Articulating bogies

Evening all,

I have a translation in front of me; the text, which is in German, suggests that the "Flying Hamburger" diesel railcar units of 1935, which had what the Germans call "Jacobsdrehgestelle" - better known to us as articulating bogies - were the first main line trains to be fitted with them.

Now, the Gresley "quad-art" at the NNR was built in 1924, and I'm fairly sure that main line Gresley stock was fitted with articulating bogies before 1935, and I would rather like to rebut this claim. After all, the Germans claim their 05.002 was the world's fastest steam loco as well. I've not yet heard that the railways themselves were invented by the Germans, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time...

Anyway, can anyone please tell me WHEN articulated bogies were invented / first used successfully / on a large scale?

I'd be very grateful!

 

Gresley first used articulated bogies in July 1907 when the GNR Board approved conversion of 40 GN 6 wheelers into 20 artculated twins for use on intermediate expresses. This is recorded in the book 'Great Northern and East Coast Joint Stock Carriages from 1905' by Michael Harris.
The famous 'Leeds Quintuplet set' was built in 1921 so this also pre-dates the German articulated bogies.

 

The Great Western also had some articulated dining sets, built 1925. They were rebuilt into single carriages at some point, and one of the carriages is preserved on the SVR - I'm not sure, but I think it is the one with doors at one end only, a carry over from the original design.

 

Two of the G.W.R. coaches are preserved on the S.V.R., 9653 & 9654, from two 3-coach dining sets.

 

I'd be careful of context. Does the German document actually claim the German railcars were ...the first main line trains ever to be fitted with articulated bogies?

Or does the text mean they were ...the first main line trains in Germany to be fitted with articulated bogies?

The comment could be perfectly correct and accurate as it stands if it is used in a context only discussing the developments of the German railway system.

 

Or perhaps even the continent. The word translated into 'train' might differ too, if it was the German for Railcar or Multiple Unit it would be quite correct.

 

I've seen a wooden-bodied two-carriage articulated set of some description or other on a heritage railway in either northern Germany or Denmark. Sorry for vagueness but this was 10-15 years ago and I don't have access to my notes at present (or any time soon). Has anyone else come across such a thing? It may well pre-date the Flying Hamburger in Europe. It probably doesn't beat it for style though.

 

I thought everyone knew that railways were invented in America in 1830!!!:rofl:

 

Evenin' all,

Thanks all for your contributions. I just came by a copy of a German "Lexicon of Inventors and Inventions", and it gives the gist as: The bogie was patented in 1901 by one Wilhelm Jakobs, who was chief engineer of the Rastatt Wagon construction Company. It was used in France and Great Britain, but only experimentally in Germany - that is, until the "Flying Hamburger" and its derivatives, but they weren't very numerous.

In recent decades, the InterCity express units have been built with them too, but this isn't mentioned by the lexicon, which was published in 1986, so before the ICE came into service here.

 

I do not think that any German ICE trains have articulated bogies. But French TGV type trains do. The Alstom articulated bogie is similar to the trailer bogies fitted to class 175/180 units. However the anti roll bar is mounted on the bogie rather than tne body as on the DMU's.
The new Siemens trains being built for Eurostar, and DB have conventional bogies, as do the ICE3 units
There are films on you tube which show both ICE1 [power car either end as on HST] ICE2 [ power car + driving trailer] with convetional bogies. ICE3 trains have distributed power like the pendo's on the WCML, with the inner axles on the bogies powered only