The longest trolleybus line in Crimea. History of the trolleybus in Crimea. Trolleybus schedule: suburban routes

It is believed that the Crimean trolleybus route Simferopol-Alushta-Yalta is the longest in the world. In two and a half hours, the trolleybus covers 84 kilometers, the distance from - 96 km. In addition, this is the only European circuit that runs in the mountains. In addition to the practical benefits of the trip, you will receive bonuses in the form of wonderful mountain scenery and the opportunity to make a wish at an altitude of 752 meters. It will definitely come true!

Now trolleybus traffic in Crimea has been established on urban, suburban and intercity routes in,. The state unitary enterprise Crimea trolleybus ensures their uninterrupted operation. It all started back in 1958, when the government decided to build an intercity trolleybus line to unite Simferopol and the resorts of the Southern Coast of Crimea with a single transport network.

Such routes, up to 30 km long, already existed in Italy. In England there was the South Lancashire Route, 51 km long. Crimean builders set to work with great enthusiasm.

Important! In just 11 months (less than a year!), traffic was opened on the section from Simferopol to Alushta, with a total length of 52 km!

In addition to the construction of the roadway, two trolleybus depots, traction substations, more than three thousand supports and more than 200 kilometers of contact cable were required. At the same time, the “Crimean Trolleybus Administration” was organized (now the organization is called “Crimean Trolleybus” - here is their official website).

The second part of the line, from Alushta to Yalta, went into operation in the summer of 1961. The first trolleybus was driven by the head of the department, A. Vasilenko, and the passengers were the route builders.

It turned out that building a track is only half the battle; you still need to find a car that can withstand long and steep descents and ascents. Soviet MTB-82D trolleybuses failed the tests. At full load they smoked and their rear axle jammed.

Then it was decided to cooperate with the Czech concern Skoda. These vehicles were distinguished by reliability, high maneuverability and good maneuverability.

Traffic opened at 4:30 am and continued until 2 am. In addition to the driver, there was a conductor in the cabin, who at the same time acted as a tour guide. The real trolleybus boom happened in the 70-80s of the last century.

Interesting! At the height of the tourist season, the interval of trolleybus traffic on the Yalta-Simferopol route was only 2 minutes. Tickets for flights could be purchased at railway ticket offices in Moscow, Kyiv, Minsk, Vilnius, Leningrad.

Trolleybus Simferopol-Yalta

The route to the Simferopol railway station begins. One line goes to Simferopol airport. The other part passes through the city and through the villages of Lozovoye, Pionerskoye, Zarechnoye rises to Perevalnoye. Lovers of active recreation also come here and head to Chatyr-Dag, Karabi-Yayla, and the Marble Cave.

Note: Now on the Angarsk Pass, near the stop there is a monument to a trolleybus. From the inscription it follows that this is a Skoda, produced in 1972. More than 20 million passengers were transported during its forty years of operation.

Along the Yalta Highway there are vineyards and small resort villages around: , Lavrovoe, Krasnokamenka, . The trolleybus route ends at the bus station in Yalta.

It is planned to soon replace trolleybuses on the Simferopol - Alushta - Yalta route with electric buses.

Route numbering

For the convenience of passengers from January 1, 2016, new numbering was introduced trolleybus routes.

• City routes are numbered from 1 to 15.
• Route numbers in the Simferopol region begin with the number 2.
• C 3 – suburban routes in the Alushta City Council.
• From number 4 - within the boundaries of the Yalta City Council.
• By the first digit 5 ​​( 51, 52 ) recognize intercity trolleybuses.

Fares, prices 2019

The fare varies depending on the distance; each trolleybus has a conductor who calculates the cost of the ticket and luggage.

• Travel ticket inside cities Simferopol, Alushta, Yalta will cost you 20 rubles.
• Fare from the train station Simferopol to Yalta amounts to 182 rubles.
• From the bus station Alushta to the village of Perevalnoe the ticket costs 52 rubles.

Life hacks for travelers

• Take seats near the windows, so you will have more opportunities to appreciate the beauty of the scenery.
• Be sure to take a small bottle of water. Driving in the heat can become tiring; the air conditioners that are equipped in the interiors of modern cars do not always help.
• Be careful and vigilant: do not leave things unattended.

Note: Crimean trolleybuses keep up with the times - new cars are equipped with televisions. You can watch your favorite cartoons or educational videos.

The Crimean trolleybus is convenient, one might say a unique type of transport. Therefore, if you are going on a trip to Crimea, be sure to plan to ride a trolleybus along the Simferopol-Alushta-Yalta route.

Cashless payment

A cashless payment system has been introduced on city trolleybus routes.

Useful video

Visually familiarize yourself with the features of traveling on Crimean trolleybuses:

Save it so you don’t forget!

The operator of city and intercity trolleybus lines in Simferopol, Yalta and Alushta - “Krymtrolleybus” - will become part of “Krymavtotrans”. This is another step towards creating a single regional transport operator in Crimea.

The merger of two republican transport SUEs into one enterprise was approved by Decree of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea dated December 29, 2017 No. 1568-r. The order notes that Krymavtotrans becomes the legal successor of the rights and obligations of Krymtrolleybus. Before March 1, 2018, the liquidation commission was ordered to resolve all issues related to the merger of structures, including the release of employees for whom there was no place in the new staffing table.

The property of Crimea Trolleybus is assigned to the State Unitary Enterprise of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Krymavtotrans” under the right of economic management, including:

• Simferopol trolleybus park with 171 trolleybus models: Skoda-9Tr (two units), Skoda-14Tr (seven units), Aviant K-12.03 (three units), Aviant K-12.04 (one unit), Bogdan-T70110 (52 units. ), Bogdan-T70115 (16 units), Bogdan-T80110 (two units), Trolza-526500 (two units), SVARZ-MAZ-6275 (14 units), Trolza-5265.02 (30 units), Trolza -5265.05 (17 units) and Trolza-5265.03 (27 units);
• Central trolleybus repair shops with and 68 trolleybuses of the models Skoda-9Tr (39 units), Skoda-14Tr (20 units), Skoda-15Tr (two units), YuMZ T2-09 (two units), BKM-32102 (five units) ;
• Alushta trolleybus park with 48 trolleybuses of the models Skoda-9Tr (8 units), Skoda-14Tr (14 units), Bogdan-T70115 (one unit), Trolza-5265.05 (23 units);
• Yalta trolleybus park with 74 trolleybuses of the models Skoda-9Tr (17 units), Skoda-14Tr (20 units), Bogdan-T60111 (19 units), Bogdan-T70110 (two units), VMZ-5298-0000010-01 (three units .), Bogdan-T70115 (13 units).

In the near future, Krymavtotrans should include the Simferopol municipal unitary enterprise Goravtotrans, the municipal unitary enterprise Kerchgortrans and the Directorate of Bus Stations, reports REGNUM news agency. New buses that are purchased for Goravtotrans and Kerchgortrans are purchased under the obligations of the Republic of Crimea, and not municipalities. In 2018, the Krymavtotrans fleet is planned to be replenished with 800 units of passenger vehicles, tenders for the purchase of which will be announced soon.

The trolleybus system "Crimeatrolleybus" should receive 27 trolleybuses on lease this year, which will be used on the southern coast of Crimea. Suppliers are subject to strict requirements: trolleybuses must be compact, suitable for the narrow streets of southern coastal cities, and also be able to run autonomously for up to 20 km, reports RIA Novy Den.

From January 1, 2018, a new price has been established on the Crimean Trolleybus routes. A monthly pass for city routes costs 840 rubles (for schoolchildren - 420 rubles), and for suburban routes - 1200 rubles. (for schoolchildren – 600 rubles).

• in the cities of Alushta, Simferopol, Yalta - 14 rubles;
• on suburban routes №№ 31 "Alushta - V. Kutuzovka", 32 "Alushta - Zaprudnoe", 41 "Yalta - Krasnokamenka", 42 “Yalta – Nikitsky Botanical Garden” - 20 rubles;
• on the route № 21 “Simferopol - Perevalnoye” (to the village of Pionerskoye – 20 rubles);
• on the “Airport – Alushta” section – 92 rubles;
• on the section "Simferopol - Alushta" - 77 rubles;
• on the section “Airport – Yalta” – 138 rubles;
• on the section "Simferopol - Yalta" - 122 rubles;
• on the section "Alushta - Yalta" - 47 rubles.

In Soviet times, Krymavtotrans was a production and territorial association, including 33 passenger and cargo automobile enterprises and more than 50 bus stations. However, in recent years, only the former ATP-14399 from Simferopol, which has about 60 buses for operation on intercity lines, has operated under this name. The remaining divisions of Krymavtotrans either became independent structures or ceased to exist.

The Crimean Trolleybus enterprise was created on May 9, 1959 by the decision of the Crimean Regional Executive Committee to manage the operation of trolleybuses on the intercity route Simferopol-Alushta-Yalta. Since 2017, “Krymtrolleybus”, in addition to trolleybuses, began to serve

One of the main types of transport in the capital of Crimea is the trolleybus. However, its intracity lines are part of a complex transport system built around the Simferopol - Yalta highway. Its feasibility study was developed in 1953, and the design assignment and working documentation were completed by 1958 by the Kharkov Institute “Ukrgiprokommunstroy”.

In addition to the MTB-82, in Simferopol at one time (1961–1963) the Kiev-2 machines created at the Kiev Electric Transport Plant (KZET) named after F. E. Dzerzhinsky were used. Pictured: 1961. “Kievlyanka” No. 171 near the current Council of Ministers. There is a noticeable Italian influence in the design...

"Italian trace"

The final decision to create this network was made in October 1958 by the Council of Ministers of Ukraine (Resolution No. 1340-R “On the construction of the trolleybus line Simferopol - Alushta - Yalta”). By that time, several intercity trolleybus routes were already operating in European countries, which became the prototypes of ours. The most famous and longest was the Ventimiglia - San Remo - Taggia route in Italy with a total length of 28.5 km (in double-track terms), which came into operation in stages from 1942 to 1951, and is still in operation today.

The Italian prototype of our “track”: the line “Ventimiglia - San Remo - Taggia”. Please note: on old Italian trolleybuses the driver sits on the right (when driving on the right). This was required according to safety rules in order to better control the landing.

It was planned that the new line would be significantly longer than the Italian one and would stretch 96 kilometers - from Simferopol airport to Yalta.

"Eight" vs MTB

The first stage of the new route (Simferopol - Alushta), 51 km long, was built over 11 months by more than 80 enterprises, not only from Crimea, but also from 10 other regions of the country (Kiev, Kharkov, Odessa, Nikolaev, Kherson, etc.). The highway that existed since 1826 was expanded from 8 to 12 m, and the number of sharp turns was reduced. Two trolleybus depots were built: in Simferopol for 100 units of rolling stock and in Alushta for 25. In addition, a third one was built in Yalta, designed for 50 cars. More than 3,000 contact network supports, 16 traction substations, and over 200 kilometers of wires appeared along the route.

The main problem for transport workers was the choice of trolleybus type. It was solved by professor of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute Sergei Rebrov. He studied the results of tests on the Alushta highway of the Russian MTB-82 car (interpretation: Moscow trolleybus produced by the 82nd plant).

When driving empty, it covered the road without any problems, but when a 3.5-ton load was placed in the passenger compartment, simulating the mass of passengers, when descending near the Izobilnoye stop, smoke occurred and the rear axle jammed. The professor proposed replacing the Russian trolleybus with its Czech counterpart 8Tr, which had been manufactured since 1956 at the Škoda plant in Pilsen. Thanks to the increased engine power (110 kW versus 86 kW for the MTB), Skodas had better dynamic characteristics. In addition, their operation on the highway revealed other advantages: greater maneuverability, strength of the body and chassis, and a more effective dynamic braking system. An important role was also played by the fact that the 8Tr was distinguished by a more advanced design (already post-war) than the MTB-82, the style of which went back to the American TG-3201 bus from General Motors of the 1940 model.

The Eight was produced with both two and three doors. The three-door layout had advantages when working around the city, as it made it easier for passengers to board and disembark. However, in the USSR, fares were collected by a conductor who sat at the back door, through which entry was made, and exit through the front door. Therefore, trolleybuses were mainly supplied to the USSR in a two-door version. Of the thirty first Skodas in Simferopol (tail numbers 101–130), ten cars had a standard three-door configuration, and the rest were two-door. Each trolleybus had 36 seats, and in the rear of the cabin there was a spare wheel, which was removed in October 1960, which freed up space for 6 more people.

1959 Official opening of the Simferopol trolleybus. On the lead car is a portrait of the head of the USSR government, Nikita Khrushchev. The choice of the main type of rolling stock has already been made in favor of Skoda

The prestige of the profession of a trolleybus driver was almost equal to that of an astronaut, which appeared just at that time. The competition consisted of more than seven applicants for one place. Only first-class drivers were selected who had not committed any accidents or violated traffic rules, who had previously worked in Crimea and knew the driving conditions in mountainous areas. The training took place over 4 months with an internship in Sevastopol, where a trolleybus company already existed, and ended on June 16, 1959 with the qualification of “2nd class trolleybus driver” awarded to applicants. At the same time, workers were trained to repair rolling stock, contact networks and traction substations.

1960 "Skoda" 8Tr (three-door) No. 121 on the snow-covered shores of the Simferopol reservoir

Read also: From the life of Simferopol trolleybus drivers

On September 12 of the same year, trial operation of trolleybuses began in Simferopol, and on October 7, route No. 2 “Railway Station - Maryino”, 7.5 kilometers long (via the Moscow Ring and Kuibyshev Square), came into operation. It represented an urban section of the future line to Alushta, which went into operation exactly a month later, when Alexander Vasilenko, head of the Crimean Trolleybus Administration, created in May 1959 by decree of the regional executive committee No. 337, personally got behind the wheel of the first car.

Russian trolleybuses were not maneuverable enough and had ineffective brakes. Late autumn 1959 MTB-82 No. 138 skidded in Maryino and collided with a truck...

On July 25, 1961, traffic to Yalta officially opened. And on June 14, 1966, the line to the Simferopol airport came into operation, and routes 14 “Airport - Alushta” and 15 “Airport - Yalta” were put into operation (from November 13, 1980, respectively, Nos. 54 and 55 ), which stopped working only in 1998.

For some time, “friends-rivals” worked in parallel on city routes: 1960, Kyiv street, route No. 2. The picture shows MTB and “eight” from the second batch

"Simferopol heads"

Initially, the operation of trolleybuses was complicated by their design flaws, the main one of which was the unsuccessful design of pantographs. However, in 1962, Simferopol engineers Yuri Baida and Alexander Pekelis developed a new head that was attached to the rod with a hinge and did not break off during derailment. This type of head, called “Simferopol”, began to be used not only in Soviet cities, but also abroad - right up to San Francisco.

Meanwhile, the folding heads of pantographs are a really worthwhile thing! In the absence of a hinge, if the rod comes off, the head hits the net and goes into “free flight”, killing innocent people. However, the “Simferopol” head requires a fairly high driving culture, and therefore did not take root in neighboring Sevastopol. There it is installed only on individual vehicles, and on most rolling stock archaic “shoes” are used, with a wooden base that easily breaks off. This led to the famous tragic incident on July 14, 2012, when in the “Hero City” a severed head killed the driver of an oncoming car.

Exhibits of the Crimea Trolleybus Museum: the old, non-folding head (left) and the new, folding head in the reclined position (right)

Similarly, the “neighbors”, over the 64 years of the existence of their enterprise, have not deigned to master the “SHU” - rod catchers. They also stand there on a few trolleybuses, while the rest just drive around with dirty, dangling ropes...

For some time (1959–1964) in Simferopol there were two very rare and stylish SVARZ MTBES trolleybuses produced by the Sokolniki Carriage Repair Plant (Moscow), known from the film “Beware of the Car!” One of them could then be seen for a long time, until 1999, at the entrance to Yalta Park as a barn (third from left in the picture)... However, according to another version, this specimen in some mysterious way came not from Simferopol at all, but from Sevastopol...

To be fair, let’s say that we also have our own prejudices. Thus, over the years of the Skoda monopoly, our drivers have become accustomed to repairing heads from the ground, although this is unsafe for themselves and other road users. After the arrival of cars with rear ladders (Yumz, BKM, Bogdan), they are difficult to retrain in a new way (on Skoda, rear ladders were installed only on certain 14Tr vehicles and did not have a folding platform).

In addition, Simferopol drivers were accustomed to the presence of three pedals (separate for electric and pneumatic brakes), which were an indispensable attribute of Skoda, and when two-pedal ZIU and YuMZ began to arrive in the 1990s, they refused to work on them. This led to the early write-off of cars of these brands.

"Soapbox"

Back in 1958, based on the Skoda 8Tr, Czech machine builders created a prototype of the new 9Tr model. In addition to a more advanced design, it differed from its predecessor in electrical circuitry and pneumatic equipment. After tests in Prague in 1960, it was transferred to Pilsen, where it worked until 1974.

Taking into account trial operation in the capital of the Czech Republic, the Skoda company in 1961 created a second prototype, which was practically no different from future production cars. From the same year, small series of “nines” began to be produced, built in parallel with 8Tr, and from 1962 large-scale production and deliveries to the USSR began, including to the Crimea, which became truly massive. In 1966, the new Skoda plant went into operation in the city of Ostrov na Ohře (Northern Bohemia), almost all of its products went to the USSR, and not only to our peninsula, but also to the Baltic countries, which were the “Western showcase” socialism”, to a number of regions of Ukraine - from Donbass to the Carpathian region - and to the Caucasus. Due to its streamlined shape, in the fashion of the 60s, with curved windshields and rear windows, in Simferopol the “nine” was often also called a “soap box”.

May 1965. One of the first “soap boxes” at the Simferopol station: also with “underground” rheostats and narrow windows...

The 9Tr turned out to be a very reliable machine and is still in use today. Each new batch that arrived in Crimea was distinguished by improvements. For example, since 1965, starting-brake rheostats, previously located under the floor, began to be placed on the roof for better cooling by the incoming air flow; since 1969, the vents in the side windows have been enlarged, and since 1977, hydraulic power steering has appeared. Like the previous model, the “soap box” arrived on the peninsula in a two-door version, and only the last batches of 1981–1982 (tail numbers 1750–1791) were three-door.

The brainchild of the Prague Spring

In 1968, which went down in history as the year of the “Prague Spring”, when there was an acute conflict between the Soviet and Czechoslovak leadership, which was resolved with the help of tanks, Skoda attempted to replace the legendary “nine” with the T-11 trolleybus (in some sources it is called "11Tr", which is incorrect). Its electrical equipment was similar to that installed on the 9Tr, but was housed in a more avant-garde in style body from the Karosa bus model ŠM-11. One of the eight trolleybuses of the new type that were built entered the Simferopol park for testing, where it proved its worth. However, due to the high cost, the Crimean transport workers abandoned it and remained faithful to the good old “soap box”.

No real photographs of the T-11 in Simferopol have yet been found. The Crimean Trolleybus museum workers put together a very crude photomontage, pasting a photograph of the car taken in the Czech Republic onto a panorama of the Crimean Mountains and sticking a stencil to it. Pay attention to the shadows! We don’t even know the number under which this trolleybus was tested...

The Empire Strikes Back...

Skoda’s main rival in the “socialist camp” was the M. S. Uritsky plant in Engels, a satellite city of the Russian Saratov (better known as a strategic aviation base). His cars were used in small quantities in Simferopol, but only on city routes, since they could not master the “track”. They got rid of them quickly enough. Trolleybus No. 141 was written off without having worked for even 9 years, cars No. 162–167 were dumped in Dnepropetrovsk, and No. 242–246 - in Sevastopol. Only in 1977 were Russian competitors able to outpace Skoda and, through the joint efforts of the Uritsky plant (now JSC Trolza) and the Moscow enterprise Dynamo, they created a new, powerful car ZIU-682G with an engine of 150 kW (versus 115 for Skoda-682G). 9"!). In the spring of 1978, a white and green trolleybus arrived from Russia to Simferopol. Without further ado, he was assigned tail number 682, which violated the then-accepted three-digit numbering system: Simferopol Park - Nos. 0ХХ, 1ХХ, 2ХХ, Yalta Park - 3ХХ, Alushtinsky Park - 4ХХ. He was tested on the city "five", and then went on the track. However, the Russians were let down by their disregard for little things. They left the rheostats under the floor of the cabin, which caused them to overheat and almost led to a fire. That is why the brainchild of the Volga residents suffered the same fate as the T-11.

“Aquarium” (not after Viktor Suvorov)

Meanwhile, the trend in the development of trolleybuses generally followed the path of abandoning starting resistances and replacing them with electronics - thyristors. In the early 1970s, the first samples of “nines” with an electronic control system appeared, but they never made it to Crimea. And only a decade later, the Skoda company began mass production of a new model of trolleybuses 14Tr with thyristor starting, of which 162 units arrived on the peninsula (of which a little more than 60 are now “alive”). All Crimean “fourteeners” were three-door, although cars with two doors also came to Kyiv and some other cities of the USSR.

The “14th” Skoda represented a huge step forward compared not only to the Russian trolleybus ZIU-682G, but also to its Czech predecessors 8Tr and 9Tr.

The thyristor control system and air suspension ensured high smoothness, and a pulsed static converter was used as a low-voltage source, which reduced the noise level of the trolleybus when parked. The design made it possible to operate the engine in a regenerative mode, in which part of the electricity was returned to the contact network, which significantly reduced its consumption. Externally, the trolleybus was distinguished by a large glass area, for which it earned the nickname “aquarium” among the people. In addition, it was sometimes called a “music box”, due to the peculiar sound produced by the thyristors during acceleration...

Spring 1981 The first “aquariums” in Crimea No. 001 (still rheostatic, later 7800, burned down in Alushta in 1995, but its remains can still be seen in the local park) and 002 (thyristor, worked in Simferopol as 1800 , then 1018 “training”, decommissioned in 2009)

In 1990, the last six trolleybuses 14 Tr (No. 2150–2155) arrived in Simferopol, after which their supply ceased.

And shortly before this, articulated Skoda 15 Tr vehicles, intended for purely intra-city use, arrived in our city for the first time in all the years of its existence.

Initially, they were heading to the capital of the Lithuanian SSR - Vilnius - but then this republic seceded from the Soviet Union. “As punishment,” the “accordions” were redirected by the central authorities to loyal Crimea. There were also six of them (Nos. 4000–4005), they were very popular among drivers, working mainly on routes 3 and 7. That is why two of them have “survived” to this day...

The management of the enterprise, spoiled by its monopolist status and massive supplies of high-quality rolling stock from Czechoslovakia at state expense, was not prepared for the new economic situation that arose after the collapse of the USSR...

It would be necessary to look for survival options: buy rolling stock second hand, master capital restoration repairs, but, alas...

But we made rockets...

Attempts to switch to new trolleybus models began in 1993.

By this time, the Southern Machine-Building Plant (UMZ), in Dnepropetrovsk, where military space equipment had previously been manufactured, had undergone conversion and was reoriented to the production of trolleybuses. Since Leonid Kuchma, later the prime minister, and then the president of our country, worked as the director of the enterprise in the past, the Dniepropetrovsk trolleybuses were popularly called “Kuchma”.

In the summer of 1993, new articulated YuMZ T1 vehicles Nos. 4050 and 4051 arrived, which worked on route 10, although not every day. According to drivers, they were far from the level of the Skoda 15 Tr (No. 4000–4005). However, this was precisely the case when the saying “no fish, no fish, no cancer” was in effect. We were waiting for the further arrival of new Kuchmas...

“Kuchma” No. 4153 survived in Simferopol only because it is single. His articulated brothers went to the “land of happy hunting” long ago, since no one wanted to sit behind their steering wheel. However, judging by the gap in the numbering, it was planned to transfer two more cars from Yalta and/or Alushta, which, however, never reached Simferopol...

Meanwhile, it is unfair to blame Yuzhmash for everything: its equipment was at a completely different price level, costing several times cheaper than Skoda. Accordingly, it would be naive to expect a high, “Skoda” level of reliability and durability from them. At the same time, if desired, YuMZ, at least on urban routes, is successfully operated in many cities of our country (Kherson, Kharkov, Poltava...). But there they switched to them from ZIU, which were about the same in quality. Simferopol was spoiled by Skodas, and drivers did not want to change to Kuchma's...

In the fall of 1994, three T1 “second call” appeared: 4100, 4101 and 4102. They turned out to be much better than their predecessors: over the year the manufacturer improved something in its products. The drivers of the first two Yumziks immediately switched to new, improved cars. The third one was retrained from Skoda.

Having lost their permanent “owners”, 4050 and 4051 turned into purely reserve vehicles. They were released onto the line only if one of the Skoda 15Tr or second-generation Yumziks broke down. Thus, the first cars produced in Dnepropetrovsk spent most of the time “under the fence”, and spare parts were gradually removed from them...

In the spring of 1995, the “third wave” of T1 arrived: Nos. 2250, 2251, 2252. They began to gradually “accustom” drivers to them... and they would have, but in 1996 another economic crisis broke out, and, as it turned out, there was not enough money even for “budget” cars... There were no new arrivals of Kuchma. Drivers, under various pretexts, began to return to their beloved “three-pedal” Skodas. Only in 2003 did Simferopol acquire a new YuMZ model T2 (single) No. 4150, and in 2009 it received a used one from Yalta, which became our 4153. Only these two single trolleybuses of Dnepropetrovsk production remained in operation, and their articulated counterparts - mercilessly cut, and one burned.

ZIU: The Second Coming

In 1994, the “second coming” of “ZIU” took place in Simferopol, this time also purely urban “accordions”. They got to the capital of Crimea in a very bizarre way...

On the southern outskirts of the city (Balaklavskaya Street, 68) there was the Pnevmatika plant, which, among other products, produced pneumatic equipment for trolleybuses. Just don’t think, please, that he worked on orders from Crimea Trolleybus, producing spare parts for Skoda! No, you don’t understand all the progressiveness of a planned socialist economy! Spare parts for the “Crimean trolleybus” were produced by enterprises located in opposite ends of the USSR, and the Simferopol “Pnevmatika” made components for a distant enterprise in Engels, Saratov region...

In turn, the plant used water, sewerage, heat supply from the city and paid it for utilities...

While the USSR existed, everything went like clockwork. But in the “roaring 90s” a “crisis of non-payments” occurred. Russian trolleybus manufacturers did not have the money to pay for the supply of Simferopol components, and the Crimean plant itself did not have funds for utility bills. And then the idea of ​​barter was born in someone’s smart head. ZiU paid off with Pnevmatika with three “accordions”, and it transferred them to the city to pay off the municipal debt...

Thus, three ZIU-6205 units No. 2200 - 2202 appeared in our fleet. In light of what was said above about YuMZ, it was not difficult to predict their fate. As they say, “in general, everyone died.”

The last days of operation of the Pneumatics gift No. 2200 on the line (terminal stop “7th Hospital”)

After the failures with YuMZ and ZIU, the Simferopol trolleybus entered a streak of failures. If in the cities of Western Ukraine, the heads of transport enterprises, after the cessation of centralized supplies, began to update the rolling stock by purchasing Skoda second hand(by Ukrainian standards, quite functional) in Eastern European countries, then ours, accustomed to dependency, waited by the sea for weather.

Only snakes shed their skins?... No, also trolleybuses!

True, back in 2004, under the rule of the extremely controversial and contradictory “general” - General Director of Crimea Trolleybus Vladimir Turchenkov, a compromise solution was found - a major overhaul at the powerful repair base of the enterprise of the good old Czech machines 14Tr.

Moreover, the Skoda plant in the city of Ostrov na Ohře was no longer functioning at that time, and it was possible to purchase the spare parts that had accumulated there literally at the price of scrap metal...

The trolleybus was actually “stripped” down to the frame, onto which new parts were hung.

The poet Nikolai Gumilyov wrote: “Only snakes shed their skins...”. No, not only! Also trolleybuses... The cost of such repairs was only 200-300 thousand hryvnia, while buying a new car (at that time it could only be YuMZ) cost 2-3 times more. Meanwhile, the “reanimated” trolleybus was almost no different in quality from the new one...

A thoroughly repaired trolleybus 14Tr, manufactured in 1987, No. 2005, in the colors of the Crimean flag (January 11, 2007). Pay attention to the EMU - electronic route indicators - and the new surrounding side lights. The interior also features new soft seats with high backs...

However, this “rebuilt” began not under Turchenkov, but under his successors. The restored cars were painted in the colors of the Republican flag of Crimea and looked great...

According to our data, 5 Simferopol cars and several more from Alushta underwent reconstruction.

Airplanes first?

However, already in the spring of 2007, the KVR program began to wind down, as not repaired, but completely new cars began to appear in the city. They turned out to be three "Kiev-12.03" accordions with numbers 4200 - 4202. They, like the "Yumzik", were also the brainchild of the conversion of the military-industrial complex plant, but of another - "Avianta", and more successful. They were equipped with authentic Czech electrical equipment, which allowed us to finally return to three pedals, and the body was made of aircraft alloys, making it light and almost eternal.

Kyiv-12.03 “Simferopolsky”. The first day of operation of the new machine No. 4200 on the line (April 9, 2007)

Although the Simferopol trolleybuses were still crooked (“This is not a Skoda!”), the car enjoyed some success.

Unfortunately, the management of Aviant had a conflict with the main customer - the then Kyiv City State Administration - and it found other suppliers. It turned out to be unprofitable for aircraft manufacturers to work only for such a relatively small city as Simferopol, and they dismantled the trolleybus assembly line, returning to their traditional products...

And when the conflict with the Kyiv City State Administration was settled, legislation was passed according to which only low-floor equipment can be purchased at the expense of the state and local budget. Created in the image and likeness of the good old Skoda, the “Kievan” did not fit this definition in any way, and one of the best Ukrainian trolleybuses remained in our city in only three copies...

Greetings from "Batka"

The first “low-floor” buildings appeared in the city in 2008. They turned out to be 5 vehicles produced by the Minsk Belkommunmash plant BKM 32102 (tail numbers 4210–4214). Their unloading at the Simferopol - Freight station (formerly Bitumennaya) attracted the attention of many fans of urban transport from all over Crimea and beyond...

Belarusian “low-floor workers” before unloading at Bitumenaya (June 21, 2008)

The main problem for the Belarusians was their panoramic windshields, which easily break in the slightest accident. Since reliable economic ties between Crimea and Belarus, unfortunately, have not yet been established, and the local industry cannot produce such glass, four out of five BKMs already come with windshields from old cars. Since they are much smaller in size, the missing area is welded with iron. This phenomenon was called “armored muzzle” among trolleybus drivers and fans.

Revolution!

In 2009, the domestic low-floor trolleybus “Bogdan” (No. 210) was successfully tested on the streets of Simferopol. Then a copy of the “short” version T60111 was tested.

Rare photo. The first appearance of “Bogdan” (No. 210) in Simferopol. On June 26, 2009, a trolleybus of the “short” version T60111 was tested (route 3, final stop “Balaklava Market”)

Subsequently, the car drove through several more Ukrainian cities and finally settled in Lugansk under number 113, and its longer “brothers” T70110 and T80110 came to Simferopol.

The “shorties” got to Yalta, but not in salad green, but in white and blue, “regional” colors. However, the Crimean “Bogdans” of other modifications also received the same color.

And starting next year, the mass replacement of reliable but worn-out Skodas with new equipment finally began. In total, Crimea Trolleybus received 52 Bogdan models T70110 (50 of them in Simferopol), 30 T70115 units (12 in Simferopol), 19 T60111 units (all in Yalta) and 2 T80110 units (all Simferopol)...

"Horned" trucks

In the early stages of its operation, the Simferopol - Yalta route was used not only for passenger traffic, but also for freight traffic. On the one hand, even then an environmental problem arose, on the other hand, it was necessary to fully load the equipment of traction substations. Such vehicles were also used for intracity transportation. From 1960 to 1963 At the Sokolnichesky Car Repair Plant in Moscow, freight trolleybuses TG-1, TG-3 and TG-5 were manufactured, which had the ability to run autonomously.

1963. A cargo trolleybus on the KrAZ chassis No. 003 goes to Yalta...

10 such vehicles arrived in Crimea at the end of 1965 and formed a cargo convoy. At first, their operation was difficult. When one such truck was moving from Simferopol in the direction of the South Bank, on the descent from the Angarsk Pass, the traction motor spontaneously disconnected from the rear axle.

This made electric braking impossible, and, as every driver knows, it is impossible to use a foot-operated pneumatic brake on a long descent. As a result, the cargo trolleybus ended up in a ditch, but, thanks to the high professionalism of driver Nikolai Ivanov, there were no casualties or damage to the vehicle itself or its cargo.

Subsequently, the DTU-10 freight trolleybus based on the KrAZ-219 vehicle (tail number 003) and 18 KTG type vehicles produced by KZET also entered the route. Cargo transportation by Crimea Trolleybus stopped due to economic and technical reasons. The main flow of goods came from Simferopol to the resorts of the South Coast. There was no cargo flow in the opposite direction, and the vehicles were returned empty, which was unprofitable for the enterprise. In addition, from a certain point, the intervals of passenger trolleybuses in the summer season were reduced to 2–3 minutes, and traction substations began to operate at full load, which left no room for the movement of trucks.

The experiment failed. Freight trolleybuses before cutting (November 28, 2010)

Screen for Andropov

A serious problem for transport workers was the role of the peninsula as a VIP recreation zone. On days when high-ranking officials were traveling, the entire management of the trolleybus company was on the route and made sure that the windows on the left side in the direction of travel were closed in the salons, and that passengers did not lean out and did not throw out foreign objects. Road transport was driven by traffic police officers from the highway to adjacent roads, and trolleybuses continued moving until the last minutes and only before the immediate passage of the motorcade were pressed to the side of the road.

The fact that there were trolleybuses on the route at the time of the “event” was one day, by the way, very useful to law enforcement officials...

The famous Soviet politician Yuri Andropov was traveling from Simferopol to Yalta. Traffic, except for public transport, was blocked. When the distinguished guest had already passed the Alushta bus station, in the area of ​​Maly Mayak, a Zhiguli VAZ-2106 car drove onto the main road, driven by a local police officer, and behind by wrestlers hurrying to the Simferopol airport. According to one version, they were members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs team, according to another, they were simply friends of the owner of the car. Be that as it may, the “six” ignored the traffic controller’s prohibiting signal and rushed towards the motorcade...

Then a command was heard on the police radio wave:

- Attention on the line! I am “20th” (the call sign of the commander of the special escort detachment), I order: ram the intruder!..

The “signal” “backup” (a Volga GAZ-2424 car with an automatic transmission and a special engine) moving with a large separation from the main column sharply shifted to the left and went on the attack...

The impact caused the VAZ “six” to overturn, and the “signal” car turned around, and it stood on the side of the road. According to one version, there were two corpses left in the “vase”, according to another - only one, and the remaining passengers received serious injuries. Employees of the special escort detachment were also injured... Meanwhile, the approach of the main group of cars, one of which contained a politician, was a matter of several minutes, if not seconds...

Police and KGB officers, who had previously been hiding in the roadside vegetation, were already running headlong towards the scene of the accident. They, naturally, were concerned not with helping the victims, but with hiding what happened from the “highest” eyes. The battered Volga of the special escort was already standing on the side of the road. Several operatives put the overturned Zhiguli on wheels, not paying attention to the cries of the crippled people, and rolled them back there on their hands. Now the task was to disguise the mutilated cars. And then the eyes of the police officers turned to the trolleybuses, sadly frozen on the side of the road, waiting for the distinguished guest to pass. Their drivers were ordered to reach forward and stand one behind the other. Three or four Skodas formed an “iron wall” that fenced off the consequences of the accident from the views of the passengers of the motorcade... As soon as the last “horned one” took the allotted position, the main group of government cars immediately flew out from around the bend, and there was nothing but standing trolleybuses , the big boss didn’t see...

And since the accompanying vehicles were ordered to turn on the sirens at full volume, Andropov did not even hear the screams of the wounded...

It is generally accepted that this incident happened on September 1, 1983, a glorious day also marked by the destruction of a Korean plane. However, in fact, it happened a year earlier, when “our dear Yuri Vladimirovich” was not yet the first leader of the USSR, but only held the unofficial post of “second secretary” of the CPSU Central Committee, that is, the immediate deputy of Leonid Brezhnev...

Be that as it may, in the evening of the same day, despite the complete information blockade in the Soviet media, foreign “radio voices” colorfully spoke about the “emergency”.

It is often believed that the “leak” was given by one of the police or KGB officers, but in principle, any of the passengers on the trolleybuses used as a “barrier” could become an informant for the “enemy” radio...

Road near Maly Mayak. At this point, Yuri Andropov’s escort workers started a ramming attack, the consequences of which had to be fenced off with trolleybuses...

Legends and myths of the Simferopol trolleybus

Like almost everything in Simferopol, the local trolleybus is surrounded by a huge number of legends and myths. Let's start with the fact that our trolleybus fleet is often mistakenly considered to be the oldest rolling stock in the world. As such, local historians even managed to include it in the Guinness Book of Records. However, this is not at all true. In fact, the oldest trolleybuses in the world are operated in the Chilean city of Valparaiso. North American Pullman-Standard/GE cars from 1946 are still on the line there, and the average age of the rolling stock is 52.3 years. And in Simferopol, 54 years ago, the trolleybus service itself had just begun, and not a single one of the cars that opened it has “survived” to this day. Until recently, one of the first 8Tr stood inoperative on the territory of the depot, but in 2008 it was cut into scrap metal by order of the former management of the enterprise; The same fate befell the last Gotha T-57 tram car stored in the park, as well as the TG-1 type freight trolleybus. And the oldest linear machine in the city (9Tr, tail number 3400) is only 41 years old!

9Tr manufactured in 1972 No. 3400, until 1979 - No. 101, until 1984 No. 1400, the oldest linear trolleybus in Simferopol and the entire CIS (January 27, 2013, Vera Roik Square)

Nevertheless, Simferopol trolleybuses are of great interest to filmmakers making films about the historical past. “Soapboxes” took part in such films as “Two Comrades” and “Driver for Vera.” And 9Tr with tail number 1459 was even purchased by the Moscow Museum of Urban Passenger Transport, restored there and became part of the exhibition (although it was painted more according to the “Sevastopol” scheme than the “Simferopol” one).

After 14 years of absence, Skoda is again in Sevastopol. This time Simferopol (filming the film “Driver for Vera”, 2004)

September 2009 Simferopol “nine” No. 1459 became an exhibit at the Moscow Transport Museum. The painting of doors, bumpers, and the font of the tail number are more typical of Sevastopol, where from 1968 to 1990. Skodas with similar numbers also worked (Nos. 1401–1475)…

In Crimea itself, however, there are now also two exhibit trolleybuses. The first is 9Tr No. 1508 (until 1979 - No. 060), excursion, “Zlata Praha”, which, among other things, has a bar where you can taste Czech beer.

May 9, 2011 “Zlata Prague” against the backdrop of the bay of the reservoir

The second exhibit is stationary. Trolleybus 9Tr is installed on the Angarsk Pass. For some reason, it was assigned the tail number 2012, although in life it was numbered first 7750, then 3776. On the side of the car it is erroneously written that it was manufactured in 1972 (in fact, ten years later).

October 16, 2012 Installation of a Simferopol trolleybus exhibit at the Angarsk Pass

We have also repeatedly raised the issue of restoring the last unique trolleybus in the Simferopol region, 8 Tr, which is pointlessly rusting in the village of Klinovka as a barn. So far, the matter has not moved forward, but I would like to museumify the legendary “eight”.

Another legend arose after 1998, when traffic on routes 54 and 55 ceased, and the length of the intercity route decreased from 96 kilometers to 85. The enemies of the Simferopol trolleybus began to spread myths that the line had ceased to be the longest in the world and had given way to a route in Japan, supposedly stretching for 90 km. However, these speculations are based on manipulation of facts. Indeed, since 1964, the operation of the Toyama - Shinano Omachi tourist route in the Japanese Alps began, operating in the warm season, from April 25 to November 30. However, the trolleybus line itself, 3.7 km long, represents only a small part of this route, and the rest of the route is covered by other means of transport: cable car, funicular, diesel bus. Therefore, the trolleybus line in Toyama Prefecture, on which Osaka Sharyo and Mitsubishi vehicles operate, can in no way be considered as a rival of our route, although it itself represents a complex and expensive engineering structure passing through the tunnel at a record speed. trolleybus at an altitude of 2450 meters. By the way, in the same area of ​​the Tateyama Ridge there is also Japan’s second trolleybus system - a 6.1 km long line from the village of Ogisawa to the Kurobe Dam. This is also a mountain route for tourists.

The third legend came from the pen of a Soviet party journalist, the famous singer of the “socialist city” Igor Borisovich Gasko. In his book “Simferopol” (put into type on October 31, 1977, signed for printing on February 7, 1978, printed in a circulation of 50,000 copies in the printing house of the Tavrida publishing house of the Crimean Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine), he attributes the invention of the folding head to the “driver- innovator" V.V. Gordienko, and engineers Yu.S. Baida and A.M. Pekelis are not mentioned at all. Apparently, the customers from the regional committee considered it necessary to raise the representative of the “proletariat” to the shield, and to point out to the despicable “stratum” of the Soviet intelligentsia its third-rate place in the social structure of society. In addition, the surname “Pekelis” was apparently considered not “Aryan” enough for the “country of Soviets”.

There is, however, a compromise version. According to it, in 1962, the driver Gordienko drew a certain “drawing” of a new head, and engineers Pekelis and Baida allegedly turned it into a real project. It is clear that in order to make a competent drawing of even an existing part, you need at least a secondary technical, or even higher education. Perhaps the driver drew some “koniks” on his knee, but no more...

In the Soviet Union, they generally loved “nuggets,” like the “inventor” of the Kalashnikov assault rifle with an eighth-grade education and the other Kulibins. So the myth about the “simple driver Gordienko” fit perfectly into the existing trend. Well, one fact testifies to the fact that there is clearly something dirty in the matter. The invention took place in 1962, and the award (a medal and an honorary diploma from the general director of Skoda) “found the hero” only in 1976. At the same time, Baida and Pekelis were not among those awarded; only Gordienko became a “hero”.

Moreover, Gassko, in order to hide his fraud, insists that the Czechs themselves began installing folding heads on their new cars since 1976 (!), and does not mention the date “1962” at all...

And finally, the fourth legend, reflected even in the title of the book by the team of authors led by G. Slavny, published for the 40th anniversary of the Crimean trolleybus: “The only one in Europe.” From what we have said above, it is clear that the Simferopol - Yalta line is not the only one in Europe. There is at least one more similar one, in Italy. Another thing is that there the end-to-end route operates only after 21:00, and during the daytime there are three shorter ones (“T”, “U” and “V”), serving different sections of the network. In addition, Italians often operate trolleybuses on the same line together with diesel buses.

By the way, on the Simferopol - Yalta route, in fact, trolleybuses also operate in parallel with buses. But since those are used by other operators and move away from a different platform, it's not as noticeable. However, attempts have been made repeatedly to bring vehicles with internal combustion engines under the Crimea trolleybus (the first was under Turchenkov, who promised to bring large Czech SOR buses to the line), but so far they have not been successful...

In general, the idea that a trolleybus and a bus are different types of transport is purely Soviet. Only in the former USSR is there, for example, parallel numbering of trolleybus and bus routes, separate bus and trolleybus depots, etc. Abroad, a trolleybus is just a type of bus with a special type of traction. The machines are operated, as a rule, by the same enterprises, the routes are numbered through, and on the diagrams the power lines do not differ in color from “diesel” ones. If necessary, a bus with an internal combustion engine is put on the “trolleybus” route. This is completely natural, because on the railway there is no parallel numbering of trains depending on the type of locomotive (diesel locomotive or electric locomotive). Moreover, there are more and more trolleybuses with a diesel autonomous driving system, on the one hand, and electric buses and “hybrids”, on the other, and the difference between the concepts of “bus” and “trolleybus” is blurring even more...

In the mid-twentieth century, the trolleybus was considered one of the most promising types of urban passenger transport, but in the 1960s it experienced a decline caused by mass motorization and improvements in the design of diesel buses (which did not affect the USSR, which developed in isolation from the world economy). In the new millennium, due to rising prices for hydrocarbons and the worsening environmental situation, the trolleybus is again becoming in demand. In developed European countries (Spain, Italy, Sweden, France, etc.), previously closed lines are being restored and new ones are being created, although this transport has not yet reached the same scale as in the 1950s. It is very important that Simferopol residents not only preserved this effective type of transport, but also laid the foundation for its further development and modernization.

conclusions

The Simferopol trolleybus industry is an enterprise that enjoyed “most favored nation treatment” during the period of “developed socialism.”

This played a bad joke on him. After a radical change in business conditions that occurred in the 1990s, Crimea Trolleybus was in a state of crisis for a long time. In addition to objective factors, subjective ones also played a role: the infantilism and dependency of the former managers of the enterprise, who were accustomed to relying on the government to solve their problems, and the capriciousness of ordinary drivers who stubbornly refused to switch to domestic rolling stock...

Fortunately, in 2010, with new political forces coming to power in Ukraine, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Simferopol, the state provided the Crimean Trolleybus with serious financial assistance and replaced its leadership. Now you don’t have to worry about the fate of the enterprise.

However, the crisis could not have been so deep, and the way out of it could have begun earlier, if the previous managers of Crimea Trolleybus had been more proactive and enterprising, and the rank and file had been less capricious. An example is the cities of Western Ukraine, like, say, Rivne, where the government hardly helped the trolleybus, but it functioned more stably than ours even in the most difficult years.