Trolza, ZIU, Uritsky trolleybus factory TBU - 1 soviet trolleybus (diecast 1:43, Ultra Models)

This is TBU - 1 soviet trolleybus. The model is made by Ultra Models in scale 1:43. The model is very well detailed and it has front steering wheels and opening doors. The trolley poles can go up and down.
The TBU-1 is a Soviet high-floor trolleybus with a large capacity for intercity passenger traffic, which was produced from 1955 to 1958 at the Uritsky plant in the city of Engels in the Saratov region. This trolleybus became the transition model from the outdated at that time MTB-82 to ZIU-5. A prototype and one experimental batch of TBU-1 trolleybuses out of 10 cars were released. However, in the design of the trolley bus were found serious shortcomings, because of what its production was discontinued. Nevertheless, the TBU-1 served as a prototype for creating a mass model of the ZIU-5 trolleybus, of which about 20,000 were produced. In this model, some of the shortcomings of this trolleybus were corrected, and its advantages were taken into account. The TBU-1 trolleybus operated in Moscow (10 trolleybuses) and Leningrad (1 trolleybus. Also in 1957, TBU cargo trolleybuses were designed at the ZIU, but they did not go into the series and remained to exist in several prototypes.

The TBU-1 became the transition model from MTB-82 to ZIU-5. In general, it was close to the first production models of the ZIU-5, from the TBU-1 they got “all the best”. The bodywork of TBU - 1 became the weak point of the trolleybus, because it turned out to be rather weak and not capable of withstanding serious loads; which was the reason for the quick write-off of all the trolleybuses of this model. In the production model ZIU-5, of which more than fifteen thousand pieces were produced, the bodywork was seriously strengthened. Another serious disadvantage of this model was that the frame and the body paneling were made of different materials: the frame ZIU-5 was made of steel, and the body was made of duralumin panels. Apparently through the contact of two metals, they quickly collapsed; therefore, the ZIU-5 served an average of 9-14 years and one of the frequent reasons for the cancellation of trolleybuses was the poor condition of the trolleybus body, sometimes during repairs, the duralumin lining was changed to steel, but until it was discontinued (until 1972), ZIU- 5 was produced with aluminum body cladding. In the TBU-1, the body was steel.

The model TBU-1 for those years, in comparison with the "MTB-82" was very modern: the trolley bus was longer (length was 11.4 meters) and, accordingly, more capacious, large windows appeared in it, more modern design. The windshield of the trolleybus consisted of four parts, slightly resembling the SVARZ-MTBES trolleybus, the first production model of the ZIU-5 also featured a 4-part windshield, which was subsequently replaced with a glass of two halves. The route guide of the trolleybus did not differ from that of the SVARZ and MTB. Also, the trolley bus had a beautiful chrome front bumper, and aluminum window sill moldings, as well as moldings over the skirt of the body.

In contrast to the same SVARZa-MTBES, the trolleybus had improved electrical equipment (in SVARZ there was an engine and electrical equipment from MTB-82). The TBU-1 was equipped with a DK-204b traction motor, which was developed at the Dynamo Moscow Electrical Engineering Plant, and had a power of 95 kilowatts. Thanks to the powerful engine, the trolley bus turned out to be very fast, and on horizontal sections of the route it could reach a maximum speed of 65 km / h. The trolleybus engine, the contactor panel and the starting and braking resistance unit were placed in the rear overhang. However, the body of the trolleybus was weak to withstand such a load and eventually began to sag, and quite seriously, it had to be written off to avoid the dangerous effects of the trolleybuses. In the ZIU-5 the this problem was solved.

The engine management system was rheostat-contactor, but already automatic, all switching of high-voltage circuits was already done using a group rheostat controller, and the driver using the pedals chose the necessary mode for the trolleybus. A unit with brake and start resistors, a contactor panel and much more electrical equipment was placed in the rear overhang of the trolleybus. The electric equipment of the trolleybus was also designed at the Dynamo plant in Moscow. On the roof of the trolleybus were two radio reactors to suppress radio interference. This trolleybus was not equipped with a headguard.
The trolleybus TBU-1 had two doors: in the front and rear overhang, this layout of doors was also preserved at the ZIU-5. Salon TBU-1 was much more comfortable and more voluminous compared to MTB-82. The cabin was a four-row layout, all the seats, except for one single opposite the rear door and the conductor, were double sofas. In the rear overhang housed five-seater sofa. In total, there were 44 seats in the cabin of the TBU-1, and another 31 passengers could go standing at rush hour, and more than 90 people could fit in the trolley bus. For the ventilation of the cabin, the halves of the windows shifted downwards, and there was also a system of forced ventilation.

The ventilation system was also preserved at the ZIU-5, but the sliding halves of the windows were replaced by sliding windows. For the heating of the cabin was used heat from the starting-brake resistors. The disadvantages of the cabin were untight doors, they closed leaving a gap in which dirt and snow fell in winter. Also, there were not enough handrails in the back, so people sitting on the 5-seater couch could easily get out of their seats if the trolley bus braked sharply. Also in the cabin there was no hatch for servicing the TED, which made it possible to maintain and repair the engine only at the inspection pit in the trolleybus depot.