A TOPIC ABOUT STREETCARS (TRAMS) IN ROMANIA (Eastern-Europe)
Interurban streetcar line between SIBIU and RĂŞINARI
Once, Muncipium of Sibiu, administrative center of Sibiu county (in Romania, Eastern Europe) had an extensive streetcar network. Unfortnley, in the '80's Sibiu was a city where trolleybuses almost killed the streetcars. All streetcars in the city where dismentle, but the one conecting the city with Village of Răşinari (Răshinari) remained - most probably it was very expensive to install trolleybus line on quyte a long distantance and since the streetcar line was there...
I managed to ride a streetcar on that route in 1997. I like it becuase of the narrow guage (1,000 mm guage) - the only other cityes in Romania that are using narrow guage streetcars are Iaşi (Jassy) and Arad; Galaţi (Galatzi) used narrow guage form 1900 (first steetcar lines) untill the '70's, when they bought P.C.C. type "Tatra" T3R and T4R streetcars - they use now standard guage (1,435 mm). The streecar that I've ryde was a painted one. All the streetcars that runed on that rute after the 1990 where some '50's Swiss Made Be 4/4. All the older streetcars where massaccred. Talking about Swiss stuff and the streetcars killer named the trolleybus, back then (I dind't know at the time) in Sibiu runed an 1960!!! Swiss articulated!!! trolleybus "F.B.W." 3GTr (I've mentioned this vehicle becuase it's very old; it last runed in 2002 or 2003; now it's in the trolleybus garage). I was lucky to ride the painted one. After I got down this streetcar entered the barn and another one got on the route.
Well, the trolleybuses "bussines" wasn't enough; now the last streetcar line is thertean by the "sharks". What are this "sharks" (or "rechini" called in Romanian): drivers with private owned cars, that are taking passangers along the streetcar line, but they don't have any authorisation and they don't pay any tax! And even if the police tryes to make something, is hard to catch them, because they can say people in the car are relatives or hitch-hickers. And Sibiu Municipal City Hall dosen't care so much about this old vehicles. In fact in Sibiu you cand find one of the worse public transporation sistem in Romania. Back in 1997 the motor car had an trayler. No only a motor car is runing. However, there are still people loving this streetcar route.
The route dosen't have a number. Is simply called "tramvai" (Romanian word for "streetcar"). In recent times, the line was nickanamed 26, because the car that is runing is called "A streetcar called Popescu" - we have 1 "A Streetcar named Popescu" in Buchares - it was an streetcar in wich last year some playes written by a dramturgist Popescu (vey common family name in Romania) where played. The 26 was given in Bucharest because of the old 26 line (closed in the dark '80's) which have something particular: it was an circle line (I'll put a map in order to understeand what this means).
If you ever come to Romania, ride this streetcar and visit the beatioful places from Sibiu and Răşinari.
PICTURE OF THE CAR RUNING NOW AND SOME OLD PICTURES: http://forum.transira.ro/viewtopic.php?p=47988#47988
SOME OTHER PICTURES OF THE STREETCARS: http://ratb.stfp.net/?=ttx.tb&la=E
http://railfaneurope.net/pix/ro/trams/Sibiu/pix.html
SOME 1968, 1969 AND 1973 PICS MADE BY A DUCTCH NAMED HANS OERLEMANS:
http://tramclub.org/viewtopic.php?t=5340
IF ANYONE IS INTRESTED, I CAN OPEN A GENERAL TOPIC ABOUT STREETCARS IN ROMANIA!
This thread will serve the purpose and you don't need to start a new one.
I rode a Duwag articulated, probably second hand from a German or Austrian city, in Bucharest in 1994. Bucharest seems to have a large and varied tram system. A Metro also.
In Bucharest we never had articulated "Duewag" streetcars. The only 2 second hand articulated streetcars where a couple of "Rathgeber" P3.16 + p3.17 (P3.16 was the motor car, p3.17 the trailer).
Did they look like this stuff?
LET'S BEGAN.
The Romanian word for streetcar is tramvai (at plural tramvaie). The word is coming from the Briths words "tram" and "way". In pre 1940 books you may find tramway or tramvay (at plural tramvayuri). NOTE! In the Romanian language the word "troleu (trolley)" is used for the trolleybuses!!! All streetcars in Romania are using pantographs.
Here is a list of Romanian cityes that are runing streetcar systems.
1) Arad. In Arad area was opened the first electrified railroad in Romania (1906). It was narrow gauge (1,000 mm). Up untill 1966 was the only electrified railroad in the country. More than half of this route was dismentled. First streetcars in the city where horse drawn and introduced in 1869 and runed untill 1916. The streetcars where reopened in the city, on 29th of Nov, 1946 (1,000 mm guage).
2) Botoşani (1991). Gauge: 1,435 mm
3) Brăila (1901). Gauge: 1,435 mm. In the past (1989-1999) operated trolleybuses too.
4) Bucureşti (Bucharest) : horse drawn (28 dec. 1872 - 1929), electric (December the 9th, 1894), steam (1906 - ?). Gauge: 1,435 mm Operates trollyebuses and subway too.
6) Cluj-Napoca (1st 1987). Gauge: 1,435 mm. Also operates trolleybuses.
7) Constanţa (Constantza): 1943-1944 (the streetcars where stollen from Soviet Union - City of Odessa, but afrer turning weapons against Germany they where return to the Soviet Union). Reintroduced in Nov. 1984. Guage: now 1,435 mm. In 1943-1944, since the streetcars where bought from Soviet Union, it probably used the Soviet guage of 1,524 mm. Operates trolleybuses too.
8) Craiova (1987). Gauge: 1,435 mm.
9) Galaţi (26th of May, 1900). Gauge: originally 1,000 mm, but strating with 1971 all lines where covreted to 1,435 mm gauge; last narrow gauge line closed in 1975. Also operates trolleybuses.
10) Iaşi (Jassy) (March the 1st, 1900). Guage: 1,000 mm. Operated trolleybuses (May 1st, 1985 - 2006).
11) Oradea: horse (1872 - ?), steam (1888 - ?), electric (March the 2nd, 1906). Gauge: 1,435 mm.
12) Ploieşti (December 1st, 1987)
13) Reşiţa (20th of August, 1988). Gauge: 1,435 mm.
14) Sibiu (1905). Only the 11 kms (9.4 miles) long line that conects the city with Village of Răşinari (see above) still runs. Guage: 1,000 mm. In the city streetcars where replaced by trolleybuses.
15) Timişoara: horse (June the 8th, 1869 - ?); electric (July the 27th, 1899). Gauge: 1,435 mm. Also operates trollybuses.
In todays Romania Bucharest is the 3rd city that operated streetcars, after Timişoara and Oradea, but back then, the 2 cityes where part of The Austro-Hungaryan Empire. So Bucharest was the 1st city in the Old Kigdom (Old Kigdom was Romania between 1866 and 1918, year in which Greater Romania was found) to operate streetcars and the only city in the Old Kigndom to run horese drawn streetcars.
Cityes that once operated streetcars
1) Braşov: steam (1892-1960) and electric 1987-2007 (just one line). The mayor now wants to exterminate trolleybuses too. Both used 1,435 mm gauge.
2) Satu-Mare (can be traduced as The Great Village). Operated between 8th of Novmeber, 1900 and 31st of December, 1906. Gauge: 760 mm. The company that bought the old electric company didn't runed them any longer.
I must put another 2 cityes on the list. Now they are not any longer part of Romania, but since they once been part of this country... The 2 regions where part of Romania for the last time between 1918 and 1940 (when they where incorporated into the Soviet Union), and between 1941 and 1944.
1) Chişinău (now capital of Republic of Moldavia): 1913? - 1960. When the streetcars where introduced, the city was part of the Russian Empire, when they where dismentled it was part of the Soviet Union.
2) Cernăuţi. When the streetcars where introduced, the city was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when they where dismentled it was in Soviet Union. Now it's in Ukrayne.
MORE TO COME. Please, at cityes watch the datas, because some may be wrong and I may change it in the future.
Well, in Romania there are some reasons that streetcar survieved
1) In the countryes that buses replaced, they had auto indutsry tradition (both automobiles and buses). In Romania, the first buses where mass produced in 1955 (they where so "good" that probably dind't last more than 10 yrs.) - a small number of buses where produced by "Marta" (later "Astra") railroad cars plant in Arad in the '10-'20's; the first automobile was produced in 1969 (jeeps where produce starting 1957). In stad, cityes like Bucharest and Timişoara where producing or modernizing streetcars since the '20's. Other cityes, like Arad, Iaşi and Galaţi produced streetcars too. Except for the streetcars made in Bucharest, no other city "exported" streetcars into other Romanian citye. In the '30's, when some Europanen and U.S.A. cityes arleady replaced all streetcars by buses, some cityes in Romania never heared of urban buses.
- In Timişoara, untill Nov. 1942, when first trolleybuses where introduced, the streetcars where the only mass public transporation vehicles. Buses camed in 1948. Timişoara still haves the 2nd biggest streetcar network in Romania (and the 2nd biggest trolleybuses network too)
- Galaţi introduced buses only after W.W.2. - in 1945 the City Council decided that should be no more buses in the city center. Another thing it was this city suffered big damages because of air bombings (is an port city - ship yards too) and was hard to rebuiled streetcars lines
- Iaşi. I don't think they have buses untill '40's or '50's
- Sibiu I think like Iaşi too
2) Automobile where expensive (even up to mid '90's). In 1935 where about 40,000 automobiles in Bucharest (to a city population of about 700,000-800,000 people) and in 1959 about 30,000 to a population about 1,000,000. The '50's buses where small capacity and wheren't avaible in big numbers. In stad, the streetcar networks where there, and high capacity streetcars could be produced in Romania. Timişoara produced the big capacity Gb 2/2 in 1949, and Bucharest the V-951 "Festival" (they where know as Festival because when the last one of the 37 was produced in 1953, the Youth Festival was heled in Bucharest). One of the "Festival" and the docoumentation for it was sent to "Electroputere" ("Electropower") Plants in Craiova, where the EP streetcars where produced. No Gb 2/2 or "Festival" was preserved; the only EP streetcars preveserved are some modernized version called EP/V3A. Going back to the capacity, in the '50's a bus or trolleybus could carry at full capacity about 75-90 people; in compare, a big capacity streetcar could carry about 100 people, and if you aded a trailer, the capacity was incrised with about 25-50-100 people. Higher capacity buses arrived only in the '60's. Some streetcars lines where dismentle only after buses and trolleybuses where avaible in higher number. Even when articulated vehicles camed, they dind't manage to replace streetcars at all, becuase and articulated bus or trolleybus could carry about 120-150 people, while an articulated streetcar about 270. The real blow for many streetcar lines in Bucharest was caused by the Ceauşescu destruction era of the '80's (they wiped out a lot of the old city, with many old and historycal builings) and the introduction of the subway - one of Ceauşescu's dumb ideeas sayed the should be no paralel lines of surface lines and subway lines (maybe except bus lines).
3) In Romania, most public transporation networks where owned by the City Hall, or in some cases of the streetcars by Electricty Companies, who weren't extremly intrested to introduce buses. In the '30's, in Galaţi, some guys who wanted to introuce buses where complaying about the mayor, who owned the electric company and the streetcars, saying he owns an momopoly. The only city where the City Hall reallay helped the guys with the buses was Braşov. They disemntled parts of the steam streetcar line. The C.F.R. (Căile Ferate Române - Romanian Railroads), who owned the line after the 11th of June, 1948 Communist nationalization gaved the final blow to that line in 1960.
4) Streetcars are more simple vehicles than buses and trolleybuses, and more relaible than buses (trolleybuses are more relaible than buses, since they are electric vehciles too). During the poor mentinance era opened in the Communist era (continued today, even after the falling of the Communism) buses din't last more than 10-15 yrs., so did trolleybuses (maybe some trolleybuses lasted long), whyle some streetcars runed for 20-40 yrs.
In the '80's some cityes introduces streetcars because of the fuel economy and the need of carry many workers. One of the reason for the recent closing of the only streetcar line in Braşov was that the 2 plants that where contected by the line had less then one half of the number the workes that they had in the '80's. An intresting fact is that that line was opened in November, the same month as the workers of one of the plant that was served by the line rioted against the Communist regime - the plant was "Steagul Roşu (The Red Flag)", now called "Roman" - truck manufacturer.
Well, let's began with Bucureşti (Bucharest), the Romanian capital.
At the time, Bucharest was the first Romanian cityes to introduce streetcars (Timişoara and Oradea introduced streetcars before Bucharest, but the 2 cityes where back then part of the Austro-Hungaryan Empire).
The first line was opened on 28th of December 1872. It runed from Barierea Moşilor - Bis. Sf. Ion Moşi (St. John Old Men Curch) near the end of Calea Moşilor (Way of the old men) * and the intersection of it with Şos. ** Ştefan cel Mare (Steven the Great Ave) + Şos. Mihai Bravu (Michael the Brave) Av, on Calea Moşilor, Str. Lipsacani (Lispcani Street), passed by Bis. Sf. Gheorge Nou (New St. George Curch) ***tr. Colţei (Coltzea's Street) - now part of the North-South Axis **** passed by Universitate (University), continued on Str. Biserica Enei (Ienii) *****, passed by at Bis. dintr-o zi (Curch made in one day), Str. Regală (Royal Street) - now Ion (John) Câmpineanu Str., passed by Biserica Luterană (Lutheran Curch), continued Str. Lutherană, passed on the street whic us called today Str. General Berthelot, Str. Manea Brutaru (Manu the bread maker) - today G-ral Constantin Budişteanu, continued on Cal. Târgoviştii (Way of Târgovishte) - now called Cal. Griviţei (Way of Grivitza) ****** and ended at Gara Târgoviştii (Railroad Sation of Târgovisthe) - the station is called since 1888 Gara de Nord (Nothern Railroad Station) - and is the main station in Bucharest.
* The name cames in fact after two days of celebrating the death (one in spring, one in autumm). Barieră was an Medieval custom at entring the city. They where took out in 1903.
** Şos (şosea) in fact means in Romanian road. The 2 streets where in the past ring roads that separated Bucharest from the sorounding communes
*** There is now new or old St. George, but since they are 2 curches with name quyte close one to each other they named them after theyr oldness
**** It passed by Trunul Colţei (Coltzea's Tower), once the most tall building in Bucharest (it the glory days it was 30 m a.k.a. 100 ft high). It was teared down in 1888
***** The Enei's (Ienei's) Curch was the first victim of Ceauşescu's demolition after the 4th of March, 1977 earthquaqe. The woman how built in the past the brick curch (before that one it was and wood made one) left a curse that whoever harm it should die in the 1st day of Crithmas, and Ceauşescu was executed on the 1st Chrithmas day
****** Târgovişte is today the admnistrative center ("capital") of Dâmboviţa county. Grivitza where some Turkish fortfication that where conquered with great casulties by the Romanian Army, in 1877 during the Romanian war of indipenence (1877-1878).
During the '20's, the line was split in 2. Line 1 continued to from Bariera Moşilor to Sf. Gheorghe. Linie 6 runed from the P-ţa Sf. Ionică (St. John Square) - near Palatul Regal (The Royal Palace), passed by Gara de Nord, and continued on Cal. Griviţei (I forgot which was the other end of line back then). NOTE! After these period another lines moved on those rutes too!
With some interurptions (the last one caused by the track replacement) streetcars continued to run on Cal. Moşilor (today line 21 pases by there, but now continues its way way beond Bariera Moşilor, or Bucur Obor area, how it's known now after the universal market).
On the other side, the line wasn't so lucky. In 1959, when the construction began to the new arhitectular assambley around the former Royal Palace (the called Palatul R.P.R. *) (Sf. Ionică Curch was teared down) and the end of line was modified in the next way: streetcars coming from Gara de Nord entered Str. Theodor Amann, had a double line for end of line at the intersection with Str. A. Şt. Popov (now Str G-ral Henri Mathias Berthelot), entered Str. A. Şt. Popov, made a left turn as Sf. Iosif (St. Joseph) Catholic Cathedral and entered Str. G-ral Budiştanu going back to Gara de Nord.
The double line at the end of line lasted up untill around 1997. In October of 1998 The portion between G-ral Berthlot and the intersection of Cal. Grviţei with Str. Buzeşti was closed. Between Str. Buzeşti and Gara de Nord, only in the direction from Gara de Nord to Buzeşti the line is still used.The olny time I ride on this portion was in Sept. of 1997. I heared that people living in Str. Theodor Amann area complained that the streetcars passing by there where shaking theyr houses and back from the '80's they wanted the line to be shut down. Trolleybuses replaced the streetcar line - they only reahced untill the intresection of Cal. Griviţei wiht Bd. Dacia (Dacia Ave.), they didn't reach Str. G-ral Berthlot. The last trolleybuses rune there only up to 2002 or 2003 - now only the wires remained. On Str. G-ral Berthlot you can still find tracks.
* R.P.R. = Republica Populară Romînă (The People's Republic of Romania), the name bared by Romania from 30th of December 1947 (the day when the Republic was proclaimed) untill 1965.A "funny" thing. During the first day of streetcars in Bucharest, the where stops, but drivers also stopped wherver people wanted to get up or down (this was in the day of horsecars); but when the City Hall baned this practice there where cases of drivers beaten by travelers, because the people where angry - why don't you stop where I want?!
Do you have a Map or a link? I am looking at a puzzle.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.