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The treasures of the Friends of the EMT

This month I show you the collection of the Association of Friends of the Municipal Transport and Bus Company of Madrid. Although it is not open to the general public, a visit can be arranged through your vintage vehicle club, with the aim of experiencing a day of coexistence and exchange of impressions with fans of these classic heavyweights.

The Association's headquarters are located in the Fuencarral Operations Center, located on Mauricio Legendre street in Madrid. Its premises, loaned by the Municipal Transport Company -EMT-, has been renovated inside as if it were a historic bus.

It is decorated with models, old stops, ticket cancellers from different eras, tickets from all stages of the company and, above all, photos of buses, trams and metro wagons in which the evolution and development of public transport in Madrid is reflected. .

There are people of all ages and walks of life, including company workers willing to give a warm welcome and have a pleasant conversation about the machines and their experiences working with them.

Special bus stop during the 1982 Soccer World Cup
Special bus stop during the 1982 Soccer World Cup

Once the graphic material has been seen, the most exciting part of the visit begins: contemplating the historical vehicles and, even, going up and taking a walk around the enclosure in them. A Sava Pegaso minibus from the mid-70s awaits us at the door of the premises. I remembered having seen one of these as a child circulating along the Gran Vía; in fact, they traveled the Callao – Barrio del Pilar route.

Apart from their small size, they also attracted attention for their characteristic yellow color at a time when "normal" buses were blue and white, although some red Pegaso 6050s were already beginning to circulate; and for being a small "luxury", with air conditioning - unthinkable until the 80s - and soft upholstered seats. In addition, the price of the ticket was somewhat more expensive than that of ordinary buses. This model was withdrawn from service in the early 80s.

The unit recovered by the Association was in Galicia, where it had become a driving school vehicle and was in a sorry state. A meticulous restoration has restored it to the splendor of yesteryear. As a curiosity, it was possible to contact the same upholsterer who originally dressed that series, and who still had a batch of the original fabric. In those 70s, working for the EMT fleet was one of his first important assignments. Now, coinciding with his retirement, he has returned to take care of one of the buses from his beginnings.

The Minibus of the 70s: a luxury and expensive service, from Callao to the Barrio del Pilar
The Minibus of the 70s: a luxury and expensive service, from Callao to the Barrio del Pilar

The minibus takes us to an old warehouse where the main vehicles of the collection are kept. The door slides… Between the gloom inside and the rays of sunlight coming through the skylights in the ceiling, a special, magical atmosphere is perceived. Imposing, and almost with the majesty of a dinosaur, a double-decker bus stands out from the rest: He's a Guy Aralac from the 40s.

Until the beginning of the 60s, these types of buses were circulating in Madrid. Today its advertising of an alcoholic beverage is shocking - since current law prohibits advertisements for alcohol and tobacco - and curious some details such as the posters of "Seat reserved for mutilated knights". Unfortunately, too many people still suffered from the aftermath of the Civil War. The wooden seats and the low ceiling have their charm, which forces you to crouch down.

It is striking the narrow driver's cabin dominated by a huge steering wheel in a practically horizontal position - there was no power steering yet - separated from the passenger area; because remember that, before, buses had a conductor. The main difficulty of this vehicle is its maintenance and tuning, as there are hardly any spare parts and therefore some engine parts had to be replaced by non-original ones that influence the behavior.

Advertising, at the Guy Aralac
Advertising, at the Guy Aralac

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A somewhat difficult restoration

On the other hand, recently the restoration of a Leyland that was found in Barcelona in the hands of a collector has been completed. Little remained of its original condition, but the body was complete. The work has been a bit arduous and one could almost write a book with the story: on his transfer to Madrid on the back of a gondola truck, near Zaragoza, the height of the vehicle was miscalculated when passing under a bridge and ... the floor! above was shattered!

Fortunately, the transport company assumed the costs of the repair in a car industry in Fuenlabrada -also in Madrid-, where almost all of the restoration has been carried out.

When the finished bus was to be delivered to the Association, arriving at its headquarters, another incident with a bridge made it necessary to start over! Today he is finally home, and is possibly the jewel of the collection, which will soon be able to be admired in what will be the new EMT Museum.

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Leyland in its restoration phase in Fuenlabrada
The Leyland in its restoration phase in Fuenlabrada

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We take a leap in time and we are in 1980, compared to a Pegaso 6038 that served between 1985 and 1998. This model of bus was introduced to the EMT fleet in 1980, with the intention of replacing the Pegaso 6050.

In total there were 884 copies like this in the company -the last ones with automatic transmission-, becoming an almost totally unified fleet. Starting in 1993, with the commissioning of the first low-floor buses of the 7000 series, the MAN NL202, the withdrawal of the 6038 began.

After its commercial withdrawal, two were those that the EMT preserved as historical transport heritage, numbers 708 and 1007, the latter chosen for having been a prototype in an attempt to install air conditioning in this type of vehicle, the only one in the series that wore. When his service life ended, he became a practice car for the EMT Madrid entrance exam. Later, it was preserved and renumbered with its original decal. It was the first of the buses preserved by the Association and by the EMT.

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From the 70s to the 90s
Pegaso 6038, 5317 and 6035. From the 70s to the 90s

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In addition, inside the ship, we see more modern models, such as the aforementioned first Low-Floor DAF - but has it been more than 20 years since they were put into circulation?! -, or rarities such as two recent prototypes of hydrogen buses, capable of transforming this gas into electricity by means of the system of "fuel cell" and thus operate with an electric motor, which became unviable vehicles due to the costly distribution of said fuel. Today it is impossible to circulate them, they are totally useless, although they are brand new!

Research in the development and use of alternative energy in its vehicles has always been important in EMT. Although the attempt to use hydrogen has ultimately been unsuccessful, the fleet has had electric buses for more than 10 years, there have been several prototypes running on biodiesel, and natural gas cars have been running successfully for almost 20 years.

We can also see in the ship an Iveco of the first. These buses returned to blue and white in the 90s, as red had been dominant since the mid-70s and until recently.

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Second hydrogen prototype
Second hydrogen prototype

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Among the most current models stands out, due to its size, a MAN NL313 F –Hispano Habit of 15 meters and three axles. This short series had only 6 units that served on the Airport line from February 2001 to January 2011. Thanks to their large dimensions and greater passenger capacity, they offered greater comfort, increased by their padded seats and a special area to place suitcases. Externally, their blue color differentiated them from the rest of the buses of the regular line service.

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The Caterpillar

We got on the Pegaso 6038, which takes us to another point of the EMT site where a new jewel awaits us: the articulated Pegaso 6035 A, popularly known as Caterpillar. In reality, it is a Barcelona urban bus from an exchange between the UAB in Barcelona and the EMT in Madrid. Hence its registration, although for exhibitions the plate "EMT-0001" in the photo looks. It has been recovered and restored just as the 6035 Oruga de Madrid units were, since, unfortunately, all of these ended up destroyed in scrapyards.

They circulated through the capital between 1967 and 1983, mainly on the lines of greatest demand such as 27, 30, 51, 61, 70 and others. Precisely that earned him the popular nickname "broom", for going sweeping the long lines of people that accumulated at the stops.

Along with him, a Pegaso 5317 also awaits us: a curious model from the 80s of a special series that is much more luxurious than the rest of the buses of that time. To begin with, it is tricolor: yellow, white and green. Its interior is almost more like a coach than a bus, with the seats upholstered in green, and it is one of the first to have air conditioning as standard. With him we live the curious experience of going through a special car wash for buses, which is not done every day!

association_amigos_emt_09
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Pegaso Caterpillar and 5317: The years do not go in vain for the interiors

The last vehicle that has been incorporated into those that are already preserved is the Pegaso 6035. This unit was providing service in Valladolid since 1972 and, of this model, the EMT had 415 units that were entering circulation from 1971 to 1974 These cars arrived with 3 doors and during their useful life they were refurbished in the Fuencarral Workshops with the aim of canceling the rear door, painting them a red stripe and transforming them into Sole Agent. There were only 7 copies that came from the factory with two doors.

After having taken a few laps on the old buses, traveling back in time, we returned to the Association's premises to say goodbye. It is a bit strange to realize that those old vehicles recently took us to high school, then to university and work, and to the cinemas on Gran Vía on weekends ... How is it possible that the red Pegasus is already 28! years?! They are part of our daily life, our personal stories and the urban landscape of my beloved Madrid.

Note: This article collects the experience of my visit just a year ago through the Association of Friends of Ford Capri, invited by my good friend and also a collaborator of The Escudería Alberto Ferreras, of which the conversations held with who on that day was our guide are an important part: Guillermo Deike. By the way, he has confirmed to me the good news that the EMT Museum will be a reality very soon, this time open to the public. Thanks to both of you!

To arrange visits, the navigator can contact the Association through the website www.aemtbus.org.

 

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Written by Michael Angel Vazquez

Miguel Ángel Vázquez, graduated in Audiovisual Communication from the European University of Madrid and Master in Dubbing, Translation and Subtitling (UEM). I have been a motor racing fan since I was a child, but my connection, let's say "professional" with Classic Vehicles began ... Read more

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