Tram Tour 2012
After much procrastinating we finally took this year's Tram Tour. The funny thing is, it's an annual event but I haven't heard about it before.
The tour started near the city hall. There was a poster at the stop:
Soon the tram arrived, in all its old-school glory:
There was some information regarding the tram inside - apparently written by somebody, who doesn't know the first thing about text formatting:
Built in 1952, holds 30 passengers, including 16 seated. The "N" series, and the later modified "4N" series, were built in 1949-62 and were the basic type of tram in Polish cities in the '60s. In Gdańsk, the "N" series were in service between 1951 and 1982. This particular car, number 11, started its run on 8.02.1952; pulled out of regular service on 20.09.1982 and adapted to a technical/maintenance car. Retired in 2001, it was renovated in 2005.
Here's a close-up at the steering mechanisms:
A wider view at the driver's area and a close-up of his seat:
A lever for manualy switching rails at a junction:
A view of the underside of the tram, through a hatch in the floor (plus the driver's shoes):
Inside of the car. Surprisingly, those wooden seats were quite comfortable:
The guide and the driver:
The tram's reflection in a street mirror:
And finally, the other tram (from 1970) that was also available for a tour:
And that's pretty much it. Oh, one thing I should point out: that old tram was really noisy, the guide was talking via microphone and it still wasn't that easy to hear him. The new trams, at the very least, are pretty quiet in comparison.
The tour started near the city hall. There was a poster at the stop:
Soon the tram arrived, in all its old-school glory:
There was some information regarding the tram inside - apparently written by somebody, who doesn't know the first thing about text formatting:
Built in 1952, holds 30 passengers, including 16 seated. The "N" series, and the later modified "4N" series, were built in 1949-62 and were the basic type of tram in Polish cities in the '60s. In Gdańsk, the "N" series were in service between 1951 and 1982. This particular car, number 11, started its run on 8.02.1952; pulled out of regular service on 20.09.1982 and adapted to a technical/maintenance car. Retired in 2001, it was renovated in 2005.
Here's a close-up at the steering mechanisms:
A wider view at the driver's area and a close-up of his seat:
A lever for manualy switching rails at a junction:
A view of the underside of the tram, through a hatch in the floor (plus the driver's shoes):
Inside of the car. Surprisingly, those wooden seats were quite comfortable:
The guide and the driver:
The tram's reflection in a street mirror:
And finally, the other tram (from 1970) that was also available for a tour:
And that's pretty much it. Oh, one thing I should point out: that old tram was really noisy, the guide was talking via microphone and it still wasn't that easy to hear him. The new trams, at the very least, are pretty quiet in comparison.