Original page created on 02/08/2023; updated on 26/08/2023.
Brand - Reference
EPM 41.33.01
Type
B9½tz et B7Dt Est modernized coaches known as “Romilly”.
| UIC number | Revision date |
| 50 87 29-17 273-6 3 | 18.4.76 |
| 50 87 29-17 313-0 3 | 14.8.74 |
| 50 87 82-17 404-1 3 | 13.3.80 |
Weight
109 g (NEM: 87 to 113 g)
Comments
Modifications
- Fitting one or two latching reed switches in parallel with the lighting strip switches for
control from the outside. Photo.
- Replacement of the roof vents with slightly bigger (⌀ 0.5 mm instead of 0.3) and more correctly
shaped parts. See before-and-after photo.
- Narrowing of the contact slats between bogie and chassis, to allow coaches to sit correctly on their bogies.
History
These coaches come from the metallization between 1957 and 1962 of 676 old TY coaches built from 1907 to 1923 for most of the old railway companies. This work was carried out in the SNCF workshops in Romilly (among others), hence the nickname attributed to these coaches. They were originally equipped with “wagon-lits” bogies (photo), but some were later equipped with Pennsylvania Y2 or Y16 bogies. Service withdrawal between 1978 and 1985.
Documents
- Loco-Revue No. 512 (02/89) p. 146.
- Loco-Revue Special Issue 2005-01, p. 38.
- Wikipedia article.
| Dimension | Actual | 1:87 | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall length | 19 280 | 221.6 | 221.6 |
| Chassis length | 17 950 | 206.3 | 205.7 |
| Width | 2 958 | 34.0 | 34.0 |
| Height | 3 945 | 45.3 | 46.1 |
| Pivot distance | 12 100 | 139.1 | 139.7 |
| Bogie wheelbase (WL) | 2 500 | 28.7 | 28.9 |
| Wheel diameter | 1 050 | 12.1 | 12.0 |
| D | B | U | |
| 1.0 | 14.4 to 14.5 |
23.2 |
| Number of Romilly coaches at 1st January 1976 (document presented by eurocity64 on the Loco Revue forum). |
|||||
| Type | Est | Nord | Ouest | S-O | S-E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A10½tz | 3 | – | – | – | 21 |
| A5B4½tz | 49 | 10 | 2 | 16 | 8 |
| B9½tz | 298 | 54 | 12 | 45 | 86 |
| B7Dt | 26 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 16 |
Externally, there’s nothing to distinguish these coaches from the De Massini’s. Now, the bogies, buffers and gangways are painted grey. The aerators, or rather vents, above the WCs are metal and too thin (0.3 mm instead of 0.43).
The handrails are fitted. I would have liked the gangway handles to be metal, as they would have been thinner and less fragile. At comparable prices, or even lower, REE’s latest products are better in this respect.
The bogies, clipped into the chassis, are hardly removed. The small primary suspension coil springs are cylindrical. Axle characteristics: see table opposite. Insulated half-axles. Not burnished wheels. The running is very good, except for one of the 6 bogies. Probable cause: the bearings are not properly seated in their housings. Remedy: remove 0.2 mm from the axle tips.
The big innovation is the lighting. I could have done without it, as I already have suitable lighting strips. The bogies have conductive bearings, connected by bronze strips. Photo. The connection with the chassis is made by excessively rigid blades that raise the coach and prevent it from bearing on its supports. This increases the height by about 0.5 mm. Photo.
The green lighting strip has a 6-pin NEM 651 decoder socket and two switches: SW1 for the lamps and SW2 for the lighting. These switches should be fairly easy to replace with latching reed switches, at least for the lighting, as the two are grouped together. The light intensity is controlled by a trimmer. (see photo).
The interior fittings have a dark grey floor; the railcar-style benches are light grey. The handholds are not silver. There is no sign of the doors on the end partitions.