Heroic End of Samara's Tatra Trams

We were cutting up a tram. Many of us, but only one tram. Seriously, though, we saw what fate awaits the Tatra trams that have been carrying Samara residents around our city for decades. Even when decommissioned, they bring benefit to society — their mortal remains are cut up for scrap metal. The tram «anatomical theater» was arranged for us by the Samara Tram and Trolleybus Authority (TTU).

Each tram «dies on the job» — it is dismantled in the same depot to which it was assigned. For example, we watched how trams are dismembered at the City Tram Depot on Michurina Street.

The car is moved to a corner to carry out the work discreetly. First of all, before cutting, something unusual must be done — tip the tram onto its side.

The dismantling is done not by TTU employees, but by Akron Holding, which acquires the scrap metal.

The company pays the authority for the metal and sends its workers to the depot, who independently dismantle the car.

The tram«s fate does not depend on its age. Only those cars that cannot be repaired are written off. And if a forty- or even fifty-year-old Tatra can still run, then let it work.

Trams are dismantled right on the street, unafraid of precipitation. Workers say that cutting a tram in the rain is best, because then nothing will catch fire for sure.

From one car weighing 14 tons, 10 tons of recyclable material are obtained. This is steel, copper, and aluminum. The rest goes to waste.

First of all, workers must remove all non-metallic and combustible parts. These are wood, glass, plastic. The floors and seats from the interior, windows, driver«s cabin wall, doors, and wooden body parts go to the trash.

The bogies and handrails, wires from engines and other mechanisms, pantographs and the stands on which the seats are mounted come in handy.

The car is not cut by a whole team, but only two people. The guys use long torches, sparks fly.

Very quickly, a pile of non-recyclable garbage grows next to the car.

Let«s peek inside the car while there is still something left of it.

Usually, full dismantling of one car takes from one to a couple of days. The recyclables are then taken to Akron«s plants for processing.