We arrived to "DÜWAG-city" (Düsseldorf was home of "Waggonfabrik Uerdingen (Werk Düsseldorf)" / "Düsseldorf-Uerdinger Waggonfabrik", DÜWAG - or after 1981 DUEWAG - for short, a famous rail vehicle (not just trams!) supplier that now belongs to Siemens) in style on board of a DÜWAG "Stadtbahnwagen B".
The first 8-axle Jacobs-bogie articulated DÜWAG was built for local operator "Rheinbahn" out of a 6-axle articulated car, spawning the probably most successful tramway type of Western Europe. In fact, they were so successful, that they're still being used here...
... with maching 4-axle trailer cars from 1960!
Of course there are also more modern vehicles in the city, for example these Siemens NF8 and NF10 cars, which are modified versions of the Combino low-floor tramcar family. Unfortunately these have also suffered from the Combino's weaknesses, so they had to be "grounded" and inspected.
The cars we rode passed the inspections, and were allowed back to traffic.
The NF6 (NF-GTL) trams are now classic DUEWAG examples of the pre-Combino era. BTW, the tram we see on this picture is reversing - it really has a comfortable "shunting cab" at its rear end, so it almost looked like as if it would be a bidirectional tramcar.
Another classic "round" DÜWAG 8-axle car from 1965.
A level crossing protected with barriers. You first saw the traffic lights for the cars going red, then the barriers were lowered, and by then, the tram was already in the crossing - it functioned very slick!
Another type: the GT8S is based on the "Type Mannheim" DÜWAG cars. They're special as they are bidirectional cars. There's also a sub-version of it: the GT8SU is used on the lines that feature underground sections.
NF8 "Silver Arrow" in the inner city. The bulging "jaw" of this type houses an unpowered small-wheel bogie making the ride smoother.
NF6 with a camouflage-like all-over-ad. It really blends into this background :-)
Another GT8S.
Of course I prefer the old "round" DÜWAG's. There was plenty of them everywhere, but the weather was not really good for taking photos.
A DÜWAG motor+trailer set in all-over ads. Note the grass between the rails: it looks good, and reduces the noise...
Another "DÜWAG-train", this time at at Jan-Wellem-Platz, which is a busy junction with dense headways!
More tracks set in grass. Note the NF6 double-set coming towards us. The other vehicle is a GT8SU - you can recognise it by its lowerable folding steps.
This day (again) proved that we should only visit one city on one day: because we've spent too many (?) hours in Krefeld, we didn't had time to take a closer look at the underground "Stadtbahn" lines, as we've had a train to catch...