Description
195455: EuroCity saloon car 1. class, type Ampz 146 of the Czech Railways CD
Train destination: EC 100 Jože Plečnik Ljubljana – Graz – Linz – Prag
Number 73 54 10-91 004-3, coach number 371
The models
The models are made according to the original regarding interiour and exteriour as EC 100 in color scheme of 2006 with car types Ampz 146, Bmz 245 and WRmz 815. Correct length with 165mm for seat cars and 168,1mm for the dining cars. Accurate painting and printing, also of the interior equipment as bar, seats and tables; many extra parts put to the car, partly etch details. Car skirt and underframe details according to the original, separate aggregates put to the underframe. Precise replica of the SGP 300 truck.
Short coupler kinematics and NEM-coupler. The car is prepared to be equipped with interiour light from the accessories program; Power collection via half-axles and metal mounting in the trucks.
The originals
Due to the increasing number of passenger trains and the need of cars with a maximum speed of 200 km/h, Czech Rail- ways procured from 1999/2000 (Ampz 146 and Bmz 245 as well as WRmz 815) and again 2006 (Ampz 143, Bmz 241) in two series EuroCity passenger coaches, 1st and 2nd class and dining cars from Siemens in Austria. The wagon concept was based strongly on the pressure-tight passenger coaches supplied to the Austrian Federal Railways from 1989 onwards, but it was technically and visually refined in some points.
For the 1st class only open-plan cars with 2 + 1 seating were planned. The open space was and is divided by a glass partition with a passage. This partition wall also divided the smoking and non-smoking areas until 2007. The 2nd class was delivered exclusively as a compart-ment car with six seats in classic style per compartment. The dining car was equipped with a bistro area on one end of the car and a restaurant area on the other end. On the bar side one could find a half-round table with chairs and bistro tables; they were removed while upgrading in 2013/14 and replaced with a bar.
All wagons got the smooth-running SGP-300 bogies from Siemens, multi-voltage equipment for cross-border train service even into countries with different heating voltages. As with the ÖBB counterparts, the units on the underbody were closed with a tub; only the transformer and air conditioner are openly accessible. Their design differs from both the original ÖBB series and the “upgrade” version.
The cars are primarily used in EuroCity trains from Hamburg and Kiel to Prague, but are also used in domestic Czech traffic, as well as in trains to Slovakia. Aarhus in Denmark, Binz on Rügen, Stettin in Poland, Ljubljana in Slovenia as well as Linz, Vienna and Budapest were and still are among the destinations of these cars.
