Afternoon all!

I realise it's been a while since my last stock profile from our tram, so given that I'll be driving one later today, may I just post a few paragraphs about our NGT8 type trams.

As I'm sure I pointed out on another occasion, the general pattern of designation for trams in Germany is not specific to any one city, so other tram systems may also have cars commonly designated NGT8 but completely unrelated to other vehicles. So, for what I hope will be clarification, I'll need to digress for a bit to begin with.

The Leipzig NGT8 trams are, technically, an evolved derivative of a twelve-wheel, three-segment tram developed by Duewag and Siemens in the late 1980s, constituting the first generation of low floor trams to have been developed in what then was West Germany. First obtained by Kassel's KVG in 1990 and 1991 and followed by two additional batches in 1994, these original cars were outfitted with thyristor choppers and DC motors, yielding a slightly greater floor height than derivatives of this design obtained by other cities in the following years, which were usually equipped with asynchronous AC propulsion.

The NGT6C trams as obtained for Kassel were also characterised by Frederich type independent single wheel running gears – abbreviated EEF for "Einzelachs-Einzelfahrwerk System Frederich – on the central body segment, and traditional bogies underneath the first and third segment. Other related trams such as those obtained by Bonn and Düsseldorf were outfitted with a pair of single axle running gears rather than independent wheels underneath the central segment. With most any city usually having specific requirements as to larger and smaller details, this family of trams could also be obtained for different gauges, or with other characteristics such as the independent cab doors on the batch of sixty MGT6D cars obtained by Halle from 1996 till 2001.

The NGT8 cars for Leipzig were obtained from 1994 till 1998 and built by a consortium of Duewag, Waggonbau Bautzen, ABB and Siemens. Unlike the related types in other cities, they were equipped with two four-wheel bogies on the central body segment, as an all-bogie tram was judged to be best able to negotiate the Leipzig network. They are outfitted with asynchronous AC propulsion and outfitted for 70 passengers seated and 122 standing at an occupation of six persons per square metre.

By current standards, they should be considered a mid-capacity type, also because as built, they were capable of neither multiple working nor trailer operation. However, in 2011, car 1101 was modified to serve for practical evaluation of trailer operation. To that end, it was outfitted with a non-stowable coupler on the rear end and a number of additional instruments to enable trailer operation. At the time, NB4 trailer 906 was set aside for being essentially permanently coupled to 1101.

Generally, the NGT8-NB4 pair proved to be suitable for revenue traffic, so at present, the remaining NB4 trailers – currently going through their second revision cycle – are being prepared for working with NGT8 motor cars as well. About twenty NGT8s are earmarked for being enabled for trailer operation, each NGT8-NB4 pair representing the rough capacity equivalent of a Tatra Großzug. That being said, practical experience demonstrated that NGT8s to be outfitted for trailer working need a couple of other improvements to remain sufficiently reliable while pulling additional weight.

Technical characteristics

Overall length – 27.77 m
Width – 2.20 m

Configuration – Bo'2'2'Bo'
Service weight – 32 t

Power rating – 380 kW/510 hp

Regular acceleration and braking rate – 1.3 m/s²
Emergency stop rate – 2.8 m/s²

Minimum curve radius – 16 m

Maximum speed – 70 kph certified, 50 kph revenue

My personal impression of these trams is that due to their high power rating, they are extremely agile and responsive, though on the other hand, they tend to be tricky to handle in poor adhesion conditions. That is also why I tend to think of them as sports cars!
Other than that, one criticism frequently heard is that "they don't do many things the way drivers want them to happen", which I do concur with in several instances at least. What I personally dislike most ist that the doors are quite slow to react to a closing command, and that the electro-hydraulic holding brake could release quicker once it has started to apply when – such as due to a signal changing to Clear – you want to power up again. I am told the NGT8s but will be modified with the same door controls as our NGT12s as soon as the trailer upgrade will be implemented. In other words, I would say they are not bad to drive, but have a couple of peculiarities they could have done without.

Numerous NGT8s carry full body advertising for different products. Here, 1114 "Georg Agricola", which along with 1121 and 1138 can be booked as a "Party Tram", is stood at Knautkleeberg. Note that the LED daytime running lights were a refit.

At present, four NGT8s – 1103, 1121, 1142 and 1143 – advertise for the new unified branding for the Leipzig transport and utilities companies. Here, 1121 "Franz Mehring" waits in the Mockau loop at the top end of Line 1.

The only time I have actually got to drive the single NGT8-NB4 set – also known as NGT8B internally – thus far has been during our training. Here, this set – 1101 being named "Johann Sebastian Bach" – is seen in the holding area at Schkeuditz.

The cab, I think, also very much reeks of typical, straightforward 1990s design. Note that as on the NGT12, the controller handle doubles as the primary deadman switch, and needs to be rotated 90 degrees clockwise. The pedal in the footwell is not a deadman pedal but the secondary bell trigger. The screen on the left of the control panel is the diagnostic terminal, while the ITCS terminal is set in the right hand part of the panel.

Thanks for reading!