historic O-bus (trolleybus), Solingen, Germany

"Solingen has one of only three remaining German Oberleitungsbus (O-bus = trolleybus) systems today. Once there were more than 70 in the mid-1950s – only Eberswalde, Esslingen and Solingen remain. Solingen is the largest of the three, with 54 articulated trolleybuses in service today.
Different generations of vehicles

"The first trolleybus in the Solingen started service on 19 June 1952, gradually replacing the metre-gauge tramway system in stages by 1959. The tramway had suffered severe damage during the war and reconstruction seemed too expensive and (therefore) impractical.

"Stadtwerke Solingen (SWS) purchased a total of 62 trolleybuses of the well-known Uerdingen/Henschel ÜH III s model by 1959, and added another five second-hand buses of this type (no. 63 ex Bochum 5, nos. 01 to 04 ex Minden-Ravensberg 101, 105, 103 and 104). 6 Henschel HS 160 OSL and another HS 160 OSL-G (articulated) were purchased in 1962."

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