Warsaw Work Horses – Part I (Motor Cars)

This posting is from 2011 but it was recently updated:

In late May 2011 I lead a party of 45 tram enthusiasts (open pdf file with group photo – taken from the Warsaw tram club website) for www.intraexpress.de in Poland. We visited the tram systems in Warsaw, Czestochowa and Lodz. We also saw the metro depot in Warsaw and rode and visited the WKD interurban from Warsaw to Grodzisk (Mazowiecki).

Here I want to show you the large fleet of workscars that still operates in Warsaw. Having the largest tram network in Poland Warsaw also has the largest fleet of work equipment (both steel wheel and rubber tyred). As with most systems in Poland proper workscars are still a mayor part of the fleet. In most Western Europen countries and indeed most of the tram networks around the world steel wheel workscars have disappeared in the last 10-20 years. They have largely been replaced by rubber tyred vans and lorries and Unimog type road/rail vehicles. In Central & Eastern Europe there are still many workscars around converted from old passenger cars (both motor cars and trailers) and also the odd purpose built vehicles. Warsaw so far has kept many of the workscars in daily use. During our visit we saw two or three in actual service running between depots and of course with a special permanent way depot housing a large fleet of both proper workscars and an even larger number of road and road/rail vehicles Warsaw has more workcars than some of the smaller tram systems I have visited around the world have passenger trams!

We were fortunate enough to visit all the Warsaw tram depots and the main workshops in one day using two charter trams so I think we saw all the vehicles that are owned (except maybe one or two that may have been hidden away in locked sheds) and we even managed to photograph those cars we saw during riding from depot to depot when they re-appeared in their home depots later. I had visited Warsaw during 2007/8 seeing all the depots (except the main workshops) then so in a separate posting I’ll also show photos of some vehicles that seem to have gone today.

Numbering of workscars is fairly hap-hazard in Warsaw. Many cars are numbered in the 2xxx series (or maybe have 2xxx numbers but the first digits are simply not shown) and others have a class code in front of the fleet number (i.e. S-7; with our without the hypen). Others have probably kept their original (ex passenger car) number or simply carry a “stock” number as they never leave the companies’ premises (looking at older slides most workscars seem to have this stock number and many previoulsy only displayed this number). Two little tower wagons (trailers) were spotted not carry any type of number (not even a stock number – though stock numbers can be found on nearly all the other mobile “machinery”).

12 Type 13N (1962) R-2:: this car is probably old #2412 now sporting a slightly rebuilt end

23 Type 13N (1962) ZETiT:

53 (ex 4-53) Type 13N (1964) R-4:

388 Type 13N (1967) ZETiT:

827 (stock number) ZETiT:

1022 Type 105Na ZETiT (photo by D. J. Vigar):

2002 (ex 450-1) Type K (1940) R-1:

2112″ (ex 423-1) Type K (1940) Wola:

2113 (ex 451-1) Type K (1940) ZETiT:

2115 (ex 436-1) Type K (1940) R-3:

2116 (ex 444-1) Type K (1940) ZETiT:

2117 (ex 407-1) Type K (1940) ZETiT:

2213 Type K (1940) ZETiT (photo by D. J. Vigar):

2215 (ex 444-1) Type K (1940) ZETiT:

2217 (ex 164?) Type N(?) (1951?) ZETiT:

2400 (ex 408) Type K (1940) R-4:

2406 (ex 431-1) Type K (1940) Wola:

2407 (ex 425-1) Type K (1940) Wola:

2411 (ex 446-1) Type K (1940) ZETiT:

2412 (ex 429-1) Type K (1940) ZETiT:

10642 (stock number) ZETiT:

P1 (carries number “V498” on the side) Type 08-16 ZETiT (photo by D. J. Vigar):

P15 (ex 437-1) Type K (1940) R-2:

P16 (ex 439-1) Type K (1940) ZETiT:

P17 (ex 442-1) Type K (1940) ZETiT:

S1 Type SF50 (200x) ZETiT:

S6 Type K (1940) R-3:

S7 Type K (1940) ZETiT:

S9 (ex 410-1) Type K (1940) R-2:

S11 (ex 417-1) Type K (1940) R-2:

S12 (ex 433-1) Type K (1940) ZETZiT:

S15 (ex 291) Type 4N1 (1958-61) ZETiT – to be restored as passenger car 861:

S16 (ex 290) Type 4N1 (1958-61) visiting R-1:

later that day the car is seen at home: R-3

WCS-01 (ex 24XX) Type K (1940/1984) ZETiT:

somehow I forgot to photograph the front of this car during this visit (this photo taken in 2007)

Depots: R-1 = Wola, R-2 = Praga, R-3 = Mokotow, R-4 = Zoliborz, Wola = Wola Workshops, ZETiT = Obozowa Permanent Way Yard

Update July 2013:

Dariusz Walczak has kindly supplied the ex Berlin fleet numbers of the class “K” (4xx) cars. BVG had purchased the cars when the war broke out and classified them Type “TF40” (they were originally ordered by Warsaw) but all the survivors (51 motos cars plus 4 chassis and also 16 trailers) went to Warsaw after the war.

Berlin 3901 = Warsaw 403

Berlin 3902 = Warsaw 404

Berlin 3903 = Warsaw 405

Berlin 3904 = Warsaw 406

Berlin 3905 = Warsaw 407

Berlin 3906 = Warsaw 408

Berlin 3907 = destroyed in WW2 (in Berlin)

Berlin 3908 = Warsaw 409

Berlin 3909 = Warsaw 410

Berlin 3910 = Warsaw 411

Berlin 3911 = Warsaw 412

Berlin 3912 = Warsaw 413

Berlin 3913 = Warsaw 414

Berlin 3914 = Warsaw 415

Berlin 3915 = Warsaw 416

Berlin 3916 = Warsaw 417

Berlin 3917 = Warsaw 418

Berlin 3918 = destroyed in WW2 (in Berlin)

Berlin 3919 = Warsaw 419

Berlin 3920 = Warsaw 420

Berlin 3921 = Warsaw 421

Berlin 3922 = Warsaw 422

Berlin 3923 = Warsaw 423

Berlin 3924 = destroyed in WW2 (in Berlin)

Berlin 3925 = destroyed in WW2 (in Berlin)

Berlin 3926 = Warsaw 424

Berlin 3927 = Warsaw 425 (I) but soon after scrapped

Berlin 3928 = Warsaw 426 (I) soon after re-numbered to 425 (II)

Berlin 3929 = Warsaw 426 (II)

Berlin 3930 = Warsaw 427

Berlin 3931 = Warsaw 428

Berlin 3932 = Warsaw 429

Berlin 3933 = Warsaw 430

Berlin 3934 = Warsaw 431

Berlin 3935 = Warsaw 432

Berlin 3936 = Warsaw 433

Berlin 3937 = Warsaw 434

Berlin 3938 = Warsaw 435

Berlin 3939 = Warsaw 436

Berlin 3940 = Warsaw 437

Berlin 3941 = Warsaw 438

Berlin 3942 = Warsaw 439

Berlin 3943 = Warsaw 440

Berlin 3944 = Warsaw 441

Berlin 3945 = Warsaw 442

Berlin 3946 = Warsaw 443

Berlin 3947 = Warsaw 444

Berlin 3948 = destroyed in WW2 (in Berlin)

Berlin 3949 = Warsaw 445

Berlin 3950 = Warsaw 446

Berlin 3951 = destroyed in WW2 (in Berlin)

Berlin 3952 = destroyed in WW2 (in Berlin)

Berlin 3953 = Warsaw 447

Berlin 3954 = Warsaw 448

Berlin 3955 = Warsaw 449

Berlin 3956 = destroyed in WW2 (in Berlin)

Berlin 3957 = Warsaw 450

Berlin 3958 = Warsaw 451

Berlin 3959 = Warsaw 452

Berlin 3960 = Warsaw 453

the exact history of cars Berlin 3927/8/9 (Warsaw 425/6) remains shrouded in mystery

Trailers (Berlin = Type “B40S” / Warsaw = Type “P15-IV”)

Berlin 1101 = Warsaw 1351

Berlin 1102 = Warsaw 1352

Berlin 1103 = Warsaw 1353

Berlin 1104 = Warsaw 1354

Berlin 1105 = Warsaw 1355

Berlin 1106 = destroyed in WW2 (in Berlin)

Berlin 1107 = Warsaw 1356

Berlin 1108 = Warsaw 1357

Berlin 1109 = Warsaw 1358

Berlin 1110 = Warsaw 1359

Berlin 1111 = Warsaw 1360

Berlin 1112 = Warsaw 1361

Berlin 1113 = Warsaw 1362

Berlin 1114 = destroyed in WW2 (in Berlin)

Berlin 1115 = Warsaw 1363

Berlin 1116 = Warsaw 1364

Berlin 1117 = Warsaw 1365

Berlin 1118 = Warsaw 1366.