Information about the model

In the mid-1920s, the DRG began to significantly improve the travel comfort of its express and passenger train services. In addition to the newly acquired two-axle vehicles, four-axle compartment carriages were used on long-distance routes (for example, there were accelerated passenger trains from Munich to Berlin).

From 1928, several four-axle through carriages with open transitions were tested, which were to be used on these routes in the future. The test carriages proved their worth and from 1930 onwards over 1,000 B, BC and C4i were purchased in riveted construction. A characteristic feature was that the B section always had single-leaf doors, while the C section had double doors. When advances in welding technology could also be used for carriage construction, the proven design had to be adapted.

In 1935, three test carriages of the BC and C types were purchased again, followed by almost unchanged series production. Despite the weight savings, the welded carriages had fewer seats than their riveted predecessors because the DRG made the passenger compartments more spacious. There were also larger windows and their lower edge, which was 150 mm lower, offered "Steppkes" in particular a better field of view of rail operations, which were not yet dominated by soundproof walls. In the welded version, over 1,000 C and 145 BC carriages were built in six years before progress made further improvements possible in the form of skirted carriages.

The war scattered the express train carriages across half of Europe; larger stocks existed outside the German railways, including with the ÖBB, SNCF and PKP. For the DB and DR, the carriages remained indispensable in regional traffic until the end of the 1970s and were thus over forty years old. They were also used internationally until the 1960s and were used from Scandinavia to the Balkans. There were numerous conversions, including sleeping, dining, buffet and semi-baggage carriages.

For the anniversary in 1985, the DB refurbished a complete train made up of several different express train carriage types. Unfortunately, these carriages are now scattered across several locations and only a few of them are still operational.