Locomotive Series 120 in Focus: Presentation of a Book on the Development of A/C Drive Technology at Bombardier's Mannheim Site

MANNHEIM, GERMANY--(Marketwired - April 10, 2014) - The first of two volumes of a book on "The Series 120" was officially presented today at Bombardier Transportation's Mannheim site. The two books by the specialist magazine "Eisenbahn-Kurier" are intended as a memorial to the locomotive Series 120. In the presence of customers, members of the press, and numerous helpers who contributed to the book's development, the author Karl Gerhard Baur and Eisenbahn-Kurier's Managing Director, Dierk Lawrenz, presented the book to the public.

In his book, Baur explains the basics of alternating-current (A/C) technology as well as the development, construction, testing and alterations of the five pre-series engines as they evolved towards series production. The locomotive Series 120 has a special significance for Bombardier's Mannheim site. The A/C drive technology that was developed in Mannheim for the series is considered to be one of the most important inventions in railway technology. From Mannheim, the new train drive conquered the world starting in the 1970s. Locomotives, trains and metros that use A/C technology have long since become the railway standard.

The Series 120 triggered a profound change in drive technology for trains across the globe. In 1971, Brown, Boveri & Cie. (BBC) in Mannheim, and Henschel in Kassel gained first experiences in A/C drive technology with three diesel-electric engines of the type DE2500. The development was so successful that five pre-series locomotives of the new Series 120 were built as early as in 1976. Thanks to their new drive technology, they were suitable for all types of trains, from fast passenger trains to heavy freight trains.

"None of today's innovative rail vehicles would be feasible without A/C drive technology from Mannheim," said Michael Hirschböck, Site Manager of the Bombardier plant in Mannheim. "We are happy to provide an appropriate setting for the book's presentation with this event."

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