THE 4TH CHAMBER OF URBAN TRANSPORT’S EXHIBITION - VINTAGE BUSES

Due to the intense war operations in Poland during World War II, there are very few mobile technical monuments which document the pre-war times. The exhibition will feature the two and at the same time the only in Poland working vehicles from the pre-war period.

One of them is the fantastic Krakow’s Durant Rugby  bus  from 1929 which has been diligently renovated.  It was great to find an original, genuine vehicle which had survived the war. It was hidden under the hay in a rural barn.  A serious engine failure which immobilized the vehicle for decades was one of te reasons why it has been preserved unattached.

The other vehicle is also fantastically restored Krupp LD2.5H bus  from 1938. The paint-scheme represents the Free City of Gdańsk time.  The construction represents the very successful German constructions from the late 1930’s, evidenced by the maximum on-road speed of approx. 85 km / h.

Post-war vehicles are represented by  Chausson AH48 bus from 1950 - this is a French pedigree vehicle.  There was a huge destruction on the whole continent. Thus the French factories which had survived the war offered the most modern and technologically advanced  bus constructions after the war.  Chaussons are associated primarily with Warsaw public transport, although at the end of the 40s these were also used in the PKS state transport company branches throughout the country, including Kielce.

The first fully designed and produced self-supporting construction bus is San H01-B from 1959. A skilled eye will notice, however some structural similarities shared with Chausson. Unfortunately, very low quality of materials used to build these buses  resulted in the fact that they were removed from the service very quickly.  The one on show has a relatively short service life which ended with a serious failure. Thus it was later used as an element of the Krosno airport infrastructure and therefore it has survived to this day.

The political and economic conditions at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s in the Polish People's Republic resulted in the discontinuation of the import  of French  Chausson buses  and opted for Hungarian Ikarus.  Therefore 1960 marks Ikarus 620 advent into the Polish market.   The overwhelming majority of Poles have a clear association with the iconic articulated Ikaurs for  public transport. Very few people know that this brand was known on Polish roads much earlier. The bus on show has been restored - this is the vehicle acquired abroad.

The buses presentation is complemented with a unique, Czechoslovak-made  bus trailer Karosa B40.  Lack of rolling stock was supplemented with trailers used at the peak hours also in Polish cities - it was long before the a domestic bus trailers was made at the Jelcz factory.

TRANSEXPO  is a unique place where IGKM can gather and exhibit these unusual technical monuments.  We invite you to the gala inauguration of the exhibition complemented with an artistic accent - 23.10.2018 at 10:40 in D Expo Pavilion.

(UK)