PROBLEMS OF THE HUNGARIAN RAILROAD CAR INDUSTRY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700170367-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 2, 2011
• Sequence Number: 367
• Publication Date: April 27, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION COiR~'IllEt]'i'IAL JJ
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORTI
? INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
COUNTRY Hungary
DATE OF
INFORMATION 1952
SUBJECT Economic -Railroad car industr
y,
HOW transportation, exports
PUBLISHED bionthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED -udapest
DATE
PUBLISHED Apr, tray 1953
LANGUAGE Hungarian
DI'TxlDUUi T[D fl. Tl4.~y.i x~.xx ?r.rir ,x r x~T' 'x~ .?ns~
.r T 1 I D i .nt 1.1
. r 'xe . . cope.. ..crow. c n.r .,TSio. o. ?wc.
. r m carer*s TD o.,.cn nT Dr . r. ? u wo. i
SOURCE Gevo, vol v, No 4, 5
N0. OF PAGES 13
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT N0.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
PRO-L~?SS OF THE HUidGARL1it R1II.ROAD CAR IiiDU3TRY
(The folloxing article, uhich representa a lectiu?e dcli?rered
nt the rolling stoc'r: conference cf t;he Gepipari 1'udo.~nanyos Egye-
sulet (Scientific Institute for the bfachine -uilding Industry) on
22 Piovember 1952, reviews the current condi+_on of the Hungarian
railroad car industry an.: ~TArmits insigt?' into the eno_?mous dif-
ficulties e:.ioting i n this 1'ielu.
These difficulties ircludc: (1) serious disagreements utth
foreign purchasers, becansc of the poor quality of products and
deviations from specifL:otions; (2) infericr quality of steel and
irregula_^ deliveries by r.}~~ m=tnlltu?gical industry; (3) poor or-
~anizntion and loi; tecluu,lo~ical level; (!j) loss of old specialists
and lack of competent technical personnel; and (5) lack of tine
and fac?_lities to build and test proLO',:ypes prior to serial pro-
duction.
It may also be concluded from the rrticle that a sizable part
of the output of this industr, is ex-gorted to the USSR.
Hardly had the uar ended when, wCtii the he .1 ~i the Us'SR, the serial manu-
facture of gondola and tank cars began in Hungary. Elore recently, the Hungarian
railroad car industry has been engaged in the production of a record-breaking
number of second-class passenEer cars for the USSR and rail maL-orcars and con-
sists for Czechoslovakia, -ulgaria, Poland, and other friendly countries, and
even in filling export orders for certain capitalist countries. At the same
tune, the domestic demand for passenger and freight cars has been increasing.
50X1-HUM
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It is characteri,tic of the enormous growth which l.as talten plece in
Ifungary's national economy since the liberation that, according to current
plans, nearly ten times ar ?..zny passenger cax?s and ne:>:?ly five times as many
freight C3r6 will be produced ;n 1953 as i^ 193II.
As a result, the two Hungarian railroad car factories became inadequate,
despite the large capital investments which had been made; and in 1952, a
former repair shop of the hIAV (ilagyar A11a.?svasutak, Hungarian State Railroads)
was converted into the Dunnlteszi Vagongyar (Dtural:eszi Railroad Car Factory).
The tasYs, however, continue to grog and now include the manufacture of
first-class passenger cars for the USSR, model Ha passenger cars for the
domestic suburban traffic, and model BCa passenger cars for international
traffic. In addition, it is planne3 to develop numerous other models.
The growth of the Hungarian railroad car industry has naturally led to
many problems of manufacture, design, and industrial organization.
Current Position of t. Railroad Car Indu^trv
In Hungary, tine following enterprises arc en~nged in the production of
railroad cars and railroad car equii;...ent:
--? Wi11:e1.:. Pieclt Vagon- es Gepgyrr (Wilhelm Pieclt Rsilroad Car and Ma-
chine. Factory) of Gyor, which produces passenger and special freight cars.
2. Dunakeszi Vagongyar (Du:~ai:eszi RniL-oad Cnr Factory), which produces
Passenger cars for the I?IAV, rail motorcars for the FW (Fovarosi Villamos
Vasutak, Budapest Electric Streetcar Line), and cars for the ITV (Ifelyierdeku
Villarros Vasut, Suburban Electric Railway). In addition, it repairs 4-axle
passenger cars.
3? Ganz Vagon- es Gepgyar (Ganz Railroad Car and L7achine Factory), which
produces mostly rail motorcars and ccnsists. It also :.aa.l;es diesel and dlesel-
electric consists, tank cars, and special passenger caz?s.
i+? Jarmufelszerelesi Gyar (Vehicle Equipment Factory), which produces
small parts, such as i.ocks, doori:::obs, window frames, flttings, etc., for the
railroad car factories.
The ililhe]m Pieclc and Canz enterprises iravc, in addition to their ra?lroad
car ar_d consist departments, also general m.?rchinc- and rchicle-hullding depart-
ments.
Certain important railroad car and loccmotive puts, such as brnl:es and
springs, are sot manufactured by these factories but by other enterprises. Thus,
generators, electric aotors, and oti:cr electrical equipment for railroad cars,
rail motorcars; and consists are male by the various enterprises of the electric
industry, primarily by G;u:z Vi1la~ossa~i (Ganz Electric). In addition, 2-;ale
freight car^, are manufactured a::d -el aired at Debrecen under the jurisdiction of
the Idinistry of Transportation.
Each of the three railroad car factories produces all component parts -
with the exception'of the brakes, springs, doorknobs, locks, window frames, and
fittings mentioned above -- for its own requirements. It would be, of course,
impossible to enrm~ernte all the oti:er enterprises that supply the railroad car
factories with semifinished products. ?
The current problems of tire railroad car factories may be sunm+arized as
folloors
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Each of the tlu?ee enterprises has different traditions and tnanufacturing
experience. As a result, considerable d'fferences in organization and tech-
nology exist betxeen them.
The Wilhelm Pieck Va on- es Gepg ~
g yar is engaged in se:?ia1 production based
on prefabrication, and has the most advanced technology of the three i'actories.
c also has the largest capacity. As a result of better organization of tooling
and manufacture, its production time per unit is the most favorable. This, of
course, does not menu that, the enterprise is free of defects. By comparison
with foreign rai]sosd car factories, for er~ample, the enternrise still has much
to learn in tooling and technology; and the production time could be reduced con-
siderably.
The Dunal:eszi V~gongyar is the youngest enternrise in this field. It was
necessary to resort to a number of technical makeshifts to introduce the pre-
fabrication method, since tite factory itad originally been built for repair wor}:
and is not equipped with cranes. Organizational and technological standards arc,
accordingly, still unsatisfactory; but improvement in these respects is e:,pected
to result in a considerable increase is capacity.
The Ganz Vng.,on- es Gepgyar is one of the old strongholds of the railroad
car industry. It should logically follox tlutt it leads in uroduction. The fact
is, however, that instead of progress a decline has taken place in recent years.
At present, only 10 percent of the old specialists are still emplo3~ed, the tech-
nological standards are or. the cane 1eve1 as 10 years ago, at:d organizations it
general is poor.
Evidently, the ililhelm Pieck Vngon- es Gensyar is leading the industry in
orb nization, technology, and production time. This is due ir. part to t'nc fact
tint the enterprise has been very active in recruitment and is, therefore, in
the most favorable position among the Hungarian rail^oaci car factories in respect
to technical and labor cadres.
The Duuakeszi Vago::~yar i~as scrio;s nroblemc botl::n technical and labor
cadres and urgrently needs not only additional manpower but also training for
most of ins present; cadres.
The Ganz Vagon- es Gepgyrzr has not only neglected recruitment but has even
lost pa:?t of its old cadres, a fact vhlch is causing great difficulties in plan
fulfillment.
In l:i:c Jarrtufclszcrelesi Gy::r, teclmologicnl and organizational standards
are practically nonexistent, since production is scattered a.?cong 12 separate
plants, some of whiclt arc located in wooden shed,. Qu;cY, action must be taken
in the. near future i.f this ente_nrise is to fulfill the tasks which have been
assigned to it.
Let us non ta;:e n 1001: nt the conditions which prevail outside the railroa3
car industry. In reviewing ti:c e:ac_?nal problems of the industry, it is accessary
to bear in mind lion the production of railroad cars is not the exclusive prob-
lem of the railroad car factories. The problem be ;ins in the metallu:?gical in-
dust?;. which ~., required to supl,ly ,-.~atcri_^.1 of good quality in large quantities
and on time.
Unfortunately, it has rot yet been -_~ossible +,o coordinate the uroduction
plans and the production standards of tl:e metallurgical indust:y wish ti:e pro-
duction tnsYs of the railroad car factories. Currently, at least 1G months ere
required for the manufacture of a series of railroad cars of established design,
and approximately 2 years for a oerics of new desi~ It will ue seen, tl:erc-
fore, that both the Hungarian foreigr. trade agencies and the rail.coa%i rnr
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designers must: ;tart ~rorhin~ a lcn;, ti.ac before the ;aan.cd dciiccry date of the
finished product, to assure undisturbed nroductior.. Titis is particularly impor-
tant when foreign orders are received `:~~ series which have not previous;; b~Fn
manufactured in Iiun~ u?y,
Let us now consider the reason trhy such a long period of time is needed far
delive:?y.
In t}t~ case of established models, it is well knows: that procurement of the
materials requires at least G-? months, sad usually Wore because of the clu?onic
delays of t:he metallu:?gicnl industry. Production in lire railroad car factories
require; 6-3 months.
For nc:r models, designing alone requires ~?,-10 months. The remainder of ti:e
required time is?divided between n:?ocurement of material and production. The
estimated period of 2 years dues not allow time for the production and testia~
of a prototype. If aLewancc is made for the latter purpose, an additional
~-12 months are needed for tl:e c:tecution of the order.
It should be pointed out that serial production of rail^oad crss and consists
should not be sta:?ted without a nrototy.~c. In this connection, the current sit-
uation ruiy be described as follows:
Our foreign trade s,^,enc'es eit.i;cr are t:o': fa:.ilia:? with the 1en~tit of time
required for p:?oduct`on, or disre~;a:?d these requirements. Consequently, serial
manufacture must be begun irmtedia::cly; and since the tecitaicul specifications
are nn, silly incom_lete, and the co:^?ccticn cf defects and the ch_n,,es ir. ec_
ificrtions desir c1 b;,? the piu?chnscr interfere with sp
filica with consider^able r_,elay. productio:t, e:;port orders are
It may be said that lack of clear technical specifications is n ciiaructer-
i.stic of all c:wort orde?: s in fire railroad car industry; it is, hovrever , frequent
even in orders ori;~inatin;; in the ;i~.V, which also likes to make changes in tech-
nical smcifications and special :ie.:at:ds in the cour~a of production. A
case in
point ~; the set of specifications for second-class passenger cars and for con-
sists. It is, of coiu?sc, i.zpossiblc for use to close our eyes to useful innova-
tions; is fact, we encourn~e the::,. Iiowevcr, suci: innovations would be speci-
ficd well in ad?/nnce, to avo;.ci i:;terfe:once will; ~ro3uctlor..
In connection uitl:-the secor:9-c'.ass nasscnge+? cars for the USSR, we had
enough time to malte a nrototy?e; however, the changes in specifications caused
n serious delay. 4toreover, the lIungarion metallui?-ical enter z
luctant to accent orders for t.e i?elativciy small anount of :aaterinlaneeded
for a prototype. Delivery cf such raterinl is usually delayed and is fira.lly
cffectc:l only after vigorous intcrventicn by top-level Eove:moment author Tics.
Such delay, in tu:?r., entails delay `_.. the production pf the prototype and of
the first se:?ies. Also, even :r'.;en t~c t.;etallurt;ical entes?_rise is cooperative,
dclivcrieo rse, as n rule, r.:a.:le at _rren;lar intervals.
In procurement, and eve::::orc in designin? r:wtitcrial conservation :nest be
enforced. It is also irtpcrative to u;c domestic substitute t~aterinls wherever
possible to replace certai:i _apo_?ted uroducts. Tire C.:eci.oslovafi rai1:?o_ds, for
e:;ar:ple, ra?r eauippit:~ all' ^ssen~e_ cars with eater 'nines made of Viridiu?. It
is true that Eungary's producton earn^_ity in substitute materiels is very small.
Consequently, these production facilities should be enlarged speedily.
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.Tnsgs of the Railroad Car
Industr
In comparing the IIungarinu railroad car r-odels pox in production xitit the
latest foreign aodels, it wi11 be clem? that om? models are obsolete and are be-
lovr 'nternntional etandaeds. The reason therefore lies partly in the fact that
our technical cadre3 and designers nz?e sta;3nating and partly in the absence of
creative l.ra,gination. Some progress has been node xith the helu of specifications
received from abroad for export c.lers; ho:rever, this cannot dive a new direction
to the entire IIunGarian railroad car industzy.
:L^~ong the models .now under construction or beinG desib^.ied, the followin~?
are the most important:
1. Passcrger Cars
The model fia passenger car for subu:?ban traffic, the model BCa passenGer
caz? for the bJzV (to be used in international traffic) and a subway coach for the
Budapest subway are under construction. It is also planned to design a tlzird-
class passenger coach for Egypt, an electric streetcar for Finland, and a nex
car for the Budapest streetcar system- In the more distant future, a nex model
postal car may be developed.
2. Freight C:.z?s
i?lorl; is nrogressi.n~ on a hopper coal car, ba.;ed on tkre Talbot system,
and on a new tender. Later a new dzL^z_~ car and a new type of tender may be dc-
si bd.
3? Rail Atotorcaz?s
This, Sield includes the :sodel BCb five-axle 24AV rail motorcar; a rail"
motorcar, tends? and parlor cn_ for Folnud; a five-n:1e car for Czecl:a^lovakia;
avid an a;r~?iculturnl nano::-gaum rail motorcar for iecsY,cmet.
!t. Consists
Tizis cateGOry includes a wodernized variant of the Soviet consists, the
four-section consist for the 1?L':V, a tlu?ce-secticn cons
and afour-section consist for iwst Germm~y? int foz? Czechosloval:in,
In i:hi.^, connection it mazy be r..ertioned that H::u~az?ian rail odd
tortes
az-c also .:.anufactu;?:.n various types of dies ~ c~? fac-
2,000-horsepower and G00-izorsc~c:;er diesel elcctriceandothco130 hcrsepower ~hc
diesel locor.:otives? In addition,
are also mine locomoti?res and succinl hauling machines
TM?odu;: e3 . _
Because cf the shorta,;c of roc; materials, HunGarian industry as a whoz~:
has concentrated its outuut in high-value urod:zcts? In line xith this trend, it
is advisable for the railroad car industry to specialize in passenger n:u rail
motorcars, which reeuirc relut`vely little rmr material. Domestic requirements
for freight cars, for which a large account of material is needed, should be
filled, ns far as possible, in tize friendly states.
In connection with the nun.erous neu models now under construction, a few
additional comments on prototypes are in order. Although n decree regulating
this problem e:;ists, .in practice the railroad car mr.nufacturers have not Izad
enough time, in the east, to rral;e and test pzrototypes before proceeding to snrlal
production. As a rule, serial manufactzu?e i:; ?al,-un Lrucediately after receipt of
the material, the first one or two cars are designated ns prototypes, and mod-
ifications az?e effected for the whole series after a sizort test run. Very
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and the'cars and consists can be tested`onlynafterle.~:portntioneROn thectracks
of the receiving country. 2 need not ~o into detail ns to the difficulties
whir.h this. nethod engenders in the railroad car industry.
The defects which have appeared durinG the tents made b; the ptu?chasers
indicate that the quality of the Hungarian products is substandard. This is
due partly to poor quality control at the plsnts. If we want to satisfy our
Toreign customers, and to secure repeat orders from them, the professional
competence of the personnel of the railroad car factories must be raised. The
tasks before us, therefore, are to solve the problem of file manufacture of
prototypes, to e.?rable tiro plant^ to test the cars and corn istc before delivery,
and to work out a system which will permit the orderly incorporation of changes
in specifications during production.
Serious tasks Grist also in specialization. Different types of products
should be manufactw ed by different factories; and it would be advisable also
to stipulate the minimum nwnber of units per series. ldinimum series should
consist of 50 passenger cars or 100 freight cars. Nc suggest that passenger
cars for export and".^,pcciul freight cars should be aanufactured by the Wilhelm
Pieck Vagor.- es GepEyar?
The Dunakeszi Vn,ongyar should engn~e m?imsrily in the manufactu:e of rail-
road car; for domestic use. The Ganz Vag;;n- es Gep,;yar should, as far us pos-
s~~, make only roil motorcars and consists. Because of the prospective in-
crease in the production of electric and diesel-electric rail motorcars, it wL11
be necessary to build a special factory for these types of cars.
Besides specialization in the types of cars, the manufactuure of equipment
should also be epecinlized. The manufacture of railroad car brakes, for example,
which are ?~.u?rentiy produced outside the railroad car industry, should be brought
within the industry,
The Jarmufelszerelesi Cyar should be moved into a new factory, to be built
in the future. It is also necessary to determine whether the manufacture of
buffers and car trucks can be centralized. Before centralization, the number of
equipment types should be reduced, to simplify production. Doors, windows, etc.
should be standardized, and it would be advisable to standardize their manufac-
ture. After solving all these problems, the railroad csr factories would be=
csme largely assembly plant; and production would be rationalized.
On the basis of a survey of extort and domestic requirements, enlargement
of the Wilhelm Pieck V~igon- es Gepgyar and of the Dunakeszi V.igongyur will begin
this year.
One of thr_ basic problems sffecting the increase in the capacity of the
railroad car industry is the construction of assembly tracks. Building of as-
sembly tracks equipped with crones requires a large capital investment. For
this reason, it is important to reduce the length of time which this pluise of
railroad car production requires.
While truck assembly at the F7ilhclm Pieck Vngon- es Gepgyar, for eeum^'?e,
requires 15-20 days, in the German factories it requires only 12 days. Similarly,
the '.?llhelm Pieck enterprise requires 105 working days, that is, more tl:un 4
months, to build uiid to complete the interior equipment of a model Cak car, as
compared with only 3 months in the German factories.
-6-
CONFIDENTIAL
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must be broughtltooaehigherslevel ofcproficiency~aInothindfield,osomeioftthe
Hungarian railroad car factories are considerably behind the times. I1' the
length of manufacturing `irne +.a to tic reduced,?and the production capacity of
ti,e Rungarian rvilroad .:ar industry the2.ebY increased, it is necessary to improve the
technical preparations, to increase the size of the series, to introduce
pneumatic hand tools, to employ advanced welding technology, and to expand
steel-plate pressing capacity.
In the fa.ld of machining, the Hungarian enterprises are characterized
by n lack o: initiative to utilize fully all available machines. Some enter-
prises are laboring under the misconception that besides the basic machine
tools, especially the center lathe, the other machines have only an auxiliary
function; they fail even to attempt lathing on idle machines of s different
tYPe. Because of the existing difficulties in the procurement of machine tools,
and also for reasons of economy, this situation must be changed, even if it
should be necessary to carry out an extensive retooling program.
The problems outlined in the foregoing can, of course, be solved only if
the tool- and equipmeht-minufacturing capacity of the railroad car industry is
considerably increased. The difficulties inherent in increased tooling xill,
in turn, lead our engineering staff to standardize the machine part, and, con-
sequently, to realize economies. As a result, St will be possible to produce
tools in larger series with greater economy and, at the same time, to reduce
the number of tools. +
Serious tasks confront us in the replenishment of the cadres. The level
of apprentice training should be rai,ed by the employment of outstanding in-
structors and the publication of good textbooks. Moreover, the MPf! (Munkaero-
tartalekok Hivatala, Office of tdanpo~rer Reserve) training workshops should be
provided with special railroad car manufacturing equipment, to teach the ap-
prentices in the saq~e environment in which they will work after the completion
of their studies.
Technical intermediary school^ and evening courses should be developed
along the same lines and should offer opportunity for specialization. The en-
gineering schools on university level should be supplemented with special
courses for the training of specialists in railroad car manufacture. It is
particularly important to teach technical quality control, with n view to rais-
ing the level of the quality control departments of the railroad car factories.
The magnitude of the tasks may be visualized by realizing that the pro-
duction facilities of the la lhelm Pieck enterprises and of the Dunakeszi
Vagongyar will be expanded to enable these establishments .to double their out-
put; any that, in addition, the production of diesel locomotives and of rail
motorcars will also be considerably increased. A11 this means tY~at we stuzll
have to recruit, during the next 3-h years, n greater number of personnel than
would be sufficient to man a eomnlete railroad car factory.
Solution of the Problems
The solution of the ~oblems of the railroad car industry begins with the
preparation of offer^, and the proper drafting of the sales contracts. It is
important to.astablish close and sound cooperation with both foreign and
domestic purchasers, in an effort to clarify technical specifications and de-
tails of delivery.
Before concluding n sales contrsct, the manufacturer should call the
attention of the purchaser to possible modifications which can be made in the
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prototype. In connection with serial manfacture, the nw.nufacturer must clearly
stipulate the minor and major modifications which can be made, and must also
state at what stage of the production'thcy are acceptable.
The prototypes must be designed and constructed with ~ eat care. It is im-
portant to complete tL?em on time, and the manufacturer must see that the target
dates for the various phases of the construction are a~co observed. This, o?
course, is possible only if the due dates for the delivery of raw materials tusve
been scheduled competently and are enforced.
It would be advisable to set up n special department in each factory for
the assembly of the prototypes. A decree exists which makes it mandatory for
each designing department to set up a special prototype-designing section; how-
ever, this decree her not been enforced so .ar. A sound solution of this problem
tirould be to create an institute for the development of rolling stack and to
assign the designing of new models to this institute. The factories would re-
tain the construction departments, which ?would also .,upply recruits for the
cadres of the designing institute.
In the near future, the Hungarian rail oad car industry will have to de-
velop and to manufactu:?e serially numerous new models. To assure the best pos-
sible quality, it will be imperative to run the prototypes through a series of
tests. In the past, it has been imuossible to carz?y out such tests even with
stn:ulard-gauge car; designed for domestic use, because the manufacturers had to
adapt themseT-res to the traffic conditions of the LlAV. As far as broad-gauge
cars and locomotives are concerned, thorouEh technical testing has been entirely
out of the' question.
I am convinced tl>