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And "that was that": November 12 was the last day of UV operation on this line. Just like on the last day of the UVs on route 42 and 52, there were tram fans all along the route the whole day, some of them making photos, some of them just riding up and down the line. Fortunately all drivers this day were tram fans, gladly halting for a few seconds more than usual in every stop to help us photographers :)

And just to demonstrate why the UV (and its predecessor, the 3600-class) got nick-named  the "Stuka": UV triple-set approaching the stop at Halász utca, with the same sound as the infamous WW2 aircraft.

The last UV sets at Batthyány tér. The destination plates were put behind the windshields in the cabs because several such plates were stolen during the day :(

The very last UV of route 19 leaving the Batthyány tér terminus.

I jumped into a car with a friend, to capture the ride from the outside. Here we rush through Gellért rakpart: to the left the Danube, to the right the St. Gellert Hill

An over-exposed picture taken at Hamzsabégi út, and an under-exposed one at the Etele tér terminus. Sorry, there wasn't enough time to review all settings of my camera at every stop.

The same unit standing in front of Remise (=tram depot) Kelenföld, and on the way inside.

The last "photo stop" before the tram dissappeared inside the depot. Despite the late hour, there were still many tram fans around.
 

"Brave new world"

On the 13th I only had time to see route 19 in the evening...

... so my first photos were taken in the dark (and without a tripod). The "new" cars were quite okay optically...

... but I haven't seen so many sparking and skidding 'round here before! Supposedly these trams must be driven quite a different way than the UVs, and the drivers didn't get the hang of it yet. I even saw one of the artics getting stuck in the underpass at the Chain Bridge: it took several tries and almost ten minutes to be able to climb out of there!

An overclouded morning at Batthyány tér, and a new variety of rolling stock to be photograped at Móricz Zsigmond körtér, with UVs of route 49 and Tatras of route 18.

A few days later most drivers got used to their new vehicles, so there were less problems with the underpass. By the way, the yellow-and-black-striped sign in the tunnel warns the drivers to pull in the rear-view mirrors: they (I mean the mirrors) would crash into the wall otherwise.

A perfect pass :)

To the left: a construction site at Clark Ádám tér, making the lives of the drivers harder. To the right: a Ganz artic leaving the Etele tér terminus.

Okay, I must say, Várkert rakpart makes even these trams look nice :)

But hey... what's that UV there? No, the old trams did not return to route 19, but there was a derailment at Szent Gellért tér, and route 49 was detoured to here.

(Great!;)

I conclude this report with two "touristic" shots taken near Batthyány tér: Ganz artic of route 19 with the House of Parliament on the other side of the Danube, and a detoured tram 49 with the Margarite Bridge (Margit híd) in the background.