# Railcar Diagram



## Swadian Hardcore (Sep 19, 2015)

I can't read this sleeper diagram. Apparently I see two toilets and many longitudal sleeping berths. Could someone explain this to me?

Thanks.


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## PerRock (Sep 19, 2015)

It's looks like a standard European design for a shared-berth sleeping car. essentially each on of those compartments has 4-6 bunks in it, and you book a spot on one of the bunks.

You can read more about the Couchette cars here: http://www.seat61.com/sleepers.htm

peter


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## Ispolkom (Sep 19, 2015)

It's a PK-type (which stands for passazhirskii-kupeinyi) kupe-class Russian sleeping car from 1991. Each compartment has two pairs of bunks with a fold-down table between them. There are nine double-bunk compartments and one single bunk compartment, giving a total of 38 passengers. The final, smaller compartment is for the provodnitsa, the sleeping car attendant. You can see pictures of the "coupe" class sleepers here. The diagram you show gives the passenger total as 36, but that must be a mistake.

In my experience, the limited number of toilets was a pain in the morning, when everyone wanted to use them.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Sep 19, 2015)

Looks like it's not a couchette, it's a compartment sleeper. There are sliding doors to each compartment. The Russians generally don't use triple-tier bunks in their sleepers.

You're right, it looks like 38 bunks for the passengers and 1 or 2 in the control room for the attendants.

What I can't understand is all the Cyrillic and the round thing in the lower left of the top view. Is that the samovar?

The corrugation makes it look more like a North American than an European car.


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## OlympianHiawatha (Sep 19, 2015)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> What I can't understand is all the Cyrillic and the round thing in the lower left of the top view. Is that the samovar?


I would venture to guess that may be a water tank/heater of some sorts. Maybe?


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## Swadian Hardcore (Sep 19, 2015)

That's what I was thinking, but it's one of those "can't confirm it till it's confirmed".


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## neroden (Sep 20, 2015)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> What I can't understand is all the Cyrillic and the round thing in the lower left of the top view. Is that the samovar?


Having ridden in a Russian sleeper from Moscow to St. Petersburg, I can confirm that yes, that is where the samovar is.

They simply don't consider it civilized to travel without a samovar!'

I think the larger circle may be a water tank, and the smaller circle next to it is the samovar.


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## jis (Sep 20, 2015)

I have travelled in Couchettes that have compartments with door many times.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Sep 20, 2015)

OK, but I still believe that diagram is not that of a Couchette. The term isn't used in Russia, and even if it were, this is a Compartment Sleeper, which is the best accommodation available on most Russian trains, and is equivalent to a Soft Sleeper in China. China's Hard Sleeper, with triple-tier bunks, is equivalent to a Couchette in Europe, Reserved Seat in Russia, or AC 3 Tier in India.

I actually found a video of the same railcar (TVZ Model 61-817), but I can't understand it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soBVj247Ly0.

Cannot find a mention of "PK", but I can't read Russian.


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## jis (Sep 20, 2015)

What it says in Cyrilic is exactly the term the was mentioned by ispolkom. If you must research Russian rolling stock learning to read Cyrillic will be most helpful.

It basically says PK Wagon Model, with P and K spelled out in the full form.


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## Ispolkom (Sep 20, 2015)

The video* Swadian Hardcore* found is for a similar, but perhaps not identical sleeping car. I think that it's a training film.

At 6:30 the announcer mentions sleeping compartments, room for service personnel, and the provodnitsa's compartment. The one two-person compartment must be that room for service.

At 11:40 you see the big circle *Swadian *was wondering about. It is the heating system, which can use either electric heat or coal. At 16:47 you see the samovar. It also is dual fuel.

The announcer has a classic Soviet style of delivery. Even, clear tones, good enunciation, which makes it easier for people for whom Russian is a second language.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Sep 20, 2015)

I had found the diagram on a Russian site that said it was the 61-817, which is the same model in the video.

Something I found interesting is how the corrugated Russian cars look more like American cars than European cars.

Case in point, a Union Pacific Sleeper: http://abpr2.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?july13/07-19-13/UP1427_Pacific_Peak_Seattle_WA_Amtrak.jpg.

Which looks really similar to this 61-4179: http://inforail.pl/archiwum/files/22981/614186_760.jpg.

But neither looks much like this European car: http://www.vagonweb.cz/fotogalerie/foto/201002/Bmz-61-81-21-70-116-2-OBB-Breclav.jpg.


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## Ispolkom (Sep 21, 2015)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> I had found the diagram on a Russian site that said it was the 61-817, which is the same model in the video.


The diagram that you posted gives the model number (индекс вагона or indeks vagona) as 31-817, not 61-817.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Sep 21, 2015)

That's weird, 'cause the Russian site I found it on said it was a 61-817. I don't believe TVZ has ever produced a 31-817. A search for 61-817 comes up with results, while 31-817 comes up with nothing.

If anyone has a TVZ model list, that'd clear it up.


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