Belgas
After the 1928 Boavista fire ten new tramcars were acquired from Familleureux in Belgium. Delivered late in 1928, they came in service in the beginning of 1929. The bodies with large windows and without monitor roofs are complete different from the American style, which was normally used in Portugal. For the rest the Belgas were in many aspects equal to the Brill-bogie cars. They too had seating for 40. The CCFP numbered the Belgas as 274-283. The first six were renumbered by the STCP into 284-289. In 1949 these cars got 89 hp BTH motors. Likely in the same period they were modernised getting retractable steps. Later these steps were fixed again. Car 288 belongs to the museum collection. Car 287 was used in the season as information and ticket office of Carristur but now joined 280, 283, 284 and 285 in storage.Technical data
- length 11.65 m
- width 2.47 m
- weight 16000 kg
- bogies Familleureux
- motors original CGE 2 x 68 hp, replaced by BTH 114 DR 2 x 89 hp
- controllers original GE 54, later replaced, most by Siemens and some by Kiepe
- seating 40 original, reduced to 32
Photos
Belga 279 at Praça around 1940
Belga 284 in 1992 in Foz