Fiat Materfer 7131

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Fiat–Materfer 7131
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
5 ft 6 in
(1,676 mm)

The 7131 was an

Fiat Ferroviaria, then licensed to Argentine company Materfer to continue the manufacturing. Those railcars were introduced in the 1960s to replace the existing rolling stock of most of the urban services of Argentina, such as Roca, Urquiza, Mitre and Sarmiento
lines.

Following the privatisation of the Argentine railways in the early 1990s, the 7131 fell into disuse, being replaced by other light models built by Materfer. They are commonly nicknamed Chanchas (Spanish for Piggies)

History

Background

In 1958 the Ministry of Transport of Argentina signed an agreement with

FIAT diesel engine at 660 HP
. The railcars could reach speeds of 115 km/h. Their low weight made them suitable to run on any railway line. The vehicles also had two driver cabins, one on each end of the car, which reduced the time of manoeuvres at termini stations, particularly in urban services.

At the time, the Mitre and Sarmiento lines still used the Drewry Car Co. railcars, acquired in the 1930s. Those coaches had become obsolete due to the increasing number of passengers carried by those lines, which required rolling stock with higher capacity.

Production

The first 7131 railcars painted in green and ochre, c. 1963.

Railcars were built in the FIAT factories of

Córdoba
and named "Materfer".

Some versions stated that the 7131 was inspired on the 1934

rail service in the United States
.

The first 7131 models made their debut in all the standard and broad gauges lines (Roca, Mitre, Urquiza and Sarmiento railways, with the exception of the San Martín railway, which renewed its rolling stock with material by Ganz Works). The first units were painted in green and ochre, although later all would be painted in the official Ferrocarriles Argentinos colors (yellow, blue and red).[1]

In 1962, the first 7131, manufactured by FIAT Concord, made its debut on the

Santa Fe province.[1]

On the Roca and Sarmiento lines the 7131 replaced old Drewry,

Haedo–José Mármol, Merlo–Lobos, Pereyra–Ensenada, La Plata–Pipinas–Atalaya–Magdalena; Moreno–Luján–Mercedes, Lobos–Navarro, among other suburban branches. The 7131 also served on Bahía Blanca–Darregueira–Carmen de Patagones; Constitución–TandilNecochea, covering a large area of the south and west of Buenos Aires Province
.

Decline

Light cars by Materfer replaced 7131 under the TBA's administration.

By the 1990s, the 7131 only served on some local services (Temperley–Haedo, La Plata, Río Santiago; Merlo–Lobos and Villa Ballester–Zárate). The lack of maintenance by parent company Ferrocarriles Argentinos resulted in the deterioration of the coaches, that were frequently damaged with some units being even on fire. As a result, the number of units suitable for service decreased considerably.[1]

With the

damping of those units resulted in many of the 7131 remaining active.[2]

During those years, a cooperative named "Ferroser" announced the reopening of the Ringuelet-Brandsen line, using 7131 railcars. Nevertheless, the project was never carried out.[3]

A short revival of the 7131 occurred in 2008, when defunct company Trenes Especiales Argentinos used a railcar (that had been previously refurbished[4]) to run the Gran Capitán service between F. Lacroze to Posadas, Misiones.[5]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fiat Materfer 7131.
  1. ^ a b c d Bilstein, Andrés (31 October 2007). "Los inolvidables coches motor Fiat". Portal de Trenes (in Spanish).
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-9870257691
    .
  3. ^ "Un canto de sirenas: Ferroser" (in Spanish). 10 September 2009.
  4. ^ "El regreso de la chancha Fiat". Satélite Ferroviario (in Spanish). March 2008. Archived from the original on 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  5. ^ Grene, Daniel A. (October 2008). "Salio Coche Motor Fiat 7131 de TEA hacia Posadas". Plataforma 14 (in Spanish).
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