The N tram – the wipers

The sound of wipers wiping the windshield of an N type tram car.

The N type tramcars were the first trams purchased for the city of Krakow after WW2. The design of N tramcars was based on the design of the German Kriegsstraßenbahnwagen (KSW) - the "wartime" tram with a simplified construction, adapted to production and operation in war conditions. The cars were supplied from Konstal steel structures factory in Chorzów, Tramcars Factory in Sanok as well as Northern Shipyard in Gdańsk. Their main advantage was constituted by big passenger capacity. The tram of this type could accommodate up to 80 passengers at a time, including 16 seats. It was also possible to form three-car vehicles consisting of a power car and two trailers. They were, however, treated as an interim solution and were supposed to be replaced with modern high-speed trams. Due to delays in works and in subsequent supplies of vehicles of this type together with economic crisis lasting in Poland since the second half of the 1970s, type N and type ND cars together with their updated versions 4N and 4ND were in operation in Krakow as late as until the year 1988.

The tram belongs to Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacyjne S.A. public transport company in Krakow and during the recording it was being exhibited at the Museum of Urban Engineering. The car is in operation and is occasionally used in the streets of Krakow. The N type tramcar recordings were used in the audiovisual installation "The Ghost Tram" under the "Sounds of Changes" project.


Sound recording: Marcin Dymiter aka Emiter
Photo: Piotr Leszczyński