Trier trolleybus
 |
|
|---|---|
| Basic information | |
| Country |
 Germany
|
| city | trier |
| opening | January 20, 1940 |
| Shutdown | May 25, 1970 |
| Infrastructure | |
| Depots | 1 |
| business | |
| Lines | 4 (1957) |
The Trier trolleybus was a trolleybus operation in Trier that existed from 1940 to 1970.
history
The Trier trolleybus was opened while the Trier tram was still operating on January 20, 1940 with two vehicles on the Hornstrasse / Eurener Strasse to Nordallee / Lindenstrasse route. The route was extended past the Porta Nigra to the distribution circle on February 26th of the same year . This enabled large parts of the single-track tram network, particularly on the left bank of the Moselle , to be shut down. The reason given for this decision was the release of trams, which were needed to cope with the war-related increased demand in the rest of the network. Another reason given was the difficult conditions in the narrow streets of Trier city center, which in any case required a change in tram operation.
Ten years were estimated for the conversion of the tram service. However, this framework could not be kept because the planning and construction work was interrupted by the Second World War. During the war in 1943 the section from the Westbahnhof to Euren was also converted to trolleybus operation. The dispensable trams were finally sold to Bingen am Rhein . During the war, the popularity of both transport systems increased and the transport performance rose to up to 18 million people annually.
The tram depot was badly damaged during the Second World War. However, the trolleybuses were not affected by the fact that they were parked in Martinstrasse, today Merianstrasse. Two trolleybuses were also loaned to Idar-Oberstein . Later, however, the war damage also hit the trolleybus overhead lines. On November 4, 1944, the trolleybus and tram operations in Trier finally came to a complete standstill.
When Trier was occupied by American troops on March 2, 1945 and most of it was evacuated, the restoration of the heavily damaged trolleybus and tram operations initially had no priority. It was not until May 3, 1947 that the trolleybus ran again between Georg-Schmitt-Platz and the distribution circle, and from October 30 between Bitburger Straße and Euren. The passage of the Kaiser Wilhelm Bridge in between was initially not possible due to the war. After the tram service in the old town and to St. Medard was resumed in 1948, the trolleybus connection to Georg-Schmitt-Platz was restored at the end of May 1948; this bridge was initially only passable in one lane.
On July 20, 1950, the Trier city council finally passed the resolution to completely convert the remaining tram operation to trolleybuses, so that on September 14, 1951 the tram ran for the last time between Viehmarkt and St. Medard. From July to September, until the overhead line was adapted to the trolleybus operation, the last tram routes were initially served by omnibuses until the trolleybus took over at the same time as the shutdown. Initially, three lines were operated.
After the groundbreaking for an extension to Weismark took place on August 22, 1955 , it was finally opened on March 29, 1956 and served from then on by a fourth line. Another renovation took place on July 17, 1959 when, in addition to three air switches, a passing lane for the trolleybuses was set up at Porta-Nigra-Platz .
Due to the increase in private transport, the trolleybus in Trier lost its importance, so that the city council decided not to expand the network any further. As early as the mid-1960s, a one-man omnibus was used on line 3 during the weaker traffic times. As early as September 5, 1967, this line was completely converted to bus operation - faster than expected.
During the construction of the now dismantled underpass at Porta-Nigra-Platz in 1968, the resulting traffic obstructions finally showed that the overhead line was a disadvantage, as a temporary turning loop had to be built especially for the trolleybuses, while the buses could also drive detours. In the following years, the trolleybuses were completely replaced by diesel buses. In the last year of operation, 1970, they were only used at peak times. The last Trier trolleybus line 1 was finally set on May 25, 1970. However, some trolleybuses were converted and were used as diesel buses until the 1990s.
There were also plans to build trolleybus routes to other parts of the city, but instead the first diesel bus routes started in Trier in 1925.
From the trolleybuses only a few catenary rosettes and catenary masts have survived. In the Weismark district in particular, the concrete pylons still line the street and the area of the terminus today. Today they are used for street lighting.
As part of the planning for a renaissance of the tram in Trier, the idea was also raised of building a track bus or trolley bus route on the Petrisberg .
Route
From 1951 three lines were served:
- Line 1: Euren - Hauptmarkt - Porta Nigra - Central Station
- Line 2: Ruwerer Straße - Porta Nigra - Westbahnhof
- Line 3: Central Station - Porta Nigra - Hauptmarkt - St. Matthias - St. Medard
Another line was added from 1956:
- Line 4: Hauptbahnhof - Porta Nigra - Hauptmarkt - St. Matthias - Weismark
vehicles
Trolleybuses of various series from MAN and Henschel & Sohn were used on all lines . The first vehicles were delivered from 1939. In 1943 two more vehicles were added, which were originally intended for the city of Insterburg in East Prussia , but were then assigned to Trier as replacements for the destroyed trams. In 1951/52 further trolleybuses were acquired after the tram was shut down. In 1959 new vehicles were added again. Bus trailers were also used until 1966 , from that year onwards they became obsolete due to the use of articulated trolleybuses . The vehicle order from 1966 is also the last for the trolleybus operation as a whole.
The trailers differed in part from the locomotives. Some of them were equipped with folding instead of sliding doors. Sidecars were first provided in 1943, and more were added in 1944. The last trailers were ordered in 1954.
The articulated trolleybuses were equipped with a conductor's seat and were converted to diesel in 1970 after the trolleybus operation was discontinued and were the first articulated buses in the Trier network. The HS 160 OSL-G model , which has been in use as a museum vehicle since the 1990s, stands out in particular . At this point in time, however, the vehicle no longer had its original cream-colored paintwork; it was only given this again together with its pantographs in Wuppertal in 2007 . In the meantime, however, the vehicle had already been used for demonstration purposes and was parked in the bus depot in Trier. Since 2008, the car has been in its original paintwork in Trier and can also be rented for special occasions. It will continue to be used for demonstration purposes at the anniversaries of the Trier municipal utility .
literature
- W. Hammerschmidt: The trolleybus operation in Trier. In: Verkehrstechnik , Volume 21, Issue 5 (March 5, 1940), pp. 74–76.
- Joachim and Karl-Josef Gilles : By tram and trolleybus through Trier, 2007.
Web links
- By trolleybus through Trier , report about Karl and Josef Gilles in the Trierisches Volksfreund
- History of the HS160 OSL vehicle (PDF file)
Individual evidence
- ^ Opening of the trolleybus operation in Trier. In: Verkehrstechnik , Volume 21, Issue 3 (February 5, 1940), p. 46.
- ↑ a b c W. Hammerschmidt: The trolleybus operation in Trier. In: Verkehrstechnik , Volume 21, Issue 5 (March 5, 1940), p. 74
- ↑ volksfreund.de: Rejection without alternative. In: volksfreund.de. June 2, 2005, accessed December 28, 2016 .
- ^ Trier history on eight wheels. In: swt.de. Retrieved December 29, 2016 .
- ↑ History of the HS160 OSL vehicle ( Memento of the original from January 18, 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. (PDF file)
