Driver's desk of the "Red Arrow" RAe 2/4 # 1001 of SBB Historic in Olten, built in 1935. Text from the SBB Historic Website: The extremely popular Red Arrows established the era of light, innovative, fast and comfortable railcars in the 1930s. The one-piece Red Arrow RAe 2/4 1001 is still used today for special events and excursions.
Information on the vehicle family/series: In addition to seven single-carriage, electric Red Arrows, SBB procured two similarly built single-carriage, diesel-powered Red Arrows (CLm 2/4 101 and 102, in service from 1936), which were converted to electric operation in 1951-1953. Both were demolished in 1964.
SBB also procured two three-car, light railcar trains, which were delivered by the industry by 1938 and were used until the 1960s.
In 1940, SBB put a two-car Red Arrow - the “Landi-Arrow” or “Churchill-Arrow” - into service. It is still owned by SBB and is used for charter trips.
In the summer of 1953, SBB put its last two Red Double Arrows into service, which - like the three-part Red Arrows - were outwardly very different from the one-part Red Arrows. They were primarily intended for excursion traffic.
The RAe 2/4 1001 from the RAe 2/4 1001-1002 and RBe 2/4 1003-1007 (7 one-piece Red Arrows):
In 1933, SBB ordered two identical, lightweight, electric high-speed railcars from the industry. These were to be streamlined, capable of running at 100 km/h (the maximum speed was subsequently increased to 125 km/h) and the driver's cab and boarding platform were to be separated only by a glass wall. The plan was to use these vehicles in express and passenger trains (“streetcar trains”) with low passenger volumes (off-peak hours) as well as for social trips. They were to offer space for around 100 passengers, 70 of whom would be seated. No carriages were required, so normal pulling and pushing devices were not installed. With these innovative vehicles, the railroad wanted to give the road competition a run for its money. In 1935, the first two one-piece Red Arrows CLe 2/4 201 and 202 ('C' stands for the third car class, 'L' for light railcar, 'e' for electric drive) were delivered. Four more one-piece Red Arrows followed in 1936 (Nos. 203-206), and finally the seventh CLe 2/4 with the No. 207 in 1938.
Public interest in the Red Arrows was so great that there was soon not enough space available and they were therefore no longer used on a scheduled basis from May 1936. They were all the more successful in social and excursion traffic, which then largely came to a standstill during the Second World War.
Various solutions were sought to improve capacity utilization and luggage transport. Initially, single-axle ski and luggage trailers were used for several years. In order to be able to carry larger trailers with the express railcars, they were equipped with buffers and couplings from 1944-1949, for which the construction had to be reinforced accordingly. From 1947, SBB used five newly procured light trailer coaches.
