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... with a view onto current matters, 13. August 2005.
Szeged has bought four Tatras from Dresden recently. Three of them was already there at the time of our visit, among them this one, number 244 037.
This is not a normal T4 but a powered trailer, dubbed TB4D-MS, featuring a lockable driving panel instead of a normal driver's cab.
Number 244 045 is another one of the batch...
... and number 244 029 is the third one. These four cars will serve as component "donors", and also, one or two of them shall become works cars (snow plough and perhaps a rail grinder).
This may look normal, but in fact it's very weird: this is namely a B6A2 trailer from Rostock, whose normal-gauge trucks were "robbed" (for other purposes) and replaced with meter-gauge bogies for the time being!
This also looks like a tram parade: two ex-Berling KT4D's, the Rostock trailer we just saw, and one of the ex-Dresden cars. Only in Roumania you'll see a similar mixture of different types! Of course Szeged has somewhat different plans: they won't use these second-hand trams "as-is", but rather they'll renovate and modernise them with modern parts to serve until the city can buy new trams.
This is also a KT4, but a slightly different one than the ex-Potsdam ones - just look at the different headlights :) It was bought from Cottbus, and electrically modernised in Prague. It now has a chopper system instead of the original PCC accelarator.
The new driver's cab with a control lever ("joystick") instead of a pedal.
The interior of the tram...
... is not yet complete, but it should be ready soon.
A souvenir from Cottbus.
The ex-Potsdam KT4D number 206...
... also waits for the completion of its renewal, which only begun recently.
Tatra bogies, also bought from Dresden. Although that german city uses a slightly different gauge (1450 mm), they can be adapted to the normal-gauge (1435 mm) used in Szeged.
A Bengali in the depot. This is one of the younger one, its was built in 1976...
... while number 820 was the prototype of the bidirecional make in 1962/63.
A strange-looking utility vehicle.
And now, a few "normal" pictures from the streets: T6A2H number 900 waiting for departure at Rókus station, terminus of route 1.
A Bengali with classic livery in Kálvária sugárút..
Passing loop Vadaspark with Bengalis in the newer livery.
The heritage twin set was doing some public rounds in the afternoon on route 1 as part of the Szeged Summer Festival.
Bengali number 818 waiting for the green light near Tarján.
Another one on the joint section of route 3 and 4 on the inner city ring.
The same inner city ring a bit further to west with yet another Bengali. These articulated beasts are very photogenic, but they're probably the trams with the worst riding quality in whole Europe.
Despite my bad feelings about this type, I end this page a picture of it, taken at Kecskés. I hope you liked my report from "The City of Sunshine"!
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