Around the World in Trams: East Berlin 218 007-8

Another edition of “Around the World in Trams” which once again comes from East Berlin, Germany.

High capacity Gotha T4-62 bogie car 218 007-8 and a matching B4-61 trailer are seen on the terminal loop of route 86 at Alt-Schmöckwitz, where little appears to have changed since the end of the Second World War. This was the most remote tram terminus in Berlin and the inbound service ran only as far as Köpenick, where a change was necessary to reach the city centre.

The prototype T4-62 was delivered by VEB Waggonbau Gotha to Berlin in 1958, with series production from 1961. They remained in service in Berlin until 1996. Of the two parked motor cars, the rear one is a familiar Trabant while the one at the front looks a little more exotic. The tram route serving Schmöckwitz still survives and is now numbered 68.

Photograph by Donald Brooks, 20th May 1979