I know it has been more than a week since my last article, and I do apologize for any failed hope I might have caused, but unfortunately I had to manage several other things which cropped up on me over the past few weeks, not all of which were under my control, and not all of which were of the happy kind. My grandma died on Nov. 12th, and since she was at home during the last few weeks of her life I had to witness how her condition deteriorated more and more, which I hope you understand did take a toll on me, since this was the first time in my life I actually had to see somebody wilt away before my eyes. I spent much of my time away from home those days, simply to get my mind off the matter for at least a few hours, because else I’m not sure what my condition would be today.
Anyway, following what I felt was a suggestion in my previous item about the Taurus, I decided to cover what is likely one of the biggest workhorses to ever enter German service, namely the Baureihe 111.The 111, while not really being a very recent design, is the mainstay of the various DB regional branches today, along with the equally famous 143 and the 110, both of which I will cover in future articles, though. The class dates back to the time around 1970 and is, in fact, some kind of an intermediate step between the older family of "standard" electric locos ("Einheitsloks" in German) based on single-phase AC traction motors and electro-mechanic throttle gear, and the 120, which is considered to be the forerunner of all modern German electrics and the first mass-produced standard-gauge locomotive to employ advanced three-phase AC traction equipment.In 1969, the last class 110 express loco was delivered, and while this class was very popular with its crews, the then Deutsche Bundesbahn management realized that the 110s were, in fact, already kind of outdated from a technological point of view, being based on technology dating back to the 1950s. Thus, since DB still had a lot to do in the way of fleet rejuvenation, the necessity of development of a more up-to-date follow-on class was recognized.
In 1971, the Federal Department of Railroads (at that time called "Bundesbahn-Zentralamt", the term also reflecting the fact of the DB still being a national enterprise at that time), teaming up with railway technology greats such as Krauss-Maffei and Henschel for the mechanic part and AEG, BBC and Siemens for the electrical part, launched the design program for what would be known as the class 111. Although significant parts of the design would later clearly reveal some sort of relationship to the proven 110, the 111 also benefited from much of the progress having been made since the days when the 110 was designed.Design work lasted until 1973 and the results obviously satisfied the Bundesbahn-Zentralamt, as evidenced by the fact of a first batch of 70 engines being ordered, the first five of them being considered as prototypes. In addition, several 110s served as testbeds for key elements of the 111, such as the bogies.111 001 was accepted by the DB on 10 December 1974 and assigned to the Munich depot, from where it would commence operational trials starting from 24 January 1975. Of the first batch of 70 locomotives, 27 were scheduled for delivery over the rest of the year.The 111 quickly won the favour of both drivers and maintenance technicians owing to their comfortable handling and the “tidy” design which allowed for easy maintenance. Certainly, this was one of the reasons for the Bundesbahn to order a second batch of 40 units in late 1976. In fact, the 111 soon took over an increasing number of services originally handled by the 110, 140 or 141 as well as the pre-war types 116 and 117, and while Munich’s 111 fleet continued to grow, their 110s were quickly reassigned to other depots all over the country.Originally being based only in Munich, the 111 soon expanded to other areas of Germany from 1977 onwards, the first new assignment temporarily being to Osnabrück for driver training in preparation for possible future stationing. That same year, trials started to evaluate the suitability of the 111 for a maximum speed of 160 kph (100 mph), for which it would be certified in 1979. 
111 080 and 077 outside the shed back in the days of the Bundesbahn, as evidenced by the original blue/beige livery and old-style DB logos.Another important development taking place in 1977 was the adaptation of the 111 for S-Bahn services in the Rhine and Ruhr areas. While all AC-powered S-Bahn networks in Western Germany – the Munich S-Bahn having been operational since 1972 and the networks in Frankfurt and Stuttgart scheduled to open in 1978 – had originally been planned to be operated with the class 420 EMUs, trials and operational experience carried out and collected at that time showed these not to be very well suited for the exceptionally long lines and large station distances in the Ruhr area, which was the reason for a concept being drawn up to operate the Rhine/Ruhr network with push-pull trains consisting of the so-called “x” cars specifically designed for this purpose and powered by the 111. Hence, the Bundesbahn ordered 46 locomotives (units 111 111 through 146) with optimized gearing and additional equipment for S-Bahn service. These were originally assigned to Düsseldorf and painted in what had since been adapted as the standard S-Bahn scheme, dark orange over “gravel grey”, as opposed to the ocean blue over beige on the units used in express passenger service.
Unit 111 148, still wearing S-Bahn colours, at the tail not of a S-Bahn train, but a stopper service (“Regionalbahn”).In 1980, the 2nd-batch units (111 071 through 110) had all been converted to SBS 65-type single-arm pantographs as fitted to units 111 through 146 right from the factory, whereas units 001 through 070 kept the scissors pantographs for the time being.
“x”-type S-Bahn driving trailer, already repainted in the “verkehrsrot” livery. This would be the typical kind of car S-Bahn 111s have been hauling for more than 20 years.Until 1983, five batches of this class were delivered for a total of 210 units, stationed as follows:Munich: 111 001-108 and 111 110.
Düsseldorf: 111 111-155, 158-166, 168-176111 109, also assigned to Munich, had been totalled on 27 August 1981 in a collision at Wels (Austria).
Also, problems with the class 120 development led to the Bundesbahn ordering a sixth batch of 111s for delivery in 1984, bringing the total number of orders to 227. Also in 1984, the 111 clocked up an average running distance of 184,469 km (114,624 mi) per unit.
111 066 in old colours, but already wearing the new Deutsche Bahn emblems, which are sometimes called “cookies” for some reason or other. Note the scissors-type pantograph.In 1988, 15 111s – units 111 095-108 and 110 - were reassigned from Munich to Frankfurt, in part because Munich was in the process of being upgraded to a depot for the ICE high-speed trains whose entry into scheduled service was imminent at that time. 111 088-095 followed in 1991. 111 095, however, returned to Munich in exchange for 111 049 which was designated for serving the “Lufthansa Airport Express”, which was a joint venture between the Bundesbahn and the premier German airline. 111 049 was, however, replaced by 103 101 in that role in 1991 when the newly built corridor route (“Neubaustrecke”) was opened and the 111 would not have been able to keep the tighter schedule, which had been revised to better match the higher speed limits of the new route.
111 127 nicely shows the difference between the oriental red livery and the more recent “verkehrsrot”, as seen on the bi-level coach right behind. Also note the single-arm pantograph.After some additional relocations, the 111s were distributed as follows as of 31 December 1995:Munich: 111 001-056, 059, 061-080, 162, 163, 177-209, 211, 213, 214, 217, 219-227
Düsseldorf: 111 112, 130, 164-176
Dortmund: 111 111, 113-129, 131-148
Frankfurt: 111 057, 058, 060, 081-108, 110, 149-161, 210, 212, 215, 216, 218
Meanwhile, the former West German Deutsche Bundesbahn and the former East German Deutsche Reichsbahn had been merged in what is commonly called the „Bahnreform“ and was a necessary consequence of the German reunification of 1990. This meant that a large number of former East German engines was added to the fleet of the newly created Deutsche Bahn AG, including the outstanding class 143 which might be considered the nearest thing to an East German equivalent to the 111, and which quickly proved to be a welcome and indeed necessary relief for the heavily used 111 fleet. I will cover the 143 in a later article, but let me just say at this point that while its maximum speed is only 120 kph as opposed to the 160 kph of the 111, it is primarily used for the same types of medium-distance passenger services as its West German cousin. There is actually a 160-kph variation of the 143 registered as class 112, but this class is mostly, though not exclusively, used for long-distance intercity services.In the mid-90s, the Deutsche Bahn introduced a new type of bi-level medium-distance coaches designed and built by DWA, inspired by and meant as an improvement on a similar type of car which had, in fact, been used by the former East German DR since the early 1980s. These coaches, best known as “Dosto” cars – Dosto being shorthand for “Doppelstock”, “bi-level” – were fitted with a push-pull operation control bus known as ZWS (Zeitmultiplexe Wendezugsteuerung, roughly translating into “time-multiplexed reversing train control”) for which most 111s had not been fitted at the time of their delivery. While I cannot explain the exact functionality with my current knowledge, the ZWS system basically allows the communication between certain more recent types of driving trailers and locomotives for reversing train operation. Therefore, the DB launched a major refit program which triggered yet another wave of “rotation” of 111s between the various depots, depending on the extent of ZWS requirement in their respective areas. As of early 1996, plans called for units 111 111 through 176 to be fitted with ZWS, while units 001 through 110 and 189 through 227 were to keep their conventional train communication bus for the time being, and units 177 through 188 were to be fitted with ZDS (Zeitmultiplexe Doppeltraktionssteuerung; “time-multiplexed double-heading control”) only, which allowed MU operation of two 111s, but was, unfortunately, not compatible with the Dosto driving trailers. Only later would those 111s mainly used with ZWS-equipped rolling stock be fitted with both ZDS and ZWS to enhance their versatility even further. There are, in fact, cases in which two separate 111/Dosto compositions are coupled such that you would have one 111 at the head, ten or more Dosto coaches in between, and another 111 at the tail. The rear half of the train is usually headed by a driving trailer, so that the train can be split at a junction on the route, and then serve two separate destinations from there, although the presence of a driving trailer in the middle means that you cannot walk through the entire length of the train. This is normally done during peak hours on certain high-density routes, such as on the RB50 line from Frankfurt Central Station to Wächtersbach and Fulda, which just happens to be an example from my immediate area. 
Typical composition of a 111 with Dosto coaches.
As of 31 December 2001, the remaining 111 fleet was distributed across the following depots:Munich: 111 001-006, 017-047, 049, 051-053, 055-057, 065-069, 071, 072, 074-080, 082, 088, 223, 225, 227Nuremberg: 111 073, 106, 107, 130, 161-169, 172-174, 177-187, 199-222, 224, 226Dortmund: 111 007-016, 111-129, 146-160Frankfurt/Main: 111 059, 063, 070, 086, 093-105, 108, 110, 170, 171, 175, 176, 188-198Freiburg: 111 048, 050, 054, 058, 060-062, 064Braunschweig: 111 081, 083-085, 087, 089-092, 131-145
111s can also often be seen coupled to the so-called “Modus” coaches.
This is the latest allocation table I could find, although I did read about several more recent reassignments. For example, as of 16 June 2002, Munich’s units 111 029, 047, 074-080, 082 and 088 found a new home at Stuttgart, as well as units 111 161-164 from Nuremberg. Also, 111 011-013 and 111-118 were transferred to Cologne in early 2003. Reassignments are very likely to continue over the next few years following the introduction of the high-tech class 425 and 426 EMUs on an increasing number of regional lines, and these developments are virtually certain to spell the death for even more units of the older classes 110, 113 and 141. My verdict on the 111, however, is somewhat more optimistic, in that I figure that this class will continue to play a major role in medium-distance passenger service for several more years to come, even in the light of an ever-increasing competition in the shape of the more recent class 146 as well as the class 425 and 426 EMUs.To conclude this article, I should like to spell out some technical details about the 111.
Length: 16.75 m (54.9’)
Wheel diameter: 1.25 m (49.2”)
Service weight: 83 metric tons
Wheel arrangement: Bo’Bo’
Fitted for 15 kV, 16 2/3 Hz overhead supply
Four WB 372-type single-phase AC traction motors providing a total output of 3,620 kW/4,923 hp per hour
The 111 wore several different liveries since its introduction. Originally delivered in the basic scheme of ocean blue over beige, locomotives earmarked for S-Bahn service were painted in the old standard S-Bahn scheme of dark orange over a very light grey (also known as “kieselgrau” or “gravel grey”). However, in the second half of the 1980s, a new sort of trend of so-called “product” liveries for the various different types of services started to appear, which actually continues until this day and has not been without controversy. In 1986, unit 111 068, which had served as a livery demonstrator before, was presented in what was then intended to become the new standard paint scheme for locomotives, namely a deep, rich red also known as “orientrot” (“oriental red”) with white contrast “bibs” on the front sides, which, shall we say, were not only received with appreciation.
The only unit to be painted in the Lufthansa Airport Express scheme – consisting of yellow over white with the underframe and chassis being black - was 111 049. However, when 111 049 was replaced in its role by 103 101, it, too, was repainted in oriental red.
In 1997, the Frankfurt depot performed a little experiment on units 111 156, 158, 175 and 176, which had been wearing the S-Bahn livery. They replaced the dark orange stripe by oriental red while leaving the light grey top and bottom untouched.
111 176, one of only four locos ever wearing this interesting variation of the S-Bahn livery.However, also in 1997 DB executives thought that it would be a good idea to have all locomotives and EMUs (with some specific exceptions) painted in yet another new uniform scheme of red, which was to be somewhat lighter than the oriental red from the late 80s, though, and became known as “verkehrsrot” or “traffic red”. The white “bibs” on the front sides of locomotives were replaced by a rather small horizontal white bar which was split in the middle, where the DB logo was to be located. Of course, the aesthetical value of this scheme may be questioned, and while I personally have seen worse liveries, I don’t think I would have voted in favour of this livery as it is today. I personally have nothing against red as a basic colour, but, as in all applications, the quality of a whole depends on what you make of the components.Information was taken from a very informative article at elektrolok.de. Images are from http://mercurio.iet.unipi.it/ .
Cheers ,Dominik
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