Responding my query, TVRM states: "The Littorina rail car was built for the Italian Railway in 1936 during the reign of Mussolini. The car is owned by the Wolfsonian Foundation of Florida and they brought it over from Italy and restored it for display. It was in a museum in Florida during Hurricane Andrews (1992?) when the building collapsed onto the vehicle and damaged it. Wolfsonian had it restored again and sent it to Chattanooga (to get it away from hurricanes?)
Unfortunately it has been on display outdoor and the wear is really showing. Littorina most likely will return to Florida in the near future." Note the "fasces", symbol of Italian fascism, affixed directly beneath the Fiat logo. Though the colouring of the car would suggest a military application, in fact all Italian railcars were painted this way before the Second World War.
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The name of this little rail car is "La Littorina". Manufactured by Fiat in 1937 in Italy, the ALn 56 1903 was among a series of self-propelled railcars which operated on the Italian Rail System. The interior and general design of the rail car represents the pre 1930’s European style of decoration. The “Littorina” was named by an Italian journalist after the city of Littoria.
The Littorina ALn 561903 on display is a rare and important item bearing the technical and aesthetic characteristics of the 1930’s and it is intact with all the original fittings and accessories.
The car now resides in Turkey at The Rahmi M. Koç Museum. They obtained the railcar on loan from theThe Wolfsonian– Florida International University (FIU) for 10 years. It was transported to the Rahmi M. Koç Museum with the sponsorship of Tofaº (Turkish Automobile Factory Co. Inc) in March 2011. The railcar which was damaged by the Hurricane Andrew has undergone careful restoration by the Museum and Tofaº workers.
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