History of the Tatra brand. The history of the Moscow tram in photographs Modifications in the Altai Territory

Once upon a time, in the now distant 50s of the last century, the domestic industry could not fully satisfy the country's need for new modern tram cars. Then it was decided to buy wagons from Czechoslovakia. The first cars delivered from 1957 to 1959 were the T-1. There were no such cars in Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg). From 1959 to 1962, T-2 cars were supplied to us, and in 1963, T-3 cars appeared. T-3 cars soon became one of the most massive cars of that time, and they probably remain so today. This is due to their high operational and dynamic qualities, the originality of the design, which allows them to work freely in the intense modern rhythm of urban traffic.

T-3 cars began to arrive in Sverdlovsk almost from the very beginning of their production. Compared with the old X-series cars and with the MTV-82 cars, they were much more comfortable, high-speed, and had better dynamic qualities.

Outwardly, the first T-3 cars, in contrast to the current ones, had slight differences. The route indicator had an elongated, elongated shape, which made it possible, in addition to the route number, to indicate its terminal stations. The window vents in the saloon were smaller. The driver's cab windshield consisted of two parts with one vertical pillar in the middle. Then cars began to arrive with a rectangular route indicator and large vents. Until about 1977, the bumper bar at the front and rear of the car was covered with a decorative aluminum profile. This profile was often damaged, especially after the car was lifted with a special crane during derailment. After a while, on most of the cars, these decorations were removed and the buffer beam protruded with its ribs. On cars of a later release, the channel of the buffer bar was bent with a large shelf forward and the decorative profile was not installed.

Until about 1977, the window pillars and the partition of the driver's cab were covered with embossed washable wallpaper. Then the window pillars were painted with enamel, and the entire cab partition was finished with plastic. This solution was more aesthetic, because the enamel had lighter tones, and in addition, the wallpaper was often cut by tram vandals. The most frequently cut was the lower horizontal part of the frame. To eliminate the rags, the wallpaper on the horizontal part at the level of the bottom of the uprights was carefully cut off and the frames on top of the wallpaper were painted with paint.

The seats in the cabin were covered with red dermantine, the rear panels of the backs were fixed with special decorative screws and washers. Tram vandals did not spare even this. They cut the cushions and backs of the seats, unscrewed the screws. After refurbishment, the back panels of the backrests were often simply painted over.

Until 1972, the cars were equipped with a conductor's place, then after switching to a conductor-free service, the conductor's place was not installed. Cash desks began to be installed in the carriages. The first cash desks were a tall cabinet with a coin box and a ticket reel. These cash desks were placed on the front and rear platforms instead of single seats. When the car was moving, the cash desks mercilessly rattled the trifles in them and their details. Then, small-sized cash desks and composters for subscriptions appeared in the carriages. For the sale of season tickets, special trays were made in the doors of the driver's cab. Traces from the holes of the trays can be seen now.

In the late 60s and early 70s, instead of fluorescent lamps for interior lighting, during repairs, ordinary incandescent lamps without shades were installed, two lamps per shade.

After 1977, T-3 cars began to be delivered with three doors. For rooftop work, power inter-car plug connections and additional low-voltage connectors have appeared.

The original pantograph current collector heads were replaced with Moscow-type heads as they wear out. Moreover, this was done only on the first car of the train, since the pantograph was not used on the second car and the inserts wore out less.

On the cars of the latest releases, the control panel now has warning lamps "Train break", lamps for switching on train line contactors, "Train break" and "Emergency movement" switches. The thermal relay for protecting the arrow circuit has been removed. This relay often triggered falsely when the switch was shifted and the driver, when approaching the switch, always returned it manually.

Shoe brake actuators on the bogie were covered with special covers with rubber aprons underneath. The shrouds bore a "Caution Electrical Voltage" sign in the form of a yellow triangle with a lightning bolt. After a while, these covers were removed. The current supply to the rail brake electromagnet was first carried out from the inside of the bogie, and then began to be performed from the top-outside. In the first version, when the car derailed from the rails, the supply cables were damaged.

The rail brakes on the cars of the first issues were collapsible with separate poles and pole pieces. Then rail brakes were installed with poles and lugs made as a whole.

Plastic seats were installed on some of the cars; they were very cold in winter.

The heating and ventilation system of the cabin has been changed on the cars of the latest releases. Previously, the control of the air supply flap was from the outside, for which there was a round hole in the side bulwarks, and then the flap thrust was transferred to the passenger compartment to the middle door of the car. Later, a damper appeared that regulates the intake of air for cooling the starting-brake rheostats and traction motors either from the passenger compartment (for forced ventilation) or outside the car. When the damper was opened in the passenger compartment, there was an increased noise from the operation of the engine-generator. The dampers that regulate the supply of heated air to the passenger compartment were often poorly adjusted. At the same time, in the summer, hot air partially entered the cabin and caused discontent among passengers. At first, the most active ones expressed their dissatisfaction with the driver about this, trying to convict him of stupidity and unwillingness to save electricity (for what purpose did he turn on the heating in the thirty-degree heat ?!). No exhortations that the driver did not specifically turn on the heating did not help. Often everything ended with a scandal and the appeal of passengers to city and regional newspapers and television.

In general, the new T-3 cars were wonderful. Quiet, lightweight on the go, painted with durable high-gloss enamels.

New cars were unloaded at the overpass near the ring on Shartash. Railway platforms with carriages were brought to this overpass from the Apparatnaya station. The carriages rolled off the platform and were taken by tug to the home depot. Pantographs, external lighting devices, rail brakes, covers over bogies were dismantled on the cars. Another unloading overpass was at the Sverdlovsk tram and trolleybus repair plant, where the cars were delivered from the Gipsovaya station.

At first, a group of Czech adjusters came from the manufacturer with each batch of cars. They helped to assemble the car, set it up and run it in. City newspapers wrote about each such event. Then the adjusters stopped coming. Our trammen have gained experience.

T-3 cars were especially active in our city in the late 70s and early 80s. Then there was an active write-off of the MTV-82, T-2, K-2 cars. Up to 30 new wagons were delivered a year. They systematically completed entire routes, instead of old cars.

The design of the Tatra family cars is truly unique and has no analogues in the domestic tram industry. It is based on the design of the American RCC cars, developed back in the 30s.

Car T-3 has an indirect rheostat-contactor (RKSU) automatic control system. Four traction electric motors (TED) of direct current of sequential excitation with a continuous power of 40 kW are connected in two parallel circuits, two in series. Start and control of the speed of movement is carried out by changing the resistance of the starting-brake rheostats and weakening the excitation of the traction electric motor. For this purpose, on domestic cars with RCSU, a group rheostat controller is installed, which is a multi-position electric switch driven by a small auxiliary motor (servo motor) and separate start-and-brake rheostats. On the cars of the Tatra family, an original multi-position switch is used, combined with starting-brake rheostats and called an accelerator. If on domestic cars the number of positions (stages of start-braking) is about 20, then the accelerator of the T-3 car at startup has 75 rheostat positions plus 4 stages of attenuation of the excitation of the traction motor, and when braking 99 positions. Thus, the accelerator provides a smooth, almost stepless starting and braking of the car.

T-3 cars have a service rheostat brake. At the end of the action of the electric rheostat brake at a speed of 2-3 km / h, a mechanical shoe brake automatically activates, braking the car until it stops completely.

For emergency braking, T-3 cars are equipped with electromagnetic rail brakes, which are an electromagnet coil, when current flows through which the electromagnet is attracted to the rail with great effort, which creates a significant deceleration.

Among the distinctive features of the T-3 car, it is necessary to note the use of a traction electric motor with forced ventilation. The air for cooling the traction electric motor is supplied by a special fan located on the shaft of the engine-generator - an electric machine converter, which serves to power the control circuits and recharge the battery. There is one more fan on the motor-generator shaft, which cools the accelerator starting-brake rheostats. In winter, the air heated in the starting-brake rheostats is supplied to the carriage for heating. For additional heating of the air supplied to the passenger compartment, heating elements are installed in the air duct. In addition, the heating elements are located in the single seat pedestals. The driver's cab is heated by an electric heater. The carriage has fluorescent lighting.

For more than twenty years of production of T-3 cars, changes were constantly made to its design aimed at improving performance. Reinforced contactors were used in the power circuits, the carriage layout was being finalized to facilitate the work on the system of many units in the composition of three cars, changes were made aimed at improving traffic safety, ensuring emergency movement in case of various malfunctions in electrical circuits.

Already today, in Yekaterinburg, a major overhaul of T-3 cars has been mastered, in which the car is disassembled to the frame and undergoes a complete restoration. In 1995-2000, such repairs were carried out by the Yekaterinburg Tram and Trolleybus Repair Plant on the street. Sorting and Welded Machine-Building Structures Plant in Verkhnyaya Pyshma (now UZZhM). At ZSMK, 84 T-3 cars were repaired.

Later, the car repair shops of the Southern depot and the workshop for scheduled repairs of the Northern depot took over the CWR. It should be noted that during the overhaul and refurbishment, some of the cars were replaced by the rheostat-contactor control system with a more advanced thyristor-pulse control system (TISU). In particular, the MERA-1 system was installed on 39 cars. Quite recently, an experimental set of transistor-pulse control system produced by JSC "ASK" was installed on car # 090. This modernization project received the working title T-3E.

Today trams T-3 are the main type of rolling stock in Yekaterinburg. From 1980 to 1987 in our city they were the only species and now there are more than three and a half hundred of them. For 43 years the Czech T-3 cars have been serving the citizens of Sverdlovsk with faith and truth.

Used photographs by E. Kuznetsov, O. Chalkov, A. Marov, Schuricka, as well as photos from the collection of the TTU Museum

Did you know that Tatra can move without a front wheel at all? And the overload is less terrible for her than for any of the competitors? And that you can choose any number of axles and wheelbase of the car yourself? But this is all true, and it is possible thanks to the unique design of these machines.

At the heart of the machine is its own modular design, the famous ridge pipe, to which the engine and gearbox are attached. This design allows the installation of split axles with independent suspension, that is, it gives a huge range of movement of the axle shafts in the vertical plane and, as a result, high cross-country ability.

The tube is made of spring steel, it has tremendous strength and torsional rigidity, which facilitates the superstructure and subframe, and also allows you to load the car with a "margin". The backbone frame reliably protects the vehicle structure from below.

This also implies another advantage - any wheelbase size and number of axles. You can choose the wheel arrangement 4x4, 6x6, and so on, up to 12x12.

01. The first deliveries of Czech cars began immediately after the end of World War II, in 1945. Of course, ours must have encountered them before, as trophies.
However, the official history is 70 years old, and began with the first batch of the then serial cars. T111... These were "real" Tatras, already with all the attributes - bonnet, with an air-cooled diesel engine (12 cylinders, 210 hp) and a backbone frame.

02. They were delivered until 1962, mainly in the form of on-board vehicles and dump trucks, and the latter were modernized and formed a special family T141... Among them were the unique for those times 100-ton ballast tractors.

03. Next family T138(also bonneted) was the first to be supplied in large quantities to the USSR. New V8 engine, switchable front axle, power steering, engine brake - these are all signs of the new model. The carrying capacity has also increased by 2 tons.


Photo by Nikolai Dobrovolsky (State Archive of Audiovisual Documentation of the Nizhny Novgorod Region)

04. Although Tatra T138 there were several thousand in the Union, only a few have survived to this day. And this, it seems, is the only one, so carefully restored.


Photo by Vladimir Novoselov

05. In 1969, the results of deep modification appeared - the famous T148... It was they who first received the "Arctic" performance, and were massively used at our northern construction sites. Externally, the cars differed from their predecessors in the modified hood and grille.

06. "One hundred and forty-eighth" were so widespread in the USSR that many of them survived until the end of the 1990s, like this one converted into a tractor. A few are still found today - after 40 years of hard work.

07. But the next series, on the contrary, was almost unknown in our country, although it received a more modern cabover layout. Designed for the military T813 produced for the "national economy". This 4-axle version " Koloss"converted into a timber truck from an army tow truck.

08. In 1979, the most famous Tatra at the moment appeared, T815... This is still a prototype with a different cladding and headlights in the version of a road tractor (but 4x4 - this is Tatra) during tests at the Dmitrov training ground.


Photo from the archive of Maxim Shelepenkov

09. The new family retained all the differences of the classic ancestors, but received more modern diesel engines V8 (213 hp), V10 (283 hp) and V12 (320 and 360 hp), and a wide spacious cabin.
Interestingly, on the streets of which Soviet and later CIS city it was impossible to meet the famous "clubfoot" dump truck?

10. In the 1990s, many of the Tatras that passed into private hands were reworked and "circled". This is an example of a truck tractor from a conventional dump truck (front overhang is short).

11. And this, on the contrary, is a serial car, which we met in small quantities. Tatra-T815TP had an unusual arrangement of bridges, a double cab for 8 seats, and a gross train weight of up to 96 tons.

12. The most unusual Tatra tractor in Russia is this one. It was assembled by hand for the motorhome of the racing team. When it went bankrupt, it was bought by Finnish (!) Private traders. Then he got to St. Petersburg, sold for a long time, and at the end carried sea containers. At the same time, it turned into a hostel, and lost the luxurious decoration of a huge booth, which once included a TV, microwave, refrigerator, and so on.

13. In 2005, Tatra returned to the bonnet layout, contrary to European trends. New model T163 The 14-cc dump truck was designed for our Siberia, and bore its own name "Yamal". This copy was shown at MIMS-2006.

14. This is also a car T815, but with the addition of "7". Differs from the usual application of a simplified low-height cab. Since it is intended for the army, the main task is to lower the altitude (for air transport), as well as facilitate booking. In "civilian" it is used as a chassis for cranes, as well as fire engines, like this lift from "Pozhtekhnika", one of the few in Russia.

15. Meanwhile, "our" 815th series was also modernized, having received the number "2" in the index and the addition Terr№1... In addition to the modified cab lining, as well as the interior, Tatra T815-2 for the first time, it can be equipped not only with its own air diesel engine, but also with a purchased one.

16. At the end of 2011, a new Tatra family appeared - T158 Phoenix(Phoenix) with an unexpectedly familiar cockpit. It is a product of globalization resulting from the purchase of a stake in the Czechs by the Dutch company DAF. The machine has a traditional Tatra chassis - with a backbone frame and independent suspension of any number of drive axles, and Dutch units - a cab and an engine. As a result, both parties benefit as well as the consumer. Small quantities of "Phoenixes" are sold in Russia as well, like this Surgut dump truck.

Model creation

What can you say about this car? Probably only the fact that many people living in the post-Soviet space associate Tatra-T3 with the word "tram". Czechoslovakia supplied this car to 33 cities of the Soviet Union from 1963 to 1987. The Tatra-T3 also worked in Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Yugoslavia and Romania, but it was to the Soviet Union that 90% of all produced cars were delivered.

The predecessors of the Tatra-T3 were the models with the T1 and T2 indices, produced in Czechoslovakia in 1954-1957 and 1957-1962, respectively. The design of these cars was borrowed from the American RCC trams produced in the USA in the 30s - 50s of the last century. The license was acquired from the Americans in April 1948, and in 1951 a prototype Tatra-T1 tram appeared. The manufacturer of this and subsequent models was the state-owned Tatra enterprise, the Smichov plant (part of the nationalized Ringhoffer Tatra concern). The electrical equipment of the cars was supplied by the ČKD Praha concern (ČKD is an abbreviation of the company name Česko-Moravska Kolben Danek). In 1955, the first experimental Tatra-T2 cars were created, and in 1958 their serial production began.

Work on the creation of a prototype Tatra-T3 carriage began in the second half of the 50s. In March 1959, the first draft of a new tram car was presented, which, after the necessary modifications, was transferred to the Tatra-Smikhov plant for implementation. When developing the project of the new car, the drawbacks of the two previous models were taken into account first. Considerable attention was paid to the wishes of the tram enterprises of the USSR, which operated the T1 and T2 cars, since the Soviet Union was interested in the further import of cars from Czechoslovakia.

The new Tatra-T3 car had a number of significant differences from its predecessor, the Tatra-T2. The widespread use of plastic as a body material in transport engineering, which began in the post-war years, was reflected in the Tatra-T3 body structure - the front and rear masks were completely made of laminated plastic on a reinforced base, which led to a decrease in the weight of the car and a change in the design of its front and the back. The car body was also lightened by the use of lighter body panels. The middle door, the former Tatra-T2 has narrower (1050 mm) than the front and rear, is equal in width to the rest of the doors.

In the cab, the instrument panel and the location of other controls have been completely redesigned, which has increased the ergonomics of the driver's workplace. The installation of a separate heater in the cab made the driver's workplace more comfortable in winter. The interior design of the earlier Tatra-T3 carriages resembled the Tatra-T2 in many ways, but the round lampshades were replaced with oblong ones, which gave the interior a more modern look. A novelty is the fluorescent interior lighting. Also, the Tatra-T3 wagon has roof ventilation hatches (which the Tatra-T2 lacked).

The changes also affected the electrical equipment of the car: it received a new type of accelerator TR-37, as well as the ability to work on CME in trains of three cars (Tatra-T2 could only work in two-car trains). The Tatra-T3 wagon electric motors were equipped with a forced ventilation system driven by a motor generator. The heating system has changed: special heating elements (heating elements) were placed in the passenger seat racks, while Tatra-T2 cars used air from cooling the starting resistors to heat the passenger compartment. In addition to these most notable differences, the Tatra-T3 car also had a large number of minor design improvements compared to the previous model, designed to facilitate the operation and maintenance of the car.

Car prototype

The assembly of the prototype Tatra-T3 carriage began in the experimental workshops of the plant in January 1960. Despite the problems with the supply of plastic structural elements, the car was ready by August 1960. In the second half of August, the prototype was first presented at the International Fair in Brno, after which it was returned to Prague for testing. On June 21, 1961, the car was accepted into the balance of the Prague transport company and received park number 6101. Unfortunately, the prototype of the Tatra-T3 tram was not saved for the Prague Museum of City Transport: in May 1985 the car was decommissioned and cut.

The prototype differed from future serial cars in the dimensions of the doorways (narrower middle door, as in the Tatra-T2), the design of the bogies, the presence of a rear route indicator identical to the front one, a different arrangement of controls and instruments in the cockpit, the design of the seats and the layout of the cabin (opposite the middle doors there was a playground for baby strollers). Also, in the experimental car, the lighting of the passenger compartment was low-voltage. During operation, the car was almost completely unified with serial copies and later differed from them only in the width of the doorways.

Mass production

Serial production of the Tatra-T3 carriage began in the summer of 1962. In total, by the end of the year, 70 wagons were built for the Prague Transport Company. At the same time, the serial production of Tatra-T2 trams ended: in the summer of 1962, the last batch was produced, which later arrived in Kiev.

In 1963, in addition to Prague, new Tatra-T3 cars were received by Brno and Kosice in Czechoslovakia, as well as Moscow, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg) and Kuibyshev (Samara) in the USSR. At the end of the same year, new plastic seats were installed in two cars (Prague # 6303 and Moscow # 512) as an experiment. Since the summer of 1964, cars with plastic seats went into serial production. At the same time, the cities of Czechoslovakia soon began to buy cars exclusively with plastic seats, while in the USSR, up to the beginning of the 80s, separate lots of cars with seats upholstered in leatherette were received in the USSR according to the wishes of the customer cities. Plastic seats for Tatra-T3 cars were supplied by the Czech company Plastimat in three different colors: red, gray and yellow.

Until 1964, the glass for Tatra-T3 cars was supplied by the Belgian company Sekurit, then the Czechoslovakian Thorax began to deal with the glassing of cars. This is related to the change in the windshield: the Belgians supplied two curved windshields connected by a bar in the middle, the Czechoslovak company simplified the glazing, which began to consist of three glasses.

The ventilation of the passenger compartment was insufficient. A partial solution to the problem was to increase the vents in the side windows from 1/3 to 1/2 of the window. Cars with enlarged vents began to be produced in 1964. In 1964-1966, several Prague cars were experimentally operated with fans attached to the ceiling in the cabin. However, such a ventilation system did not go into mass production, since this required a significant change in the low-voltage network of the car. In 1970, a forced ventilation system with air intakes located in the front part of the car on the sides of the route indicator and an air distribution system in the ceiling space was tested on the Prague car # 6449. This system also turned out to be imperfect. A minor step towards improving the ventilation of the car was the reduction in the size of the roof ventilation hatches in 1982.

In 1964, it was decided to modernize the Tatra-Smichov plant and increase the production of Tatra-T3 trams. This was due to the interest in the products of the plant on the part of the Warsaw Pact countries and, first of all, the Soviet Union. The latter wanted to increase the number of imported Czechoslovak cars, but the existing plant was unable to meet the demand for tram cars in the USSR. In addition, in 1965 an agreement was signed with the GDR, which provided for significant deliveries of Czechoslovak cars to East Germany. In 1964-1967, a reorganization of production was carried out in order to optimize it. The car production was divided into three main sections: centralized bogie production, car body assembly section and final assembly section. A set of measures to increase productivity made it possible to achieve an annual output of 1000-1200 tram cars. However, the increase in the production plan had a negative impact on the quality of the plant's products. It is believed that the Tatra-T3 cars produced in 1964-1966 were of the highest quality, since by that time the plant had eliminated the shortcomings of the cars of the first series, and at the same time, the "race" had not yet begun to reduce the number of working hours spent on assembling one car. ...

To increase the production capacity of trams, the plant completely abandoned the production of diesel locomotives, which were previously one of the main types of products. After the release of a large batch of shunting diesel locomotives of the T 334.0 series in 1965-1966, the plant fully concentrated on the production of tram cars. An exception was a batch of 17 EMU 89.0 electric trains delivered in 1969-1970 for the narrow-gauge Tatra railway (now located in Slovakia). It is curious that the design of these electric trains, which operated on the Tatra Railway until 2003, was largely borrowed from the Tatra-T3 tram car.

In the second half of the 60s, a number of changes were made to the car design in order to modernize it and simplify assembly. In particular, the insulation of wires began to be carried out with PVC winding, instead of fabric winding, as it was before. The SMD-16 motor generator made by MEZ Vsetin was installed on the cars, instead of the SS-16 made by ČKD, and the SA-781 contactors, which were still used on Tatra-T1 cars, were replaced by the SC-12 contactors. In 1966, the design of the side windows was simplified. Since 1968, the middle roof ventilation hatch began to open in the direction of the car. Also, a box was removed under it, directing the air flow, since impurities from the pantograph accumulated in it. In 1969, the arrangement of the rear lights changed from horizontal to vertical.

And in the future, the design of Tatra-T3 cars underwent minor changes until the end of production. So, since 1982, retractable steps for lifting to the roof "moved" from the middle door to the rear door (in the two-door Tatra-T3, previously supplied to the USSR, the steps were near the rear door). Since 1985, the car has an additional shunting control panel at the rear platform. In the same year, the outdoor lighting technology changed: instead of single oval shades, double square ones were used; brake lights also appeared.

In the 60s, the Tatra-K1 and Tatra-K2 articulated tram cars were developed on the basis of the Tatra-T3 cars. The last of them went into series and was produced both for the domestic market and for export to the USSR, Yugoslavia, Egypt. Also, by order of the GDR, a Tatra-T4 car with a narrower body was created, in which the width was reduced from the standard 2500 mm to 2200 mm. These cars were supplied to those tram facilities where the width of the track spacing and the overall dimensions of the curves did not allow the use of cars with a standard width. Later Tatra-T4 cars were also delivered to the USSR (only to farms with a 1000 mm gauge), Yugoslavia, Romania.

By the beginning of the 70s, Tatra-T3 trams were outdated both in terms of equipment and car design. In the 70s, experimental models T5A5 and T5B6 were created, on which high hopes were initially pinned as a possible replacement for the outdated T3, produced for Czechoslovakia and the USSR. However, the Tatra-Smikhov plant was an outdated enterprise with a shortage of production space. The start of the serial production of new generation cars required a reorganization of the entire production process, which would entail a temporary decrease in capacity, and, consequently, a violation of obligations for the supply of cars to importing countries. In addition, the main customer, the Soviet Union, was not ready to purchase more expensive new generation cars. Ultimately, Tatra-T3 remained the main product of the plant until the second half of the 80s. The cars of the "5th generation" went into serial production: from 1978 to 1984, 322 double-sided cars of the T5S5 series were delivered to Budapest. However, the main innovation of the 70s, the thyristor-pulse control system, was never implemented on this model.

Thus, by the end of the 70s, it became clear that, given the existing production facilities, there could be no talk of modernizing the assembly process and switching to mass production of new generation cars. In 1978, the development of a project for a new plant in the Prague district of licin began. The construction of the plant started in 1981, but it progressed rather slowly. The first stage of the facility was completed in 1988, and the construction was completed in 1996. In the early 90s, the project of the plant, designed for the mass production of wagons for the CMEA member countries, had to be changed due to new market needs. In fact, the original project of the giant tram company was only partially completed. The old factory in the Smichov district of Prague was closed in the early 90s. Gradually, its buildings fell into complete decay and in 2000 they were demolished, and a modern shopping and office center was built in their place.

The closure of the old plant was preceded by the end of production of Tatra-T3 trams. In 1985, the serial production of T6B5 cars for the Soviet Union began, and in 1988 - T6A2 and B6A2 for the GDR. Serial production of Tatra-T3SU and Tatra-T3D trams was completed in 1987 and 1988, respectively, and in 1989 the last Tatra-T3SUCZ cars for Czechoslovakia rolled off the assembly line. In 1995-1997, 38 Tatra-T3 bodies were produced without equipment. 18 of them were ordered by the Prague Transport Company to replace the bodies of T3M wagons (modernization of Tatra-T3 at the end of the 70s), which had exhausted their service life. Another 20 bodies were delivered to Ostrava, where trolleys from the old T3 and TISU TV-8 were installed on them.

Modifications of Tatra-T3 trams

Tatra-T3CZ (1962-1976)

Modification for the domestic market. Tatra-T3CZ cars had an incomplete partition of the driver's cab, single seats along both sides in the cabin. There were no seats at the back. Depending on the wishes of the customer city, Tatra-T3CZ cars could be equipped with a special conductor's seat, located on the left side between the first and second doors. An individual heater was installed at the conductor's workplace. The conductor also had an auxiliary control panel with buttons for opening the car doors and emergency braking.

Tatra-T3CZ cars produced in 1962-1963 had a narrow, elongated front route indicator. Since 1964, the route indicator has become square. At the same time, the plate with the route number was inserted along special guides outside the route indicator.

Tatra-T3CZ were delivered to all cities of Czechoslovakia where tram systems existed until 1976. Subsequently, the production of this modification was discontinued for a number of reasons. By the second half of the 70s, the domestic market was fully saturated, in addition, it was planned to significantly reduce the tram network in Prague and gradually transfer the carriages of the capital's fleet to other tram enterprises. By the beginning of the 80s, it was planned to start producing cars of a new generation, which were to replace the Tatra-T3CZ. However, these plans were not destined to come true, and Prague's tram network, fortunately, was only slightly reduced. Therefore, since 1982, Tatra-T3 cars began to arrive in Czechoslovakia again, albeit with a different modification - T3SUCZ.

In the 70s, the practice of modernizing old Tatra-T2 cars with the installation of Tatra-T3 electrical equipment was also widespread in Czechoslovakia, as well as the purchase of Tatra-T3 bodies without equipment by transport companies for the subsequent installation of Tatra-T1 and Tatra-T2 cars on them. , the service life of the body of which has come to an end.

Tatra-T3SU (1963-1987)

The modification for the cities of the USSR became the most massive in the history of the plant: over 25 years, 11368 Tatra-T3SU cars were produced, which worked in 33 cities of the Soviet Union. Moscow alone purchased 2,069 wagons for the specified period.

However, in the early years, Tatra-T3 arrived in the Soviet Union in rather modest quantities. Since the beginning of production of the modification in 1963, only Moscow, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg) and Kuibyshev (Samara) received these cars; from 1964 Kiev joined them. Thus, new Czech wagons were received by the same cities that previously purchased Tatra-T2 wagons, with the exception of Rostov-on-Don. The situation changed in the second half of the 60s, when the Tatra-Smikhov plant, after the reorganization of production, significantly increased the production of trams. Since 1965, Tatra-T3SU cars began to arrive in Tula, and in 1966 Czech cars were received in six more cities of the USSR (Zaporozhye, Izhevsk, Kursk, Odessa, Ulyanovsk, Ufa). In 1967-1968, the geography of T3SU supplies expanded to as many as 12 cities (Barnaul, Volgograd, Volzhsky, Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zhdanov (Mariupol), Irkutsk, Kalinin (Tver), Kramatorsk, Novokuznetsk, Rostov-on-Don, Kharkov). In the 70s, T3SU began to receive tram farms in Voronezh, Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod), Dneprodzerzhinsk, Ordzhonikidze (Vladikavkaz), Orel and Riga, in the 80s - Grozny, Krasnodar, Tashkent. A batch of 50 Tatra-T3SU cars arrived in 1986-1987 for the Kryvyi Rih high-speed tram, while on ordinary urban routes in this city, only Ust-Katavsky cars were used. Thus, until the end of the release of the modification in 1987, most of these cities regularly received Tatra-T3SU cars. The total number of trams supplied from Czechoslovakia to the USSR was several hundred cars annually.

Tatra-T3SU cars differed from the basic Tatra-T3CZ modification by the presence of a closed partition of the driver's cab, as well as enhanced interior heating. In winter, the heat from the starting-brake rheostats could be directed through special heating channels to the interior, and in the summer, it could be released outside. On the starboard side of the cabin there were double, not single, seats. Three seats were installed in the back deck. In the middle of the doorways there were handrails, which were abandoned in Tatra-T3CZ cars, as they interfered with the entry of baby carriages into the salon. The electric pantograph control drive was recognized in the USSR as unreliable, therefore, since 1964, on Tatra-T3SU cars, it was replaced by a mechanical one (the so-called "rope" in the driver's cab). Until 1970, the route indicator was narrow and elongated, later - square, with a route number tab on the inside.

In the 70s, Tatra-T3SU cars operating on CME had the opportunity to combine the high-voltage circuits of the leading and driven cars. For this, so-called "birdhouses" appeared on the roof of the cars in the front and rear parts for passing the inter-car power cable. There is no longer a need to raise the pantograph on the second carriage of the train. Interestingly, in Czechoslovakia itself, similar Tatra-T3 trains with interconnected high-voltage carriage circuits were tested, but this solution was found to be unsafe there and was not put into practice. In the future, the USSR not only received new cars with a modified high-voltage circuit diagram, but also re-equipped the old ones during the overhaul.

Until the second half of the 70s, two-door carriages were supplied to the Soviet Union, which was associated with the peculiarities of travel in public transport. The passenger, entering the cabin through the back door, was obliged to pay the fare for the conductor or, in the case of non-conductor service, leave the money at the ticket office, which was on the back landing. The exit was through the front door. In the 70s, such a system became obsolete, and the operation of two-door cars turned out to be impractical and inconvenient for passengers, especially during rush hours. Therefore, since 1976, three-door cars have been supplied to the USSR: first to Ukraine and Latvia, and since 1977 to Russia. The last two-door cars were delivered to Ulyanovsk at the beginning of 1978.

Of the 33 cities of the USSR, where Tatra-T3SU cars came from the plant, not all of them successfully coped with the operation of Tatra-T3SU cars, which at the time of delivery were much more complicated than their domestic counterparts in technical terms. So, Kramatorsk, having received two cars in 1967, soon transferred them to Mariupol and then purchased only Ust-Katavsky cars. Mariupol and Grozny refused to operate Tatra-T3SU. The work of these cars in Voronezh was unsuccessful - by the beginning of the 90s, most of them were retired from operation, having worked on the city's routes for no more than 10 years. But most of the cities of the former USSR, which received Tatra-T3SU, still continue to operate these cars, despite the fact that the age of even the youngest of them is over 20 years old. Unfortunately, in most of the tram enterprises of the former Soviet Union, the state of Tatra-T3SU cars is unsatisfactory, both due to the lack of adequate funding and due to the negligent attitude of the employees of the tram enterprises to the rolling stock. While in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, wagons from the 60s and 70s, which are in excellent condition, continue to operate, in the countries of the former Union Tatra-T3SU of the early series are almost completely decommissioned.

Tatra-T3D and Tatra-B3D (1968-1988)

In 1965, following the results of the trial operation of three Prague Tatra-T3 cars in Dresden, an agreement was signed with the GDR, according to which the German side planned to further curtail the production of obsolete Gotha trams and switch to purchasing trams made in Czechoslovakia. The closure of tram production in the GDR in 1966 was so hasty that over the next two years, Gotha cars continued to be produced at the Tatra-Smichov plant under the indices T2D (motor car) and B2D (trailed car). At the same time, prototypes of T3D and T4D cars, developed specifically for the GDR, were tested. Their serial production began in 1968.

The differences from the basic modification of the "German" T3s were quite serious: the cars were equipped with accelerators of a different type (UB-13 instead of TR-37), more powerful electric motors (TE-022, 43 kW); accordingly, the power of the fan motors has been increased. The cars were connected to each other by means of an ESW coupler (the so-called "Scharfenberg coupler"). The interior lighting was low-voltage, carried out by 24 V incandescent lamps. In addition to two sandboxes above the front bogie, as in the standard version, the Tatra-T3D also had two sandboxes above the rear bogie. Outside, near the doors, there were buttons for the signal to open the doors, which was dictated by the peculiarities of travel in urban passenger transport in the GDR. The cabin was separated from the passenger compartment by an incomplete partition; single seats were located along both sides.

Since 1973, Tatra-B3D trailers with non-motorized bogies and without high-voltage equipment have also been produced for Tatra-T3D motor cars. They had their own heating and interior lighting systems, brakes and light alarms. The low-voltage system of the trailer was “powered” through the ESW coupler. The driver's cab in the Tatra-B3D trailers was absent, in its place was a storage area for passengers with a box of low-voltage electrical equipment in the front.

In the GDR, Tatra-T3D and Tatra-B3D were operated on trains of two (T3D + B3D) or three (T3D + T3D + B3D) carriages. The first version of the coupler got the popular name Minizug ("small train"), the second - Grosszug ("big train"). Tatra-T3D and Tatra-B3D were delivered only to two cities of the GDR - Karl-Marx-Stadt (now Chemnitz) and Schwerin. Regular deliveries lasted until 1988 inclusive. In addition, two T3D + B3D trains were delivered in 1982 to Osijek, Yugoslavia.

Most of the Tatra-T3D and Tatra-B3D cars, both original and modernized, were sold upon completion of operation in the 1990s and 2000s to the countries of the former Union, in particular, to cities such as Alma-Ata, Vladikavkaz , Voronezh, Daugavpils, Dnepropetrovsk, Tula, Ufa. It is curious that Alma-Ata and Daugavpils have never received Czech-made wagons before.

Tatra-T3YU (1967-197?)

Tatra-T3 cars in the modification for Yugoslavia were full analogs of Tatra-T3CZ trams. Only on the cars supplied to Sarajevo, the pantograph was located above the rear bogie, which was due to the peculiarity of the location of the serial air contacts of the automatic switches in this city.

At first, high hopes were pinned on the mass production of the Tatra-T3YU, but in fact, these cars began to be purchased only in two cities, Sarajevo and Osijek. Sarajevo already in 1969 completely switched over to purchases of Tatra-K2YU articulated wagons, having received a total of 20 T3YU wagons. Osijek, being a city with a population of 90,000, bought wagons in very small batches. Most Tatra-T3YU cars in Osijek, having undergone modernization in Czechoslovakia in the 2000s, are still in operation. Tatra-T3YU wagons in Sarajevo are decommissioned.

Tatra-T3R (1971-1974)

The cars of the "Romanian" modification were almost complete analogs of Tatra-T3D, except that their electrical equipment was adapted to operate in a network with a voltage of 750 V (the nominal voltage of the tram network in Romanian cities). In particular, they were equipped with the UB-17 accelerator.

Tatra-T3Rs were delivered to only one city in Romania, Galati, which received a total of 50 wagons. Despite the disgusting quality of service of the tram fleet, some of the carriages held out on the run until the early 2000s. The more common model in Romania was the Tatra-T4, which was operated in five Romanian tram systems.

Tatra-T3SUCZ (1982-1989)

Since 1976, the production of Tatra-T3 cars for Czechoslovakia has completely ceased. It was expected that after two or three years, ČKD will start producing cars of a new generation. But this did not happen, and in 1982, due to the critical situation with the renewal of rolling stock, the Tatra-Smikhov plant again began to supply Tatra-T3 trams to the cities of Czechoslovakia.

In order to save money, it was decided to supply the wagons to Czechoslovakia that were maximally unified with the Tatra-T3SU wagons. The cars produced in 1982 were an exact copy of the T3SU, but since 1983, cars with the usual seating arrangement began to arrive in Czechoslovakia (in one row along both sides and without seats on the back platform). The 1987-1989 Tatra-T3SUCZ cars were equipped with a windshield washer and a button for opening the front door from the outside.

Like Tatra-T3CZ, Tatra-T3SUCZ entered all trams in Czechoslovakia without exception. Although the latter planned back in the 70s to switch to the purchase of new generation cars, it was the Tatra-T3SUCZ cars that became the last Tatra-T3 trams that came out of the gates of the enterprise in 1989, because the production of Tatra-T3SU ceased back in 1987, and Tatra-T3D - in 1988.

Technical description.
Tatra-T3 is an all-metal one-way four-axle motor car. The car frame is all-welded, made of stamped and rolled steel profiles. The outer skin of the Tatra-T3 car body is made of steel sheet 2.4 mm thick and welded to the frame struts. Front and rear fiberglass masks are bolted to the frame. Self-extinguishing fiberglass in the base contains refractory inclusions that can extinguish the resulting fire. For lifting to the roof of the car there are folding steps installed in the side pillars of the body. The car roof is covered with a dielectric rubber mat. In the lower part of the body there are boxes with electrical equipment: main and auxiliary contactors, line contactor, accelerators and batteries. The contactor boxes, which were separate in the previous model, are combined to facilitate maintenance of the contactor panels.

Due to the widespread use of fiberglass, it was possible to reduce the weight of the car, but it should be noted that this also has a number of negative consequences. The adhesion of the carriage wheels to the rails is reduced, which is why in rainy weather the tram often literally "slides" on the rails. This has two effects: uneven wheel grinding and wavy rail wear. To eliminate the first of them, tram farms that operated Tatra-T3 cars purchased special machines for grooving wheelsets directly on the car. The undulating wear of rails forced many farms (including Kharkov) to acquire special rail-grinding cars.

The inner lining of the walls and ceiling of Tatra-T3 cars is made of laminated plastic sheets (during repairs, especially in the cities of the former Soviet Union, it was often replaced with cheaper materials). The carriage floor is made of plywood and covered with a rubber mat. In the cabin there are seats for passengers, as well as sandboxes with a mechanical drive (under the two front seats). Interior ventilation is carried out through roof ventilation hatches and window vents. The interior is heated by heating elements with a voltage of 220 V and a power of 200 W each, located under the bases of the seats and in the air duct on the right side of the passenger compartment. The Tatra-T3SU cars are also heated from the heat dissipated on the accelerator and starting resistances through the air ducts. The driver's cab is heated by an electric heater. For interior lighting, fluorescent lamps with a voltage of 220 V and a power of 30 W. were used. The carriage doors are screen doors, with an electric drive and a lever transmission.

The car body is mounted on two biaxial bogies of the bridge structure, which rotate freely around the so-called main pins welded to the car frame (single suspension). Two longitudinal beams and two bridges constructively form a frame on which the rest of the bogie is mounted. Traction motors, gearboxes, mechanical and rail brakes are also suspended on the trolley. On the front bogie of the car, guide devices for the sleeves of the sandboxes are attached to the longitudinal beams. Wheel covers made of sheet steel are used to protect electrical equipment from the ingress of water and dirt sprayed by the wheels when driving.

The Tatra-T3 cars are equipped with TE-022 traction motors of sequential excitation with independent suspension (one for each axle of the car). Until 1966, electric motors TM-022, similar in design, but with a lower class of insulation, were installed on the cars. Electric motors TM-022 and TE-022 have a forced ventilation system: two fans are installed on the motor-generator shaft, which suck air from the atmosphere through the louvers in the left wall of the car and send it along the ventilation chutes. In this case, one air flow cools the accelerator, and the other cools the traction motors.

The torque from the traction motors to the wheelsets is transmitted by the cardan shaft and the axle reducer. Several types of gearboxes were installed on Tatra-T3 cars: two-stage with a flat transmission - for routes with a flat track profile; two-stage with mountain gear - for routes with a complex track profile; single stage with hypoid gear - for routes with a slope up to 80 ‰. Cardan shafts of Tatra-T3 cars are made with rubber elastic inserts.

The car control system is indirect. When the accelerator pedal is depressed by the driver, the line contactors come into contact with the accelerator, which is controlled by the limit relay. The relay maintains a constant speed depending on the position of the pressed pedal. With electric braking, the functions of the accelerator and the limit relay are the same as for acceleration, the respective circuits are controlled by the brake pedal.

The Tatra-T3 car accelerator regulates the current flowing through the traction motors. It is a modified rheostat controller combined with starting and braking rheostats. The accelerator, which automatically removes the starting-brake rheostats, ensures smooth start-up and smooth braking of the car. A large amount of heat is generated in the starting and braking rheostats of the accelerator during the operation of the car. To prevent overheating of the accelerator, its elements are continuously cooled with air supplied by the fans of the motor-generator. In the cold season, the air heated by the accelerator is supplied through the grooves to the passenger compartment for heating; in the warm season, the flap closes and warm air is discharged outside (under the car body). One of the most common causes of a car breakdown is associated with the accelerator: the so-called sticking of the accelerator “fingers” or “welding” of the contact of one of the fingers to the slip ring due to an accidental inrush current in the power circuit. This leads to short-circuiting of part of the accelerator resistors and, as a result, to sharp jerks during the acceleration and deceleration of the car.

The brake mechanism of the car is of a drum type with an external arrangement of brake linings. The car is equipped with three types of brake drives - electrodynamic, shoe and electromagnetic (rail). The shoe brake serves as a parking brake and a rail brake as an emergency one. The functions of the electrodynamic brake and the shoe brake are carried out by means of the brake interlock relay. The rail brake is independent of the other two (powered by rechargeable batteries). It is an elongated electromagnet, which with its lower part is attracted to the rail with great force, which creates a braking force. The prototype and some production cars were equipped with a safety pedal, which had to be depressed while driving, otherwise the car would automatically stop.

Auxiliary low-voltage circuits of the car (24 V) are used to drive door and wiper mechanisms, lighting, heating the driver's cab, as well as external and internal electrical signaling. Motor-generator SMD-16Ab of Tatra-T3 carriage is designed to generate low voltage current, as well as to drive fans supplying air for cooling start-brake rheostats and traction motors. The motor generator consists of a series excitation motor and a parallel excitation DC generator. Two fans are mounted on the same shaft with the motor armature. The motor-generator is attached to the car body with bolts with rubber gaskets. After installation, it is closed with lids and bulwarks. The motor generator is the main source of noise in Tatra-T3 cars, causing an unpleasant hum and sometimes vibration, especially when standing at stops.

To power the low-voltage circuits of the car in the absence of high-voltage voltage (with the motor-generator turned off), a storage battery is used, recharged using a special low-voltage charging generator. The Tatra-T3 car is equipped with a KN-100 (cadmium-nickel) or ZhN-100 (iron-nickel) battery with a capacity of 100 Ah. The battery is made up of 17 batteries connected in series.

Today's cities run modern tram models that attract attention not only for their stylish appearance, but also for their technical characteristics, which are really impressive. They drive silently, quickly, efficiently, they are literally filled with comfort, therefore, in most cases, old trams are abandoned in cities. This is how the Tatra T3 trams gradually disappear from the streets of Russian cities. But once they were considered cult. Fortunately, in not the largest cities they are still used, so you can plunge into nostalgia and remember the times of the Soviet Union, when such trams were ubiquitous.

However, have you thought in detail about the history, design features and similar topics regarding, for example, the Tatra T3 model? Very few people travel by public transport and at the same time think about what the design features of this or that model are. Therefore, if you are interested, in this article you will find all the necessary information about this tram. It contains a large amount of a wide variety of information: starting with the modifications, which were already mentioned above, and ending with design features and technical characteristics.

What it is?

So, "Tatra T3" is a model of tram cars, which has been produced since 1960. The production of these trams ended only in 1999. As a result, during this time, more than fourteen thousand cars were produced, which were modified depending on the purpose of the delivery. Modifications will be discussed a little later, but for now it is worth focusing on general information regarding Tatra T3 trams. As a matter of fact, these cars were manufactured all this time in Prague, but an impressive part of them was sent to the Soviet Union, as well as to other socialist countries. On the territory of Western Europe, you are unlikely to find such wagons - except perhaps in East Germany.

Modifications

You already know that the Tatra T3 tram was produced in Prague, therefore, the main market for it was the domestic one. Most of the trams of this model were produced and used in the territory of Czechoslovakia. As for the export, in this case it was carried out more than actively. This is evidenced by the fact that for each country of destination, its own modification was created, which did not differ much from the original, but still had some other details and elements.

This was also reflected in the name of the car model. For example, the second largest number of copies produced was the T3SU model, which was supplied to the Soviet Union (SU from Soviet Union). The main difference between these particular cars and the original ones was the absence of a central door, and additional seats were installed on the eliminated aisle. Also, the service ladder was located at the back of the car, and not in the middle, which was due to the absence of a middle door. There were other small differences that set this model apart from the base one.

Where else was the Tatra T3 tram supplied? There was a separate modification for Germany, for Yugoslavia and for Romania, and also in 1992 T3RF trams began to be produced, which were intended for the newly formed Russian Federation. It is also worth noting the tram model T3SUCS - these are the cars that were produced on the basis of those intended for the Soviet Union, but were supplied to the domestic market. The fact is that the original model was no longer produced in 1976, but in the eighties there was an urgent need to replace many outdated cars. It was then that the production of this modification began.

Tram history

What was the history of this car, as well as its modifications, such as the most popular among them - "Tatra T3SU"? It should be clear to everyone that, based on the name, this was not the first car in the line - T2 cars were produced earlier, and not only for Czechoslovakia, but also in large quantities were supplied to the Soviet Union. These cars had their own shortcomings, which were eliminated in the new version.

Already in 1960, the first prototype was ready, which was tested and approved. Then mass production began, and the first tram of the new model drove through the streets of Prague in the summer of 1961. However, in the spring of 1962, the trams were decommissioned due to defects that were eliminated within a year and a half. As a result, the final date for the launch of this tram in operation was the fall of 1963. In the same year, the supply of specialized cars to the Soviet Union began - their percentage was maximum, even in Czechoslovakia, as many cars of this model were not used as the Tatra T3SU trams were used. Deliveries of these trams to Soviet cities took a very long time and stopped only in 1987.

Recent history

Deliveries resumed, as you understand, in the early nineties, when T3RF cars began to be supplied to the Russian Federation. They were supplied to the Russian Federation until the last moment, when their production had already been discontinued, that is, until 1999. However, the end of supplies did not mean the end of use: in total, about eleven thousand trams were delivered to the USSR, and many of them have been modernized over the past fifteen years to extend their service life. In many cities, dozens and hundreds of these trams run, so their era in Russia will definitely not end in the near future.

Specifications of the two-door model

The two-door Tatra T3 was the main model supplied to the Soviet Union. It is about her that you need to talk first. She has 38 seats and a passenger capacity of 110 people. It is equipped with four TE 022 engines, each of which has a power of 40 kilowatts. The design speed of the model is 72 kilometers per hour, while the real maximum speed is 65 kilometers per hour. The length of such a car is 14 meters, the width is two and a half meters, and the height is three meters. Its mass is approximately sixteen tons. When two cars are combined, a train with a length of 30 meters is obtained. If we talk about what is inside, then it is worth noting the height of the cabin, which is 2 meters 40 centimeters, as well as the width of the doorway, which is 1 meter 30 centimeters. These are the main technical characteristics of the Tatra T3 tram car. Its salon, as you can see, is very large and roomy, and the carriage itself has good dimensions.

Specifications of the three-door model

However, the two-door model was not supplied to the Soviet Union all the time - later orders for the Tatra T3 three-door carriages began to arrive in Czechoslovakia. Photos show that the difference between these cars was not too great, but there was still. Therefore, it is necessary to take a closer look at the technical characteristics for this car, as well as compare them with the previous version.

So, the number of seats was reduced due to the appearance of the middle door - in such a car there are 34, not 38. The passenger capacity has also decreased, which now amounted to 95 people, that is, fifteen passengers less. The engines remained exactly the same, their number did not change, therefore the speed remained the same. The dimensions have also not changed, as a matter of fact, as well as the mass of the entire car. As you can see, there weren't really that many differences, even the width of the doorway remained the same.

Design features

The next thing to pay attention to when considering such a vehicle as the Tatra T3 tram are components and assemblies, body and bogies, electronics and brakes, and much more. Simply put, now we will focus on the design features of this tram. And the first feature worth paying attention to is the complete absence of pneumatic equipment. This means that all equipment in this tram is mechanical or electrical. However, this is a characteristic of the entire line of cars.

What is new in the design specifically for the "T3" model? The side and roof remained all-metal, but the ends of the car were made of self-extinguishing fiberglass, a special polymer material that has a much lower weight and greater streamlining. Thus, the use of this material made it possible to reduce the total weight and increase the aerodynamic properties of the car. Also, a complex electrical device called an accelerator was used to control the movement of current through the motors. The cabin was equipped with fluorescent lamps and air heaters, which provided passengers with the maximum level of comfort. The Tatra T3 tram model significantly surpassed its predecessor, the T2 model, in technical features.

Frame

"Tatra T3" - which is still used throughout Russia, and this means that at one time these cars were made at the highest level. But if you look into the past, you can understand that in 1963 this model was something incredible. The absence of any pneumatics, the presence of fluorescent lamps and high-quality heating, as well as other features of the body made this tram a real wonder. Particularly prominent were the polymer body elements, as well as the curved windshield. In general, many considered this tram to be ahead of its time, and that is why it still remains so popular in such a huge country as the Russian Federation. Of course, the scale of supplies also affects: why get rid of eleven thousand trams, if they can be modified and used further?

Carts

This tram has always had a lot of problems with bogies. Firstly, due to the reduced weight, the car could often not stop as quickly as we would like, especially when the action took place on wet or frozen rails. Moreover, this caused not only the need to slow down earlier, but also the rapid grinding of the wheels, which gradually acquired a square shape and began to make a lot of noise.

However, this was not the only problem, and these cars also began to wear out the rails on which they were traveling, due to the fact that they used the technology of single-stage suspension of the bogie. Most likely, this was done to reduce the price, since the two-stage suspension, which did not leave such marks on the rails, was already known and was actively used in other tram models.

As a result, the Voronezh plant even began to produce special grinding trams that level the rails. After all, if you leave them in this form, then in the end it can lead to severe damage. Moreover, such rails caused a lot of noise even for trams of other brands and models.

Electrical equipment

These cars had very advanced electrical equipment that provided a smooth ride and many other positive factors, but there were also serious drawbacks. For example, these trams are famous for not the highest reliability, as well as the "disease" of the sticking finger of the accelerator, due to which accidents often occur. In some cases, they simply lead to delays on the lines, and sometimes you even have to remove the tram from the line in emergency mode.

Brakes

As for the braking system, it was not one - there were three of them at once. These systems work independently of each other - the electrodynamic system is the main one, the electromechanical system is used for additional braking, as well as the magnetic rail system, which is used for emergency braking, as well as for holding the car when leaving the hills and entering them.

disadvantages

The main disadvantages of this model can be considered the noise of the cabin due to the operation of the motor-generator and the above-mentioned sticking of the accelerator fingers. It is also worth paying attention to the comfort of passengers - the gondola car is located too high, and the windows are too low. Also, the operation of the tram is often accompanied by creaks - the doors creak when opening and closing, and the cars themselves when cornering.

Popularity

It will come as no surprise to anyone that these cars are still very popular on the territory of the Russian Federation. However, they are also known outside the country. For example, you can get the Tatra T3 tram for Trainz 12, the popular train and tram simulator. This game is one of a kind and allows you to travel on a wide variety of trains. And in the 2012 version there is a Tatra T3 model for Trainz, so if you do not want or cannot ride a real tram, you have a chance to drive a virtual one.

At the moment, only Tatra TZ carriages of the Czechoslovak plant ČKD Tatra-Smichov (Prague) are used on the High-speed tram line.

The brainchild of Prague

Tatra T3 trams were produced in the period from 1960 on 1989 years and were popular in Central and Eastern Europe and the former USSR. Deliveries to the USSR were made by T3 the most massive in the entire history of the model, exported to one country - more than 11 thousand cars were transferred. These trams still make up a very significant part of the rolling stock of Russian cities. Similar products of domestic manufacturers are significantly inferior in quality to Czech trams.

The operators were satisfied with the Tatra at the time of its commissioning due to many advantages. T3 had a soft and quiet ride, an indirect control system, the accelerator allowed for smooth acceleration and deceleration. Passengers were pleased with the luminescent lighting of the cabin, the absence of noisy pneumatics and a heating system. The design of this car still does not look outdated. It owes much of its impressive appearance to the huge, streamlined curved glass.

Volgograd version

High-speed tram cars are clearly fixed on the route. Mostly, two-car couplers run on a multi-unit system, but single trams also operate on weekday evenings and on weekends and holidays during the day. As a rule, couplings do not break from the moment they are formed. These are the newest T3 cars in the entire tram system of the city, produced in the period from 1980 on 1987 years.

To ensure safety and traffic regulation, the Volgograd High-speed tram line is equipped with a special system ALS-ARS- automatic locomotive signaling with automatic speed control. Externally, its presence for the passenger is noticeable only by a small metal cabinet with equipment installed behind the cabin in the head carriage.

The high-speed tram assumes higher speeds than conventional tram lines, and the metro line is capable of passing 40 pairs of trains per hour according to metro norms. Therefore, to avoid collisions in the tunnel, this system automatically adjusts the travel interval. If a tram stops in the tunnel for any reason, the tram following it will be notified by the system and automatically stopped.

Although trams are capable of speeds over 70 km / h, the ALS-ARS system automatically limits it to 58 km / h. This is provided for traffic safety reasons, since the permissible maximum speed for a tram in the tunnel is no more than 50 km / h. However, the light rail route has the highest operating speed of all urban routes - 22.7 km / h. This is the average speed taking into account all delays and stops, including stops at terminal stations.

Good condition

The cars are in good condition (4-5 points on a five-point scale), despite their average age of 20 years, exceeding the standard service life of 16 years. In Volgograd, a good repair base has been created for T3, operating experience has been accumulated, despite the fact that most of the fleet has already exhausted its resource and must be replaced, and the financial condition does not yet allow purchasing new equipment. The MUP "Metroelectrotrans" enterprise has a program of overhaul and restoration of rolling stock. The restoration of trams is carried out at the VETA car repair plant, established in 1999 on the basis of the oldest car repair shops in Tsaritsyno.

Time for renewal

In connection with the upcoming completion of the second stage of the construction of the Volgograd metro tram, the need to renew the ST tram fleet is imminent. The new section has no intersection of tunnels and a turning circle, which requires trams with two-way doors and two driver's cabs. Cars of this type have already been tested in Volgograd in the 1990s: these are the Czech Tatra KT8D5, the Russian LVS-8-2-93 and KTM-11.

Finally, the type of carriage for the light rail line was determined in 2002 year is KT8D5N, an eight-axle three-section motorized articulated tramway car in the middle section with a low floor level. The car is equipped with wheelchair ramps controlled from the driver's cab, has 90 kW asynchronous traction motors and modern traction electrical equipment of the TV Europulse type, this novelty is called KT-KVATRO.