ET 165/475 049

After the First World War, Deutsche Reichs- bahn began modernising Berlin‘s main east-west line, ring line and suburban lines and electrifying them. The company ran tests using carriages with a variety of different configurations. The ET 165 Stadtbahn suburban electric railcar was introduced

in 1928 and was one of the first standardised rail vehicles to be produced in Germany in large quantities. To ensure the true compatibility of the vehicles‘ components, Deutsche Reichsbahn had each of the completed carriage bodies disassembled at its new repair depot in Niederschöneweide and then reassembled with parts from other carriages. In addition to improving the passenger area, the company gave particular attention to the vehicles‘ exterior colour scheme. Deutsche Reichsbahn sought to set the S-Bahn apart from the underground rail system visually and to use the trains

to advertise its services, so it also began testing several different colour schemes. The company settled on a distinctive wine red and ochre yellow colour scheme with a black dividing line, which initially served to obscure a series of rivets running along the vehicle‘s exterior. The classic shape and colours of the Stadtbahn suburban train would dominate the image of Berlin‘s S- Bahn for many decades to come.

Donated by Knorr-Bremse