 The 900-class |
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The 900-class |
This paper is an abstract of that produced in Gratallopstram magazine nº. 34 (April 2003)
© Albert Gonzàlez Masip. Many thanks to Dewi Williams, that permitted to use some of his pics about that trams. For the rest, except showed, pics are from unknown author.
History
At the begining of the '20s, Barcelona had a poor tramway service. The I WW was at the origin of a lack of some material but, nevertheless, Les Tramways de Barcelone seemed not annoyed for the poor service they offered. But with the pressure of the City Council the company ordered new tramways. Two of the more unreliable lines were the narrow gauge long urban and suburban routes to Sant Andreu and Badalona respectively, with both population and industrial and trading growing. So, the tramway company decided to order an important number of narrow gauge and high capacity tramcars, and designed a very new vehicle for the city. The first drawings, planned in 1921, were for a 13m long car fitted with a low central platform (at 40cm of street level).
Despite the aesthetic and technical improvements of the 900-class cars, it can be said that the new Barcelona tramcars were not so news as they intended as some similar cars were built some years earlier in USA. The prototype was ordered in 1922 to the workshops of the Sarriá a Barcelona Railway Co. Mounted on Grinnell bogies the new double ended car was built in all steel riveted system, that confered to the car a very weigthed appearence and people christened it as 'tank'. Weighted at 20 tons it was fitted with 4 x33kW motors and electric as well pneumatic brakes. The 4 doors were air commanded and the total capacity of the car was for 72, with 32 seated. Scheduled to run with trailers, the class was fitted with Tomlinson couplers. The first car was launched on 16th January 1923 in Catalunya sq. with a new and spectacular silver livery.
Launching of car 900 in
Catalunya sq. 16.01.1923
Picture: BrangulíCar 900, in silver livery, on route 40
to St. Andreu.1923
Car 930 in Horta depot, serving route 45. Thirties.
The new car was numbered 900, the next one batch after the 836-857 series. At the end of 1922, 50 units from the same type were ordered, to be built by the belgian company Manage to became 901-950 class. Furthermore, 16 similar trailers were ordered. The tramway company intended also a new order of 50 tramcars of the same type designed for standard gauge; the prototype was ordered also to the Sarrià a Barcelona workshops and delivered in May 1924. The new tramcar -numbered 951- was an impressive one. Long of 13.480mm and 2.420mm width had curved ends and was the bigger tramcar in the city system. It was also the more weighted one (20.226Kg), and was fitted with 4 motors with an amount of 117kW and capacity for 110. But all that features were considered too much by the Council and the car was not allowed to run in service. Meanwhile, started the delivery of the narrow gauge batch, that finished in December 1924. The trailers, numbered 1716-1729, entered in service in June 1926.
Car 947, in Horta depot.
ThirtiesA look inside a 900-class car.
A 900-class train on route 40 at the railway crossing in Glòries sq. Thirties
The 900-class was modified several times along its life and the last cars run in November 1967. Several were coupled as semipermanent units as M+R (motor+trailer), others were unmotorized and widened to standard gauge some others. The first ones were coupled and the trailer received a cab and a trolley. All theese received a new number from M1+R1 to M14+R14. Some of them were burned o suffered attacks and bombings during the thirties and several never run again.After the spanish Civil War, some equipment was withdrawn as pneumatics doors and couplers. After the agreement between the tramways company and the City Council in 1940 that suposed the withdrawal of the narrow gauge city system, it was decided to keep the 900-class to give service to Badalona line and modify the surplus cars for standard gauge. 27 cars were converted and, with 951, formed 14 two-cars trains (numbered adding 50 to the former number) used on routes 55 and 57 with a capacity of 216. They got single ended configuration and left hand doors were closed. Some were converted to trailers and some trailers motorized and other minor differences made the class a very heterogeneus one.
Car 951, in its launching day, on May 1924. R6 heads a train, on route 70,
in Almogàvers st. 8.1956.
Picture © Dewi Williams
The remaining narrow gauge cars suffered also changes and 4 still as destroyed from midd thirties. The new Urbanizaciones y Transportes, the suburban transport company, bought in 1959 the 17 motors and 1 serviceable trailer and used them on routes 42, 70 and 71 to Badalona and short workings, based in St. Martí depot. The narrow gauge line closed in May 1965 and the cars were scrapped immediately. The standard gauge ones remained in service on heavy loaded route 57 until closed in 16th November 1967 and cars scrapped some time later.No one of the 51 streetcars of the 900-class survived the destruction of the Barcelona system.
standard gauge 985, on route 55 in Columbus monument. Trailer 975 in Barceloneta.1967
Picture © author.Cars 984+989 at Pla de Palau on 12.3.1967. Picture © J.Ibàñez
Basic bibliography:
GONZÀLEZ MASIP, Albert: Els tramvies de Barcelona. Vols. 1 i 2. Dalmau. Barcelona, 1997,1998. En català. Resumen en castellano. Abstract in english.
ISBN:84-232-0511-8 i 84-232-0524-X
ZURITA, Fèlix: Tramvies de Barcelona. Catàleg de material mòbil. MAF. Barcelona, 1988. En català, en español, in english.
ISBN:86758-00-9
