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.
Other examples Other examples of Prussian norms are:
See also History of rail transport in Germany
Literature and sources Multiple authors (1974). Güterwagen Handbuch, Transpress VEB Verlag für Verkehrswesen, Berlin Behrends, H.; Hensel, W.; Wiedau, G. (1989). Güterwagen-Archiv (Band 1), Transpress VEB Verlag für Verkehrswesen, Berlin Carstens, S.; Ossig, R. (1989). Güterwagen. Band 1. Gedeckte Wagen, W. Tümmels, Nuremberg Carstens, S.; Diener H. U. (1989). Güterwagen. Band 2. Gedeckte Wagen – Sonderbauarten, W. Tümmels, Nuremberg Carstens, S.; Diener H. U. (1996). Güterwagen. Band 3. Offene Wagen, Eigenverlag, Hasloh Carstens, S. (2003). Güterwagen. Band 4. Offene Wagen in Sonderbauart, MIBA-Verlag, Nuremberg Carstens, S. (2008). Güterwagen. Band 5. Rungen-, Schienen- und Flachwagen, MIBA-Verlag, Nuremberg Deutsche Bundesbahn, EZA Minden (1951). Handbuch für Umzeichnung der Güterwagen, Minden Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft, Reichsbahn-Zentralamt (1928) Merkbuch für die Fahrzeuge der Reichsbahn. IV. Wagen (Regelspur). 1928 edition, Berlin Königl. Eisenbahn Zentralamt (1915). Merkbuch für die Fahrzeuge der Preußisch-Hessischen Staatseisenbahnverwaltung. 1915 edition, Berlin Troche, H. (1992) Die preußischen Normal-Güterzuglokomotiven der Gattungen G 3 und G 4. Kap. 17. Die Normalien-Güterwagen, EK-Verlag, Freiburg