MCL M1
| MCL M1 and M1c | |
|---|---|
 M1c.82, here in Catanzaro Lido, is the last operational rail bus in Calabria.
|
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| Numbering: | M1.1-13 M1c.14 M1.30-37 M1c.81-90 |
| Manufacturer: |
1-14: Carminati & Toselli 30-37: OM 81-90: Piaggio |
| Year of construction (s): | 1933-1953 |
| Axis formula : |
M1: 1A M1c: 1Az |
| Gauge : | 950 mm |
| Length over coupling: | 8170-9570 mm |
| Service mass: | 6.6-11.9 t |
| Power transmission: | mechanically |
| Seats: | 29-35 |
The M1 series were narrow-gauge rail buses operated by the Mediterranea-Calabro-Lucane (MCL) in Italy . The vehicles with the designation M1c were equipped with gear drive .
history
The M1 and M1c rail buses were procured from the 1930s to reduce the operating costs of the steam traction and to shorten the long journey times. The vehicles, called Emmine , had a six-cylinder diesel engine with a little over a hundred horsepower and a mechanical 4- or 5-speed gearbox. A cardan shaft drove the rear axle. The vehicles, equipped with only one driver's seat, were turned by hand on a turntable at the end stations.
The first series M1.1-13 with a prominent protruding radiator grille was delivered between 1933 and 1935 by Carminati & Toselli in Milan . A 14th rail bus M1c.14 was equipped with a gear drive. A second series of eight M1.30–37 rail buses was ordered from the Officine Meccaniche (OM). The body had the same length of 8.17 m and was characterized by its rounded shape with an integrated radiator grille. In 1937 Piaggio received the order to build ten M1c.81-90 rail buses of a similar design with an Inox body and gear drive.
From 1948 to 1953 some of the rail buses were rebuilt and modernized. The body was lengthened and another seven seats were added. Externally, the vehicles were given rounded shapes in line with the zeitgeist of the time.
With the acquisition of the M2.120 and M2.200 multiple units and the shutdown of many Calabrian narrow-gauge lines, the rail buses lost their field of application. In 1981 the last remaining vehicles, the M1c cogwheel rail buses, were replaced by the LM2.700 cogwheel locomotives .
swell
- Nico Molino, Vanna Zanini: Automotrici endotermiche monomotore. Railcar with an internal combustion engine. Genoa , Verlag Bayard, 2002 (Italian)
- Francesco Bloisi, Marco Cacozza: Emmine, le automotrici unidirezionali a scartamento ridotto. Emmine, the establishment narrow-gauge railcars. In: Tutto Treno, 222/2008, pp. 22–29 (Italian)
