Konstal 105N


Konstal 105N is a family of electric trams designed by Konstal, a Polish company based in Chorzów, produced between 1973 and 1979.

Konstal 105N

105N is a single module, unidirectional tramcar with four doors on the right side.
The design came about as a result of modernisation of Konstal's earlier 13N model. All the electrical systems from the 13N remained unchanged, but the 105N abandoned the streamlined appearance of its predecessor for a more angular look. The side windows were enlarged, and smaller windows were added on the front and sides, leading to its being nicknamed aquarium. These changes made the 105N significantly lighter than the 13N and decreased the amount of raw materials used in production. The first models lacked the ability to be connected to one another, and the placement of the electrical system caused problems with humidity. The tram was equipped with electromagnetic, drum and rail brakes. Its chief engineers were Zygmunt Giziński and Wojciech Kozik.
The 105N trams were used in all Polish cities with tram systems. During their years of service, most of them were modernized and upgraded to the 105Na variant, so today there are only a few of them remaining. In Gdańsk, Poznań, Szczecin, and Warsaw there are cabs rebuilt to the earliest version. The narrow-gauge version, 105NW, was used in Bydgoszcz and Łódź, but the cabs were upgraded. The 805N cabs in Łódź were also upgraded to 805Na.

Other variants

In 1977 4 105NW cabs for Bydgoszcz and Łódź, were made for metre-gauge tracks.
25 units of a new version for Łódź, the 805N were built in 1978. All of these were later upgraded to 805Na standard.
In 1995, on the basis of two 105N cabs, HCP in Poznań built a prototype of a three-module, partially low-floor tram, the Konstal/HCP 105N/2 but issues with reliability, coupled with availability of cheap second-hand rolling stock, caused the project to be abandoned.

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