Echoes of Milan: Mevro tram veteran back in service on Prague’s historic 42 route
A newly restored historic Mevro tram, a distant relative of the legendary trams in Milan, can now be seen roaming the streets of Prague. The 76-year-old veteran is running along one of Prague's historic routes, attracting tourists and locals alike.
Mevro is a distant relative of the legendary trams used in Milan. Both types of cars were based on the American Peter Witt design. Milan introduced these trams in the late 1920s and Prague was inspired to introduce its own Mevro fleet a few years later. Jan Šurovský, Technical Director at the Prague Transport Company says that while the Prague trams were slightly inferior to those in Milan, they had a number of traits that were new in Prague city transport.
“They only had two axles and a rigid chassis like those used on open trams, so they were not as progressive as those doing the rounds in Milan. However, the vehicles were already all-metal. You do see wood, but only in a supporting role. In the Mevro trams the doors could close and the driver was seated, which was a novelty. The cars were one-way. That means they only had doors on one side. And because the doors could close, the tram was dubbed the “submarine”.”
The so-called submarines served in Prague from around 1935. Originally, they were only two-door vehicles. There was no door at the back because the space was used for seating so called “long-distance passengers” heading to the other end of the city. However, in time the vehicle was given a third door at the back, to facilitate the movement of people getting on and off. And it got a new nickname, Jan Šurovský says.
“There was an International radio exhibition in Europe back in 1948, the title of which was abbreviated to MEVRO, and at the time the name was all over the place. And that's how the nickname for these trams came about.”
This particular veteran, which is now on the 42 route in Prague was built in 1948 and originally served as a measuring car. It was retired in 1966 but following a thorough renovation is now back in its former glory.
Jan Šurovský says getting it back into operation was no easy task.
"Finding someone who is capable of repairing and restoring a veteran, which was previously in a non-operational state, is very difficult. People who can fix them are few and far between, especially if you are not ready to pay an exorbitant price for the job.”
The tram which got a new lease on life, was the very last vehicle of the so-called old construction, i.e. two-axle and with direct gear shifting. After that, other new types of trams came –the popular T1 to T3s - and the Mevro was gradually taken out of service, mainly because of its complicated construction. Prague retired the last of these vehicles sometime in 1967, but in Milan these vintage trams still serve within the city’s transport network.
