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The Tramcars Parade Dedicated to the Centennial Anniversary of the Moscow Tram
   In September of 1999, Moscow prepared to celebrate the centennial of its most traditional and beloved way of public transportation - the tram. The celebration was to take place on September 10th and 11th; the Museum of Public Transportation was to be opened on September 10th. The grand heritage tramcars procession and the gala at the Soviet Army Theater were scheduled on September 11th. However, it was not meant to happen as planned: on September 9th Moscow was shaken by the first bombing of an apartment building on Guryanov Street. Even though most public events in Moscow were cancelled, the Museum's opening did take place, but on a much smaller scale than originally planned. The procession of tramcars was delayed for one week, but the second bombing of another apartment building put an end to the plans. Thus, the city was in shock, and to put on any kind of a celebration was unthinkable.

   The only consolation was that the day before the celebration was scheduled to begin, there was a full dress rehearsal where everyone was supposed to do exactly what they would do during the real event. This rehearsal was successfully executed by all participants: Department of Transportation officials, tram drivers, and the fans of the event. Of course, there were no crowds, no theatrical presentations, no gala, but where the tram itself was concerned, it all went well. The tram workers did not feel like they have left much out. Everyone was excited after the rehearsal, and it felt like a holiday all by itself. That's why the rehearsal on September 8th is now officially known as the Centennial Jubilee Parade of Tramcars.

   The plan for that festive day on September 11th was as follows:

10:45 a.m. Performers and passengers are seated in tramcars that are lined up on Babayevskaya Street for the parade.

11:00 a.m. The old tramcars begin to move in the parade with a 60-meter (200 feet) distance in between. The orchestra plays.

12:00 p.m. The parade arrives at Prospect Mira in front of a local McDonalds. A band is playing festive music.

12:30 p.m. Grand Opening. Theatrical performances commence along with the celebration.

1:30 p.m. Parade continues on Prospect Mira and Suvorovskaya Square. Moscow Government officials and other special guests are invited to participate.

2:00 - 3:00 p.m. The parade comes to an end at Durov's Corner (Theater of Animals).

   Finally the rehearsal began. By 10:00 a.m. tramcars were lined up along Babayevskaya Street on the service depot tracks. The diversity between them was great: modern cars followed antiques that were completely restored for the occasion. The first cars to lead in this parade was the unbelievable coupling: the first 1999-made TMRP-1 001 car (modernized Tatra-3, the original fleet #2813), pulling the horse driven car, the oldest in the collection! TMRP-1 N002 (fleet #3303) was next, followed by tram-cafe Annushka ("Dear Annie", #0123), then BF (#934), F (#164) with the trailer N #1113, KM #2170 car with the KP-trailer, RVZ-6 (#220), T2 (#378), the old two-door T3 (#1010), followed by modern KTM-616 and KTM-619.

   The arranged parade of tramcars was mostly orderly, except for one part: the BF car train (1927) was in front of the older (1907) F. Everything else seemed fine. But, wait a minute, MTV was missing! Where did the car go? As it turned out, the restored MTV was not lost, it was just delayed.

   The other MTV car #2309 was not part of the parade. It was used as a service car. During its fifty years of contiguous service it underwent only minor restorations. Everyone who knew this began cheering as soon as the car came into view.

The #2309 MTV-82A service car
The #2309 MTV-82A service car turns onto Babayevskaya Street (photo by Alexander Morozov)

   Finally the restored MTV #1278 appeared. It was displayed with pride, but unfortunately the historical order was altered. At the actual parade the MTV should have gone after KM and KP.

The museum MTV-82A car #1278 on Babayevskaya T-crossing
The museum MTV-82A car #1278 on Babayevskaya T-crossing, followed by T3 cars in regular service -they were not part of the rehearsal (photo by Alexander Morozov)

   Many pictures were taken during this rehearsal. To make the shots more exciting, people tried to take them from different places. At one point it was even necessary to take the subway in order to outrun the parade. This made the "photo-shoot" a lot of fun!

TMRP-1 001 #2813, pulling the horse drawn car
TMRP-1 001 #2813, pulling the horse drawn car, on Krasnoprudnaya Street (photo by Alexander Morozov)

   Can you beleive it? What a sight - modern next to the old!

The same coupling a few moments later
The same coupling a few moments later on Komsomolskaya Square (photo by Dmitry Kassatkin)

TMRP-1 002 #3303 and tram-cafe Annushka
TMRP-1 002 ("Piggy") #3303 and tram-cafe Annushka ("Dear Annie") entering Komsomolskaya Square from Krasnoprudnaya Street (photo by Alexander Morozov)

Tram-Cafe Annushka
Tram-Cafe Annushka ("Dear Annie") two-door #1234 Apakova Depot , BF, and F cars entering Komsomolskaya Square (photo by Alexander Morozov)

F car #164 with N-trailer
F car #164 with N-trailer (Nuremberg Type) #1113 on Komsomolskaya Square (photo by Alexander Morozov)

N-trailer #1113
N trailer #1113 on Komsomolskaya Square (photo by Alexander Morozov)

KM car with KP-trailer
KM car with KP-trailer on Komsomolskaya Square, followed by MTV-82A (photo by Alexander Morozov)

Another photo of KM car
Another photo of KM car on Komsomolskaya Square (photo by Alexander Morozov)

KM car on Komsomolskaya Square - side view
KM car on Komsomolskaya Square - side view (photo by Alexander Morozov)

   The wooden cars were followed by the After-War, sleek metal cars. Sadly, the two-door Tatra T3 was not there. T2 was followed by the newest KTM 71-616, the last in the parade. Only two such cars were created, both were placed in the same Russakova Depot and given the same fleet number 0001!

Tatra-2
Tatra-2 #378 (photo by Alexander Morozov)

KTM-616, the last car in the parade
KTM-616, the last car in the parade, turns onto Kalanchovskaya Street (photo by Alexander Morozov)

   After parading of Kalanchovskaya Street, the line turned onto Protopopovsky Lane approaching to the square, where most of the festivities were to take place. In the actual parade the line was to be divided in half.

The second half of tramcar line
The second half of tramcar line has stopped on Protopopovsky Lane before crossing the Prospect Mira (photo by Alexander Morozov)

KM car with KP-trailer
KM car with KP-trailer in the parade on Protopoposky Lane (photo by Alexander Morozov)

RVZ-6 car
RVZ-6 car in the parade on Protopopovsky Lane (photo by Alexander Morozov)

KTM-616 car
KTM-616 car is the last car in the parade. Protopoposky Lane (photo by Alexander Morozov)

KTM-616, back view
KTM-616 car on Protopoposky Lane, back view (photo by Alexander Morozov)

Inside the KTM-616
Inside the KTM-616 during the parade (photo by Alexander Morozov)

   At the same time a crowd has gathered in front of a McDonalds; among this crowd some Moscow Transit officials were watching and discussing the rehearsal.

TMRP-1 #3303 and horse drawn car
TMRP-1 #3303 and horse drawn car in front of the McDonalds restaurant (photo by Alexander Morozov)

Inside the TMRP-1
Inside the TMRP-1 during the parade (photo by Alexander Morozov)

Inside the TMRP-1, looking back
Inside the TMRP-1 during the parade, looking back (photo by Alexander Morozov)

Tram-cafe Annushka
Tram-cafe Annushka ("Dear Annie"). Side view (photo by Alexander Morozov)

   Awating the next step in the parade, tram fans sat in old cars discussing the event. Then they noticed that four horses have been harnessed to the horse drawn car. Excited, they hurried to take pictures.

BF
BF - the first in the row of tramcars turns onto Gilyarovskogo Street (photo by Alexander Morozov)

KM-car with KP-trailer
KM-car with KP-trailer (photo by Alexander Morozov)

MTV
People admire the MTV (photo by Alexander Morozov)

   The place of horse drawn tram demonstraion was poorly chosen because it was located on a hill. Since experience of operation was lost, the wagon was going down very slowly, just for safety.

Horsetram
The horse drawn tram (Konka), harnessed with the team of four horses, descending on Durova Street (photo by Alexander Morozov)

Horsetram
Police guarding the Konka. Taken from Olimpic Sports Complex ramp (photo by Alexander Morozov)

   On the intersection of Olimpijsky Prospect traffic police was on duty. One by one, the tramcars went down the Durovā Street hill headind to the Theater of Animals. Pictures of heritage cars with modern sports complex building in the backround were promising.

BF
BF near the Olimpic Sports Complex (photo by Alexander Morozov)

F + N
F-car with N-trailer. (photo by Alexander Morozov)

   From Durova Street the cars made a smooth turn towards the Theater of Animals. The Soviet Army Theater seen in the background, was to house the gala.

F
F (with the N-trailer outside the picture) makes a turn to the Durov's Corner. The most distant and pompous building is The Soviet Army Theater. (photo by Alexander Morozov)

MTV
trailer near the Olimpic Sports Complex (photo by Alexander Morozov)

MTV
MTV-82A (photo by Alexander Morozov)

MTV
MTV-82A turning towards the Theater of Animals. (photo by Alexander Morozov)

   Here is the Theater of Animals itself, better known in Moscow as the Durov's Corner. This picture of RVZ-6 was taken from the same street as the rest, but from the opposite side.

RVZ-6
RVZ-6 by the Durov's Corner (photo by Alexander Morozov)

T2
Tatra-2 (photo by Alexander Morozov)

KTM 71-616
KTM 71-616 (photo by Alexander Morozov)

   The cars traveled down the hill and lined up between the Theater and the garden. This is where the parade came to an end. Not all veteran cars completed the trip successfully. Two minor breakages occurred: bow fastening break with the F-car, and reduction gear jam with the KM-car. Overall, the procession was a success. Despite the fact that the actual parade never took place, the rehearsal was memorable to those who saw it.

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