, Vossloh presented at the InnoTrans 2012 yet another locomotive
from the G6 family. Designated G6 ME (Multi-Engine),
this variant is fitted with two truck diesel engines of unspecified type,
each rated at 475 hp, and electric transmission.
Other proposed variants included single-engine layout with electric
transmission, G6 Hybrid with energy
storage and G6 Akku
with rechargeable battery and two energy-storage modules. In May 2020 Vossloh sold
their Kiel-based locomotive business to Chinese CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Company. Main
technical data
1) Data for mid-2017, including orders. 2) Tests only. 3) Tested also with Caterpillar
C27. 4) With the Cummins
engine. 5) With the MTU
engine. 6) Depending on variant. References and acknowledgments
-
SK, various
issues. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
