Maschinenfabrik Esslingen GT4

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GT4
GT4 double traction in Stuttgart
GT4 double traction in Stuttgart
Number: 380
Manufacturer: Machine works Esslingen  (372)
Waggonfabrik Rastatt  (8)
Year of construction (s): 1959-1968
Axis formula : (1A) '(A1)'
Gauge : 1000 mm  (372)
1435 mm  (8)
Length over coupling: 18,800 mm
Height: 3800 mm
Width: 2200 mm
Top speed: 60 km / h
Hourly output : 2 × 100 kW = 200 kW
Power system : 600 or 750 volts DC
Power transmission: Overhead line
Operating mode: One-way vehicle (350)
two-way vehicle (30)
Seats: 41 (Freiburg)
43–47 (other)
Standing room: 150

The articulated railcar GT4 , also called Esslinger GT4 after the manufacturer, the Maschinenfabrik Esslingen , is a four-axle short-articulated tramcar . The first of the 350 vehicles ordered were delivered to the Stuttgart trams (SSB) in 1959 . In the 1960s, the tram companies in Freiburg im Breisgau , Neunkirchen and Reutlingen procured a total of 30 more GT4s, some of which differ considerably from the Stuttgart models in terms of design, track width and technology. Some of the Freiburg vehicles were manufactured by the Rastatt wagon factory , as the Esslingen machine factory had meanwhile given up the production of tram vehicles . The GT4 are still in Halberstadt , in the Romanian cities of Arad and Iasi and in Fukui Echizen (Japan) in use, the last vehicles in Stuttgart retired in December 2007 because of the gauging of the route network to standard gauge from the plan service from. Some vehicles are currently in use in Stuttgart on vintage car lines 21 and 23.

technology

Basic construction

Driver's cab of a Freiburg GT4

The GT4 was mainly developed because the longer six-axle articulated multiple units (GT6) of the SSB built between 1953 and 1958 with Jakobs bogies were unsuitable for the winding and incline-rich Stuttgart route network. In particular, the strong overhangs on the inside of the curve led to numerous meeting bans. In terms of design, the GT4 is also closely related to the open- plan cars of the time, which, however, had a smaller capacity due to their design and were therefore also out of the question for Stuttgart. At that time, the machine works Esslingen delivered such four-axle vehicles without articulation to the Kleinbahn Siegburg-Zündorf (1956, one car), to Ulm (1958, ten GRW4 cars ) and to the Esslingen-Nellingen-Denkendorf tram (1958, two engines and two Sidecar).

The GT4 is a four-axle articulated railcar that structurally links an open-plan car with a Jakobs articulated car. In terms of length, it is exactly in the middle with a length of around 19 meters, which means that it is around five meters longer than an open-plan car, but around five meters shorter than the predecessor GT6. In the GT4 , the two bogies are connected with a so-called articulated support , which is supported by kidney-shaped sliding plates on the crossbeams directed towards the center of the car. The car bodies are supported on one side under the guidance of a pivot via secondary springs on one of the two bogies, on the other side on the joint which rests on the joint support. It is not possible to separate the two car parts.

Four GT4s, bent due to curves, viewed from above

The mobility of the joint resulting from this construction made it possible to adapt it to the conditions of the Stuttgart route network. If the car drives on a curve, the rotation of the bogies under the car bodies leads to the articulated support being deflected towards the outside of the curve. Since the articulated portal is thus also pushed out of the direct connecting line of the two pivot pins, an angle is created between the two car body halves. This also has the consequence that a carriage that is exactly in the middle of a symmetrical S-curve is not bent on the outside, only the articulated portal is twisted.

The wagons have two motors each, which are suspended in the articulated support directly on the bogies. They each drive the inner axle of the bogie via cardan shafts. The first and fourth axles of each car have no drive; together they only carry about a third of the weight of the car. However, they each have a drum brake and are also braked during the regenerative braking via an electropneumatic valve that lowers the pressure of the running axle spring accumulator. The axis sequence follows the drive arrangement, i.e. (1A) '(A1)'.

The short-articulated wagons (GT4 - GT4c) manufactured in Bremen from 1959 had a similar articulated construction, but with bogies positioned in the middle under the wagon segments . There the curve adaptation was later controlled hydraulically (Bremer GT4d - GT4f). The structure of the Tatra KT4 is only similar in appearance . The joint control is solved differently and leads to much larger articulation angles.

differences

All cars not procured by the SSB were bidirectional vehicles . In addition, they were equipped with crank-operated direct drive switches and therefore not capable of multiple traction . The Reutlinger GT4 were most similar to the Stuttgart models. Other differences were the use of the BSI compact coupling common in Reutlingen and the slightly lower engine power.

Air brakes were not installed in Freiburg and Neunkirchen for cost reasons. Another special feature of the Neunkirchen GT4 were the inner frames on the bogies, in order to design them for the European standard gauge of 1435 millimeters. The motors were not suspended in the articulated support, but under the platforms. They drove the first and fourth axles via a cardan shaft, while the second and third axles were coupled to the adjacent axle in the bogie via short cardan shafts in between. This all-axle drive was necessary because the greatest gradient in the Neunkirchen tram network was eleven percent - significantly more than in all other cities that used GT4.

Locations

city number Numbers Type Installation Takeover from Use up
Stuttgart 350 401-750 Fitter 1959-1965 - 2007
Freiburg in Breisgau 19th 104-122 Two judges 1962-1968 - 1994
10 151-160 Fitter 1985 Stuttgart 1990
Neunkirchen 8th 1-8 Two judges 1961 - 1978
Reutlingen 3 59-61 Two judges 1964 - 1974
Ulm 14th 1-14 Fitter 1985-1987 Stuttgart 2003
3 11-13 Fitter 1982-1984 Reutlingen 1988
Kochi 1 (2) 735 Two judges 1989 Stuttgart 2014
Halle (Saale) 30 (32) 852, 860-889 Fitter 1990 Stuttgart 2003
9 851, 853-859, 890 Fitter 1990 Freiburg (ex Stuttgart) 2003
augsburg 20 (23) 401–410, 451–460 (unmodified) Fitter 1991 Stuttgart 2003
20th 411–420, 461–470 (fully mod.) Fitter 1994 Stuttgart 2009
Nordhausen 12 (16) 71-82 Fitter 1991 Stuttgart 2012
4 (7) 91-94 Two judges 1994 Freiburg 2013
Halberstadt 10 (13) 151-160 Fitter 1991-1994 Stuttgart
6th 161-166 Two judges 1994 Freiburg
2 167-168 Two judges 2003 Nordhausen (ex Freiburg)
Brandenburg on the Havel 3 116-118 Two judges 1997 Freiburg 2004
Arad 32 irregular (4xx, 5xx, 6xx) Fitter 1995-2000 Stuttgart
13 1-9, 11-14 Fitter 2003 Ulm (ex Stuttgart)
Iași 58 irregular (3xx, 4xx) Fitter 1997-2008 Stuttgart
27 120-121, 123-147 Fitter 2003 Halle (ex Stuttgart)
23 101-113, 324, 331-332, 334-335 Fitter 2004/2009 Augsburg (ex Stuttgart)
3 379-381 Fitter 2012 Nordhausen (ex Stuttgart)
Fukui 1 735 Two judges 2014 Kōchi (ex Stuttgart)

Stuttgart

GT4 double traction on line 15 (2001)

The first Stuttgart GT4 went into operation on May 27, 1959. The total of 350 vehicles could run in triple traction, but this was only used for operational trips. In regular service, the wagons were mostly used in double traction . From 1960 onwards they also carried a two-axle sidecar on line 6; these so-called 49-meter trains were in use until 1976. Trains from a railcar and sidecar were also to be found on line 3 until October 1983. Solo GT4s disappeared from the cityscape in 1990 in order to prevent a defective solo car from being trapped between two standard-gauge light rail trains and therefore not being towed away.

All vehicles were originally delivered as leading railcars. About half of the GT4 were subsequently given a closed driver's cab, the remaining vehicles were converted into guided railcars . This Beitriebwagen vehicles mentioned arose from the effort out of being able to save the necessary investments in the modernization of the car, they were left by a not fully operational state. With one exception, the guided vehicles received no radio equipment and no inductive train control . The lower headlight was removed, the opening was covered and the retrofitting with a driver's cab was dispensed with. Although this restricted the use of these cars, it led to considerable savings. The conversion affected 24 vehicles of the first series, 30 of the second series, 98 of the third and fourth and eight of the fifth series, a total of 180 motor coaches.

From 1988 onwards, a total of 48 GT4s were converted into so-called "GT4 2000" with upholstered seats, new cabling and more modern equipment for use beyond the year 2000. These were still mostly used in train sets, mostly the GT4 2000 was used as the leading car, as it was technically better equipped than the non-modernized car. They have, for example, a windscreen washer system, an emergency brake override, a wheel flange lubrication device and an integrated operating information system (IBIS) with an infrared interface (IRIS). Only with these cars was it possible to precisely assign the line and course at the control center and to give priority to traffic light systems over road traffic. For the conversion to GT4 2000, seven formerly "guided" railcars were later upgraded and retrofitted with a train protection system and all other additional devices. In 1998, the use of the "guided" GT4 officially ended after line 13 was expanded to include the tram. In 2002 the last two railcars 471 and 466, which had not been converted to "GT4 2000" and which were ultimately only used as railcars, were retired.

On December 8, 2007, the day the last meter-gauge line 15 was converted, the last scheduled service in Stuttgart took place after 48 years of operation. Part of the responsibility for the relatively long operating time was the aforementioned re-gauging of the route network. Since the end of meter-gauge operation was in sight, no new vehicles were procured to replace the GT4 on the shrinking meter-gauge network.

The last remaining GT4 (and a DoT4) in the Bad Cannstatt depot

A total of nine GT4 railcars have been preserved in a museum in Stuttgart, six of them (401, 450, 471, 629 and 632) in working order and four as non-working museum wagons (519, 630, 642 and 722). Four more are also kept as spare parts donors, two have been converted by the SSB into stationary seminar and lounge rooms. The leasing and marketing of the Museum GT4 is the responsibility of the Association of Stuttgarter Historische Straßenbahnen e. V.

For the meter-gauge museum operation, there are two routes , some of which have three tracks. These are lines 21 ( Tram World / Bad Cannstatt - Central Station ) and 23 (Tram World / Bad Cannstatt - Ruhbank / TV tower).

Freiburg in Breisgau

Freiburg GT4 at Martinstor

At the end of the 1950s, there were still many pre-war vehicles in use on the Freiburg im Breisgau tram that were to be replaced. The short articulated car GT4, developed at the same time, appeared to the municipal tram also suitable for Freiburg. The Freiburg GT4 were put into service in four series. The first six trains were produced in 1962 - like the Stuttgart wagons - by the Esslingen machine works and were given the road numbers 103-108. They were still equipped for conductors . In 1966 another five vehicles with the numbers 109-113 were procured, which were already equipped for one-man operation. At the same time, the first series was also converted to conductors-less operation. In 1967 and 1968 four more railcars (115–118 and 119–122) added to the fleet. This was produced by the Rastatt wagon factory because the Esslingen machine factory  stopped building rail vehicles as a result of the takeover by Daimler-Benz AG. Car 103 was renamed 109 in 1967, 109 became 114.

The GT4 proved themselves quickly and after the delivery of the last series replaced the maximum bogie vehicles built between 1927 and 1929. The labor-intensive first aid vehicles built between 1951 and 1954 were also replaced by the GT4 and gradually phased out. The GT4 were used on all lines, on lines 3 and 4 they ran with the association-type sidecar . When the conductors were closed in 1981, the sidecars were also scrapped, so that from now on the GT4 only ran solo. One began successively to remove the trailer hitches and to sheet the resulting vacancies. After the delivery of the new GT8 , the GT4 were only used on the former lines 1 and 2. When the tram network was changed on December 11, 1983, the GT4s ran on lines 2, 3 and 4, and from 1985 also on line 5. From the same year, the originally cream-colored GT4s were given the new VAG house colors red and as part of general inspections Painted white.

With the opening of new routes in 1983 and the introduction of the environmental card in 1984, passenger numbers rose sharply. Since new vehicles were not available at short notice, VAG purchased used railcars for the first time. A decision was made in favor of the Stuttgart GT4, which had become dispensable there due to the gradual conversion to standard-gauge light rail operations, and eight vehicles were bought. The vehicles, also known colloquially as spaetzle wagons , were added to the inventory in 1985 under the numbers 151–158 and operated as a double unit mainly on weekdays on line 1. In 1988, two more railcars were purchased because railcars 152 and 158 had to be parked after the main inspection had expired . They were given the numbers 159 and 160. All cars in Stuttgart always ran in their old yellow and white paintwork in Freiburg too. In 1990 the Stuttgart GT4 were no longer needed after delivery of the eleven GT8N. All operational vehicles were given away to the Halle (Saale) tram in the same year .

From 1994 the Freiburg GT4 became superfluous with the delivery of the 26 GT8Z . After around 30 years of use, they were considered technically obsolete and could no longer cope with the strong increase in passenger numbers since the mid-1980s. They were therefore parked and sold except for two cars. Due to their good maintenance condition, buyers were found in the new federal states for the GT4 no longer needed in Freiburg. Only railcar 107 remained in stock for some time and was only sold to an intermediary in 2006. The oldest GT4 with the number 109 (formerly 103) was preserved as a museum tram . 121 was converted into a party car.

Neunkirchen

Neunkircher GT4 as a memorial in the depot of the local transport company

The Neunkircher tram procured eight GT4s in 1961. From 1964, only seven vehicles could run, as car 7 had to be scrapped due to an accident.

From 1965 the GT4 only ran on the 3.5 kilometer stretch from Steinwald to the main train station . They also drove on the steepest tram route in Europe at that time - with a gradient of eleven percent - through Hüttenbergstrasse . Every second or third course served the branch to the slaughterhouse. The depot was also located there. The relatively new vehicles and the steep route described meant that what was then the smallest tram operator in West Germany existed until 1978.

When operations ceased on June 10, 1978, the GT4 also ended. Car 2 was handed over to the Hanover Tram Museum in Wehmingen and has been in use there as a museum car since 2003 after being refurbished. Another GT4 that has been preserved is car 4. This was initially on the premises of the Neunkircher Zoo and is now a non-roadworthy monument on the depot of the Neunkircher Verkehrs-Gesellschaft . The remaining wagons were scrapped.

Reutlingen

For the new line to Orschel-Hagen , which opened in September 1964 , the Reutlingen tram received three bidirectional GT4s with the numbers 59 to 61 from Maschinenfabrik Esslingen as early as December 1963. In 1964, the company also procured two matching two-axle trailer cars for their new railcars, they were given road numbers 48 and 49.

Since line 4 to Orschel-Hagen was closed again in 1970, the Reutlingen GT4 migrated to the so-called southern network. They remained on lines 1 to Eningen unter Achalm and 2 to Pfullingen until operations were completely closed on October 19, 1974. The Stuttgart trams then acquired the three cars, but ultimately did without the expensive adaptation and the vehicles were therefore sufficient nine years later - without work in Stuttgart - on to Ulm.

Zurich

From April 9 to April 21, 1964, the then brand-new 667 Stuttgart car was on the Zurich tram for test purposes . Demonstration and comparison drives with the Zurich prototype 1801 built in 1960 took place there. The main reason for the tests in Switzerland were noise measurements, which should serve as the basis for the further development of the drive for future series production. Thanks to its good motorization, the Stuttgart vehicle also impressed with its handling on uphill stretches, but with its sharply pointed ends did not meet the Zurich expectations. In the end, the Zurich Transport Authority decided against the GT4 and, from 1966, purchased the Be 4/6 (Mirage) as an alternative .

Sales in other cities

augsburg

AVG GT4 No. 419
Car No. 420 in Iași was formerly used on the Augsburg tram

Between 1991 and 1996 Augsburger Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH (AVG) took over a total of 43 GT4s from SSB. On the one hand, they replaced part of the GT5, on the other hand they were needed to have enough vehicles for the then new line 3 and to be able to offer a 5-minute cycle on all lines. Ten leading and ten guided motor coach - called Beitriebwagen - were the Mittenwalder Gerätebau GmbH completely modernized. They bore the numbers 411 to 420 and 461 to 470. The remaining ten leading and ten recovery vehicles, however, were partially modernized in their own workshops, they were carried under the numbers 401 to 410 and 451 to 460. Three cars remained in their original Stuttgart condition and served as spare parts donors.

The modernized cars received, among other things, a modified interior, in which the seats were now mainly arranged in the direction of travel. For use in Augsburg, the GT4 were also given the ZUB 100 / ZUB 200 train control system, which was reserved for the S-DT8 in Stuttgart. They thus had one of the most modern punctiform train control systems in Germany. Another modification was the expansion of the driver's cab in the service vehicle, only an auxiliary driver's cab remained.

The GT4 operated in Augsburg almost exclusively in double traction consisting of a multiple unit and a service vehicle . The modernized or partially modernized trains were mostly coupled according to their type, deviations were only due to defects or accidents. Also when some of the railcars failed and some leading railcars were used solo on Line 2, which was not yet extended at the time. At that time no GT4 trains could run on it because they were too long for the Kriegshaber car hall used as a turning triangle . The GT4 were initially used on lines 1, 3, 4, as well as on the former E 3 exhibition line (now exhibition line 9). Later also on Line 2. The GT4s no longer ran on Line 1 and the exhibition line.

Six pairs and the last spare parts donor were scrapped at the end of 2003. Due to the short-term shutdown of some Siemens Combino trains, the GT4 that had already been parked were used again from March 2004, and from May only renovated trains. Five pairs (four original sets and one modernized; 413/468) were sold to Iași in Romania in April 2004 . In the same year, car 414 had to be parked as a spare parts donor due to an accident and later scrapped.

At the beginning of 2006, there were still eight operable pairs and one no longer operable pair in the Augsburg tram fleet , although almost all of the Combinos could be used again. In 2008 another GT4 (464) retired from scheduled service as a result of an accident. As a replacement, the GT4 set 415/463 was made operational again, so that eight GT4 sets were again available for passenger use.

Seven of the eight Augsburg sets were sold to Iași in Romania at the end of February 2009 - even before they were officially withdrawn from service. Due to an accident, however, car 419 could not be delivered to Iași as planned. The car body was scrapped in Augsburg, the remaining parts were sent to Iași as spare parts. As a replacement for the scrapped GT4, the Augsburg GT8 805 was also delivered to Iași with the GT4.

The 411/461 set remained as a - currently inoperative - museum train belonging to the Friends of the Augsburger Tram in Augsburg, the remaining cars were scrapped.

Ulm

GT4 at Ulm Central Station (1985)

Between 1981 and 1983, three Reutlinger GT4s were initially purchased. The two-judges were converted into one-way cars and used in trial operations from 1985. Since the vehicles seemed suitable, the Ulm tram decided to buy 14 GT4s from Stuttgart.

The new GT4 replaced the three Reutlinger GT4 and ten made also by Maschinenfabrik Esslingen Großraumwagen type GRW4 who frequented Ulm since 1958th All Reutlingen wagons were scrapped in 1988.

The Stuttgart wagons ran on the single line from Söflingen to the Donauhalle.

In 2003 the GT4 became superfluous with the delivery of eight Siemens Combino vehicles. On July 26th, the last cars retired from scheduled service. 13 GT4s were delivered to Arad by rail on September 25, 2003. Car 10 was preserved as a museum vehicle in Ulm.

Halle (Saale)

From 1990 the Hallesche Verkehrs-AG procured a total of 41 Stuttgart GT4s, two of which served as spare parts donors. 30 cars came directly from Stuttgart to Halle, the remaining nine had previously been used as used cars in Freiburg for five years and were made available free of charge by VAG. The vehicles were to temporarily strengthen the fleet until new low-floor wagons were delivered. Since wagon 852 had to be scrapped as a result of an accident, only 38 trains were in use from 1992.

Between 1993 and 1995 all vehicles were subjected to a general inspection at Mittenwalder Gerätebau GmbH . Associated with this was the modernization of the interior and a new red-silver-gray color scheme. Since the Halle tram received a second series with a total of 60 MGT6D vehicles from 1996 , the first six GT4s were parked in 1999 and scrapped together with five other vehicles at the beginning of 2002.

In 2003, the last wagons retired from scheduled service with the opening of the new line to Soltauer Strasse on March 21 of the same year. The GT4 could be dispensed with, as the MGT6D, which had previously been used mostly in double traction on line 2, were evenly distributed solo across all lines through the new turning loop on Soltauer Straße. After a farewell trip on March 22, 2003, HAVAG sold all 27 remaining vehicles to Iași.

Nordhausen

GT4 in Nordhausen

The Nordhausen tram also purchased a series of GT4s from Stuttgart in 1991. Four of the twelve cars received a modernization. The new vehicles replaced the Gothawagen built between 1959 and 1960. In 1995, Nordhausen received a total of seven more bidirectional vehicles from Freiburg, three of which served as spare parts donors.

In 2002, the construction of a connection between the tram network and the routes of the Harz narrow-gauge railways began . Since electrification of the Harzquerbahn was rejected, the new line should be operated with hybrid vehicles . Initially, Wagen 94 was used from 1995 to 1998 to test various technologies. In 1999, Wagen 72 was the first prototype to be equipped with a 5-cylinder passenger car diesel engine. The GT4 was presented on June 3, 2000 as the first hybrid track under the name "Twino" .

With the delivery of new Siemens Combino vehicles, the decommissioning of the vehicles began in 2001. The 73, 74 and 76 cars were scrapped in 2001. Two years later, 91 and 92 were handed over to Halberstadt. The hybrid GT4 72 was used by Igeno rail vehicles GmbH in Niedersachswerfen as an exhibit from 2005 to 2015. Car 75 was sold to a restaurant in 2005. The GT4 77 and 82 were scrapped in 2006, car 93 followed two years later. 78 was made available as a club room for tram fans in 2009, but was scrapped there the following year.

As a result, three cars from Stuttgart (79-81) and one from Freiburg (94) remained for the last few years of operation. With the commissioning of two more Combinos in 2011, the planned GT4 operation ended. A farewell trip took place on February 28, 2012. 79–81 were sold to Iași in 2012, and car 94 was scrapped a year later.

Halberstadt

ER-GT4 151 (ex. Stuttgart 719) in Halberstadt before repainting, 1992

After the political change, the Halberstadt tram looked for new vehicles to replace the outdated Reko and Gotha cars. In the years 1991 to 1994 initially 10 GT4 one-way cars (151-160) were taken over from Stuttgart. By taking over six more bi-directional GT4s from Freiburg (161–166), all old wagons could be decommissioned.

In 2003, two modernized Freiburg GT4 (167–168), which had previously been used in Nordhausen, replaced part of the Stuttgart car. 151–154 and 157–158 could be scrapped. In addition, Wagen 165 retired from planning service in 2004 as a result of an accident.

With the delivery of five new Leoliner type low-floor cars in 2007, the use of five more GT4s ended. 155, 159–160 and 163 were scrapped in the following years, car 166 was converted into a children's train. 161 has been used as a track maintenance car since the end of 2010.

Since then, the GT4 have generally only operated if one or more Leoliners fail. The Stuttgart car 156 and the three Freiburg cars 164, 167 and 168 are available for this purpose. Halberstadt is the last tram operator in Germany to still use GT4 in regular service.

Brandenburg on the Havel

In 1997, the former Freiburg GT4 116–118 arrived in Brandenburg an der Havel . They served as a replacement for the Gothawagen and operated mainly on the overland route Anton-Saefkow-Allee - Kirchmöser -West. The two-judges could also be used in shuttle traffic at construction sites. After the route to Kirchmöser was closed on September 28, 2002, the three GT4s were parked in the depot in Bauhofstraße and scrapped a year later.

Arad

GT4 at the Piața Podgoria in Arad

Between 1995 and 2003 the Arad tram received a total of 45 Stuttgart GT4s; 32 directly from the SSB and 13 from the Ulm tram. The cars previously used in Ulm are listed under the road numbers 1–9 and 11–14, while the cars taken over directly from Stuttgart kept their old SSB numbers. The GT4 are located in the Micãlaca depot.

Iași

GT4 in Iași

The Iași tram procured a total of 108 Stuttgart GT4s from 1997. 58 cars were taken over directly from the SSB, 27 vehicles were previously used in Halle. The Augsburg tram delivered the remaining 23 GT4s in two series in 2004 and 2009. With over 100 vehicles, the Regia Autonomă de Transport Public Iaşi (RATP) has been the transport company with the most GT4s in scheduled passenger use since the meter-gauge tram network in Stuttgart was discontinued.

In Iași they can be found in three varnishes: yellow (ex Stuttgart), red (ex Halle) and white with green decorative stripes (ex Augsburg). Some of the vehicles also kept their German-language advertising .

Since the beginning of 2013, the GT4 have been modernized by the Bucharest company Electro VFU Paşcani. A first prototype was presented to the public at the end of June 2013. The renovation includes a new drive and traction system, a more modern exterior design and air conditioning . The city of Iași decided against the procurement of new vehicles for reasons of cost, instead the entire tram fleet is to be modernized with the help of subsidies from the European Union for a total of 80 million euros.

Kōchi and Fukui

GT4 735 in Fukui in April 2014.

At the end of November 1989, the SSB gave the A-parts of the two cars with the road numbers 714 and 735 to the Kōchi tram in Japan. The two A-parts were put together to form a two-way car in Stuttgart, as no one-way vehicles can run on the route network due to the lack of reversing loops. The B-parts were scrapped. The converted car did not have any additional doors, so that only the two doors on the rear half in the direction of travel could be used due to the left-hand traffic . Another special feature was the need to change gauges from the Stuttgart meter gauge to the cape gauge common in Japan (1067 mm).

After several years of storage, the vehicle was handed over to the Fukui tram in early 2014 . After the reconditioning, the scheduled passenger service began on April 12 of the same year on a special line that is to run on weekends. The Fukui Prefecture assumed the costs of acquiring and maintaining the GT4, known as the "Retram" .

literature

  • Hans J. Knupfer: Yellow Classic - The GT4, Stuttgart's tram car for five decades . Stuttgart 2006/2007, ISBN 978-3-9811082-0-0

Web links

Commons : Maschinenfabrik Esslingen GT4  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b fleet list Stuttgart , on tram-info, accessed on September 5, 2014.
  2. ^ Martin Pabst, paperback German streetcar railcars. Electric railcars 1931-today , Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 3-440-05043-2 , page 212f
  3. ↑ Operating history on www.stuttgarter-bahnen.de
  4. ^ Chronicle of the Stuttgarter Straßenbahn AG , on eisenbahnfotograf.de, accessed on October 6, 2014.
  5. ↑ Stuttgart Tram World: Route 21
  6. ↑ Stuttgart Tram World: Route 23
  7. ^ A b c Dietmar Gemander, Thomas Hettinger: The Freiburg tram. The time before the light rail. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2006, ISBN 3-88255-845-8 , p. 47: Freiburg's first articulated tram car.
  8. ↑ a b c Freiburg car park list , on tram-info.de, accessed on October 3, 2014.
  9. ↑ With the GT4 100 and GT4 109 through Freiburg , on bahngalerie.de, accessed on June 13, 2014.
  10. ↑ Existing vintage vehicles of the FdFS , accessed on October 3, 2014.
  11. ↑ The VAG party car ( Memento of the original from April 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , at chilli-freiburg.de, accessed on October 3, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / chilli-freiburg.de
  12. ↑ The history of the NVG , accessed on September 27, 2014.
  13. ^ Hannoversches Straßenbahn-Museum: Der Wagenpark , accessed on September 27, 2014.
  14. ↑ The Reutlingen Tram , on wernerfrueh.lima-city.de, accessed on October 1, 2014.
  15. ↑ a b c car park list Ulm , on tram-info.de, accessed on September 9, 2014.
  16. ↑ www.eisenbahnwelt.de
  17. ↑ a b GT4 Augsburg, on nahverkehrsseiten.net ( Memento from September 8, 2014 in the web archive archive.today )
  18. ↑ a b History of the Ulmer GT4 , on ulmereisenbahnen.de, accessed on September 9, 2014.
  19. ↑ GT4 Tw 10 , on ulmereisenbahnen.de, accessed on September 9, 2014.
  20. ↑ a b Halle car park list , on tram-info.de, accessed on September 10, 2014.
  21. ↑ a b Former vehicle types , on strassenbahn-halle.de, accessed on September 10, 2014.
  22. ↑ Halle Spectrum: Halle officially celebrates the completion of the Neustadt-Büschdorf tram route , August 12, 2013, accessed on September 10, 2014.
  23. ↑ Halle (Saale): Farewell trip GT4 on March 22 , 2003 , on Drehscheibe-online.de, accessed on September 10, 2014.
  24. ↑ Nordhausen car park list , on tram-info.de, accessed on September 13, 2014.
  25. ↑ a b c Tram Nordhausen , on tram-bilder.de, accessed on September 13, 2014.
  26. ↑ The last ride of the "old yellow tram" in Nordhausen - loading the GT4 , on nordhausen.de, accessed on September 13, 2014.
  27. ^ Gallery for the Halberstadt tram , on tram-bilder.de, accessed on September 22, 2014.
  28. ↑ Tramreport.de: Halberstadt: GT4 as a construction site pendulum , August 31, 2014, accessed on September 22, 2014.
  29. ↑ Halberstädter Verkehrs-GmbH: Trams for regular services ( Memento of the original from August 7, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed September 22, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.stadtverkehr-halberstadt.de
  30. ↑ Brandenburg an der Havel Tram, on tram-bilder.de, accessed on September 26, 2014.
  31. ^ RATP Iași - Forum. History of public transport in Iași (Romanian)
  32. ↑ RATP cumpără 14 tramvaie ( Memento from September 19, 2011 in the web archive archive.today ), report from the Evenimentul newspaper from February 18, 2009 (Romanian)
  33. ↑ RATP Iași puts in operation the first tram upgraded in Pașcani ( Memento of the original from 23 September 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , July 4, 2013, accessed on September 27, 2013. (English) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.clubmetropolitan.ro
  34. ↑ Modernized tram presented to Iaşi , July 2, 2013, accessed on October 15, 2013. (English)
  35. ↑ a b Gottfried Bauer, Ullrich Theurer: From the tram to the Stuttgart city railway 1975–2000. ISBN 3-00-006615-2 , p. 294
  36. ↑ Blickpunkt Straßenbahn, issue 4/2014, p. 131: Japan.
  37. ↑ Japan: GT4 ex Stuttgart 735/714 comes back into operation! , Posts on turntable-online, May 1, 2013.