The 7131 was an
Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
class, first produced in Italy by
Fiat Ferroviaria
Alstom Ferroviaria S.p.A., former Fiat Ferroviaria S.p.A., is the Italian division of Alstom. Fiat Ferroviaria S.p.A. was the rail division of automobile manufacturer Fiat. It was founded in 1880 as Società Nazionale Officine di Savigliano. , then licensed to Argentine company
Materfer
Materfer (an acronym for Material Ferroviario S.A.) is an Argentine manufacturer of railway and road vehicles, located in the city of Ferreyra in Córdoba Province. The company was established by Fiat Concord in the late 1950s, being its subsidi ...
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
The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...
and
Sarmiento Sarmiento may refer to:
Places Argentina
*Sarmiento Department, San Juan, a subdivision of the San Juan Province
*Sarmiento Department, Santiago del Estero, a subdivision of the Santiago del Estero Province
*Sarmiento Department, Chubut, a subdivi ...
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 Ferroviaria
Alstom Ferroviaria S.p.A., former Fiat Ferroviaria S.p.A., is the Italian division of Alstom. Fiat Ferroviaria S.p.A. was the rail division of automobile manufacturer Fiat. It was founded in 1880 as Società Nazionale Officine di Savigliano. to acquire 210 brand-new
railcar
A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...
s. Those machines were formed by 2 units powered by a
FIAT
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
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
Railcars were built in the FIAT factories of
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
,
Decauville
Decauville () was a manufacturing company which was founded by Paul Decauville (1846–1922), a French pioneer in industrial railways. Decauville's major innovation was the use of ready-made sections of light, narrow gauge track fastened to steel ...
and
Córdoba. Although the first railcars were manufactured in Italy and France, most of them were made in Argentina, in a factory specially designed for that assignment located in Ferreyra,
Córdoba and named "Materfer".
Some versions stated that the 7131 was inspired on the 1934 ''
Pioneer Zephyr
The ''Pioneer Zephyr'' is a diesel-powered trainset built by the Budd Company in 1934 for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), commonly known as the Burlington Route. The trainset was the second internal combustion-powered streamli ...
'', a
diesel-powered railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
train formed of
railroad car
A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a ...
s permanently articulated together with
Jacobs bogie
Jacobs bogies (named after Wilhelm Jakobs,, 1858–1942, a German mechanical railway engineer) are a type of rail vehicle bogie commonly found on articulated railcars and tramway vehicles.
Instead of being underneath a piece of rolling stock, ...
s, built by the
Budd Company
The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense products ...
in 1934 for the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...
(CB&Q), commonly known as the Burlington. The train featured extensive use of
stainless steel
Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
, was originally named the ''Zephyr'', and was meant as a promotional tool to advertise passenger
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 Ganz Works or Ganz ( or , ''Ganz companies'', formerly ''Ganz and Partner Iron Mill and Machine Factory'') was a group of companies operating between 1845 and 1949 in Budapest, Hungary. It was named after Ábrahám Ganz, the founder and the ...
). The first units were painted in green and ochre, although later all would be painted in the official
Ferrocarriles Argentinos
Ferrocarriles Argentinos (abbreviated as FA; ) was a state-owned company that managed the entire Argentine railway system for nearly 45 years. It was formed in 1948 when all the private railway companies were nationalised during Juan Perón's fir ...
colors (yellow, blue and red).
In 1962, the first 7131, manufactured by FIAT Concord, made its debut on the
Villa Ballester
Villa Ballester is a city located in the northern Greater Buenos Aires urban area and it is part of the General San Martín Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is served by the Línea Mitre commuter railway with its station also nam ...
–
Zárate and
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
–
Capilla del Señor
Capilla del Señor (Chapel of the Lord), is a city located in the northern part of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative seat of Exaltación de la Cruz Partido; which is bounded by the Zárate, Campana, Pilar, Luján, San ...
sections of Mitre Railway. Those light cars replaced Ganz railcars that had been running on those lines since 1938.
The 7131 also served in some lines of
Santa Fe province.
[
On the Roca and Sarmiento lines the 7131 replaced old Drewry, ]Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
and Armstrong Whitworth
Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and a ...
coaches in the Temperley
Temperley is a district in Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina, located in the south of Lomas de Zamora Partido.
History
In 1854 the industrial and textile merchant George Temperley (born in 1823 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England) bought from the M ...
–La Plata– Cañuelas; Haedo–José Mármol
José Mármol (1818 – 1871) was an Argentine journalist, politician, librarian, and writer of the Romantic school.
Biography
Born in Buenos Aires, he initially studied law, but abandoned his studies in favor of politics. In 1839, no soone ...
, Merlo–Lobos
Lobos is the headquarters city of the Lobos Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It was founded on 2 June 1802 by José Salgado.
Background
Located 100 km from Buenos Aires, Lobos is currently a fertile agricultural area known ma ...
, Pereyra– Ensenada, La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
–Pipinas–Atalaya– Magdalena; Moreno
Moreno may refer to:
Places Argentina
*Moreno (Buenos Aires Metro), a station on Line C of the Buenos Aires Metro
*Moreno, Buenos Aires, a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
*Moreno Department, a depatnent of Santiago del Estero Province, A ...
– Luján– Mercedes, Lobos
Lobos is the headquarters city of the Lobos Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It was founded on 2 June 1802 by José Salgado.
Background
Located 100 km from Buenos Aires, Lobos is currently a fertile agricultural area known ma ...
– Navarro, among other suburban branches. The 7131 also served on Bahía Blanca
Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 3 ...
–Darregueira–Carmen de Patagones
Carmen de Patagones is the southernmost city in the .
Geography
It is located 937 km southwest from the city of Buenos Aires, on the north bank of the Río Negro ("Black River"), near the Atlantic Ocean, and opposite Viedma, capital of ...
; Constitución–Tandil
Tandil is the main city of the homonymous Partidos of Buenos Aires, partido (department), located in Argentina, in the southeast of Buenos Aires Province, just north-northwest of Tandilia hills. The city was founded in 1823 and its name originate ...
Necochea
Necochea is a port and beach city in the southwest of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The city is located on the Atlantic coast, along the mouth of the Quequén Grande River, from Buenos Aires and southwest of Mar del Plata. The city proper ha ...
, covering a large area of the south and west of Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...
.
Decline
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.[
With the privatisation of the Argentine railways, the 7131 railcars were declared obsolete and replaced by other models manufactured by Materfer. The last line served by the 7131 was the Victoria–Capilla del Señor line on the Mitre railway. The Mitre Line's concessionary, ]Trenes de Buenos Aires
Trenes de Buenos Aires (TBA) (In English: Trains of Buenos Aires) was a private company that operated commuter rail services over the broad gauge Sarmiento and Mitre lines of Buenos Aires. The company, owned by Claudio and Mario Cirigliano, also ...
, then acquired 8 new units made by Materfer and soon nicknamed them ''Pitufos'' (a Spanish translation for "Smurfs
''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and int ...
") due to their small size. Nevertheless, the low passenger capacity and poor damping
Damping is an influence within or upon an oscillatory system that has the effect of reducing or preventing its oscillation. In physical systems, damping is produced by processes that dissipate the energy stored in the oscillation. Examples incl ...
of those units resulted in many of the 7131 remaining active.[
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.
A short revival of the 7131 occurred in 2008, when defunct company Trenes Especiales Argentinos used a railcar (that had been previously refurbished) to run the ''Gran Capitán'' service between F. Lacroze to ]Posadas, Misiones
Posadas () is the capital city of the Argentine province of Misiones, in its south, at the far north-east of the country on the left bank of the Paraná River, opposite Encarnación, Paraguay. The city has an area of and a population of 324,756 ...
.
See also
*Rail transport in Argentina
The Argentine railway network consisted of a network at the end of the Second World War and was, in its time, one of the most extensive and prosperous in the world. However, with the increase in highway construction, there followed a sharp decl ...
*Materfer
Materfer (an acronym for Material Ferroviario S.A.) is an Argentine manufacturer of railway and road vehicles, located in the city of Ferreyra in Córdoba Province. The company was established by Fiat Concord in the late 1950s, being its subsidi ...
References
{{Rolling stock manufacturers of Argentina
Rolling stock of Argentina
Fiat Ferroviaria
Train-related introductions in 1962
Materfer