photo: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorov%C3%BD_v%C5%AFz_M_131.1/Hurvínek-M 131.1. railway vehicle
Another legendary railway vehicle that moved on the Czechoslovak line is the M 131.1.He was nicknamed Hurvínek, Hurvajz or less poetically "impetuous box". This car has been in full operation for over 40 years.
After the Second World War, reliable rail vehicles were missing in Czechoslovakia. Therefore, in 1946, the Ministry of Transport turned to at that time nationalized Tatra Kopřivnice factory. The requirement was clear, the development and subsequent production of a new standard motor car designed for bylines.
The first prototype of the new series of wagons, which bore the designation M 131.1, went into beta operation two years later. The following year, minor technical problems were showed up, and eventually, batch production began. It was first partially, and then completely, transferred to Studénka. Between 1948-1951 and 1954-1956, a total of 549 M 131.1 cars were produced.
The car had a Tatra T 301 diesel engine, which enabled an output of 114 kW. Incidentally, this engine was also used in Tatra 111 cars. The weight of the empty car was 16.6 tons, and the maximum weight was set at 21 tons. Hurvínek offered 48 seats and could reach a maximum speed of 60 km / h.
Hurvínek was originally included in the category of third-class cars, after the change of designation it became a second-class car. The passenger seats were only wooden benches. Because this car had independent diesel heating, it often did not heat up in the wagon to save diesel. In winter, the travelling by Hurvajz was often not any pleasant experience for passengers. Nevertheless, many people remembered these cars with nostalgia.
The cars of the M 131.1 series belonged among the most reliable trainsets. The main reason was that the air-cooled engine needed only minimal maintenance. It was this series of vehicles that were from the '50s to '70s one of the most frequently used types of traction vehicles in Czechoslovakia.
The cars were taken out of full operation in 1983. It is interesting that in 1973 one Hurvínek was transported to Cuba, where he rode for another 10 years.