DRG Class ET 91

Baureihe ET 91
Glass train 491 001-4 (ex ET 91 01) circa 1978
In service	1935–1995
Manufacturer	Waggonfabrik Fuchs, AEG
Constructed	1935–1936
Scrapped	1943 (1)
Number built	2
Number preserved	1
Number scrapped	1
Fleet numbers	ET 91 01 – ET 91 02
Capacity	70
Operator	Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft, Deutsche Bundesbahn
Specifications
Car length	over buffers: 20.6 m (67 ft 7 in)
Maximum speed	110 km/h (68 mph)
Weight	51 tonnes (50 long tons; 56 short tons)
Acceleration	max. starting: 0.58 m/s2 (1.9 ft/s2)
Electric system(s)	15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC
UIC classification	Bo′2′
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

The Baureihe ET 91 was a series of electric multiple units built for the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft of Germany. The units colloquially known as Gläserner Zug (Glass Train) were equipped with large panorama windows, providing an excellent outside view to the passengers. The vehicles were used for recreational trips only, especially in southern Germany and Austria.

History

Two units with the wheel arrangement Bo'2' were built in 1935 by Waggonfabrik Fuchs in Heidelberg and AEG.

ET 91 02 was destroyed on March 9, 1943 in a bomb attack on the Munich shunting yard. ET 91 01 survived World War II without major damage and was taken over by the Deutsche Bundesbahn From 1968 on, it was listed as Baureihe 491 in the DB numbering scheme, being assigned the number 491 001-4.

On December 12, 1995 the remaining unit suffered extensive damage in a frontal crash at Garmisch-Partenkirchen and was subsequently taken out of service. The unit has been stationed at the Bahnpark Augsburg in Augsburg since May 2005.

The unit is currently being renovated, however due to economical reasons it will not be put into a usable state again, the power bogie having been destroyed in the 1995 accident.

Literature

• Horst Troche: 60 Jahre im Betriebseinsatz: Der "Gläserne Zug". In: Eisenbahn-Kurier. No. 281/30/1996. EK-Verlag GmbH, ISSN 0170-5288, pp. 24-29.
• Horst Troche: Die elektrischen Aussichtstriebwagen der Deutschen Bundesbahn ISBN 3-921700-33-7

External links

• http://www.glaesernerzug.de
• http://www.bahnpark-augsburg.de