Kraków 2024-12-20

Passenger wagon, couchette type HCP 110A.

The word Couchette comes from French and means; to go to sleep. Couchettes were used in Europe from around 1890. The basis was the introduction of the Orient Express train, which was a luxury train, intended more for tourism, as a good type of entertainment and spending time pleasantly, than for transport. The basis was comfortable and elegant passenger cars, which had private rooms with bathrooms inside. On October 4, 1883, the first Orient Express set off from Paris to Constantinople.

As the railway network was growing rapidly, new connections were created, not so short at all. In 1850, the journey from Warsaw to the Granica station (now Maczki) took 10-11 hours. In order to attract passengers, transport companies raised standards in passenger cars. On night routes, compartments with places to sleep appeared. But there was also a proposal for less affluent people; places to lie down. In reality, a railway car with places to lie down is a less comfortable variety of a sleeping car. The sleeping area is intended for sleeping only at night, and during the day the beds are folded and there are only places to sit.

Polish sleeping cars were created after World War II. On the basis of the 23W type cars, the 10A, 11A and 13A type cars were created. To be precise, these cars were designed on the basis of the 1A type (previously designated 23W), for night transport (sleeping cars) and had several characteristic features. At the front of the cars there were coal bunkers installed, for firing the heating furnace. There were 11 compartments in the car and two toilets at the ends. In reality, the 10A type car was more of a sleeping car than a sleeping car.

In PKP there are couchette cars belonging to PKP InterCity, and they are operated by the WARS company. The couchette compartments usually have 6 beds, but depending on the needs, the arrangement of the beds can be changed so that the compartment becomes a 4-person compartment. Then the price of the seat is higher. 4-person compartments are not available in all couchettes. Couchette cars run on long-distance routes operated at night and on international trains. PKP InterCity uses sleeper cars, mainly with the designation WLAB10ouz and WLAB10ou, as 3-person couchettes. For travel in a couchette car, in addition to a 2nd class ticket for a given route, according to the PKP InterCity express tariff, an additional ticket for a couchette place must be purchased.

Couchette cars are usually equipped with a guard-conductor compartment, where he has facilities for serving passengers; selling snacks and hot and cold beverages.

HCP 110A couchette wagons.

The first type of Polish-made wagons with sleeping places was developed at HCP in Poznań in 1968-1969. The prototype of the 110A type wagon was made in 1969. Probably two prototypes were built. In 1971, production of HCP 110A type wagons, class 1, which were modernized HCP 104A type wagons, began. In the same box, there were 9 compartments, wider than in class 2, and each compartment had 6 seats. A total of 54 seats. The wagons had a service weight of 43,000 – 45,000 kg. The greater weight of the wagons resulted from their better soundproofing and insulation.

Serial production of 110A couchette wagons lasted from 1971 to 1973 and from 1976 to 1977. A total of 375 110A wagons were produced in three versions:

Type 110Aa was produced in a quantity of 135 units. The wagon has electric and steam heating. Designation “Bwxz”. The bogies could not be exchanged at the border with CCCP.

Type 110Ab was produced in 40 units. The wagon has individual water heating with a coal furnace power supply. There is a chimney with a flat flue on the roof. The wagon has a single-leaf frontal transition door. In addition, the wagons were equipped with the possibility of installing an SA3 coupler and equipment for its operation. The wagon was equipped with 7AN bogies. Both of these solutions appeared in connection with the planned service of connections on the 1524 mm track, to CCCP. That is why railwaymen called them “changeover couchettes”. Also used were variable-spacing bogies of the SUW2000 type, 2-axle type 25AN/S built by ZNTK Poznań, which were used in three wagons for the Warsaw-Vilnius route. In the 70s and 80s, type 110Ab wagons were used, among others, on the Kraków-Kiev and Warsaw-Kiev routes. A distinctive detail for type 110Ab wagons is the single-wing front door, not seen in type 110Aa and type 110Ac vehicles. The wagon was equipped with type 7AN bogies. In the 90s of the 20th century, with the decrease in the number of connections to the East, most of the wagons of this type were crossed out of the stock and scrapped. About 15 wagons remained in domestic traffic, on very long night routes, for example Gdynia-Jelenia Góra. Originally, the 110Ab type cars appeared in a green (olive) paint scheme. After 1991, like the 110Ac type, they were gradually repainted in blue with a light cream window stripe. This paint scheme was in force from 1988.

Type 110Ac, 200 units built. A total of 375 110A type cars were produced. All couchette cars were based on the UIC-Y standard. The basis was the 104A type car body. The 110Ac couchette car was designed to travel on the European rail network according to RIC regulations, without the possibility of changing the gauge to another than the European 1435 mm. The cars were marked with the “Bcwxz” series. These cars had double-leaf sliding doors at the ends, like the 110Aa type. In 2017, the last three 110 Ac type cars were removed from the inventory.

The couchette cars were initially painted green (olive), typical for PKP. On the top of the side of the 110Ab type cars, white inscriptions appeared in Polish, Germanic and Russian; KUSZETKA (wagon with lying places), LIEGEPLATZ, Причал. On the 110Ac type cars, there were inscriptions; CARROZZA-CUCCETTE, COUCHETTES, LIEGEWAGEN, WAGON Z MEJSCAMI LEŻĄCYMI, вагон с местoм отдыха.

In the 1990s, the cars were repainted blue. After the establishment of the PKP InterCity company, the cars were repainted in blue and white with an orange stripe. The entrance doors were left white.

HCP 110Aa/Ab/Ac couchette cars were included in international and long-distance trains, such as Przemyśl – Kraków – Katowice – Wrocław – Poznań – Szczecin. These cars also ran to Moscow and Kiev, on broad gauges, after changing the bogies to broad gauges.

T-T data of type 110A cars: Manufacturer HCP. Designations used Bcwxz, Bc, Bco, Bcd, Bcdu, Bc9, Bc9o, Bc9ou. Total length 24.50 m. Width 2.883 m. Height 4.05 m. Service weight approx. 43,000 – 45,000 kg. Maximum speed 140 – 160 km/h, depending on the bogies used. Type of trolleys; 7AN, 4Anc, 4Anc-2, SUW2000. Electrical installation: 4.5 kW DC generator, driven from the wheel set by cardan gear.

Written by Karol Placha Hetman