Yaroslavl Automobile Plant YATB -3, Soviet Double Decker Trolleybus (1:43, Ultra Models)

This is YATB -3, a Soviet Double Decker Trolleybus. The model is made by Ultra Models in scale 1:43. It has steering front wheels. The door in the back opens and the trolley poles can go up an down.

It is a double-decker trolleybus made at the Yaroslavl Automobile Plant, operated in Moscow from 1939 to 1953. In the early 1930s,double-decker trolleybuses appeared on the streets of some European cities. The idea of placing more passengers in one trolleybus was appreciated by Moscow transport workers. In the summer of 1937, two three-axle trolley buses of the British Electric Company were imported from England to The Soviet Union.

One of them was a double-decker trolleybus. It is on the basis of this trolleybus that the Yaroslavl Automobile Plant built 10 of its double-decker trolleybuses, which were named YTB-3. The first YaTB-3 entered service on July 26, 1938 on a new trolleybus route. The height of the contact network and the stability of the machine imposed great restrictions on the height of the trolleybus. The whole metal body of the trolleybus was 9.4 m long and 4.7 m high. Unlike the YaTB-1, whose cabin height was 1915 mm, the ceiling height on the first floor of the YaTB-3 was only 1795 mm and the second one was 1770 mm.

On the first floor there were 40 seats, on the second - 32, the total passenger capacity of the trolleybus was 100 people. It had a mass of 10,740 kg and a speed of up to 55 km / h. In total, Yaroslavl Automobile Plant produced 10 such cars, late in 1939. Since the passenger door was only one, it was not enough during rush hours when many passengers had to get on and off the trolleybus. Therefore, later the trolleybuses were modified and a second door was added. Operational experience has shown that they are not suitable for these regions. The newer trolleybuses were made single-storey, designed to carry a large number of passengers (mainly standing). It was decided to abandon the use of two-story trolleybuses in favor of articulated. But such appeared only in the late 50's. from the factory "SWARZ". All 10 copies of YaTB-3 were operated only in Moscow and were written off in the early 50's.

None of the 10 YTB-3 trolleybuses survive to this day. Which I think is sad. It could have been cool in my opinion to see one of these unique trolleybuses preserved today besides the other soviet museum trolleybuses which are preserved today at transport museums in Russia and most of them are in working condition!