The STANGA/TIBB emus of the 50's

Among the italian private railways the concept of homogeneity of the rolling stock has always been misunderstood; instead of this it's a normal practice run on the market - mostly of second hand units - just in case of exercise emergencies. In a so various panorama, some choiches made in the 50's by some societies are surprising, as they put in service emus with similar mechanical charactheristics and modularity construction. By then these decisions took place because after the war railways had to find an answer to a modernizing way of trasportation, and they had to do it in a fast and rational way. And the OMS firm (Officine Meccaniche Stanga) answered the question with a model of emu by a typical design reflecting those times, built in partnership with TIBB for the electrical parts and boogies. The beginners of the specie can easily be considerated the 40 units MR.101 - 118 e MR.201 - 222 of 1954 and 1956 built for the Roma-Lido line of STEFER,  which have given the design mark of the rounded ends even if technically they rested a separated thing, studied right for a metro line as this line is. So first units built with a real concept of modularity were the 11 emus for FAA-Sangritana, an operator which was finishing the hard rebuilding of a network destroyed by war. Numbered 01 - 11 and then ALe.01 - 11, they were delivered from 1955 to 1960 together with 6 trailers with driver cab numbered 51 - 56 (now Le. 51 - 56). Because the particular charactheristic of FAA lines - rebuilted on trackbed originally for 950mm narrow gauge tracks and by this with sharp curves - these units have always been notable for their short body ( just 16800mm ) and distance between boogies. They have just a door on every side, a baggage compartment with door-latches and a front door on the cabs. These are some of the aspects that made common these units with all the others we'll see after, even with boogies, pantographs, doors and windows. They are MU capable and have a strange pantographs arrangement : one carries a large contact arch studied for the FAA wide polygonation catenary, the other is a narrow one used under FS wires; these units infact are even in service on the FS rails from Pescara to Marina di S.Vito. Their maximum velocity is 75 km/h and they are the less powerfull units among all the series built, with a total power of 340 kW. Passengers have 20 seats in first class and 32 seats in the second one. The original livery carried until the 70's was white and light blu. Now about all the units are in service, even if 2 units and 2 trailers have been rebuilt as 2 blocked trains with new cabs and new livery. For the original emus still some years of exercise is left, until belgian emus bought second hand and now in revamping at Leon D'Oro factory  will be ready to replace them. In 1957 the next order was placed by MUA - today FCU - which received 7 units and 4 trailers. Units were labeled E.101 - 107, trailers were R.207/210. In 1964 again other 2 trailers were built with R.211/212 numers, while in 1973 two of these coaches were rebuilt as emus with new numbers E.108 and 109. The MUA units were evidently longer than the FAA ones - 20750 mm - but the mechanical equipment was the same: same round ends, boogies and body, the last with 2 doors for each side and baggage section. Max. velocity is here 100 km/h, with engines more powerfull of the other serie, for a total power of 720kW; the color was light grey and blu. MUA asked the construction of these emus to front the growing traffic after the war. From 1945 to 1956 the line was already repaired, but with a rolling stock in very poor conditions, made up by leased steam locos, old emus built in the 10's and even railcars built up on old 2 axles coaches. In 1956 the electrical system was converted for economicl reasonsfrom the monophase system used unitl then to a 3000 Vcc system. New units made their service in a good way until 1995, when again for economical reasons all the line was de-electrified and traction dieselized, even if now the line is again under electrifing works (!). All the emus have been sold to Ferrovie del Gargano (except the trailers still stored in bad shape in Umbertide depot), which rebuilt 5 of them with new windows, front doors tapped and new livery very similar to the one carried by Gran Comfort FS coaches. Non rebuilt units are in S.Severo depot and used for spare parts. These emus are in daily service on the local line to Peschici but not on the local trains to Foggia, because thy are not admitted on FS metals. Meanwhile again in Umbria region another private railway was fighting against closure: the Terni-Ferentillo tramway line opened in 1901 is in damage from years, even if in 1955 the then director of the line A.Malizia prepared a project for a complete rebuilding with more modern equipment . The project never took place and the line was stupidly closed in 1960, so new emus rested just a drawing on a sheet. These units were of the same OMS/TIBB family, 25000 mm of length, with 225 seats and overall articulated on 3 boogies because the typical tramway sharp curves along the line. The style of this design of the units built by then became famous and many trains built in same years or even just rebuilt had same rounded ends and rounded bodies of those produced by OMS. For examples the Casaralta factory in Bologna had to rebuilt in 1957 the A.1 - 4 emus of SSIT Spoleto-Norcia line and used this design on new bodies in a way that these units now in service on the FGC line could be easily considerated the narrow gauge parents of original OMS emus. Even AD.800 units for SV prosecuted the style, representing stil now on FUC the diesel version of these trains. To continue the original electric serie in 1959 were built 4 units for the SFS line now FBN (Ferrovia Benevento-Napoli), identical in the electric equipment but a bit longer in the body then the MUA emus. Numbered E.501 - 504, they have max. velocity 120 km/h and have 68 seats on first and second class. Originally colored in white and dark blu, in the 80's they have changed in light grey and green, like the scheme of FS electrotrains ETR. Since 90's they carry a new nice livery in white and green and are all in service, always coupled with 4 control trailers built in same period. The E.503 has been rebuilt in a singlecab unit in the 90's with a new profile of the cab and permanently paired with a trailer. Last units to close this family are EBiz.10 and trailer pBiz.121, built in 1960 for LFI in Arezzo. This society was always looking for units to re-constitute its rolling stock ruined by war and by second hand operations not always well gone and ordered these 2 pieces arrived on rails in original colors white and green. The unit works well until 1986, after having been recolored in new white and dark marron? livery in 1977. In 1986 the motor unit was de-motorized and had pantographs and shunters kept away, to be used as trailer - maintaining the same number - almost until April 1991. Then the ex emu and the trailer miss LFI rails to be sold out to ?. In the 60's the design of front ends of OMS built trains changes radically, the front door is suppressed and two big rounding windows on less inclined fronts go to characterize first units went out: the emus built in 1963/64 for Bari-Barletta line and those for the reborn Trento-Malè. This design will be kept even in 1970 on the railcars M4 DE.151-154 for FCL, then all gone to FCE in 1979. Even in 1980 the design is the same on new units E.121 - 122 for MUA. But the strong curve shape of the fronting ends of the 50's serie and that unmistakable horn sound common to all these emus are a way to identify the original memebers of the family!

Check here the pictures

Back to "Index of issues"