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Bombardier M8D-NF #1502
21 september 2013 - Essen, Germany - betriebshof/zajedznia Goldsmidtstrasse: The operating fleet of Essenerr Verkehrs was being replaced with these Bombardier Flexity Classic low-floow trams when I took this photograph at their 2013 open day, staged to celebrate 120 years of operation.
Bombardier M8D-NF 2 #1607
21 september 2014 - Essen, Germany - betriebshof/zajezdnia: I wondered if this picture would get your attention! This was the rollout of the very newest Bombardier Flexity Outlook #1607 at the city tram depot, an occasion celebrated by speeches and this performance by a troupe of exotic dancers wearing very little apart from a few feathers. Sadly, they got in the way of a clear picture of the tram....
Comments: 4
Uerdingen KSW #615
21 september 2013 - Essen, Germany - betriebshof/zajedznia: One of the Essen works cars or arbeitswagen is this late 1940s Aufbauwagen which has carried a number of different fleet numbers and is now #615.
Comments: 1
Duewag GT6ZR #1723
20 september 2013 - Essen, Germany - betriebshof/zajezdnia: For the celebration of 120 years of Essen tramways, an impressive collection of trams from the city and surrounding area was assembled in the main depot, including this Duewag GT8 #1753, which was still in normal passenger service at the time. Like all the other vehicles displayed, it was kept in spotless condition.
Westwaggon ST 9 #66
20 september 2013 - Wuppertal, Germany - Kohlfurther Brucke: This tram at the Bergische museum started life in 1960 with the local Remscheid tramways and moved to HEAG at Darmstadt as their #106 when the Remscheid system closed. It was built by the firm of Westwaggon. It ran in service on a line very close to the museum.
Comments: 1
T2 #406
20 september 2013 - Wuppertal, Germany - Kohlfurther Brucke: Back at the Bergische Museum tramway, this arbeitswagen or general works car #406 stands in the back of the shed. It was built by Rastatt in 1953 for the Freiburg tramways.
Siemens H-Bahn #3
20 september 2013 - Dortmund, Germany - Technische Universitat: When the Ruhr Schwebebahn is mentioned, you naturally think of the unique Wuppertal line - but in fact there are two other, similar systems nearby. This is the H-Bahn suspended monorail at Dortmund, which runs for about 3km between various sites around the Technical University. Built by Siemens in 1984, it was the prototype for the Skytrain, a very similar line which serves Dusseldorf Airport.
Mercedes-Benz O317 / Ludewig Aero 1/1.5 Decker #3902
21 september 2013 - Essen, Germany - Goldschmidtstrasse: What a lovely thing! The 1996 Mercedes-Benz 0317 one-and-a-half deck bus #3902 which has been preserved by Essener Verkehrs, making a special appearance during an open day at the city`s tram depot. This unusual style of bus was quite fashionable in Germany during the 1990s.
Comments: 1
Duewag B80D #4102
20 september 2018 - Germany, Dusseldorf - Meerbusch: One of the famous Rheinbahn dining trams on the interurban line to Krefeld, where travellers were served coffee and snacks as the tram raced along through the countryside around Dusseldorf. Specially fitted Bistro trams with a snack bar and attendant ran for many years on this line, which was the last to have them, but I think they are all gone now - such is `progress`.
Talbot 1927 #105
20 september 2013 - Germany, Wuppertal - Greuel: Two trams of the Bergische Museumsbahn stand in the woods at the country end of this museum line, taking on passengers for the return journey. Car #337 is a genuine Duewag tram of 1954 ex-Hagen tramways, whereas Talbot #105 is much older, built for the Wuppertal metre-gauge lines in 1927.
Schörling SR 3.59 #41
21 september 2013 - Essen, Germany - betriebshof/zajedznia: At the Essen city tram depot, a very smart 1952 Scholing track car which has had several owners in its relatively short life. Built for the Solingen tramways, in whose livery it is shown here, it passed to the Vestische Strassenbahnen in 1959 and was then transferred to Essen, who eventually passed it to the Bergische tram Museum where it now resides. It was brought specially back to Essen for a depot open day in 2013.
Schöndorff 1928 #94
22 september 2013 - Wuppertal, Germany - Greuel: The Bergische Museumsbahnen is a nice tram museum in the Wupper valley, once a country tramway through the forests to Eberfeld and Solingen. The metre gauge track runs for several km up a steep gradient and once connected with the celebrated Barmer Bergbahn, a rack tramway - laid partly in the street - to a station in the surrounding hills where you could change to this line. This is an original Barmer Bergbahn tram of 1928, built by Schondorff of Dusseldorf, standing at the current terminus of the line within the forest. The museum track continues unused to the village of Moschenborn and it is hoped eventually to reopen it further.
Van der Zypen & Charlier B00 #5
20 september 2013 - Wuppertal, Germany - Zoo/Stadion: I was lucky to see the famous "Kaiserwagen" train set in action on the Schwebebahn, as I think it only comes out onto the line for charter trips or on special occasions. Built in 1901 for the opening of this amazing line, this train was used by the German Kaiser when he visited, hence its name.
MAN B72 #28
20 september 2013 - Wuppertal, Germany - Kaiserstrasse: One route of the Solingen trolleybus network comes here, to the famous Schwebebahn suspended monorail railway at Vohwinkel. Here, we see one of the monorail trains running above the main street, where a Rheinbahn bus on Line 609 is just passing below.
Mercedes-Benz O530G #13
19 september 2013 - Solingen, Germany - Hauptbahnhof: Another bus company with a route reaching central Solingen is the small municipality of Monheim an Ruhr, which has just two of these Mercedes vehicles as well as a few MANs. Mercedes #13 waits for passengers at the main Solingen railway station.
MAN NL283 Lion´s City #7532
19 september 2013 - Solingen, Germany - Hauptbahnhof: As well as the trolleybuses of the local company, Solingen is served by routes of the huge Rheinbahn organisation, which provides buses and trams across the whole region. A MAN is shown at the main railway station between duties.
Van Hool AG300T #266
19 september 2013 - Solingen, Germany - Hauptbahnhof: Another Solingen trolleybus, this time a Van Hool machine, outside the central railway station.
DAF SB250 / Berkhof Premier AT18 #179
19 september 2013 - Solingen, Germany - Schutzenstrasse: I`m not usually a great fan of modern trolleybuses, which all tend to look much the same as each other, but the extensive network based around Solingen in the Ruhr is very interesting and is now one of only a handful of such systems in Germany. Here, a DAF bus is shown just leaving the central railway station.
Tatra T3SUCS #7084
28 june 2003 - Czech Republic, Praha - Malostranske namesti: Impasse in Prague! A Tatra tram set and a truck meet at the single line tunnel at this place, where the tram line has to squeeze between the walls of a church and other buildings, under a very narrow tunnel which has to deal with two-way traffic. As you can imagine, it was the truck driver who eventually had to give way....
Tatra T3 #6900
28 june 2003 - Czech Republic, Praha - Letenska: Two of the huge fleet of Tatra T3 cars that are still one of the main tram types in the city, although now gradually being replaced by new Skoda cars or being rebuilt in the operator`s own workshops.
Konstal 105Na #778
28 may 2003 - Poland, Bytom - Jagiellonska: Just one of the huge fleet of Konstal 105Na trams in the Silesian tramways fleet, seen turning into the tram station in central Bytom. Of all the cities in this vast conurbation, Bytom is the only one which can truly be called a tram city, with lines to several points of the compass (even though some have closed in recent years).
Konstal 102Na #214
27 may 2003 - Poland, Myslowice - ul Bytomska: Quite a few Konstal 102Na trams were still running when I visited Silesia in 2003, having just been taken over by the new operator, TS Chorzow. This one soon got scrapped, however, but only after a second career of several more years as a works car. On this type, only a couple of museum cars are left now - perhaps this is just as well, because most were in an advanced state of falling apart.
Gotha T57 #32
26 may 2003 - Germany, Woltersdorf: The idyllic little Waltersdorf village tramway on the outside of Berlin, showing one of their Gotha T57 cars at the terminus next to the river bridge. The local population are very proud of their trams, which are kept in sparkling condition and provide a frequent service between here and the nearest S-Bahn station, using trams like these with matching trailers, which are detached at the depot part way along, so the motor car can continue alone down a fairly steep hill to this end point. No-one ever mentions the words "low floor" here and this line somehow manages to be immune to any pressure to modernise - long may this continue.
71-605А #112
31 may 2006 - Latvia, Daugavpils - Cietoksna iela: the two newest trams in the Daugavpils fleet until quite recently - #112 of 1992 and #114 of 1994, seen together near the nmain railway station. This system still uses trolley poles.
71-608K #114
31 may 2006 - Latvia, Daugavpils - Jatnieku iela: When the Iron Curtain was dismantled in 1994, Daugavpils had just obtained this single KTM-8K tram from a Russian builder, probably planning to buy more, but it remained unique in the fleet and is used in normal service. Here it is seen after just leaving the depot, heading towards the town centre.
71-605А #107
31 may 2006 - Latvia, Daugavpils - depot Jatnieku iela: New KTM-71 trams were obtained from Russia in 1991 and a large batch of Tatra T3 trams also came here secondhand from Schwerin in Germany, although the older Riga-built cars carried on for many more years. Here is KTM car #107 standing in the depot yard between duties. These are fairly basic trams with little refinement, but they seem quite reliable.
РВЗ-6М2 #046
31 may 2006 - Latvia, Daugavpils - Ventspils iela: A final view of #46 and its partner #045 in the town centre. #46 is now withdrawn from service and on display in the city as a reminder of these interesting trams.
РВЗ-6М2 #046
31 may 2006 - Latvia, Daugavpils - Ventspils iela: Three of the operator`s RVZ-6 trams together at the corner of this interesting street, which has a number of traditional little Latvian wooden houses. The Daugavpils tramway is a very interesting little system and in normal service runs three separate routes around the city, several of which have long sections of single track. In recent years, they have started to replace these old trams and various second-hand Tatras with brand new vehicles.
РВЗ-6М2 #046
31 may 2006 - Latvia, Daugavpils - Ventspils iela: Two of the iconic RVZ-6 trams that made up over half the fleet until quite recently. This city was, until 1994, the nearest thing to an authentic Russian tramway to be seen to the west of the Iron Curtain, running Russian-type trams on the Russian track gauge in a largely Russian speaking city not far from the Russian border. These particular trams were built nearby in Riga - they did not normally run in multiple in normal service but this is a special trip for enthusiasts. As you can see, the weather was a bit Russian, too.
Comments: 1
Duewag GT6 #811
19 february 2010 - Alexandria, Egypt - el Central: You can buy absolutely anything in these markets - I expect they would even sell you the tram if you wanted (or at least they would try!). One of these Duewags has already gone back to Copenhagen for the Danish tram museum and there are plans to take back another when Alexandria has finished with them, although after almost sixty years of service, that day still seems to be quite a long way in the future.
Duewag GT6 #889
19 february 2010 - Alexandria, Egypt - el Central: Another Duewag does battle. Of this batch of 97 trams which came from Copenhagen, every one is now different - over the years, the workshops here have changed windows, seats and other components in order to keep them running.
Duewag GT6 #884
19 february 2010 - Alexandria, Egypt - el Central: Here is the tramway buffet or restaurant in central Alexandria - some buckets placed between the tracks and men selling cups of water to passengers in a passing tram, which have to move so slowly here that there is plenty of time to pour the drink and sell it through the tram window before it moves on. Lovely "fresh" water, straight out of the nearby River Nile, no doubt!
Comments: 1
Duewag GT6 #898
19 february 2010 - Alexandria, Egypt - el Central: Duewag #898 about to run down various locals, including the man on the phone. Like the car drivers in Egypt, no-one takes any notice of the trams and just pushes in front of them.
Duewag GT6 #803
19 february 2010 - Alexandria, Egypt - el Central: Some pictures today around the central railway station in Alexandria, a crazy place of people and market stalls where trams have to fight their way along the narrow, congested streets. Here is Duewag GT6 #803, one of the large fleet of 97 cars, built in the early 1960s for Copenhagen, which have an extremely hard life here but which appear almost indestructable.
Lorka #705
19 february 2010 - Alexandria, Egypt - Depot Karmouz: Perhaps a not very exciting subject for a photo, but this is actually an interesting survivor - the chassis frame of an old tram from the Alexandria interurban line, now in use as a flat wagon or lorka at the Karmouz depot of the city tramways. This was once a similar car to the historic single deck tram #601 which has been retained for special service at Mustafa Kamel depot on the Ramleh line.
Énergie Cairo #112
16 february 2010 - Egypt - Giza, Media City: Rarely seen by enthusiasts (who have probably never actually ridden on it) is this short tram line at a purpose-built film set in the desert near Cairo. All the buildings here are artificial, made of wood and concrete to represent an old Egyptian town. To complete the picture, an ex-Cairo tram of the 1920s has been placed on a track about 300 metres long. At my request, special arrangements were made for a small group to visit and see the tram working. Here it is seen about halfway along the track - although the gauge is incorrect, the scene is intended to represent old Alexandria and is very convincing. The tram has seen better days, standing outside in the hot sun for many years, but can still run.
Miscellaneous vehicles
16 february 2010 - Egypt - Giza, Media City: A very large site in the desert near Cairo is home to the film and video production facility for the whole of Egypt. Tours are operated for visitors, using this amazing contraption, based on a lorry chassis.
Comments: 1
Kinki Sharyo #6124
18 february 2010 - Cairo, Egypt: Inside the driving cab of a Cairo tram, somewhere on the network. The controls are very simple, just controller and air brake handles, but everything is filthy dirty and really cramped. I was able to drive a couple of these cars for short distances and could only just squeeze inside the cab, so a full day of driving one would be murder, particularly as the tracks gave a bone-shaking ride and evey junction involved playing Russian roulette with mad Egyptian car drivers.
Hitachi / SEMAF #4225
18 february 2010 - Cairo, Egypt - al Sayyid Al Mirghani: Hitachi tram #4225 again, showing the excellent alignment of the tracks between wide dual carriageways found throughout Heliopolis, the city adjoining Cairo that was a planned development at the start of the 20th century. Even these tracks failed to save the trams, however, and immediately they were withdrawn work began to add even more traffic lanes where the lines had run before, probably leading almost at once to even more road congestion.
Hitachi / SEMAF #4225
18 february 2010 - Cairo, Egypt - Atef el Sadat Square: One of the Hitachi cars on the main route through Heliopolis, passing under one of the many flyovers beloved of the city planners. Note the little pointsman`s hut, where someone could shelter when stationed at this busy junction to control the points at this crossing (although we never saw anyone doing this).
Kinki Sharyo #6034
18 february 2010 - Cairo, Egypt - al Montazah: One of the surviving routes in Heliopolis showing Kinki Sharyo tram of 1978. Again, the tracks look quite OK, but closer inspection showed that many of the rails were clearly stamped "Krupps 1897", showing that they were installed when the system was built, nearly 120 years before! All Cairo trams on the Heliopolis services ran as two car trains, whereas the interurban line through to the main railway station in Cairo usually comprised three cars.
Comments: 3
Kinki Sharyo #6033
16 february 2010 - Cairo, Egypt - al Sayyid Al Mirghani: Kinki Sharyo tram #6033 again on the busy tram service through Heliopolis, where a frequent service gave the impression that the trams here still had a future. All was not well, however, and the whole system was shut down within the next few years. Although the reserved tracks were almost entirely in the centre of wide, dual carriageway roads the frequent junctions had no protection or priority for trams, which had to force their way across through the suicidal traffic (all sounding their horns continuously and refusing to give way).
Kinki Sharyo Cairo #4084
16 february 2010 - Cairo, Egypt - Shari Suez: A single track stub terminus of one of the last remaining tram routes in Cairo before total closure of what had once been an extensive system. Hitachi tram #4084 waits for passengers before setting off on a cross-city service in Heliopolis. These were the newest trams here, arriving as a kit of parts which were assembled locally - by the time this photo was taken, they had started to bcome a kit of parts once again, with doors that no longer closed, broken seats and various broken bits.
Kinki Sharyo #6033
16 february 2010 - Cairo, Egypt - Atef el Sadat Square: Some pictures today of the former Cairo tramways, which suffered a long and painful death, killed off by a combination of murderous road traffic and extensions to the metro system. Here is a Kinki Sharyo two car train running along a section of reserved track on the edge of Heliopolis. These once private tracks were nearly all swallowed up to make more roads. The large fleet of Kinki Sharyo trams was built here from imported parts in 1978 and was quite broken by the time I visited.
Comments: 2
Duewag GT6 #855
21 february 2010 - Alexandria, Egypt - One of the fleet of almost one hundred Deuwag GT6 trams that came here from Copenhagen when the system there closed. These trams have given very good service in the demanding conditions of Alexandria city and are still kept on the road with limited resources in the APTA workshops. For instance, just about every Duewag in the fleet now has a different window arrangement, using parts from the scrap bin. Here, #855 carries a typically heavy load on what is, at many places, quite dreadful track which would derail a more modern and less forgiving tram.
Kinki Sharyo Alexandria #121
21 february 2010 - Alexandria, Egypt - Midan el Tahrir: Back on the Alexandria city lines, a non-pantograph equipped Kinki Sharyo tram tries to make progress across Tahrir Square with the Mediterranean Sea in the background. The traffic is murderous in the city, making you wonder how long the trams can continue - apart from the Ramleh interurban lines, this is entirely a street-running system, with narrow and awkward street layouts. Priority to allow the trams to go first is unheard of, so they must try to push their way through, but the average Egyptian driver is a mad lunatic....
Miscellaneous 4-axle tram
19 february 2010 - Alexandria, Egypt - Mustafa Kamel tramway depot: I wonder just where to start in describing this truly amazing works car of the Ramleh interurban lines? Based on the body of a very old four-wheel tram with open platforms, it has been extended to fit onto a chassis which appers to have come from a bogie double-decker. Everything possible has then been added, so the car is equipped for anything it is likely to encounter, including an upstairs balcony where you can sit back with a glass of cold beer. It looks rather like those trick cars that clowns have at the circus - one bang and the whole thing falls apart!
Kinki Sharyo DD #224
19 february 2010 - Alexandria, Egypt - Mustafa Kamel tramway depot: The city and interurban networks in Aleaxandria have separate depots and colour schemes. Here at Mustafa Kamel depot, double deck car #224 is parked with its train in the yard, whilst a city single deck car goes past in the background, providing one of the through services which reach this far from the city centre, meaning passengers don`t have to change trams to get here. The double deck car, where there is one, is always at the city end of the three-car train.
Kinki Sharyo DD #215
20 february 2010 - Alexandria, Egypt - Ramleh tram station: The blue trams of Alexandria run exclusively on the interurban tracks through the northern suburbs. These trams are permanently formed into three car trains, including several which have these big, motored, double deck trailer cars. Apart from Hong Kong, this is now the only place which runs double deck trams in regular service. The tram nearest the front of a train is always reserved for ladies only, meaning that male enthusiasts have to wait for a ride until the train turns round to continue its journey!
Kinki Sharyo #6006
14 february 2010 - Helwan, Egypt - el Harery Street: The smell in this area was indescribable, although the goats seemed to like it. Kinki Sharyo tram #6006 is shown on a (very) infrequent journey along the Helwan tramway. I doubt that the shepherdess expected to encounter a tram and always brings her animals out onto the tracks, although at many places in the city there is rotting food, dead dogs and other delights. This scene is typical of the condition of the Helwan tramway in its last days.
Comments: 3
Kinki Sharyo #6133
17 february 2010 - Helwan, Egypt - El Harery Street: Kinki Sharyo tram #6133 poses outside the depot, which was full of trams unlikely to ever run again, some of which had been parked there for years. A pair was occasionally tempted into life and dragged reluctantly out onto the rickety tracks, but there was no semblance of a regular service any more and the trams seemed to only run for the crews` amusement. The only travellers now preferred the frequent minibuses which ran everywhere. If you did happen to catch a tram, you had to be sure to bring a sheet of cardboard to sit on (all the seats were filthy) and have lots of time to spare!
Kinki Sharyo #6006
14 february 2010 - Helwan, Egypt - el Teram, Al Tibeen: I have seen many different tramways, but the one I always remember with most affection was at Helwan, a city just south of Cairo. Built in the early 1980s as a showpiece of modern light rail technology, Helwan was literally run into the ground for years, until the 2011 revolution finally came along and put it out of its misery. When I visited in 2010, the system only seemed to operate because no-one in authority knew how to close it down. This is the southern terminus of the main line, situated at no-where in particular, with the tram crew posing for photographs.
Kinki Sharyo Alexandria #1102
21 february 2010 - Alexandria, Egypt - Midan el Tahrir: Another two-car tram train heading along one of the main streets towards the terminus of the largely separate interurban tramway which connects the city to its northern suburbs. The cars on this part of the system all use pantographs for current collection, so some of the city trams, like #1102 shown here, are equipped with both pantographs and trolley poles, allowing them to travel onto both sections in order to provide a `through` service.
Kinki Sharyo Alexandria #126
21 february 2010 - Egypt, Alexandria - Midal el Tahrir: Despite the crazy Egyptian traffic, the coastal city and port of Alexandria retains its faith in tramways and now has the only operating system in the country, with more replacement cars now arriving from Germany. Here, a two-car train of Kinki Sharyo trams does battle with all kinds of other vehicles, all competing for any road space they can get. The raised observation tower on the corner is interesting - traffic control? I don`t think so....! Note that this batch of trams are equipped only with trolley poles - the significance of this is explained in my next photo.
Comments: 2
Be4/4 #721
30 september 2008 - Sibiu, Romania - Calea Dumbravii: Tram #721 and trailer on the access street track leading to the depot, now completely gone. I believe that the remaining trams are now kept in the open air, which can`t do much for their condition. Getting trams in and out of the depot yard was a difficult operation, as this road was busy and the trams had to run against the traffic.
Be4/4 #724
29 september 2008 - Rasinari, Romania: At the end of the line in Rasinari village, tram 724, which came to Sibiu from Geneve in Switzerland, waits in the reversing wye to begin a trip back to Sibiu. The unmade street is typical. I believe that this section of track has now been cut back to the edge of the village.
Comments: 1
Be4/4 #724
29 september 2008 - Sibiu, Romania - Cimitirul: At the former terminus of the Rasinari line, all three operational trams are seen together. Car 724 has just come from Rasinari with a public journey and the other two trams are waiting to begin a private charter trip along the line (which only cost a few Euros for a whole morning, when the service tram did not run). It was very unusual to see all three trams working together like this.
Be4/4 #724
29 september 2008 - Sibiu, Romania - Calea Dumbravii: The tramway from Sibiu to Rasinari runs for the most part alongside the roadside - it once went a little further but has now been cut back to a zoo and folk museum at the city limits. Ex-Geneve tram 724 is shown en route to Rasinari, passing one of the local residents. Even when the tramway was in public service, there were so few journeys that most travellers had changed to the bus, which ran frequently along exactly the same route but had the added benefit of going right into Sibiu city centre.
Be4/4 #721
29 september 2008 - Sibiu, Romania - Calea Dumbravii: The Sibiu tram and trolleybus operations were amazing survivors, but would not last much longer when pictured outside the depot in 2008. The last two trolleybus routes, by now reduced to just one or two journeys each hour, went first and the depot yard was full of derelict vehicles. This left only the lovely interurban tramway line to the village of Rasinari, which had somehow kept going with only two serviceable trams running just a handful of trips each day. Everyone assumed that this would also close but (at the time of writing) the line can still be hired occasionally for charter trips, although there is now no regular public service. So against all the odds, a tram sometimes ventures along the overgrown and rickety track - long may it continue!
Comments: 1
Duewag GT8ZR #17
3 october 2008 - Resita, Romania - Strada Traian Lalescu: Tram #17 emerges from a short, single-track section through a road underpass and continues towards the city centre. Despite working here in Resita for some years, it still displays a Dortmund destination! The tramway system in Resita finally closed down in 2011, being entirely worn out, and buses replaced the trams.
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