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FS Class ALn 772
The ALn 772 (Automotrice Leggera a nafta, Light Diesel motor car) series are a group of Diesel railcars built for the Italian public railway company Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) between the 1930s and the 1950s. As the first project in Italy to abandon the automobile-derived design and adopt a comprehensive "rolling stock" approach, it represents the link between the simple and sturdy Littorine and the modern Diesel units.
The design of the ALn 772 series draws on the well-established experience that Fiat built into the first railway engines ordered by the Fascist government of Benito Mussolini, the ATR 100 and the later Littorine ALn 56 and ALn 556.
The increasing demand for passenger transport and the growth of the tourism business during the 1940s, driven by the government's sponsorship of mass tourism (villeggiature popolari) and by the transformation of the railways into mass transport, required FS to put into service a growing number of faster and more comfortable passenger trains. This new generation of rolling stock was to supplement the existing Littorine on the new Direttissimo and Rapido services (two kind of fast links between major cities).
The service requirements called for a huge quantity of new stock in a limited time frame. Rather than buying more units of the existing specialized designs, FS decided to specify a single "unified" type which would be able to fulfill different mission profiles. Maintenance operations would also benefit from the availability of standard spare parts, a quite unusual feature in Italy at the time.
The specifications required the new units to provide not only higher speeds but also increased capacity and better passenger comfort; at least 70 well-spaced seats, 1st- and 2nd-class only, were mandated. The approved design had a total of 72 seats, hence the 772 designation; the doubling of the leading number indicates multiple unit capability.
The increased passenger capacity, wider spaces and higher comfort levels were a good answer to all requirements specified by FS and a great progress compared to earlier models then in service. However, despite their multiple-unit capability, the lack of passageways meant that the ALn 772 units were not really suitable for multiple trainsets; this shortcoming will be addressed by the later models ALn 880.
The cars featured two small driver's cabs at both ends, which housed the vertical engines and transmission groups. The two platforms behind the driver's cabs were not identical; the first one, giving access to a small lavatory, was bigger and fitted with some folding seats; the one on the opposite side had a small luggage compartment. Both could be accessed by one door on each side of the car, giving access in turn to the driver's cab and the main passenger compartment.
The latter was divided in three areas: a 2nd-class compartment with 24 seats on the lavatory side, arranged in twin facing rows; a 16-seats 1st-class compartment in the middle, with the same arrangement; and another 32 2nd-class seats on the luggage compartment side. A central aisle ran for the entire length of the car.
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FS Class ALn 772 AI simulator
(@FS Class ALn 772_simulator)
FS Class ALn 772
The ALn 772 (Automotrice Leggera a nafta, Light Diesel motor car) series are a group of Diesel railcars built for the Italian public railway company Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) between the 1930s and the 1950s. As the first project in Italy to abandon the automobile-derived design and adopt a comprehensive "rolling stock" approach, it represents the link between the simple and sturdy Littorine and the modern Diesel units.
The design of the ALn 772 series draws on the well-established experience that Fiat built into the first railway engines ordered by the Fascist government of Benito Mussolini, the ATR 100 and the later Littorine ALn 56 and ALn 556.
The increasing demand for passenger transport and the growth of the tourism business during the 1940s, driven by the government's sponsorship of mass tourism (villeggiature popolari) and by the transformation of the railways into mass transport, required FS to put into service a growing number of faster and more comfortable passenger trains. This new generation of rolling stock was to supplement the existing Littorine on the new Direttissimo and Rapido services (two kind of fast links between major cities).
The service requirements called for a huge quantity of new stock in a limited time frame. Rather than buying more units of the existing specialized designs, FS decided to specify a single "unified" type which would be able to fulfill different mission profiles. Maintenance operations would also benefit from the availability of standard spare parts, a quite unusual feature in Italy at the time.
The specifications required the new units to provide not only higher speeds but also increased capacity and better passenger comfort; at least 70 well-spaced seats, 1st- and 2nd-class only, were mandated. The approved design had a total of 72 seats, hence the 772 designation; the doubling of the leading number indicates multiple unit capability.
The increased passenger capacity, wider spaces and higher comfort levels were a good answer to all requirements specified by FS and a great progress compared to earlier models then in service. However, despite their multiple-unit capability, the lack of passageways meant that the ALn 772 units were not really suitable for multiple trainsets; this shortcoming will be addressed by the later models ALn 880.
The cars featured two small driver's cabs at both ends, which housed the vertical engines and transmission groups. The two platforms behind the driver's cabs were not identical; the first one, giving access to a small lavatory, was bigger and fitted with some folding seats; the one on the opposite side had a small luggage compartment. Both could be accessed by one door on each side of the car, giving access in turn to the driver's cab and the main passenger compartment.
The latter was divided in three areas: a 2nd-class compartment with 24 seats on the lavatory side, arranged in twin facing rows; a 16-seats 1st-class compartment in the middle, with the same arrangement; and another 32 2nd-class seats on the luggage compartment side. A central aisle ran for the entire length of the car.