Neoplan
| Neoplan | |
|---|---|
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| Owner / user | MAN Truck & Bus AG |
| Introductory year | 1935 |
| Website | www.neoplan.de |
Neoplan (own spelling NEOPLAN ) is a bus brand of MAN Truck & Bus AG . Originally, Neoplan was the brand name under which Gottlob Auwärter GmbH & Co. KG, founded in 1935, began producing self-supporting buses from 1953 . After MAN took over the bus production from Auwärter, Neoplan Bus GmbH existed from 2001 as part of the Neoman group of companies, which was merged into MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG in 2008. From 2008 to 2013, some products offered under the Neoplan brand were built and sold by the now insolvent, independent manufacturer Viseon .
Locations
Germany
- From 1935 the main factory of Gottlob Auwärter was in Stuttgart - Möhringen . At the turn of the year 2005/2006, production was stopped there and the factory was converted into a pure service and sales center. The company headquarters moved to Pilsting in Lower Bavaria in 2006 , and the remaining activities (e.g. building truck trailers) at the Stuttgart-Möhringen location have since been given up and the site has been sold to the Häussler Group . In spring 2007 the omnibus museum moved from Möhringen to Pilsting. The main plant was finally closed on April 30, 2007. The demolition work started at the end of 2007. The entire site on which the Gottlob Auwärter company was founded gave way to a new residential and work area on Probstsee.
- A first branch was bought in Pilsting in 1973 . As early as 1977, more buses were produced there than in the main plant. The final assembly of all Neoplan series as well as the MAN double-decker buses for Berlin, Dubai and the like then took place there. a. instead of. In 2008 MAN announced that series production of Neoplan buses would no longer take place in this plant either. The factory was to be taken over by the newly founded Viseon Bus GmbH and used for the production of special vehicles.
- The plant in the Berlin district of Spandau started producing minibuses of the Telebus series from March 9, 1981, mainly for the transport of the disabled with low-floor midibuses in Berlin developed by the study society for local transport (SNV) . The Transliner series was later manufactured in an assembly network with the Plauen and Ehrenhain plants. In 2001 production was stopped there and the factory was converted into a service and sales center.
- In Ehrenhain in Thuringia , the first plant in the new federal states started production on December 14, 1990. Both buses were assembled and a supplier function for the large plants was performed. Today, Göppel Bus GmbH (previously Neoplan Göppel GmbH ) is based in Ehrenhain , and has now been completely owned by Markus Göppel, Augsburg. For Neoplan Ehrenhain is only a service center. Göppel bodies are now being manufactured there on MAN midibus chassis.
- The main plant is currently located in Plauen ( Saxony ). It was created on December 6, 1991 through the conversion of a state-owned company that had carried out work on Hungarian Ikarus buses. The bodyshell and partial assembly of the high-quality Neoplan coaches took place there, as well as the other types that were developed in the time before the takeover by MAN, i.e. above all the Centroliner series 4400 Turkey to be relocated. On May 1, 2015, the plant was converted into a "Bus Modification Center".
- Branches without production exist in Munich (from January 3, 1976) and in Herrenberg (from April 30, 1993).
Other countries
- One of the first joint ventures of the then still young company Gottlob Auwärter GmbH & Co. KG came about in the mid-1950s with the Jinhua- based and also new company China Youth Automotive , which has since sold bus models under the brand names "Neoplan" and "Youngman Neoplan ”manufactures and sells for the Chinese market. Some units are also intended for export.
- The second foreign plant was opened on December 12, 1974 in Kumasi ( Ghana ). This is also a joint venture between the Republic of Ghana and Neoplan Bus GmbH . For a long time, models from the Tropic series were manufactured there. The current product is called "Tropicliner". Another plant in Ghana has existed in Accra since December 12, 1978.
- Neoplan Southern Africa Ltd. is based in Bellville near Cape Town in South Africa. resident: a company independent of Auwärter and MAN that builds Neoplan coaches under license. In addition to the "Tropicliner", several of the series known from Europe are also offered.
- Neoplan ventured into the USA with a plant in Lamar ( Colorado ), which was in operation from May 23, 1981. Later, the US activities were spun off into an independent company called Neoplan USA , which manufactured public buses under Neoplan licenses. After a sharp decline in the market for city buses and increasing quality problems, Neoplan USA stopped production in 2006.
- A second US plant opened in 1986 in Honey Brook ( Pennsylvania ) manufactured midibuses and did not exist for long. The reason for this was on the one hand the decline in public contracts after the cancellation of subsidies, on the other hand the organization of the workforce in unions and the demands for wage increases.
- There was another foreign branch in Paris (from October 3, 1978).
- In Bolechowo ( Poland ), a sales organization for the Polish market was set up under the name Neoplan Polska Sp. Z oo in 1994, in which Auwärter held a 30% stake at times. In 1996, the production of buses under Neoplan licenses began, and soon the company was market leader in city buses in Poland . From 1999, Neoplan Polska vehicles were sold with an independent body designed by the IFS Designatelier (Berlin) and under the name Solaris Urbino . After the takeover by MAN, Neoplan sold this investment. As a result, the company's name was changed to Solaris Bus & Coach .
- For those types that have been newly introduced since the takeover by MAN and are largely identical to MAN models, the bodyshells are manufactured in Turkey and Poland. The airport buses are produced by TVM in Slovenia.
- In addition to most European countries, the Arab region and Hong Kong are important export markets for Neoplan .
people
- Gottlob Auwärter jr. founded the company in 1935. In 1953, he launched the “Neoplan” brand with his first self-supporting bus. He managed the company until 1965, continued to work with it into old age and died in 1993.
- Albrecht Auwärter , his eldest son, took over management of the company in 1965. Under his leadership, the company experienced a phase of rapid growth. In less than twenty years sales have grown more than forty-fold. He died surprisingly in 1994.
- Konrad Auwärter , the second son, developed a lightweight double-decker for regular service as a thesis in 1964. He built up the plant in Pilsting and managed it until, after his brother's death, he took over the chairmanship of the newly created board of directors, which he held until the takeover by MAN in 2001. He forced u. a. environmentally friendly drive technologies.
- In 1961, Bob Lee developed the legendary Neoplan type Hamburg together with Albrecht Auwärter as a diploma thesis at the University of Hamburg . Soon he was heading the company's development department. In addition, he built up the American plants of Neoplan. Countless Neoplan buses from the 1960s to the takeover by MAN bear his signature down to the last detail in terms of design and technology. Before retiring in 2000, he was spokesman for the board.
- Two men who played a key role in shaping the heyday of the Neoplan brand, Bob Lee and Volker Steimle, are today organizing the expansion of the Turkish bus manufacturer Temsa to Western Europe. Their latest product, the Diamond coach, is reminiscent of earlier Neoplan buses.
history
1930s and 1940s
Since the 1920s, Gottlob Auwärter was responsible for the new body shop in his father's Wagner workshop (later Ernst Auwärter KG ) . Since the company, which was founded in 1854, imposed too narrow limits on the up-and-coming branch of the company, Gottlob Auwärter founded his own company in Stuttgart-Möhringen, which was initially named Gottlob Auwärter Jr. to distinguish it from that of his father. traded. There were buses and trucks on chassis built from all major manufacturers of the German-speaking world. Luxury coaches with generous panoramic windows were soon the Auwärter specialty. During the Second World War , the majority of the workforce was posted to Stuttgart Airport to repair aircraft there, while the few who remained a. made wooden horse carts for the Russian campaign. The company flourished again soon after the war. The robust all-steel construction was introduced.
1950s
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In the autumn and winter, when the number of orders was weak, the bodies for rail buses of the Württembergische Eisenbahngesellschaft were produced in order to ensure that the plant was fully utilized. In 1953 , a completely new type was introduced under the newly created brand name "Neoplan", an acronym for Modern Omnibus Planning : the first self-supporting bus from Auwärter. It no longer had a separate chassis , but rather a framework covered with sheet metal, which united the chassis and superstructure, and assumed the load-bearing function. Gottlob Auwärter had recognized that only manufacturers of complete buses would have a chance of survival on the German market in the long term. In 1957 Auwärter was the first bus manufacturer to introduce a new axle design with air suspension and front independent wheel suspension , thus enabling greater driving comfort.
1960s
In 1960 the so-called airport or apron buses were introduced for the transport of air passengers from the terminal to the aircraft ; Neoplan remained the market leader in this self-created market segment and at times achieved a market share of around 90%. In 1961, Neoplan surprised the professional world with the Hamburg type , which can be considered the first modern touring coach . Albrecht Auwärter and Bob Lee designed it as a thesis at the University of Hamburg . The angular design with good use of space was noticeable at the time. The driver's seat has been lowered opposite the passenger compartment and the seats have been arranged on platforms . Two air ducts in the roof supplied each passenger seat with fresh air, which escaped through individually adjustable nozzles. Typical for Neoplan were the large windows arched into the roof with sloping window pillars, which replaced the separate side windows and roof edge glazing that were customary at the time. For a long time, the Neoplan buses were primarily equipped with water-cooled engines from Henschel or air-cooled ones from Deutz . Later they switched to assemblies from MAN and Daimler-Benz , primarily because the production of Henschel engines was discontinued after the takeover of Hanomag-Henschel by Daimler-Benz in the mid-1970s, despite great demand from Neoplan and Kässbohrer Setra . Another outstanding innovation in 1964 was a lightweight double-decker, the Do-Bus , which Konrad Auwärter designed as a thesis. On the one hand, this provided the impetus for the development of the Do-Lux double-decker sightseeing bus . In 1967 the first two-story luxury touring car called the Skyliner was presented, which remained the only one on the market for 17 years, and whose successor is still the best-selling model in the segment today. On the other hand, the new low-frame front axle of the Do-Bus was the first step towards the low-floor bus .
1970s
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Since 1971, the first high-decker , the Cityliner , has offered a new level of quality in bus tourism. In a further developed form, it is still one of the most popular coaches in Germany. By raising the passenger compartment, the view for the passengers and the trunk volume have been significantly improved. Even the first vehicles, which were actually designed for city tours in Berlin (hence the name), were soon taken over into long-distance and travel services. Another milestone was the introduction of the Jetliner , which succeeded the Hamburg type. Above all, the glued windows, which now contributed to the rigidity of the body, were new, the large windscreen and the straightforward, futuristic-looking design at the time. In the interior, the indirect lighting and the luggage flaps under the roof, which were copied from aircraft construction, were noticeable. The innovations introduced with the Jetliner were immediately adopted for the Cityliner and Skyliner. In 1975 Neoplan exploded all dimensions of previous buses with the articulated double-decker Jumbocruiser , which is still the largest bus of all time on public roads. Articulated versions of the City and Jetliners were also offered under the names Highliner and Longliner . A Neoplan specialty was the Spaceliner from 1979 , a super high-decker with an underfloor cockpit in which the driver's seat is located below the passenger deck . This made it possible to improve the size of the passenger and trunk as well as the view for the passengers. Despite some initial success, this concept could not establish itself on the market in the long term. Neoplan ventured a revolutionary look into the future of the public service bus in 1976 with the first low-floor bus , which offered two low entrances and a floor height of only 30 cm above the road surface in the front of the car. However, the prototype came too early; production was discontinued after a few copies and only resumed a decade later in a different form.
1980s
Neoplan celebrated its first notable successes on the bus market when Auwärter, with the types Ü 80 and SL II, was the first manufacturer to introduce intercity and city buses in accordance with the guidelines for the second generation standard bus from 1980 and 1982 ( see Neoplan N 416 ). In 1981, the Telebus, a series of midibuses, was presented, which was mainly developed for the transport of the disabled in Berlin by the study society for local traffic and had a low-floor entry in the rear, where wheelchair users could enter directly. In 1981 Neoplan's very successful expansion into the USA began. The huge Galaxy Lounge apron bus, which was delivered to Saudi Arabia for the first time in the same year, has a capacity of 340 passengers and a trunk for docking with the aircraft and is the largest bus ever. At times in the early 1980s, Neoplan buses were equipped with water-cooled DAF and air-cooled Deutz engines, as MAN and Mercedes-Benz wanted to keep their competitor Neoplan small by refusing to deliver diesel engines and components. With the use of air-cooled Deutz engines , Neoplan also filled a gap in the German bus market that arose in 1982 when its competitor Magirus-Deutz disappeared : Magirus-Deutz buses were traditionally only available with air-cooled Deutz engines. For the 50th company anniversary of Neoplan, all touring coach series were technically and visually revised; u. a. a new Cityliner was presented, on which the model offered today is based. In 1987, a low-floor articulated bus was put into service, which was developed together with the Munich municipal utilities . With it, ten years after the first Neoplan low-floor bus, the rapid triumph of low-floor technology in bus construction finally began. After Neoplan had long been installing body parts made of weight-saving fiber composite materials , they went one step further in 1988: with the optically futuristic Metroliner in carbon design (MIC) . With this type of midibus, the traditional structure of a framework and planking was abandoned for the first time in favor of a self-supporting outer skin made of a fiber composite material reinforced with carbon fibers . This has made it possible to significantly reduce the weight of the vehicle. Despite indisputable advantages, the model had a hard time on the market, only as a basis for alternative drives did it achieve respectable success. This is the second time that the name Metroliner has been given, as this has been the name of a particularly inexpensive combi bus since 1984 .
1990s
The successor to the Metroliner combination bus was the Transliner , which was assembled in the new Ehrenhain plant. While the variants with a lower floor were sold as intercity and combination buses, with the Transliner high-decker , Neoplan had an inexpensive touring bus in its range that not only appealed to new customers, but also increasingly replaced the jetliner . Since the Neoplan buses were particularly popular in the new federal states, Neoplan became the market leader in the German touring coach market in the 1990s. As early as 1990, Neoplan was the first German manufacturer to offer a standard low-floor bus again , the N 4016 , which was further developed from the N 416 bus . a. was also available as articulated bus N 4021. In addition to the established German public service bus providers MAN and Mercedes-Benz, this model achieved a respectable success. In 1992, a new era began in terms of external bus dimensions: previously only 12 m in length (18 m for articulated buses) and 2.5 m in width were permitted. Neoplan has now announced the four-axle megaliner , a 15-meter-long double-decker that has become a status symbol for many bus operators. Such lengths have long been common in exports to Scandinavia and South America. The first vehicles in Germany were still on the road with a special permit, but the permitted dimensions were soon increased across the EU to 15 m in length (18.75 m for articulated buses) and 2.55 m in width. Little by little , Neoplan started offering oversized variants of all series, which temporarily had names such as Megaspace , Megashuttle ( double-decker line ) and Megatrans (low-floor bus). The Starliner appeared in 1996 and has since been voted Bus of the Year or Coach of the Year almost every year . In 1997, the third generation of the low-floor bus, the Centroliner , appeared in a modular design and with a CAN bus . Its design became groundbreaking for the next generation of city buses. For the overland traffic , there were three low-floor buses: the Centroliner Ü and two guy named Regio liners , one on Centroliner -, one on Transliner basis. In 1998 the Transliner was replaced by the Euroliner , which could be produced even more cheaply thanks to its modular design and CAN bus . In the course of the 1990s, Neoplan also began using alternative drives. Battery , hydrogen , overhead line and diesel-electric drive are to be mentioned.
Neoplan low-floor bus N 4014 NF of the second series for the Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe , built in 1992
The four-axle megaliner in a reduced-height version for the Japanese market
First generation Centroliner low-floor city bus
A neoplan owned by a museum
After 2000
On June 20, 2001, Auwärter was taken over by MAN and converted into Neoplan Bus GmbH . Neoplan and the bus division of MAN were now bundled in Neoman GmbH . On February 1, 2008, Neoman was integrated into the MAN Commercial Vehicles Group as the MAN Bus division and thus dissolved as an independent company. After the takeover by MAN, Neoplan switched to models with MAN technology for long-distance and inexpensive coaches. With the Tourliner , a new vehicle based on the MAN Lion's Coach was presented in 2003 , which in the long term should replace the coach versions of the Euroliner . The Trendliner was introduced in 2004 as a replacement for its station wagon and overland versions . Despite its different exterior designs, it is largely identical to its sister model, the MAN Lion's Regio . Due to sustained market success, however, production of the Euroliner was largely stopped until 2006. In the higher-quality coach segment, the independence was retained: the double-decker Skyliner was revised in 2003, the Starliner received a successor in 2005 and the Cityliner in 2006. Newer examples of the Spaceliner with underfloor cockpit can only be seen more often abroad; technically and optically, it was largely adapted to the Cityliner of the 1100 series. The Spaceliner has not been available at all since 2006 . In the city bus sector, Neoplan was represented from 2003 to 2008 with the Centroliner Evolution , which was based on the MAN city bus. Compared to the original Centroliner , this even means a step backwards in terms of vehicle dimensions and axle construction. The original Neoplan model was only offered for longer as an intercity, midi and double-decker version, but was also discontinued with the switch to engines that comply with the Euro IV emissions standards and higher. Neoplan was able to record some successes in the field of trolleybuses. The corresponding model was finally given the name Electroliner . The body contained both elements of the Centroliner and the Centroliner Evolution until it was given a more distinct face in 2008. As part of the closure of the Neoplan plant in Pilsting, Neoplan is concentrating on the production of touring buses and high-floor intercity buses.
Situation of Neoplan in the MAN Group
Company situation
In recent years, production has been fundamentally restructured and made more efficient. Nevertheless, Neoplan suffers from an acute low capacity utilization. While Auwärter was still producing almost 2,000 buses in 2000, Neoplan only produced just under 900 vehicles in 2005. This is mainly due to the difficult market environment in the touring bus sector, but also to the many new model series introduced since the takeover by MAN, some of which are still in the start-up phase, but some of which are not accepted by customers as "real" Neoplans become. The discontinuation of the particularly successful and universally applicable Euroliner series certainly played its part in this. In 2007, around 700 high-quality coaches were produced in Pilsting and Plauen; City buses, intercity buses and inexpensive coaches with the brand name Neoplan come from Polish or Turkish MAN production. After the concentration of German production in Plauen, the number of buses manufactured there fell to just 250 in 2013.
End of production of important plants
Stuttgart
At the end of 2005, Neoplan Bus GmbH ceased manufacturing buses in Stuttgart. From then on, bus production in Germany was limited to the two locations in Pilsting and Plauen . An existing site security contract was not fulfilled. The development competence center for coaches and intercity buses, also located in Stuttgart, was integrated into other locations at the end of 2007, as were the other administrative functions, which were relocated from 2006 to the end of 2007 at the latest. The Neoplan company headquarters moved to Pilsting in 2006. After relocating construction to Munich, prototype construction to Pilsting and the Baden-Württemberg sales office to Herrenberg, the Stuttgart plant closed on April 30, 2007.
Pilsting
In 1973 Neoplan acquired the plant in Pilsting, where Hans Glas GmbH had previously manufactured seed drills. In March 2008, MAN announced that bus production would now also be withdrawn from the Pilsting plant , which had been the most important of Neoplan for decades, and concentrated entirely in Plauen. As a result, around 2/3 of the approx. 600 jobs at the site will be lost; the employees are to be offered new jobs in truck production in Munich, approx. 120 km away. The plant and the other employees are to be taken over by the partner company Viseon Bus GmbH under the direction of the previous managing director of Neoplan Bus GmbH , Joachim Reinmuth. Ernö Bartha will be the second managing director (currently in charge of bus technology at MAN Nutzfahrzeuge ). According to MAN, this company will concentrate on customer-specific special solutions, but according to Mr. Reinmuth, it also wants to produce buses itself. The most important products should initially be trolleybuses, airport buses and double-deckers.
Plauen
In 2014 it became known that the plant in Plauen should also be closed. From March 2015, all coaches should be produced in Ankara. 420 employees would have been affected by the closure. With the Plauen plant, the last German production site for buses in the MAN Group closes. On May 1, 2015, however, the location was converted into a "Bus Modification Center", in which around 140 employees implement the final equipment according to customer requirements.
The current Neoplan product range
Coaches
The volume model for coaches continues to be the Cityliner , from 2006 in the 1200 series presented at the IAA. This vehicle is available in three lengths of 12.24 m, of 12.99 m as Cityliner C (compact) and Cityliner L (long) available with 13.99 m. In the premium segment, the Starliner (series 5200) was available as a super high-decker in two lengths from 1996 to 2015 . The Tourliner (2200 series), a modified MAN model, is available as an economical alternative and can be ordered in four lengths. The double-decker Skyliner is also included in the premium segment . This model was also available in various lengths for a long time. The Skyliner was followed by a new generation of models, which was presented at the IAA Commercial Vehicles in September 2010 . By 2012, five vehicles had been given to selected customers for driving tests. The customer Abildskou received the first series vehicle at the end of May 2012. Today the Skyliner is only available in 14 m length, but there is an express version. This bus can take 96 passengers, compared to the normal Skyliner, which only manages 83. The Cityliner with Euro VI engine was presented at the IAA 2012. A Neoplan Starliner with a Euro VI engine has already been handed over to a customer. Since 2014, all Neoplan buses have been equipped with environmentally friendly Euro VI engines from MAN.
Combined buses and intercity buses
With the Transliner (300 series) and later the Euroliner (300 series, later 3300) , Neoplan also gained a strong position in the combi and intercity bus segment . The latter was followed by the Trendliner (3500 series) developed together with MAN's sister model Lion's Regio , which is no longer manufactured. A new intercity bus was presented at the IAA 2012, which, like the predecessor of the Euroliner, bears the name Jetliner . The bus is available in lengths of 12.3 m and 13 m. The frame is made in Poland and then comes to Plauen. The look of the Jetliner matches the rest of the Neoplan family, with the exception of the Tourliner, which was given a new design for the IAA 2016.
City buses
Even if the market share of Neoplan in city buses was never large, Neoplan also proved its technological leadership in this segment in the 1990s with the Centroliner (series 4400) . In the meantime, however, the successor model Centroliner Evolution (4500 series) with MAN technology has also been discontinued. In Pilsting, Neoplan still produces double-decker city buses of the MAN and Neoplan brands.
alternative drives
In this area, Neoplan is represented with the 6100 and 6200 series, which were initially referred to as STS (special transport system) and now bears the more memorable name Electroliner . Battery, duo, hybrid and trolleybuses are available . The Electroliner will in future be offered by Viseon Bus GmbH .
Airport buses
The Neoplan airport bus was recently revised and is now being sold as an Airliner (series 9100). The latest development is the introduction of a Euro 3 or Euro 4 engine with common rail , which was presented for the first time at the Interairport 2007 in Munich. The apron buses are offered by Viseon Bus GmbH in cooperation with TVM in Maribor .
A Neoplan trolleybus at the Basel trolleybus
A Neoplan apron bus at Moscow Domodedovo Airport
Vehicle identification number
The vehicle identification number (VIN) for Neoplan bus models that were introduced before the takeover by MAN corresponds to the following scheme:
| Example VIN | W. | A. | G | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6th | 6th | 3 | N | U | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| specification | Manufacturer code | axes | Type | engine | Model year | plant | execution | consecutive number | |||||||||
| meaning | W = Germany AG = Auwärter, thank God |
2 = two-axle vehicle 3 = three-axle vehicle 4 = four-axle vehicle |
0516 = N 516 4421 = N 4421 etc. |
2 = Daimler-Benz 4 = Cummins 6 = MAN 8 = Scania |
A = 1980 ... Y = 2000 (I, O, Q, U omitted) 1 = 2001 ... 6 = 2006 |
S = Stuttgart P = Pilsting B = Berlin N = Plauen U = Lamar (USA) G = Kumasi (Ghana) |
S = standard E = standard long U = intercity B = intercity long K = station wagon C = station wagon long H = high-decker G = high-decker long D = super high-decker J = super high-decker long N = low-floor city bus P = double-decker bus U = low-floor intercity bus |
||||||||||
Since the takeover by MAN in 2001, the identification numbers of all revised or newly launched models have been assigned according to a new system that - except for the manufacturer code WAG at the beginning - corresponds to MAN's VIN system. This contains the type number in the fourth to sixth position, but not the type designation (N…).
Railway vehicles
Especially in the time of the economic miracle , the private rural railways in Baden-Württemberg also had to cope with a lot of rush hour traffic, such as those of the Württembergische Nebenbahnen AG (Wüna), the Württembergische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (WEG) and the Mittelbadische Eisenbahnen (MEG). With grants from the state, one, in special cases two, diesel railcars were financed per railway line, but there was insufficient space. There was no money for additional railcars, but the substance of the steel chassis of the wooden passenger cars from the steam locomotive era was indestructible. From 1954 onwards, the Gottlob Auwärter company created coach-like coachworks that were placed on the old undercarriages. In addition, the WEG main workshop in Neuffen also built new chassis for Auwärter superstructures, so that together completely new railway vehicles were created. In this way, the private railways procured contemporary, modern vehicles earlier than the Bundesbahn at the time. Individual railcars of the pre-war design were also modernized and Auwärter carried out the modifications.
Auwärter accepted the railroad orders for the winter half-year, since then few bus orders were received from travel agencies. This clever cycle secured jobs in Möhringen and the private railways an inexpensive purchase. However, the delivery of vehicle series dragged on over several years. The assembly of the railway vehicles took place in Möhringen or Neuffen, and they were transported by low loader. It was characteristic of individual pieces that no precise construction plans were drawn up, but only rough sketches. This saved development costs. The actual construction was carried out “in medias res” according to the principle “we take a step and then we see whether it fits” by combining tried and tested elements from Auwärter bus construction such as windows and doors with the specified permissible main dimensions for railway vehicle bodies . By 1969, around two dozen vehicles had been built that had proven themselves, were popular and some were in use until the early 1990s. The two first pieces from 1954 and a single piece from 1964 are kept by the Härtsfeld Museum Railway Association in Neresheim. Another Auwärter railway car was in the Auwärter Museum Möhringen until it was closed.
In the 1990s, together with De Dietrich Ferroviaire, a concept for a rail vehicle called the Eurailbus was presented, a kind of articulated rail bus similar to the GTW 2/6 . In addition, a type of tram car based on the Neoplan MIC car body was designed under the title Eurailtram . However, due to a lack of customer interest, these projects were never implemented.
Auwärter museums
From the 1980s until the closure of the Stuttgart-Möhringen plant, Neoplan had a company museum there, the Gottlob-Auwärter Museum. Mainly buses from Konrad Auwärter's private collection were exhibited, including products from other manufacturers. Since 2008 there has been a Gottlob Auwärter Museum in Stuttgart again. In addition, Konrad Auwärter opened an Auwärter Museum in Landau an der Isar near Pilsting in 2006 with the support of the Munich Omnibus Club .
literature
- Dieter Hanke, Eberhard Schaa: 1935–1985, 50 years of Auwärter-Neoplan . From a craft business to an international bus brand. 2nd Edition. Darmstadt 1986.
- Wolfgang H. Gebhardt: German omnibuses since 1895 . Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1996.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.entry.man.eu/de/de/presse-und-medien/MAN-zentriert-Produktion-von-Reisebussen-im-Werk-Ankara--125696.html
- ↑ a b Press release on the conversion of the Plauen plant into a Bus Modification Center. Retrieved August 22, 2016 .
- ↑ Disturbed atmosphere. In: Der Spiegel, Issue 3/1989, pp. 86–87. On-line
- ↑ NEOPLAN / Deutz N 416 SL II on www.omnibusclub.de
- ↑ http://www.markt-pilsting.de/portrait/geschichte/portrait-geschichte-pilsting/
- ↑ http://roter-renner.de/nc/detail/daten/2014/05/20/neoplan-plauener-werk-vor-aus.html
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of September 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Neoplan is on the rails . Omnibus revue