Magyar News, 2003. szeptember-2004. augusztus (14. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2004-03-01 / 7. szám
Life is a journey RIDE THE TRAM IN BUDAPEST by Eszter Balázs The “Stuka” They are still referred to as UVs, the onetime model designation having quickly turned into a brand name. Produced in four rounds, the last of the UV series rolled off the production lines in 1965. The yellow cars - with windows which have to be rolled down by a handle and sliding doors opening slowly - were modified several times. During the '60s and 70s the cars ran virtually without any maintenance time at all. As a result, the doors often refused to open or close and there were problems with the motors. While UVs are equipped with four motors each, due to a lack of technological supervision not all the engines worked all the time. Struggling to fulfill performance requirements calling for a maximum number of trams to be launched from the terminus, trams with broken down engines often reached the other end of the line only for the driver to report the fault and head to the depot. Today, only perfectly working trams are allowed to enter the circuit of rails. Most of the refurbishment of the cars started in the '80s. One of the most spectacular improvements was the partitioning of the originally open driver's cabin. Today all cabins are separated from the passengers but life for the drivers is far from tranquil. There is, for example, the problem of the bells. Namely that the drivers have to overcome the problem of confusing the footoperated bell-ring with the microphone THE STAR in films and videoclips, has a maximum speed of 60kmph and was in part designed by the Hungarian Academy of Science. It is the oldest yellow tram in Budapest, currently working on many lines. The 47/49 model has been through several refurbishments over the years, but its outward configuration has basically remained the same since its first appearance on the Budapest fixed track mass transportation system in 1940. Age, and the arrival of newer models, will slowly lead to the disappearance of this beautiful, old-style vehicle. The old style trams commuting partly on Kiskörút between Deák tér and Budafok on line 47 belong to this family. The earliest version of the tram, referred to as Stuka- after the Second World War era German dive bomber - was built in 1939. After the war in 1948, a modernized version was constructed and exhibited at the Budapest International Fair. This tram, called Ghost due to its technological shortcomings, included two motors with a passenger car in between - the same configuration used in the current 47 tram. The Hungarian Academy of Science entered into the picture when, in the '50s, the technological faults of the Stukaswere addressed. The new model, called the UV, rolled and rattled on to the tracks in 1956. It remains there to this day. For experts and tram fans - like for example Ákos "Hamster" Varga, the host of an excellent English-language trams page at www.hampage.hu/kozlekedes/ e_index.html - the UV is not only rattling, slow and unheated, it is also a durable and beautifully constructed old-style model, to be treated with great respect. For beautiful pictures, interesting comments and a detailed history of Budapest's lost tramlines, check out Hamster's site. When the first UVs appeared in Budapest, their type designation stood for "new tram" (új villamos in Hungarian). We found these old photographs that show how things were in Budapest at the time the irst electrical trams were introduced. Above, the new tram and to the right the last horse-drawn.. Below, the new tram at the Nyugati Pályaudvar. (Railroad station) Page 4
