BLOCKADE TRAM | MODEL CONSTRUCTION

From the devastation of the civil war Petrograd began to rise by the middle of 1920-ies. Respectively, began to grow and the population of the city, considerably departing from 1918 to 1920. The only form of public transport in Petrograd was a tram, but the cars are too worn down and dilapidated over the years of the First world and Civil wars. Naturally, to return the city to normality was needed and the restoration of the tram system, which has taken a number of measures.

In the summer of 1921, the Council for the management of municipal Railways and of the joint meeting of all local committees appealed to workers and employees of the Petrograd tram depot with an appeal, which talked about the need for extraordinary measures to maintain tram traffic in the city.

In the autumn of that year the fare on the tram, the former free from 1917, again made paid. In 1922 was revised the existing tram routes, which diverged from the centre of town in different directions, which caused the congestion of the tram at the last stop in the centre of Petrograd. New steel radial routes and extended to the working-class suburbs. Since 1923 the tram began to walk and on Sundays, and on weekdays its duration increased.

More acute was the situation and condition of the rolling stock. Inherited from pre-revolutionary times Petrograd, renamed in 1924 to Leningrad, except for the cars-“pioneers” Brush got type MP MB built Putilov and Kolomna factories. There was also a small number of cars MF evacuated in 1915 from Riga.

In 1925 in Leningrad took place the second all-Russian Congress of workers of the tram, which, among others, adopted a resolution on organising production of tramway rolling stock by domestic manufacturers. Also approved was an important decision on the issue of standardized biaxial motor and trailer cars. Their production was organized in 1926 at Mytischinsky wagon factory, and in 1928 — and to the Main tram workshops in Kiev.

Leningrad also the tramway was to obtain rolling stock of standard type with the Leningrad plant “Red Putilovets” in 1927, it began production two-axle tram cars series MC (“Motor Steel”). At that time all motor cars of the Leningrad tram was designated by the letter M, and the second letter pointed out any of their features. In particular, the term “steel” meant that the car, unlike its predecessors, had a steel frame.

Motor car MC-4:

1 — coupling; 2 — route light (“Sofit”); 3 — routing pointer; 4 — ventilation air intakes; 5 — collector; 6 — an electric socket receptacle connections; 7 — light; 8 — sleeve pneumatic brake system; 9 — safety mesh; 10 — truck

The layout of the motor carriage MS-4:

1 — entrance door; 2 — column manual brakes; 3 — faucet air brakes; 4 — controller; 5 — the driver’s seat; 6 — bench; 7 — interior doors

A design feature of all cars MS, like others, was their symmetry. At that time, when they were created “amasi” and their contemporaries, in the final paragraph of the majority of routes were not turning hinges. In the heart to do it just anywhere. Instead, at the ends of the routes made exits from one track to another. Tram, pribyva the final stop, moved by this Congress out of its way to a counter, the driver passed on opposite the post office and the car, and turning, went back on the route.

This system, still used by horse-drawn trams, demanded the device to the tram control station at both the front and rear. Accordingly, the front door to this tram took the left and the right.

The body of MS cars had a riveted metal frame, and bending loads, perceived not only the frame, but a window sash frame, made in the form of a farm. This has increased the stiffness and strength of the body and, eventually, durability of cars. IPU was withdrawn from passenger service in 1968 (40 years since production began!), as part of the MS tram, a converted office cars were operated until the beginning of 1990-ies!

In contrast to the predecessor, the car series of BF, the body of MS was mounted on a bogey, wheel pair which is not rotated in the horizontal plane. The BF wagon body was mounted on two single-axle bogies, so they are very well fit curves. At the same time, when driving on straight sections of the road began the fluctuations of the carriages in the horizontal plane (yaw), making them restless movement. Application on MS-axle truck with a hard setting axes suggested that the progress of the tram on straight track sections will be more relaxed, which will improve the speed. However, this truck is bad to fit in the curves. To avoid this, designers had at the car of MS to reduce the wheelbase 3600 mm to 2700 mm. However, this had a negative impact on smoothness. Thus, the use of two-axle trucks instead of two uniaxial had only one advantage — the simplicity and reliability of the design.

Inside the truck was placed two traction motors PT-35, and each of them resulted in the movement of your wheelset. In addition, each engine on one side relied on the bogie frame and the other to the wheelset, which was set in motion. Reliance on wheelset carried out with the help of motor-axial bearings. Torque from engine to wheel pair is transmitted through spur transmission that loud howling during acceleration of the car.

Since the car was symmetrical, with each side mounted flashlight for lighting the path for the socket for the connection of electric circuits of a trailer and a sleeve for connection of brake air line trailer brake lines to the engine. This sleeve was called “sausage”, whence arose the term “ride on the sausage,” which meant the ride of a man on the hitch of the car, keeping hands for this very “sausage”.

As mentioned earlier, trams series, MS had two control stations, which were located in front and back. Special cabs for the motorman cars MS had, and control stations does not separated from the landing pads, while the interior of the tram was closed with sliding doors. The front door was also sliding, hand-operated (and on the cars first releases at all lattice), so the “weather” in the wheelhouse differed little from that on the street. This was especially felt during peak hours, when passengers “bunches” hanging in the doorway, not letting them close. And if to consider that in the wheelhouse was not heating devices, you can imagine the working conditions of drivers of a tram in the winter.

The driver brought the tram in motion, by turning the handle controller DK-5, stood at his left hand. To the controller, directly connected to the chain of traction motors, supplied voltage (550 V); its contactor elements controller output pad resistors of the circuit of traction motors.

However, the driver is using arm controller could not only disperse, but also to slow down the car. This was possible because of the use of the cars of MS so-called rheostatic braking when the traction engine works in generator mode, and they produce electricity turned into heat in the brake resistor.

In addition to the rheostat, tram series MS was equipped with pneumatic brake, which powered the brake pads not only motor, but also on the trailer car. To control the brake directly in front of the driver housed the faucet handle that had three fixed positions. In its middle position, the brake was not engaged. When turning in one direction produced inhibition of car (or cars). When you turn the same lever in another direction in addition to braking has been activated a special device — a metal frame with a stretched with a grid that came from under the wagon on the rails in order to prevent the impact of the tram wheels on it run over by a pedestrian.

Power traction motors DC voltage of 550 V was produced from the contact wire through the pantograph Hoop type, mounted on the roof in the middle of the car. Since the speed of the car MS was low, so the trolley worked quite well. Feature t-bar pantograph was that he could “automatically” to have in the direction of motion (illustrated in the film “Unbelievable adventures of Italians in Russia”), and the spring is provided equal pressure on the wire guard, regardless of which way one is inclined. Condition clear and safe changeover of the guard was a weak tension of the contact wire or suspension of its above normal position, and this was done on the stub end stops. On the main site throwing of the susceptor could lead to breakage.

The first carriages of the MS received in the tram Park. Konyashina, where they began to work on the route No. 9, from the Narva gate up to the Polytechnic Institute.

Cars MS has released four, slightly different from other versions: MS-1 (1927 — 1931), MS-2 (1931), MS-3 (1931 — 1932) and MS-4 (1932 — 1933). End of cars MS-1 had a rounded shape in plan. Other modifications of the tip was more simple, angular. In cars, the MS-2 was missing the sliding doors between the salon and venues, so starting with this modification, the cars equipped with sliding glazed entrance doors.

In addition to motorcars MS, the plant “Red Putilovets” in 1929 released a trailer cars PS. They have no traction electrical equipment, control stations, and the chassis were the two free (not United into the cart) axis.

A number of motor cars in 1933 and was made without the traction electrical equipment and was used as a trailer — they received the designation of SMEs.

Of course, unlike a single car, two-car to coupling gear, consisting of motor and trailer cars, it was not easy to walk on routes without turns at the last stop. However, already in 1920-e years the tram network of Leningrad was optimized. Most of the radial routes with the end stops in the city centre was transformed into a diametrical, with end stops in the suburbs, equipped with pivot hinges. Movement on the routes of the couplers was not a problem.

Capacity two-axle wagon were 24 passengers, which was clearly inadequate in order to meet the growing transportation needs of Leningrad, and in the 1930-ies the MS tram walked the trails with a hook (sometimes two) cars.

Due to the fact that the “Red path-the catch” is more loaded with military orders, in particular, the production of tanks, in 1930, the plant stopped producing locomotives, and in 1933 it was the turn of tram cars.

Obsolete, it would seem, to 1940-th years of the cars MS proved to be extremely popular in the years of the siege of Leningrad. Due to the fact that a significant proportion of vehicles were mobilized to the front, the tram has become a very important form of urban transport, both passengers and freight.

In December 1941 without warning was removed the voltage from the contact network. All trams and trolleybuses stood where they were caught off. So they stood the hard winter of 1941/42, but in the spring the question was raised about the resumption of the tram traffic. In early March, in a network applied voltage. The lines went trams — first freight and special. With their help was restored the way and a contact network, which was destroyed by bombing and shelling, was removed from the paths of the snow and the wreckage of buildings, towed to the depot abandoned on the tracks the cars.

Motor car X (Mytishchi, Ust-Katavsky plants) 1927 — 1941

Motor car MC-1 (the Putilov factory) 1927 — 1930s

Motor car MC-2, MC-Z, MS-4 1930— 1933 years

And so, on 15 April 1942 Leningrad again heard the call of the tram. 116 cars MS went on five routes, then the number of routes was increased. For people who survived the nightmare of starvation and cold winter of the siege of 1941/42, tram calls in April 1942, meant that the hard part is done, the city comes alive, life is getting better…

German troops besieging Leningrad, could not help but notice the appearance on the streets of flashes from sparking tram pantographs. The news that in Leningrad resumed tram, shocked the Germans, who expected the imminent imminent surrender of the city.

With the resumption of the tram traffic in the city by the Nazis during the shelling began to strive to conduct aimed fire on the cars and tram stops to achieve the greatest possible number of victims. So they had from time to time to carry stops that it was impossible to zero in. And to reduce the sparking of the current collectors on the cars parallel to the main installed auxiliary current collectors. To increase the speed on the line was produced only motor cars without trailers.

The routes were deliberately released old “amasi”. The fact that damage to the contact network of the passengers were able to push out from the damaged section of small MS, in contrast to the heavier trams.

By the way, in the movie “Baltic sky” was shown very credible scene in which the passengers pushed the car MS for part of the way with undamaged contact wire.

After the war, in connection with the beginning of construction of a new tram LM-49, MS cars began to be transferred to tram system in other cities where passenger traffic was not so significant. Small batches “amasi” went to Minsk, Irkutsk, Sverdlovsk, Kalinin, Taganrog, Astrakhan, Krasnodar and some other cities. A number of cars MS altered at the same time on a narrow gauge.

Gradually, the MS cars have undergone significant changes. Since they no longer need to walk the trails without turning at the last stop, the cars were removed the rear control post, and the doors were left only on the right side.

Lattice entrance doors on cars MS-1 were replaced with sliding. Route lights from the roof were transferred under the cabin Windows and the air intakes were eliminated altogether. The driver’s area was figuratives improvised cabin and under the driver’s seat mounted electric heater. On some trams there is a rope tow trolleys were replaced by pantographia.

Currently, the number of cars is preserved in the MS collections of the Museum of urban electric transport in St. Petersburg, and some of them are maintained in working order. From the car of MS-1 No. 2066 in 1981 was made a car replica firm Brush (MB) No. 1028. And the car of MS-4 No. 2603 in 1970 was transferred to the tram Museum in Amsterdam.

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