EAST GERMAN TRAM BEGINS NEW LIFE AT CRICH
After 30 years as a workhorse of the communist state, and an 800 mile journey by road and sea, tram number 902 from the East German city of Halle arraived at Crich Tramway Village on Wednesday 23rd February to begin a new life as an ‘Access Tram’.
The award winning museum and heritage centre has over 60 historic trams in its collection, many over 100 years old, with up to 20 used to provide the authentic tram ride experience for visitors. However the old trams were never built with wheelchair access in mind, and are not readily converted without destroying the character of the vehicles. In response to this, and to ensure that all visitors have the chance to enjoy a tram ride, in 1997 Crich Tramway Village devised an innovative solution. By acquiring a more modern, 1960s built, tram from East Berlin they were able to convert it for wheelchair use by installing a lift. This ‘Access Tram’ has proved so popular and been in such demand that the museum has now imported another East German tram, this time from Halle near Leipzig, to be converted into a second Access Tram.
The choice of the tram from Halle, follows an international search for a suitable vehicle with trams from Marseille, Budapest and Milan all being considered.
Bob Pennyfather, head of access, explains. “We needed to find a tram with a driving cab at both ends, one which will work on the UK’s standard gauge track, and could be easily converted without changing its original appearance. This is no easy task.
“Two of our volunteers, Christoph Heuer and Kerstin Wünsche live in Germany, and come to drive the trams at the Tramway Village during their holidays. They heard about the Halle tram and were instrumental in securing it for Crich. It is a ‘Tatra’ tram, one of tens of thousands built in Prague for use in towns and cities across the Communist block. Of these only two, used on a suburban branch line in Halle, have the drivers cab at both ends which we need.”
The Tramway Village is now launching an appeal for funding to help complete the transformation of Halle 902 from East German workhorse into an Access Tram. Companies or individuals who would like to help sponsor this worthy project should contact Cara Marchant at Crich Tramway Village on 01773 854321.
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In contrast to the UK and most post-war Western European countries, where tramways were ripped out to make way for private motorcars, the communist regimes of Eastern Europe had little private motoring and so tramways remained essential for mass urban transport. Manufacture of trams for the Soviet Union and the Eastern Block was centred at the CKD Tatra company in Prague, Czechoslovakia, which became the biggest tram manufacturer in the world producing over 1000 trams per annum.
Halle 902 and its partner 900 were converted in 1984 to have a drivers cab at both ends. This enabled them to run on a small suburban line serving the Merseburg district of Halle. This line, like the one at Crich Tramway Village has no turning loop, so needs to be able to be driven from both ends of the vehicle.
Halle 900 & 902 were recently taken out of service and replaced by modern trams. Halle 900 has gone into the HAVAG (Hallesche Verkehrs-AG, the Halle tramway operator) heritage collection and is available for private hire.
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