We conclude a visit to East Germany in 1979 in this edition of “Around the World in Trams”.
Having spent some time in Rostock we now go to Halberstadt which has a population today of 38,000 but still manages to retain a tramway – despite repeated threats of closure. In the mid-1970s the population was 10,000 higher and the town was something of an industrial centre, situated between Magdeburg and the Harz Mountains in Sachsen-Anhalt.
The tramway started as a privately-operated three route horse-drawn system in 1887. The local authority took over in 1902, with electrification following a year later. The 9.5km long metre gauge tramway has two routes in a surprisingly complex pattern, with both routes 1 and 2 serving the railway station. A slight oddity is that the three-stop Klus branch is served only at weekends. Today the stock consists of about ten cars, half of them low floor.
This photo shows ET54 four-wheeler 36, which was built Gotha in 1956. It waits optimistically for custom outside Halberstadt Hauptbahnhof, where it doesn’t look as though there is going to be an evening rush. The Gothic lettering on the destination blind, the lack of route number and the street paved with setts or blocks all contribute to the small-town atmosphere. Happily 36 still survives in Halberstadt today as a museum car. The town has almost as many trams in its historic fleet as it owns to run the daily public service.
Photograph by Donald Brooks, 9th August 1975