A Taurus, musically

"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse) 08/14/2017 at 18:45 • Filed to: Siemens, Taurus, Music

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Not, not a Ford model not available at a Ford dealer near me but a Siemens Taurus. It’s an electric locomotive. What’s interesting is that it plays tunes to you.

From my attempts to understand, the notes are produced by a variable frequency drive which switches power on and off at variable frequencies (yes, hence the name...) and the magnetic fields caused by the electric current induce vibration in different parts of the loco’s structure. As I understand it Siemens deliberately designed it to produce these notes. Sadly newer models use different technology without the sound effects.

eftalanquest > Cé hé sin 08/15/2017 at 15:43

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this needs a few clarifications

Taurus is not it’s official name, it’s ES64U2 (EuroSprinter series, 6.4 MW, Universal, 2 voltages).

the name Taurus was given to it by the initial operator and designer ÖBB (austrian federal railways), they also own the trademark to the name.

the c-major scale the power converters produce was NOT intentional, it was just a happy accident.

apart from the striking design ÖBB ordered it has a few features that make it different from all the other locos in the EuroSprinter series: it has only 2 doors, both leading to the engine room. so how does the engineer can exit the loco in case of a fire in the engine room? easy, he uses the escape hatch they gave him (you can see it in video underneath the side window).

it’s also the fastest of the bunch with a vmax of 230 km/h.

the main locos in the EuroSprinter series are:

ES64F :

built in the nineties and used for freight only, has only one voltage (15kV/16,7Hz). DB calls it 152.

it has a danish brother called EG , it has six axles, a bit more power (6,5MW) and runs under 15kV and 25kV. it’s used for freight trains from sweden to germany via the great belt.

ES64U2 :

i already listed the specs. there are two versions though, one 15kV only (ÖBB calls it 1016) and one with both 15kV and 25kV (ÖBB 1116, DB 182). the 25 locos DB owns were initially ordered for freight trains to south eastern europe (mainly hungary) but are now used for regional trains only.

ES64F4 :

built to run under all four main voltages in europe (15kV AC, 25kV AC, 3kV DC and 1,5kV DC). can be equipped with pretty much all european train control systems (as package variants). used mainly for freight but is also able to haul passenger trains. DB calls them 189, SBB 474.

ES64U4 :

4 voltage variant of the U2. siemens were cheap and used the engine compartment of the F4 and therefore it got 4 doors. holds the world record for electric locos at 357 km/h. ÖBB calls them 1216.

Cé hé sin > eftalanquest 08/15/2017 at 17:38

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It seems to depend on who you choose to believe. There’s a story, or possibly a legend, that one of the Siemens engineers working on the loco created that ascending scale as his last project before retirement.