FS Class ETR 200

ETR 200

The original trainset of the World Record, now preserved as historical train, was re-numbered ETR 232 in the 1960s
In service 1937–1993 (as ETR 220)
Manufacturer Società Italiana Ernesto Breda
Refurbishment 1960, transformation into ETR 220
Number built 18 trainsets
Formation Three-car trainset
Capacity ETR 201-206: 35 1st class, 69 2nd class
ETR 207-218: 100 1st class
Operator(s) Ferrovie dello Stato
Specifications
Train length 62.8 m (206 ft 0 in)
Maximum speed 160 km/h (100 mph)
Weight 116.8 tonnes (115.0 long tons; 128.7 short tons)
Power output 1,050 kW (1,408 hp)
Electric system(s) 3000 V DC
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

The ETR 200 (Italian: ElettroTreno Rapido 200; meaning Fast Electric Train, series 200) is an Italian electric multiple unit (EMU) introduced in 1936. On July 20, 1939 the ETR 212 obtained the world record average speed, between Bologna and Milan[1]

Development and records

In the 1930s, the Italian state railways, Ferrovie dello Stato, electrified the main line Milan-Bologna-Florence-Rome-Naples and needed a fast train to use on it and on other newly electrified ones. The project was started in 1934, using new technologies for steel and aerodynamics. The innovative nose of the train was developed after studies in the wind tunnel at the Politecnico di Torino engineering university. The first example was built by Società Italiana Ernesto Breda, (now AnsaldoBreda), in 1936, with three cars on four bogies, two of which had a single T 62-R-100 motor while the others were provided with two similar motors each.

The train had been designed for speeds up to 175 km/h, but the first pantographs caused problems over 130 km/h. The ETR 200 entered service in 1937 on the Bologna-Rome-Naples line. They were considered the most comfortable and fast trains in Europe, and Benito Mussolini had one sent to 1939 New York World's Fair. On December 6, 1937 the ETR 201[2] reached a top speed of 201 kilometres per hour (125 mph) on the Rome-Naples line (between the stations of Campoleone and Nettunia).

On 20 July 1939, the ETR 212, driven by driver Alessandro Cervellati, established an new world record running (on the average speed for the whole run) between Florence and Milan at 165 kilometres per hour (103 mph), and also improving the absolute top speed record up to 203 kilometres per hour (126 mph) in the stretch from Pontenure to Piacenza. A popular myth held that Benito Mussolini himself was at the controls, but it doesn't hold to historical evidence.

Later history

The production of the ETR 200 was halted by World War II, and many were damaged by Allied bombings. In the early 1960s the remaining sixteen units were converted to ETR 220/230/240 by adding a fourth car and making other improvements. They remained in service until the early 1980s, and were later used for charter trains up until the 1990s.

The ETR 232, former 212 (the unit making the 1939 record run), has been preserved as a historical train and is in full working order. Another non-working unit was first stored in Ancona until its recent demolition, in September 2012.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Gli ETR 200 FS". Interrail.publinet.it.
  2. ↑ The numbering of FS high speed trainset is historically different from the "standard" trainset codification, and is composed by a first number, identifying the group, plus a progressive 2-digit number identifying the unit. For example, 212 is the 12th unit of group 200. Later, the group was upgraded to group 220/230/240, and unit 212 became 232

Bibliography

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