Trams of Hungary and much more...
I first visited Zagreb - then belonging to Yugoslavia - in 1986. I don't have many memories of this, apart from that it was a very nice town. Now I came back again, concentrating on trams, but not only on trams.
The city - now capital of Croatia - has about 800 000 inhabitants. The tram network length is 60 kilometers, but it seems bigger, probably due to the dense headways and the colorful mixture of rolling stock.
The most classic tramcar still in traffic is the "Type 101" - a 2-axle motorcar built by Duro Dakovic between 1957 and 66. I think it resembles the Swiss standard trams a bit.
The CKD Tatra T4YU has also found its way to Yugoslavia in the late seventies and early eighties. Normally they run together with a matching trailer car.
The tracks were laid on the side at many places, making it hard to make decent photos, but providing a great old-fashioned atmosphere!
In the nineties ZET - the local transportation authority - bought used 6-axle DÜWAG trams from Mannheim.
These DÜWAG's feature colorful all-over ads...
... while most of the older cars carry the classic blue livery (in different fashions: plain blue, blue+white, or blue+cream).
Morning peak at Kvaternikov trg.
Terminal Dubrava with a Tatra motor+trailer unit (left) and a Duro Dakovic 4-axle motorcar with two matching trailers (to the right).
Of course some Tatras also carry ads, as you can see on the left-hand side. However, the tram on the right-hand side is more interesting!
This is number 2201, the prototype of the low-floor tramcar built by the company KONCAR. This vehicle was a great surprise for me, because it ran remarkably smooth on the far-from-perfect tracks!
The car features three computer-steered bogies.
The interior reminded me of the Graz Cityrunner (which I also liked quite much).
Of course over the bogies...
... you'll find such podiums inside, but it's the same with all low-floor trams.
All in all, the car made a very nice impression. The ZET has put its faith into this type: they already ordered a large batch of it!
The track conditions are not perfect, but the density of oncoming trams is impressive. Here a DÜWAG at Subiceva.
The interior of a DÜWAG.
The company KONCAR already tried to build trams in the nineties. This type has a modern chopper...
... but its bogies were taken from the 4-axle Duro Dakovic design we saw earlier.
At Trg zrtava fasizma the tracks circle the middle of the square.
Trg bana Jelacica is the central square of the town, where trams...
... run through a pedestrian area. On this picture we see another 4-axle unit.
The interior of a 4-axle trailer.
DÜWAG in Ulica Praska.
And here's the low-floor car again!
Another shot of the new kind of Zagreb trams.
Ilica is the main shopping street of the city, where trams accelerate right next to passerby.
There's a funicular leading to the castle hill, but it was closed due to renovation.
The view from the upper terminal of the funicular.
Okay, let's get back to Ilica!
The old trams with pneumatic brakes have warning whistles instead of warning bells. They used it from time to time when passerbies stepped in front of them.
At the corner of Frankopanska they started to dismantle the concrete sheets covering the tracks. The next day this junction was closed, and trams were detoured.