We make one last stop in Vienna for today’s “Around the World in Trams” – and this time we head to the museum to see one of the trams sent to Europe from New York following World War II.
The Vienna Transport Museum Remise (formerly Viennese Tram Museum until refurbishment in 2013/4) is located in a former tram depot in Ludwig-Koessler Square. Telling the complete story of transport in Vienna it contains a number of tram related exhibits including the subject of today’s article.
This is Vienna 4208 – ex-New York 3rd Avenue. It was sent to Vienna as one of 42 in 1948 having been built in 1938/9 and was fitted with a pantograph upon arrival in Austria. When in the US it operated on the conduit system and with trolley poles. Another one of the New York 3rd Avenue cars which ended up in Vienna is on display at the Crich Tramway Village (displayed as New York 3rd Avenue 674 it was numbered 4225 in Vienna). As for 4208 it was withdrawn from normal service in 1969 and is now remains operational as part of the museum fleet.
Photograph by Bob Hodges, 19th May 2012