VST standard trolleybus

The VST standard trolleybus was a Swiss trolleybus series produced according to uniform construction principles . The total of 119 cars was based on a concept presented by the Association of Swiss Transport Companies (VST) in 1971 for standard vehicles that could be used nationwide, comparable to the Swiss standard tram from the 1940s. The NAW / Hess BGT 5-25 and BT 5-25 types built from 1987 and the Hess Swisstrolley presented in 1991 are considered to be the successors to the series discussed here and the related series .

Joint order

As early as the 1960s, there were first attempts at standardization in Swiss trolleybus construction. The APG trolleybus , produced in 50 units for four cities and based on the GTr51 from 1957, dates from this time . After the positive experience with these two types, the decision to purchase the VST standard trolleybus followed in 1971. It was produced from 1974 to 1977 and delivered to Basel, Bern , Geneva, Lausanne , Neuchâtel and Zurich . It was the largest joint acquisition of various trolleybus companies in Switzerland to date. The VST standard trolley mainly replaced the outdated vehicles that were procured for the respective opening of operations during and after the Second World War . The chassis manufacturer was FBW , the electrical equipment was supplied by a joint venture between the BBC and SAAS . The vehicle bodies, in turn, came from Hess , Ramseier & Jenzer , Gangloff or Tüscher . In all cases it was a - at the time new - welded aluminum body in large-profile construction. On the other hand, there were differences in the design of the front, and the Bern vehicles also had folding steps as a special feature.

The total of 101  articulated vehicles - which, unlike the previous GTr51 and APG series, were all single-engine - and 18 solo vehicles were distributed among the six companies as follows; the unit price for the articulated vehicle was 546,000  Swiss francs :

Companies	network	Art	Type	piece	Numbers	Years of construction	Illustration
BVB	Basel	joint	91 GTS	10	911-920	1975
SVB	Bern	joint	91 GTL 91 GTL	26 06	30-55 56-61	1974 1977
CGTE	Geneva	joint	91 GTS	18th	631-648	1975
TL	Lausanne	Solo (partly with trailer )	91 T	18th	701-718	1975-76
TN	Neuchâtel	joint	91 GTS	10	initially 51–60, later 151–160	1976
VBZ	Zurich	joint	91 GTL	31	70-100	1974-75

The T in the type designation stood for trolleybus. The abbreviation GTL stands for articulated trolleybus with steering axle , i.e. the third axle was positively steered, GTS analogous to this for articulated trolleybus with rigid axle . The Zurich wagons were also nicknamed Jumbo . Lausanne procured solo cars because the company saw trailer trains as an advantage over articulated cars on the steep sections of the route in winter. Since the six Bernese wagons, built in 1977, came from a subsequent order, some sources no longer include them in the VST standard trolleybus.

72 vehicles were initially painted in the so-called VST standard paint scheme in orange and white. Including the cars for Basel, Geneva, Lausanne and Neuchâtel as well as 16 of the Bern cars. No vehicles of this series are currently in use in Switzerland. After they were scrapped, some ended up in the Romanian cities of Braşov and Ploieşti - where some of them are still in use - as well as the plant in Sibiu, which was closed in 2009 . Another copy came to the Chilean trolleybus Valparaíso , but is already out of service.

In 1976, the Berner Wagen 55 was on demonstration drives with the Arnhem trolleybus and the Solingen trolleybus , but there was still no export order. Today it is in the care of the Solingen trolleybus museum . Further demonstration drives took place as early as 1974 on the Vancouver and Seattle trolleybuses .

Related series

In addition to the joint order, several other series were created between 1975 and 1990 that are more or less related to the VST standard trolley in terms of construction. Since they differ in numerous design and technical details, they are no longer counted among the VST standard trolleybuses. Including two-engine articulated vehicles and vehicles in which other companies were involved in addition to the already known manufacturers. In addition to replicas for Bern, Geneva, Lausanne and Neuchâtel, Biel / Bienne , La Chaux-de-Fonds , Freiburg im Üechtland , Lugano , Lucerne , Schaffhausen, St. Gallen , Winterthur and Bergen in Norway were also supplied:

Companies	network	Art	Manufacturer	Electrics	Type	piece	Numbers	Years of construction	Illustration
SVB	Bern	joint	Volvo / Ramseier & Jenzer	BBC Sécheron	B10M-55	05	62-66	1985
VB	Biel / Bienne	solo	FBW / Ramseier & Jenzer	SAAS	91 T	07th	11-17	1980
VB	Biel / Bienne	joint	Volvo / Ramseier & Jenzer	BBC Sécheron	B10M-55	12	61-72	1985-89
Bergen Sporvei	Mountains	solo	Volvo / Hess	SAAS	B58	03	321-324	1978
tpf	Freiburg	solo	Volvo / Hess	SAAS	B58	02	initially 41–42, later 341–342	1981
TC	La Chaux-de-Fonds	solo	FBW / Hess / Hague	SAAS	91 T	08th	101-108	1978-82
TPG	Geneva	joint	Saurer / Hess	BBC Sécheron	GT 560 / 620-25	12	663-674	1982-83
TL	Lausanne	Solo (partly with trailer)	FBW / Hess NAW / Lauber	BBC-Sécheron BBC-Sécheron	91 T 91 T	30 42	721-750 751-792	1981-84 1986-90
ACTL	Lugano	solo	Volvo / Hess	SAAS	B58	04th	118-121	1974
ACTL	Lugano	joint	Volvo / Hess	SAAS	B58	04th	122-125	1975
VBL	Lucerne	joint	Volvo / Hess	Siemens	B58	14th	165-178	1975
TN	Neuchâtel	joint	FBW / Hess	BBC Sécheron	91 GTS	12	161-172	1983-84
VBSH	Schaffhausen	joint	Volvo / Hess	Siemens	B58	01	106	1975
VBSG	St. Gallen	joint	Saurer / Hess	BBC Sécheron	GT 560 / 620-25	11	101-111	1984
VW	Winterthur	joint	Saurer / Hess Saurer / Naughty-High	Strömberg Strömberg	GT 560 / 640-25	01 10	121 122-131	1978 1982-83

The electrical equipment for the cars for La Chaux-de-Fonds came from broken-down Geneva cars. The last replica trolleys are still in use as planned in Lausanne. There were also numerous buses with this standard body.

literature

• Dieter Schopfer: Directory of the trolleybuses in Switzerland 1911-1997 . VRS, Winterthur 1998
• Neue Zürcher Zeitung of January 5, 2005: The end of the line for orange trolleybuses - Swiss standard vehicles are retiring .

Web links

• The trolleybuses 911–920 operated by Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe at www.tram-bus-basel.ch
• The trolleybuses 30–61 operated by the Bern City Transport Authority at www.tram-bus-bern.ch
• Description of the Berner Wagen 55 at www.obus-museum-solingen.de
• A second life thanks to the aluminum structure , retrofit of the Neuchâtel trolleybuses 161–172 at www.hess-ag.ch (PDF; 310 kB)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hess 1882-2007, 125 Years of Tradition, Innovation, Emotion , 2007, ISBN 3-85962-147-5 , pp. 96–97