Drezina Skoda VOS, 1948 / 1948 Skoda VOS Draisine

Cine a calatorit cu trenul prin Europa de Est fara discutie a vazut cate o drezina, de multe ori construita special dar in cazuri mai rare un automobil sau un microbuz modificat sa mearga pe cale ferata. Mai ales in tarile comuniste, erau comune, si inca mai exista cateva in tara, in marea majoritate ARO-uri, TV-uri sau microbuze mai moderne. Totusi au fost si alte masini modificate. In Romania postcomunista inca se foloseau modele ZIS, Volga, si Moskvich. Si aceasta superba Skoda, de prin 1948.


La un moment dat era expusa in aer liber la Fetesti. Cand veneam inapoi de la mare intotdeauna ma intrebam "ce o fi asta"? Nu stiam nimic despre modelul VOS, credeam ca era vorba de un Buick sau un Packard de prin 1950.

Skoda VOS a fost construit in serie foarte mica (cca. 100) intre 1948 si 1952. Cam jumatate din exemplarele facute erau blindate. Motorul era un V8 de 5195 cmc imprumutat de la fabrica Praga, care dezvolta 120cp; viteza maxima, pentru versiunea blindata, era 115kmh.
Aceste masini erau numai pentru elita comunista, fiind echivalente cu un ZIS sau, mai tarziu, o Ceaika. (Masina din poza, de exemplu, e o masina prezidentiala expusa in muzeul Skoda.) Clar, masina a fost pentru un mare oficial, si ulterior a fost facuta in drezina, probabil in anii 60 cand s-au importat noi flote de masini "de elita". (Se spune ca a masina Anei Pauker insa spusul e usor, documentatia vine mai greu.)

In moment drezina se poate gasi la gara din Sinaia, in stare ... precara. Geamul blindat spart, piese originale pas, de fapt nici nu se gasesc, masina fiind mai rara, folosind o expresie englezeasca, ca dintii pasarilor. Totusi e un model rarisim care reprezinta foarte bine Romania stalinista. Daca aveti un drum prin Sinala nu ratati o vizita!

Mai multe poze la http://www.railfaneurope.net/pix/ro/work/misc/pix.html



Whoever has travelled by train through Eastern Europe will have seen draisines. They are normally specially built but some are converted cars and vans. They were especially common in Eastern Bloc countries and can still occasionally be seen; in Romania's case, some of the cars converted for such use included ZIS, Volga and Moskvich models. And this superb circa 1948 Skoda.

At one stage it was an open-air exhibit in Fetesti, where I used to see it every year travelling to the Black Sea coast and wonder what it was. Not knowing anything about the Skoda VOS, I thought it might be a very early 50s Packard or Buick.

The Skoda VOS was built in very small numbers (around 100) between 1948 and 1952, destined exclusively for the top Communist elite and easily equivalent to a ZIS or to the later Chaika. About half the models built were bullet-proof. Power came from a 5.2 litre Praga lump which developed 120 bhp, propelling the armoured version to a top speed of 115km/h (about 70 mph). The restored car in the photo, for example, was used by the Czechoslovakian president and is now in the Skoda msueum. The Romanian car clearly belonged to a very important official and would have been converted to a draisine later in its life, possibly in the 60s when new fleets of official cars were imported. (Some say it belonged to Ana Pauker, although this is not documented).

Currently, it is an open-air exhibit at the Sinaia railway station, in rather precarious condition, with its bulletproof window ... smashed. Any renovation was done with non-original parts; original ones are presumably rarer than hens' teeth. It is, however, well worth a detour to see, representing a piece of Romanian history. If you have a trip taking you through Sinaia, don't miss it!

More photos http://www.railfaneurope.net/pix/ro/work/misc/pix.html