Kit BK31: Brussels P.C.C. 7000 series tramcar

Brief History

• After the Second World War, many tramway systems were faced with the problem of old and worn out tram fleets, and several European Companies considered the North American P.C.C. (Presidents' Conference Committee) standard car, which had proved to be most successful modern design, with many thousands built for American systems.
• The Belgian firm "La Brugeoise, Nicaise et Delcuve" built the car bodies and trucks at their Bruges wagon factory, the motors and electrical equipment being supplied by A.C.E.C. (Charleroi, Belgium). The technical data differed on the later series of similar cars built for Brussels only (see below).
• To make the P.C.C. cars more suitable for running through the narrow streets of Europe, the body width was reduced from 2.54 m to 2.20 m. The door and passenger accommodation were also altered.
• The Hamburger Hochbahn A.G. (H.H.A.) purchased one Bruges built P.C.C. for comparison tests with their own Falkenried built V6. This car was numbered 3060 (shown in the photo) and came into service on 13th February 1952. It ran in Hamburg until mid-January 1958. This car was famous for its smooth running and its very bright illumination. It was only able to run on route number 8 between Dehnhaide and Farmsen due to the car's restricted bogie swing, route number 8 having no sharp curves.
• In January 1958, the car went to Copenhagen, where it ran in its Hamburg livery and number from 23rd March to 14th April 1958, arriving back in Brussels three days later. The car ran there with the fleet number 7000. It was withdrawn from service in 1993 and repainted in Hamburg livery for return to Germany for preservation.
• The total number of cars built with the same body design was 177. All were still in service in 1980 but 88 had been broken up by the middle of 1995.
• Another kit represents the U.S.A. P.C.C. streetcar manufactured by the St. Louis Car Company from 1936-1944, in particular the Pittsburgh 1000-1200 series of PCC cars.
• The P.C.C. design was very popular in the U.S.A., and was also used in Europe in countries such as Belgium (as in this model), France, Den Haag in the Nederlands and Czechoslovakia (Tatra).

Kit special features

• This kit has two unmotorised bogies. A matching pair of MECON motorised bogies is available separately.
• The whitemetal trolley pole supplied is non-working and was used initially. Later, this was replaced by a single arm pantograph. A working pantograph is not supplied but can be purchased separately using SOM938.
• Decals are supplied either for Brussels or for the Hamburg 3060 version.
• The earlier Brussels cars should have the ventilators removed from the car front. This also applies to the Hamburg car. The later Brussels version can be modelled by carefully removing the ribbing on the front and rear fenders, and by adding a pantograph to the forward end of the roof.
• Another similar kit for Brussels is also available: 32 Brussels 5000 series rebuilt car.

Bibliography

• Hoogerhuijs, Herman van't. 1996. Trammaterieel in Nederland en België. (Pages 84-90) De Alk bv, Alkmaar. ISBN 90 6013 948 8.
• Van den Ostende, Carlos, & Pattyn, Willy. 1999. 50 Jaar/Ans PCC Deel 1: USA, SNCV and The Hague. (Pages 56-99) H. K. (Luxembourg) S. A. ISBN ?.
• Van den Ostende, Carlos, & Pattyn, Willy. 2000. 50 Jaar/Ans PCC Deel 2: Belgian cities & rest of Europe. (Pages 109-114) H. K. (Luxembourg) S. A. ISBN ?.

Download instructions

• BK31 Brussels PCC Instructions in English
• BK31 Brussels PCC Instructions in German
• BK31 Brussels PCC Parts list and assembly drawing