European Railroad Discussion > Trams on Tuesday (Bremen 1982)

The Euro list has been quiet lately, so thought I'd post some shots from a 1982 visit to Bremen.    Bremen's transit operator, BSAG, operated then, and still operates, a very useable, efficient network of trams and buses.   After brief retrenchment in the 1950s and 1960s, they have mostly been in the mode of expanding the tram system since then.    I returned for a visit in 2016 and the system was still as enjoyable as ever.  I also experienced a surprise in 2019 on a trip to Romania to see a bunch of the ex-Bremen GT-4 trams running in Timisoara, Romania!  All shots from May 1982. 

1)  A Hansa early-body style GT-4 set operating on the #5 line.
2)  A later-bodied Wegmann GT-4N set operating on the #6 line at the large plaza in front of the Hauptbahnhof.
3)  A Hansa T4/B4 on the #10 line.  I think this is in the Steintor section of town.   (Thanks Robert for the model number correction.)
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/23/21 09:32 by dwatry.

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4)  The two varieties of GT-4s side-by-side at Gropelingen on the #2 and #3 lines.  Gropelingen is the site of a large carhouse on the western end of the system
5)  A GT-4 and T-4 crossing in front of the Hauptbahnhof. 
6)  Two GT-4Ns on the #6-line crossing in the neighborhood where I was staying. 
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/23/21 09:58 by dwatry.

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Thanks for postig these interesting pictures.  Gerry

A really nice set of images -- thank you. Interesting trams and urban scenes give a real feel for the equipment and the city. I regret that I did not visit Germany during this period to see the trams of the era, so I really enjoyed your post and these images. Happy Holidays!

MC

Agfachrome! VW Rabbits everywhere! Love it, thanks for the look.

Nice set but I especially like picture 5!

Jim

This Bremen design was certainly an interesting concept.  Normally when one hears "GT4" one thinks of the Stuttgart cars, but those were totally different, with a 'bridge' structure between the inner ends of the bogies supporting the inner ends of the carbodies.  Bremen and Hansa took a totally different approach:  There is a bogie under each half, which takes all the weight of its carbody;  there is no weight transfer at the pivot points, which are above and below the interconnection gangway.  The lower pivot is also an attachment point for a swivelling link that joins arms coming from each truck, something like a Beugnoit arrangement.

Bremen-type GT4's were also acquired by Munich, their 2000 class, built locally under license by Rathgeber.  These looked very much like their northern cousins, but had some internal improvements to permit higher speeds, especially on curves.  Some of the Munich cars also went to Timisoara, where they could have a family reunion with the Bremen cars.  The OP's post of June 7 2019 of 2013 there illustrates one of the latter cars -- they kept their Munich numbers.

It looked like those would be the only two cities* with that style of GT4 -- until Tatra copied it for their KT4 !  The top pivot point is especially prominent in these cars.

Best, SZ

*Well, plus Bremerhaven:  They bought five, plus the matching trailers, to the Bremen design as place holders until their remaining car line was discontinued in 1982, whence they went as planned to Bremen.

kurtarmbruster Wrote:
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> Agfachrome! VW Rabbits everywhere! Love it, thanks
> for the look.

The Rabbit was a North American only model, everywhere else it was the Golf.