3547) T3 Czech Tramcar produced by ČKD Tatra, Ceska Republica (Czech Republic): Medals from CNB coin – competitions 2024: Date/Year of Medals/Coins issue: 06/2024:
The T3 is a type of Czech tramcar produced by ČKD Tatra. A late-2000s study conducted on the Prague tram system has shown 98.9% reliability, the best of the Prague tram system fleet. During its period of production between 1960 and 1999, 13,991 powered units and 122 unpowered trailers were sold worldwide.
It became the most dominant tramcar model in Eastern Bloc countries, except for Poland, where locally produced trams from Konstal factory are still the mainstay in tram systems there, and Hungary, where ČKD only made inroads to the country's tram market during the late 1970s. Together with Soviet KTM-5 it is among the most produced trams, it is still in 2022 the most widespread tram car in the world.
Types
T3
The design of the T3 had to meet difficult specifications. The cars needed to have the same capacity as its predecessor (the Tatra T2), but be easier to build. Some of the things that were done to meet this goal were making the walls thinner, and fitting the cars with laminate seats instead of cushioned leatherette seats such as the T2 used. The T3 was delivered to all tramway companies in the former Czechoslovakia. It was most numerous in Prague, where over 1,000 vehicles were delivered. The T3 still forms (mostly in various modernised versions) the backbone of the Czech tram fleet.
T3SU (SU for Soviet Union):
As with the T2SU, the first T3SU was delivered with the modification of removing the middle door and replacing it with seats. Later cars, however, were delivered with the third door in place. Again, the vehicles had a closed operator's compartment and were adapted for the harsh climate. Altogether 11,368 T3SU were delivered, making it the largest production of a single type of streetcar worldwide. But because so many of one type were made, their replacement by more modern cars was slow.
The T3SU was delivered from 1963, first to Moscow and later to 33 further Soviet cities.
T3SUCS
Originally, the production of the T3 was stopped in 1976 and focus shifted to newer vehicles. The Slovak city Košice, however, ordered two motor coaches as an exception.
The production of the replacement type KT8D5 was slated to begin in 1985, but this model was by then obsolete. Further production of the T3 would have been too expensive, so instead vehicles of the type T3SU were re-imported and adapted. The closed operator's cab was maintained, the vehicles had all three doors in place, and differed from the original T3 only in a few details.
T3SU Evolution
Over time, the T3SU has had minor changes in both exterior appearance and interior design.
Exterior details:
<1966: Narrow passenger windows disappeared
~1969: Narrow window route designators
1980s: Illuminated route indicator on top
~1985: Oval turn indicator at the front became two rectangular lights. The same lamps began to be fitted to the rear
1983 onwards: Small grid in the forward section of the tram on the left side
~1985: Two small red lamps near the tramcar-to-tramcar "control circuit port", both front and rear
Additional red horizontal lamps from behind
Interior:
Early 1960s to early 1970s: Sofa-style seats
Early 1970s to mid-1980s: "Toilet"-like seats
1977–1978: Cream-coloured saloon (repainted yellow/dark-blue)
T3D (D for Deutschland)
In East Germany the first three T3D cars started operation in 1964 and the city of Dresden got its first delivery in 1965. The cars were used in part due to their width of 2.50 m (8 ft 2 in). They operated as single cars or as multiple units (motor+motor, motor+motor+trailer) and/or as mini trams (motor+trailer).
The use of trailer cars was due to the use of original Czech T3 electrical equipment, which had enough power to support trailer cars.
However, due to reduced available power, the maximum speed of the streetcar reached only 55 km/h instead of the usual 65 km/h (40 mph).
Only German and Yugoslav networks had trailer cars. The car was designated as B3D and had the same body as the T3D. Today, only Chemnitz uses T3s in full service as the T3D-M (modified).
T3YU (YU for Yugoslavia):
From 1967 onwards, vehicles supplied to Yugoslavia differed from the standard type T3 by having different pantographs and trucks. In addition, trailer cars were used, as in East Germany. Uncommonly, the network used narrow-profile vehicles, two of which could be found in Czechoslovakia and one in the Soviet Union.
T3R (R for Romania):
At the end of the 1960s, Romania ordered RA cars as part of an agreement in the Comecon. The first vehicles came in 1970 to the city of Galați and had different electrical equipment from the Czechoslovak vehicles, to use the network's 750 V DC voltage.
Since the carbodies were built too wide for use elsewhere, they remained in Galați. Only 50 units were delivered. Romania then opted for the narrower Tatra T4, which had more success, being still used in Bucharest as of 2024.
A few more of the same type were manufactured in 1997.
T3RF (RF for Russian Federation):
Four Tatra T3RF were the very last T3 trams built. They were made for Samara and Izhevsk, but only Samara bought them. In 2002 the two others were sold to Brno and modernized.
Modernised Tatra-T3 trams:
In most Czech cities and in some others such as Bratislava, Moscow, Riga, and Odesa, Tatra-T3 trams became very common. As a result, service and maintenance workers became very experienced at servicing them. This was one reason for modifying existing trams rather than replacing them with newer stock (the other being cost).
Modernisation normally includes:
- - Restoration of the car body
- - Digital/Electronic destination sign
installation
- - Audio information system
- - Installation of new traction motors
- - Thyristor-controlled motor traction system
- - Refurbishing of the interior, which varies by
city and transport authority
- - Pantograph replacement (depending on the
transport authority)
- - More radical modernisation includes insertion of a low-floor section (e.g., Tatra K3R-NT)
More about the Tatra Trams:
The half-ounce gold medal of the Czech Mint, which is part of the free cycle of the most beautiful unrealised designs entered into the Czech National Bank's competitions, pays tribute to the ČKD Tatra T3 tram.
Trams - like trains - use rails to move around, but we come across them mainly inside cities, where they are a key element of public transport.
Between the world wars, however, they seemed to disappear from the streets altogether, due to the rapid development of the automobile.
The then small two-axle trams were slow, cumbersome and uncomfortable compared to cars and buses. But then, in the United States of America, a very different concept of urban rail transport was born, called PCC.
The new large-capacity trams had two double-axle swivel bogies, with each axle having its own traction motor and speed controlled by a so-called accelerator.
The concept, which was characterised by smooth starting and silent, quiet operation, was also popular in Czechoslovakia, where it was applied in the construction of Tatra trams. It all started with the T1 type, whose capacity soon proved insufficient.
This was followed by the Tatra T2, which was more spacious, but at the cost of more weight. Finally came the much lighter Tatra T3, which was one of the most modern vehicles of its time.
Advanced materials - plastics and fibreglass - were used in its construction. It was not only capacious, comfortable, powerful and fast, but also elegant and timeless thanks to its rounded front and two round reflectors.
A representative product of Czechoslovak industry, it has also caught the attention of foreign countries. Large series were exported to the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Romania and East Germany, but the Tatra T3 did not go to the West.
The Communist regime refused to pay the Americans for the use of the PCC concept. Nevertheless, the iconic car became the most produced tram in history. We can still ride some of the 14,000 examples today…
The design is of the medal maker Petra Brodská, DiS. The expert committee of the Czech National Bank awarded it first place in the art competition, but the Bank Board finally decided to implement a different design.
The medal is issued in an edition of only 99 pieces. Each piece is hand numbered on the edge.
Medal Specifications:
Issuer: Czech mint
Designer of the Obverse: Petra
Brodská, DiS.
Designer of the Reverse: Petra
Brodská, DiS.
Numbered issue: Yes
Certificate: Numbered
Material: Gold
Fineness: 999,9
Weight: 15.56 g
Diameter/Size: 28.00 mm
Packaging: Black
leather case
Capsule: Yes
Date of issue: June 2024
Mintage: 99 pcs
Famous Artists Coin Series:
Czech TramCar - T3:
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