Last Saturday the city of Moscow honoured the long history of the motorized троллейбус (trolleybus) in Russia.
Moscow: 1936 model
Trolleybuses run on electricity drawn from power lines above the street and are quieter and produce less pollution than fossil fuel powered vehicles. They were invented by a German scientist in 1882.
The parade featured retro trolleybuses to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the service as the show began at the First Trolleybus Park on Leningradsky Shosse.
(Photo: Martin.LiveJournal)
Media crews interviewed older passengers who remembered the antique vehicles. (Photo: Martin.LiveJournal)
Media reporters were there to document the event and it was obvious that riders were enjoying the experience.
Crowds gathered along the parade route to ride the old trolleybuses. (Photo: Andrey Kronos.LiveJournal)
Along the parade route were a variety of trolleybus models since their launch in 1933. In the photo below, a statue of Karl Marx watches over the parade.
Moscow parade of antique trolleybuses. (Photo: Andrey Kronos.LiveJournal)
(Photo: Nikita Miroshnichenko)
The oldest working trolleybus in the parade was a MTB-82D model from the year 1954.
(Photo: Martin.LiveJournal)
Unlike electric trams which travel on rails, the trolleybus uses rubber wheels just like a bus and has a driver who steers the bus.
(Photo: Andrey Kronos.LiveJournal)
Crowds gathered at each stop to ride the trolleybuses despite the cold and rain.
(Photo: Martin.LiveJournal)
Trolleybuses still play an important role in providing transportation for Europe’s largest city. The newest addition to the Moscow trolleybus fleet is a group of new TrolZa models, produced earlier this year.
The trolleybus system in Moscow today:
