German state railway norms explained

In German railway engineering, norms (Normalien) are standards for the design and production of railway vehicles. In the 1880s and 1890s, Prussian norms were developed for the locomotives, tenders and wagons of the Prussian state railways under the direction of the railway director responsible for railway engineering, Moritz Stambke. Later, these were largely adopted by the other state railways (Länderbahnen) in Germany.

Engineering drawings

These norms are defined by engineering drawings to 1:40 scale on individual sheets and show the locomotives and wagons as full design drawings, referred to by their sheet (Musterblatt) numbers. The first drawings date from 1878. In 1885 the Minister for Public Works tasked the Hütte Academic Institute with the publication of the norms. The drawings were regularly updated as technical developments occurred. The last Prussian drawings were issued in 1923.

Goods wagons

The design drawings for goods wagons were of special importance. The wagons built to these specifications appeared in large numbers and formed the bulk of the German wagon fleet until well after the Second World War. The 1973 DR Goods Wagon Handbook still contained most of the DSV wagon classes as well as the former Prussian Class IId wagons. The most important types are listed in the following table. Note that group IIb are goods wagons based on old designs, IIc goods wagons under 15 ton maximum load and IId goods wagons with at least 15 tons maximum load. A-group wagons are those built to the standard drawings of the DSV. Wagons according to sheets with other nos. are special designs, of which some were also built in large numbers.

DescriptionSheet No.PayloadState Railway ClassDRG Class
from 1922		DB Class
from 1952
to 1909/14 from 1909/14
Goods van8 10 t Gl G Gw Magdeburg –
IIb 1 10 or 12.5 t Gl G Gw Magdeburg Gw 01
IIb 3 15 t Gml Gm G Hannover or Stettin –
IId 8 15 t
10 t 		Gml
Gnl 		Gm
N 		G Hannover/Stettin
Gwh Magdeburg 		G 02
–
A2 15 t – Gm, Nm G(h) Kassel/München G(h) 10
Goods van
(facultative wagon)
with end platforms
for occasional passenger transport 		IIb 1a 10 t Gnl Ni Giwh Magdeburg –
Six-wheeled goods van
for express goods		IIc 13 10, later 15 t G(n)l N Gh Hannover –
IIc 13II 6, later 15 t G(n)wl Nwl für Sz Glpwhs Dresden G(w)h(s) 05
Large-capacity goods van
(container glass wagon)		Ce5 15 t Gml Gml Gl Dresden Gl 06
A9 15 t – Gml Gl Dresden Gl 11
Double-deck livestock van
for small animals		IIc 1 10 t Vel Ven Vpwh Altona Vwh 04
IIc 1a 10 t Ve(n)lz Venz Vwh Altona Vwh 04
IIc 1b 10 t Ve Ven Vpwh Altona Vwh 03
IId 10 15 t Ve(n)mlz Venmz Vh Altona Vh 04
A8 15 t – Venmz Vh Altona Vh 14
Livestock van
for cattle and horses		IIc 2 10 t V(n)l Vn Gvwh Magdeburg –
Open livestock wagon
for cattle and horses		IIc 3 10 t VO(n)l VO Ovw Karlsruhe −
Lidded wagon
(lime wagon) 		IIc 8 10 or 12.5 t Kr K Kw Elberfeld Kw 05
IId 4 15 t Km Km K Elberfeld K 06
A7 15 t – Km K Elberfeld K 15
Open goods wagon
sides 85 to 100 cm high,
removable for military vehicle transport,
end doors		10 10 t Olk[u] Ok[u] Ow Karlsruhe, Xow Erfurt –
IIb 2 10 or 12.5 t Olk Ok Ow Karlsruhe –
IId 3 15 t Omk Omk O Frankfurt/Würzburg O 01
A1 15 t – Omk O Halle O 10
Coal wagon
sides 108 to 130 cm high,
end doors		IIc 4 10 or 12.5 t Ork Ok Ow Karlsruhe –
IIc 5 10 or 12.5 t Ork[u] Ok[u] Ow Karlsruhe –
IId 1 15 t Omk[u] Omk[u] O Schwerin O 02
A6 15 t – Omk[u] O Nürnberg O 11
Coke wagon
sides 140 to 155 cm high,
end doors		IIc 7 10 or 12.5 t Oclk[u] Ock[u] Ocw Münster –
IId 2 15 t Ocmlk[u] Ocmk[u] Oc Münster Oc 01
IId 2III 20 t Omlk[u] Ommk[u] Om Ludwigshafen Om 04
A10 20 t – Ommk[u] Om Breslau/Essen Om 12
Coal wagon
sides 150 to 180 cm high,
end doors		Cc7 20 t Omk[u] Ommk[u] Om Ludwigshafen Om 04
Ce93, Ce95 20 t Omk[u] Ommk[u] Om Ludwigshafen Om 04
Ce146 20 t – Ommk[u] Om Ludwigshafen Om 04
Bogie coal wagon
sides 130 cm high,
end door		IId 7 (1st use) 30 t OOmk OOmk OO Oldenburg –
Coal hopper wagonIIc 6 10 t Otr[u] Ot[u] Otw Mainz –
IIc 12 12.5 t Otr[u] Ot[u] Otw Mainz –
Long low wagon
with wooden stanchions		IIc 10 10 or 12.5 t Sl R Rw Stuttgart Rw 01
IId 5 15 t Sml Rm R Stuttgart R 02
A4 15 t – Rm R Stuttgart R 10
Flat wagon
(rail wagon)
13 m loading length		Ce143 15 t Sml Sml S Augsburg S 05
A11 15 t – Sml S Augsburg S 14
Bogie flat wagon
(rail wagon)
12 to 18 m loading length		IIc 9 20, later 25 t SS SS SSkw Köln –
IId 6 30, later 35 t SSm SSm SSk Köln SSk 07
IId 6a 30, later 35 t SSml SSml SSk Köln SSk 07
IId 7 30, later 35 t SSml SSml SSk Köln SSk 08
IId 7II 35 t – SSml SS Köln SS 08
A3 35 t – SSml SS Köln SS 15
Ce168 38 t – SSml SSl Köln SSl 16
Single bolster wagon
(timber truck)		IIc 11 10 t HHrsz Hsz Hosw Regensburg –
IId 9 15 t HHmrsz Hmsz Hos Regensburg –
A5 18, later 15 t – Hrmz H Regensburg H 10

Other examples

Other examples of Prussian norms are:

Pwg Pr 92cSheet IIa 3
BogiesSheet VId 7II
Diamond bogie VerbandsbauartSheet B23
S 6 (straight driver's cab end wall)Sheet XIV-2a
G 3Sheet 15, 16, III-3
T 9.1Sheet III-4f
T 10Sheet XIV-4b
Tender 4T18Sheet III-5e
Tender 4T21,5Sheet III-5h
Tender 4T21,5Sheet III-5l
Tender 4T31,5Sheet III-5m

See also

Literature and sources

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