Table of contents:
- The miracle of technology was not very reliable at first
- Fascinating attraction
- Trolleybuses during the blockade
- Return to the streets of Leningrad
Video: The first trolleybuses of Leningrad: Why they were considered an attraction, but they were almost allowed into the war along Ladoga
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
In pre-war Leningrad, the trolleybus was considered a high-comfort transport - it was expensive, but the townspeople were ready to pay for it. Even despite the fact that once a trip in a trolleybus turned into a disaster for passengers, claiming 13 lives. Comfortable and roomy cars that do not require gasoline worked in the city even during the blockade. They even wanted to let them in Ladoga and it was quite feasible …
The miracle of technology was not very reliable at first
The world's first trolleybuses appeared in 1882 simultaneously on the territory of two cities in Germany. One line was launched between Berlin and the adjacent town of Spandau. The second was laid in Königstein near Dresden, in the so-called Saxon Switzerland.
But in the USSR, passenger trolleybuses were launched only in 1933 - first in Moscow, and then in other large cities.
The first trolleybuses had the abbreviation "LK", which stands for "Lazar Kaganovich". These machines had a number of disadvantages and, above all, the load-bearing wooden elements. As a result, in inclement weather (especially in rainy Leningrad), there was a leakage of current to the body of the machine. In addition, LK had no windshield wipers and its interior was not heated, which was again important for the northern capital.
The LK-1 was replaced by newer Kaganovich models: in the second half of the 1930s, seven LK-5 trolleybuses and one LK-3 were in operation in Leningrad. However, one dramatic story is associated with these models, after which the LC was taken out of service, and they were practically forgotten for a long time.
It happened on December 26, 1937. LK-5, which was carrying passengers from Finland Station along the Fontanka embankment, burst its front wheel. The trolleybus turned around and it fell into the water. The tragedy claimed 13 lives.
The reaction of the Soviet authorities followed immediately: the same night, the head of the Trolleybus Service, the chief engineer of the trolleybus fleet and many other employees were arrested, whom the investigating authorities considered to some extent guilty of a terrible emergency. All of them were sentenced to death. As for the LK trolleybuses, after this incident they were recognized as dangerous, and they did not go out on the route again. The city began to use only YATB brand trolleybuses (produced in Yaroslavl).
It was YATB-1 that opened the trolleybus service in Leningrad back in 1936. By the way, unlike LK, they were more rounded in shape and generally more comfortable. However, although these trolleybuses were covered with steel on the outside, the frame still remained wooden. The electrical equipment, like that of the LK, was poorly protected from water penetration, so nuclear fuel tanks often broke.
Fascinating attraction
For the Leningraders of the 1930s, a ride on a trolleybus was considered chic, it was perceived as a luxury vehicle, because it had soft seats and curtains on the windows. In addition, it was designed for a certain number of seats, which means that the cabin was not as crowded with passengers as in the tram.
It is clear that you had to pay for comfort: if a tram ride at that time cost 15 kopecks, and regardless of the length of the path, then on the trolleybus route each zone cost 20 kopecks. Nevertheless, there was no end to the passengers - Leningraders were ready to seriously overpay in order to ride such a beautiful and convenient transport.
Many perceived it as an attraction - in the trolleybus dads and mums rode the children as entertainment, and the boys - their girls. According to the recollections of eyewitnesses, especially "rolled" passengers, winding in several circles, were escorted out of the passenger compartment by policemen, explaining that, they say, they are not alone here and the rest also need to ride.
Since 1937, trolleybuses began to carry Leningraders and guests of the city even at night - now the transport ran until half past four and at the same time quite often. Despite a number of disadvantages of nuclear fuel, they were used in the northern capital until the end of the 1960s.
Trolleybuses during the blockade
In 1941, when the war broke out, trolleybuses continued to enter the routes. Their movement did not stop even during the blockade. Shelling, power outages, snow drifts, severe frost - transport workers worked in such difficult conditions. Traffic on trolleybus lines stopped only at the end of 1941 - the reason was power outages and the most difficult weather conditions.
Rows of trolleybuses frozen on the streets of Leningrad, as well as trams (they also stopped walking) - icy and covered with snow - gave the city, in which people were constantly dying, an even more eerie look.
In mid-April 1942, tram traffic resumed in besieged Leningrad. But the authorities considered it inexpedient to launch trolleybuses. With the help of all the same trams, the "horned" cars were transported from city streets to the so-called places of conservation (vehicles were not used for these purposes, since there was no gasoline). Towing was carried out as follows: one trolley-bus bar ("plus") was connected to the tram pantograph, and the second ("minus") - to the body, after which two cars drove side by side.
Before the next winter season, they decided to start up the trolleybuses - though not along the city streets, but along the frozen Ladoga. They wanted to use them instead of trucks to deliver the necessary ammunition and food to Leningrad, as well as to evacuate the townspeople. The calculations of the engineers showed that the idea is quite feasible. However, the winter was not so frosty, the ice could not bear a lot of weight, and the authorities decided not to risk it. In addition, in mid-January 1943, Soviet troops broke through the blockade.
Return to the streets of Leningrad
The first passengers were received by the Leningrad trolleybuses only in May 1944, after an almost 30-month break. The launch process looked very solemn: the cars were painted red, and the trolleybus network itself had by this time been seriously modernized.
In 1946, more modern machines, manufactured at the Tushino aircraft plant, were added to the YAKB, which were immediately nicknamed "blue trolleybuses" by the people. They were immortalized in his work by Bulat Okudzhava.
By the way, in the post-war years, the city authorities often used propaganda trolleybuses with information signs and posters on the sides, as well as with loudspeakers. They came to the most emergency areas of the city in terms of road accidents, where agitators worked with Leningraders: they reminded the townspeople of the traffic rules and safety precautions.
Recommended:
Why the ancient Romans can rightfully be considered the first Goths in history, and how they flirted with the "lady with the scythe"
The people of the Roman Empire are usually remembered as fans of gladiatorial combat and amazing builders of roads, temples and aqueducts who loved to drink a lot of wine and sleep with their siblings. Much less often, the Romans are thought of as a civilization obsessed with a culture of death. It turns out that they were no less creepy than the Victorians and treated death as a daily routine and even entertainment. Isn't it really similar to the modern subculture "ready"
How Soviet soldiers survived, who were carried into the ocean for 49 days, and How they were met in the USA and the USSR after they were rescued
In the early spring of 1960, the crew of the American aircraft carrier Kearsarge discovered a small barge in the middle of the ocean. On board were four emaciated Soviet soldiers. They survived by feeding on leather belts, tarpaulin boots and industrial water. But even after 49 days of extreme drift, the soldiers told the American sailors who found them something like this: help us only with fuel and food, and we will get home ourselves
11 predictions from the past that were considered fatastic and insane, but they came true
People tend to dream about the future and often fantasy throws them completely crazy ideas. But this is only at first glance. After all, many of the incredible predictions of the past have come true today. They have become firmly established in everyday life. The first cell phone was released in 1984 and was incredibly expensive. Nowadays, few people can even imagine life without a mobile with a touch screen, built-in camera and face recognition system. They are much cheaper than the first such device
How were the trials of Nazi accomplices: How they were investigated and what they were accused of
At one time, these people were sure that their actions did not run counter to either the law or morality. Men and women who did their work as guards in concentration camps or otherwise contributing to the development of fascism, could not even imagine that they would have to appear not only before the judgment of God, but also to answer for their actions before people, according to the letter of the law. Their crimes against humanity deserve the most severe reckoning, but they are often ready to bargain for the slightest ambassador
From pagans to Bolsheviks: How families were created in Russia, who were refused marriage and when they were allowed to divorce
Today, in order to get married, a couple in love only needs to apply to the registry office. Everything is very simple and accessible. People easily tie themselves by marriage and divorce just as often. And it's even difficult to imagine that once the creation of a family was associated with many rituals, and there were only a few (and very compelling) reasons for divorce