Original page created on 04/06/2023; updated on 26/10/2024.
REE UIC B10 coach in C160 livery.
Observation
The overall appearance is good. The only major flaw is the junction between the body and the roof, although it is less obvious than on previous DEV coaches. Fixing the roof with two screws seems rather outdated. It makes reassembly difficult, as the screws are difficult to reach and don’t centre automatically. On versions with C160 livery, the metal grey strip is badly positioned. See this page.
Other faults appear with use:
- On the first series, the central dampers of the bogie are not glued, go askew or simply escape (nevertheless, a request for spare parts from REE repaired this at no cost).
- The two-point bearing is ineffective, although two bosses are provided.
- On all my daytime UIC coaches, the wheel sets are all insulated on the same side, so you can’t power a lighting unless you flip every other bogie’s axles over. Easy, do you think? Except that to do this, you have to dismantle the brake linkages, which are more or less glued in place depending on the model. There’s a risk of breakage, deformation and consequent friction between the brake blocks and the wheels.
- Let’s talk about the wheels: their burnished finish is insulating. They need to be stripped to make them conductive, but there’s a fine line between sufficient stripping and excessive stripping that would reveal the copper undercoating or even the basic brass.
Dismantling
Removing the roof is not difficult (reassembling is!). It’s made easier by using a cross-headed screwdriver with the largest possible diameter (better guidance), i.e. 3 mm. The screws are located in housings ① under the bogies. Note: there are two holes side by side. The second ② is empty and will be used for the power supply wires.
- Location of the screw, corridor side.
- Hole for passage of wire, toilet side.
Once the roof has been removed, a false ceiling is revealed, held in place by two mortises that engage with tenons attached to the interior fittings. This false ceiling has rectangular openings, obviously made for LEDs. All the arrangements are provided, except for the ½ service compartment of the A4B5.
The false ceiling also has four square pins for centring the lighting strip (dimensions 110 × 10,16).
Rectifying the bogie support
For the coach to get level, the bosses on the chassis underside need to bear on the bogie. This is achieved by gluing two 0.3 mm thick polystyrene shims to the centre bolster of the bogie.
This photo also shows a small piece of self-adhesive copper that will be used to electrify the bogie. It is important to note its position, which must not interfere with the support bosses.