Experience city culture  . . .

Take a tour

Forum

Ads

ZOS Ce 2/2 No. 1 (built in 1897)

Switzerland’s oldest operational electric tramcar

• History
• From the Forchbahn to the Tram-Museum Zürich
• Technical Details

Further pages:

• The Tramway Zürich - Oerlikon - Seebach (ZOS), 1897 - 1931
• The ZOS Tramcars

Available books:

• Vom ZOS Ce 2/2 1 zum FB Xe 2/2 51
• Restaurierung ZOS 1

History

The tramway Zürich-Oerlikon-Seebach (ZOS) was the third private company to start operations with electric traction in Zurich. In the following years, the tracks were extended to Schwamendingen and Glattbrugg. Our museum car Ce 2/2 No. 1 was part of the first 15 cars built for the ZOS company. Having been constructed as early as 1897, No. 1 is today the oldest operational electric tramcar in Switzerland.

Towing the defective truck of car No. 7 Forch 22.011959 Photo: J. Schneider

Waltikon, 02.01.1962 Photo: H. Vogel

The body design was similar to the ones of horse-drawn cars and the original open canopies were only enclosed with glass in 1901. Even nowadays, this is still very much visible. Also characteristic for the car are the visible warning bells situated at both ends. The interior of these cars was twice as long as the previous horse cars. Due to this extra length and to keep the body from twisting, a dividing wall separated the interior into two rooms. Another special feature are the longitudinal wooden seats, ornamented with a pattern of uncountable drilled holes.

The private ZOS company became part of the municipal system in 1931 and 14 of the 15 original cars were rebuilt as trailers and were – due to their large capacity – used for three more decades. Car No. 1, however, was sold to the Forchbahn, which has operated since 1912 between Zurich and Esslingen as an interurban line with mostly street running, the Forchbahn needed a works car for snow clearing duties, for which reason No. 1 was reconstructed with a very heavy ‘homemade’ truck, whereas the body remained mostly unchanged. Renumbered as Xe 2/2 No. 51, the car was in use until 1966 as a snowplow as well as a freight and works motorcar.

Outside the Tram-Museum Wartau

From the Forchbahn to the Tram-Museum Zürich

Only the most important repairs were carried out over the years and in 1966, No. 51 suffered an electrical fire and was slated for demolition. But around this time, the tram museum association was founded and the members were aware of the great historical significance of this car. Despite being in a desolate state, it was saved from the scrap yard and moved into the museum premises. It was not until 1977 that the museum volunteers had gained enough experience to tackle this big project and start with restoration work, respectively the reconstruction of the car body. The completion of the job took close to 10 years and over 13’000 volunteer hours. The truck which was built by the Forchbahn in 1931 was replaced by one of a surplus Zurich works car, which looked more similar to the original one. Furthermore, the electrical equipment was also more suitable, since the Forchbahn’s interurban line is operating on 1200 instead of 600 volts. This also made it possible to use fewer resistors, which could be mounted again underneath the car instead of on the roof.

Tremendous volunteer efforts, a very generous donation received from a furniture store (Möbel Pfister) and assistance provided by Zurich Transport’s main workshop made it possible to restore the car as it had been operated by a private company in the 1920’s. Operation as Switzerland’s oldest electric tram in working condition recommenced after approval by the Swiss Ministry of Transportation.

	The reconstructed body still mounted on the old Forchbahn truck on September 13, 1980 outside the paint shop of the former tramway workshop. Photos: J. Lüthard
	August 12, 1982: The restored body has been mounted onto the "new" truck. Picture taken outside the new main workshop of Zurich Transport.
	The body paneling has been completed. Motorcar No. 1022 pulls the car to the main workshop in 1985.

Technical Details ZOS Ce 2/2 1

A sister car of our museum car in the year 1903. Obviously, the enclosure of the canopies was quite different.

www.tram-museum.ch Home Copyright © 1997 - 2003    Tram-Museum Zurich

Visitor online