HTM 1329 as seen by Bill Monaghan, April 2018.
La Brugeoise et Nivelles, 1971
The Hague, Netherlands
Principal Features
- Double truck, Single end PCC city car
- Four motors
- ACEC control
- Pantograph collector
- Electric brakes
History
HTM 1329 represents a unique success story of the American PCC car in Europe. Nowhere else in Europe did so many "American style" PCCs operate than in Den Haag. After the Second World War, Haagsche Tramweg-Maatschappij (HTM) had, like many European systems, an urgent need for new equipment to replace war losses and worn-out stock. In the case of the capital of the Netherlands, many cars had been "requisitioned" by the occupying German forces in 1943-44 and shipped to the Reich to replace trams lost in Allied bombing. In its postwar planning, HTM adopted a progressive approach to its rolling stock and, unlike many European cities, Den Haag's relatively spacious streets permitted consideration of the American PCC car.Two sample PCCs, HTM 1001 and 1002, were built in St. Louis by St. Louis Car Co. and shipped as bodies and parts, together with another unit, to La Brugeoise et Nivelles in Brugge, Belgium, for assembly. La Brugeoise became the principal Transit Research Corporation-licensed builder of PCCs in Europe while ACEC in Charleroi, Belgium, manufactured the electrical equipment.
Delivered to Den Haag in July 1949, HTM 1001-1002 were very much like American all-electric PCCs, save for having a rear set of doors on the back platform as these were two-man cars. Their 2.54 meter width proved a bit too wide for clearances and in 1950 were split down the middle and narrowed to 2.20 meters. In 1952 they were reconfigured for one-man operation. In 1974 they were completely rebuilt to resemble the new 1300s.
The final group of PCCs for Den Haag were HTM 1301-1340 and motorized trailers HTM 2101-2130. These were the first PCCs with solid state circuitry boards and HTM 1336-1340 also had chopper controls. HTM 1301-1335 were delivered by February 1971, and in October 1972 the first car with chopper controls, HTM 1336, was delivered. In body style, these cars were generally like HTM 1201-1240 but without the body moldings. As such, they were the last PCCs manufactured in the world that still retained much of the original PCC curvilinear body design dating back to 1936.
A era ended on 30 June 1993 with the last regularly scheduled PCC operation in Den Haag although the motors of many of the cars now power the newest articulated trams in the city.