Kit BK29: Hamburg V6E Einmannwagen (One-man motor tramcar)

Brief History

• After the second World War, the Hamburg tramcar fleet was in a very poor condition. A large part of the fleet was old and in need of replacement. It was decided to build new cars, the design being finalised as a four axle car, the V6.
• The prototype car was delivered by the Hamburg workshop Falkenried on 5th October 1949 and numbered 3061. It resembled the appearance of the V5 but with a centre sliding door and was designed for passenger flow. Extensive testing was carried out on this car before the second car was delivered on 5th January 1951, this second car being numbered 3063. Altogether 103 cars were built between 1949 and 1953, 63 in Hamburg by Falkenried and 40 by Linke-Hoffmann-Busch (L.H.B.) at Salzgitter between May 1951 and May 1952.
• The final V6 was delivered on 5th January 1953 by the Falkenried workshop and was numbered 3164. Falkenried cars in 1953 were numbered 3061, 3063-3122 and 3163, 3164. L.H.B. cars were numbered 3123-3162.
• In April 1954 the cars were fitted with large route number boxes on the roof and fluorescent lighting inside for greater illumination. At the end of December 1956 the indicator blinds were widened.
• Between 1958-59 the V6 fleet received new numbers: Falkenried cars 3090 (prototype), 3000-3061 and L.H.B. cars 3100-3139. In 1960 the livery was simplified by deleting the red and silver lining.
• Between February 1966 and April 1969 the V6 cars were rebuilt for one man operation and redesignated V6E (Einmannwagen), as shown by this model. They were also renumbered: Falkenried 3598 (prototype), 3600-3661 and L.H.B. 3550-3589. The appearance of the cars then remained basically unchanged until the final closure of the Hamburg tramway system, except for minor features such as a cream band on the front and rear ends and the notice at the entrance.
• In December 1972 the first V6E was scrapped after an accident. The prototype 3598 departed from service in September 1973. Systematic scrapping of the cars started in February 1974 and finished at the end of October 1978. Preserved cars can be found in Amsterdam, New York, San Francisco, Hamburg, Hannover, Munich and at the VVM Schönberger Strand Museum near Kiel.

Kit special features

• This kit has two unmotorised bogies.
• The whitemetal trolley pole is non-working.
• The transfer sheet supplied contains the Hamburg HHA logo, lettering, numbers, destinations and Holsten adverts shown here.

Bibliography

• Höltge, Dieter und Kochems, Michael. 2008. Straßen- und Stadtbahnen in Deutschland. Band 11: Hamburg. EK-Verlag GmbH. ISBN 978 3 88255 392 5.
• Hoyer, H. 1994. Die Hamburger Strassenbahn. Wagenpark Teil 3: 1945 bis 1978. Verein Verkehrsamateure und Museumsbahn e. V., Hamburg (VVM). (Cars of types V6, V6E )