Konstal 102N was an electric tram built by

Konstal Alstom Konstal is a company based in Chorzów, Poland producing rail vehicles, in particular metro cars and trams, as well as components for trains. In 1864, the plant was founded as part of the Royal Steelworks in Chorzów and in 1917, it was ...

Chorzów Chorzów ( ; ; ) is a city in the Silesia region of southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central cities of the Metropolis GZM – a metropolis with a population of 2 million. It is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Rawa ...

between 1969 and 1970, replacing the Konstal 13N.

History

Konstal 102N was directly descended from the older 13N produced by Konstal between 1959 and 1969, but, unlike 13N, it was an articulated tram - basically two 13N cars connected by a pivot. Most of the electrical equipment remained unchanged; the body of the tram is where the most dramatic changes were visible. The streamlined design of 13N was replaced by a more boxy shape which made for excellent visibility - unfortunately in daytime only. The large windscreen was tilted in such a way that at night-time it reflected light directly into the driver's eyes making the 102N difficult to drive after dark. This issue was ultimately to prove the downfall of the 102N, as after producing just 42 units the company decided to abandon the 102N project, and in 1970 reverted to the 13N look for the newer 102Na model.

Konstal 802N

While most of the tram networks in Poland run on

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

tracks, there are a few that use the 1000 mm gauge. Konstal 802N was a version of 102N adapted to use on 1000 mm tracks, but only five units were built before the company decided to switch the production to a newer 803N model. 802N served in Bydgoszcz and Łódź until the late 1980s; the last one was scrapped in 1990.

Passenger service

Konstal 102N was delivered to

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

and the Silesian network, but due to visibility issues most of them were quickly withdrawn from service. Some were rebuilt to the 102Na standard, and others were converted to maintenance vehicles; the last 102N remained in service in Poznań until 2004.

Today

Even though the 102N project proved a short-lived failure, their unusual, slightly peculiar look endeared them to many passengers. That is why a large number of 102N remain as museum trams in Kraków, Poznań, Gdańsk and Wrocław; even

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, which never had 102N in revenue service, now has one as a museum exhibit (ex Poznań #5). The designers of the modern

PESA 128N The Pesa Jazz is a family of low floor, articulated and multiple carriage trams by Pesa SA which have been manufactured since 2013. The trams are currently serving the cities of Gdańsk and Warsaw. History The Pesa Jazz family is the successo ...

trams claim to have been inspired by Konstal 102N.

Gallery

File:102N Głogowska RB5.JPG, Control panel File:102N Głogowska RB1.JPG, Interior File:102N Poznań RB6.JPG, Front view File:Wrocław, Tramwaj zabytkowy "Strachotek" - fotopolska.eu (128658).jpg, Rear view File:Wrocław, Tramwaj zabytkowy "Strachotek" - fotopolska.eu (128656).jpg, A restored 102N in Wrocław File:Konstal 102N Krakow.JPG, A museum 102N in Kraków File:MPK Poznan 102N Tram 1.jpg, 102N in Poznań File:Wrocław, Tramwaj zabytkowy "Strachotek" - fotopolska.eu (173966).jpg, 102N in Wrocław File:Wrocław, Tramwaje nocne - fotopolska.eu (173968).jpg, 102N (left) and 102Na (right) in Wrocław File:102N Poznań RB9.JPG, Note the tilted windscreen

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konstal 13n Tram vehicles of Poland