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Antwerp (Belgium), May 28th 2023

On May 25th 1873, the first tram service ran in the city of Antwerp.

On the occasion of 150 years of Antwerp Trams, a tram parade was held. Representing the early part of the 1900s was Tram 181, one of the true workhorses of the Antwerp Tramways. Built in 1904 as '405' by the workplaces of the Antwerp Tramways, she was one of a series of 70 trams for the Antwerp network, originally delivered with open balconies. While the 70 trams were all built as one unique series, circumstances would see them evolve into different models. Originally built with two 20 bhp electric engines, some would be upgraded to 40 bhp engines and get a Westinghouse brake system; the remaining rams would receive a Knorr brake system. Starting in 1937, 31 of the series were modernised as part of the 'Series 101'; of the remaining 39, one was lost in a fire in 1946 (written off 1952), and 20 others had their original chassis swapped with a chassis from a different series, changing them from bidirectional to unidirectional trams. In the mid-1960s, the survivors of the series had their trolley poles replaced with pantographs. While the first batch of trams of the series was withdrawn in 1953, the last batch of 12 survived in passenger service as late as 1974, some 70 years after they had entered service. Even after their withdrawal from regular service, a number were retained for maintenance duties, the last one among them bowing out in the 1990s.

Tram 181 started life as Tram 405 of the 1904 batch. In 1937, she was earmarked as one of 31 from the series to receive an upgrade, which saw both of her cabs and balconies substantially altered. As such, she was renumbered as '181' of the modernised series 101. She remained in regular service until the early 1960s, after which she was relegated to the maintenance fleet as a breakdown van (Tram 5851). As such she was only withdrawn from service in 1992. Following her withdrawal, Tram 181 was restored to her 1952 condition. She is displaying route boards for line 17 which connected Antwerp's Central Station with Wilrijk, a service which was inaugurated in 1926, but which was discontinued on December 31st 1956 in favour of a bus service.

Description
Antwerp (Belgium), May 28th 2023

On May 25th 1873, the first tram service ran in the city of Antwerp.

On the occasion of 150 years of Antwerp Trams, a tram parade was held. Representing the early part of the 1900s was Tram 181, one of the true workhorses of the Antwerp Tramways. Built in 1904 as '405' by the workplaces of the Antwerp Tramways, she was one of a series of 70 trams for the Antwerp network, originally delivered with open balconies. While the 70 trams were all built as one unique series, circumstances would see them evolve into different models. Originally built with two 20 bhp electric engines, some would be upgraded to 40 bhp engines and get a Westinghouse brake system; the remaining rams would receive a Knorr brake system. Starting in 1937, 31 of the series were modernised as part of the 'Series 101'; of the remaining 39, one was lost in a fire in 1946 (written off 1952), and 20 others had their original chassis swapped with a chassis from a different series, changing them from bidirectional to unidirectional trams. In the mid-1960s, the survivors of the series had their trolley poles replaced with pantographs. While the first batch of trams of the series was withdrawn in 1953, the last batch of 12 survived in passenger service as late as 1974, some 70 years after they had entered service. Even after their withdrawal from regular service, a number were retained for maintenance duties, the last one among them bowing out in the 1990s.

Tram 181 started life as Tram 405 of the 1904 batch. In 1937, she was earmarked as one of 31 from the series to receive an upgrade, which saw both of her cabs and balconies substantially altered. As such, she was renumbered as '181' of the modernised series 101. She remained in regular service until the early 1960s, after which she was relegated to the maintenance fleet as a breakdown van (Tram 5851). As such she was only withdrawn from service in 1992. Following her withdrawal, Tram 181 was restored to her 1952 condition. She is displaying route boards for line 17 which connected Antwerp's Central Station with Wilrijk, a service which was inaugurated in 1926, but which was discontinued on December 31st 1956 in favour of a bus service.