MTV-82
Encyclopedia
stands for Moscow Tram Vehicle. The first prototype of MTV-82 tramcar was built on
the military Factory No. 82 (it corresponds to 82 number in the vehicle
index) in 1946. The mass production started in 1947 on the Factory No. 82
and it was transferred to Rīgas Vagonbūves Rūpnīca
Rigas Vagonbuves Rupnica
Originally named Phoenix, Rīgas Vagonbūves Rūpnīca was founded in 1895 by the businessman Oscar Freywirth and is one of the largest machine-building plants in Latvia. RVR is based in Riga and was for many years the largest producer of electric and diesel trains and also tramcars in the former...
(RVR - Latvian acronym;
Рижский Вагонный Завод, РВЗ - Russian full name and acronym) in 1949.
In 1961 mass production of MTV-82 in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
ceased, it was replaced in
production by its direct successor, RVZ-6 tramcar. In total, Factory No. 82
and RVR produced 453 and 1707 MTV-82s respectively. These tramcars worked
until 1983 in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Gorky
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
, Sverdlovsk
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
,
Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
and many other Soviet cities and towns. The Soviet tram
drivers and repairmen liked MTV-82 very much for its simplicity, reliability
and durability. Most of MTV-82s were in operable state before scrapping,
but renovation of Soviet trams was fatal for many types of "old-fashioned"
Soviet tramcars (see also LM-49
LM-49
The LM-49 is the Soviet motor four-axle tramcar. The first prototype of this vehicle was built in 1949 at the Leningrad Wagon Repair Plant . "LM" means Leningrad Motor tramcar...
).
Technical details
MTV-82 is a broad gauge (1524mm) high-floor four-axle tram. It has a full metal body which is mounted on a massive steel carriage with two double-axle bogies. The car has two double doors at each end, which have pneumatic gear for opening and closing. The main brake system is also pneumatic. MTV-82 is equipped with four 55 kW electric motors and is capable of a maximum speed of 55 km/h. The controller for motors uses direct current. Initially the MTV-82 did not have a low-voltage system, but this was added later for external braking and turn light signalization. The vehicle has 40 seats and is able to transport nearly 120 passengers with a full load. The MTV-82 is 13611 mm in length, 2550 mm in width, and nearly 3000 mm in height. The overall weight without passengers is 17.5 metric tons.A bit of History
Shortly after the end of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
a strong need in new trolleybuses became apparent. This was due to a massive conversion from trams to trolley buses in many cities in the USSR. Due to this issue, the Motor and Automobile Research Institute developed a unified vehicle body for buses and trolleybuses, which resembled ones produced by General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
.
- The production of such trolleybuses started in 1946. While the plant produced only 70 complete trolleybuses, the number of produced bodies was much higher. The plant did not have a sufficient number of motor and traction parts to use these bodies for trolleybuses. These trolleybus bodies simply were stored in plant warehouses.
- In order to get out of this situation, Anton Ivanovich Livinenko, chief engineer of the Moscow Tram Council, suggested to use these bodies in tram production. These bodies were converted into the trams very with help from the "Transportation Overhaul Plant in Sokolniki. This re-engineering found to be very successful. In comparison with MTB-82 Trolleybus, the capacity was increased to 120, 55 of which were seated.
- In early 1947 similarly with MTB-82 trolleybus, this model of tram became the MTV-82 tram.
MTV-82 in Non-Revenue Service
The legendary endurance and reliability of MTV-82 trams makes them ideal for use in non-revenue service. After being retired or removed from passenger service, many MTV-82 trams were converted into service trams. They could be used for towing other trams, as hoppers, freight trams, etc. In the cities of OdessaOdessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, and Zaparozh'je a couple of MTV-82 trams were rebuilt into unique double ended (2 cab) version. In Odessa, such 2-cab trams were in use on the picturesque single track route # 19. In Zaparozh'e they were used on route #5.
Survivors
Three MTV-82s survive. MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and Ekaterinburg
have two operable MTV-82 in their tramway systems. Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
tram & trolley museum has a third operable MTV-82 in its tramcar collection. These MTV-82s do not serve as usual tramcars, but can be hired for city excursions (but this is quite a long, formal and bureaucratic procedure in today's Russia). A group of tramway enthusiasts from many cities of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
with guests from Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hired Nizhny Novgorod Museum MTV-82 for their meeting in 2004.
Odessa Transport Authority found unique solutions to existing MTV tramcars in their possession. One of them is car #914, which was converted into an open "retro-style" excursion tram. Its design was modified to commemorate Pullmans of the early 20th century, along with historical dark-red livery.
Car #914 can be seen running both along the "excursion routes" and Route 5, the most picturesque tram route in Odessa.