The small yellow LiAZ (shown in the picture below) shuttled along city bus routes during the Soviet Union, along with Ikarus. There is no union for a long time, the bus went to the dustbin of history, and the logo - black Russian letters in a black circle - again several years later drove onto the roads of big cities. Only now these logos are worn by LiAZ-6212 buses - high-floor urban vehicles.
Interestingly, a variant of such a machine appeared 4 times. Buses were produced by different enterprises, had different logos, capacities, capacity, but all of them had one property in common - not one of them went into mass production. For some time, prototypes traveled along the roads of Moscow, but then they disappeared. Then a new idea came up, and due to various circumstances, it first got a sketchy, and then a finished look, which went into the series.
City bus
It is worth noting that the species has not received much distribution on suburban highways. First, we went to the cottage at the old "old people" that were outlived, then at grooves, and then each ATP began to solve this problem in its own way. One of the reasons can be called the fact that this option had three axles, 4 doors and a connecting part between the two parts of the cabin, popularly referred to as the "accordion". It also includes the cost of components and the transition to commercial relations with Hungary (the birthplace of Ikarus). But the main reason was one - the growth of cities and the number of passengers. The decision did not come immediately, but the result was LiAZ-6212. The bus was long, could take up to 180 people, and most importantly, it was produced in the Russian Federation. An interesting coincidence of serial numbers. The first bus from the factory had numbers 677.
LiAZ. History
What is common between ZIL and LiAZ? Communication is the most direct. The first LiAz (that yellow "old man" in the picture above) was developed at the ZIL plants. And he was supposed to be published as ZIL. But these buses did not meet the needs of the passenger flow of the 1960s. As a result, in 1960, the town of Likino-Dulyovo, near Moscow, began designing a new model. The project used ready-made sketches of ZiL, as well as the achievements of another bus giant - LAZ. So LiAZ-677 was born. 40 years have passed, and the same plant near Moscow presents a new development - LiAZ-6212.
But it cannot be said that these 40 years the plant lived only on issue 677. Yes, it was a successful model, but a capacity of 90 people (such a figure appears in the data sheet 677) could have been arranged except for some small town. For a long time the city bus was considered the 5256th from the same factory. The development enjoyed certain popularity, but more and more large cities came to the conclusion that a single-section modification was unprofitable. Nevertheless, the first experimental LiAZ-6212 buses were an exact copy of their prototype, only more.
Record Certification
An experiment was being prepared for the upcoming Motor Show ( Moscow, 2002 , Krasnaya Presnya). These experimental buses received a 5256 body, a German gearbox, and a German accordion. The engine was installed on an experimental modification of the Caterpillar-3126E, which had electronic control, met Euro-3 standards, and showed fairly good results. The new car became the "Best Bus of 2003". Six months later, in February 2003, the new model left for its first city flight.
It was already certified in the series certified LiAZ-6212 - a high-floor two-section bus. But record-breaking certification dates played a trick on him. Since the first versions were assembled in winter, problems began to arise in already production models. At first, the cooling system refused, which was simply nothing to replace. It got to the point that for trouble-free operation had to turn off the engine. Further following the route was possible only after its natural cooling.
Then, failure of the levers in the joint assembly was discovered, although not a single model using such assemblies had problems before. A distinctive feature of the certification was also a modified body, but it also showed its problems. Often, due to high temperatures, the cladding is deformed. Also, the lack of cladding panels led to the fact that even for minor repairs (for example, replacing bulbs) had to remove their parts.
ASKP
But, despite the problems, the cars were well sold out by the fleets of Moscow. True, before leaving for their first routes, each bus received additional equipment at the plant in Tushino. The seats were changing, fluorescent lamps were installed in the cabin. Serious changes in the characteristics of the LiAZ-6212 bus had to be made when installing an automated passenger control system. The buses changed the partition separating the driver’s cab from the passenger compartment, installed handrails and turnstiles for the system to work.
Features and photos
Despite many shortcomings and complaints of drivers, the developers were in no hurry to update. A new bus was developed at the plant, which was based on the slightly updated LiAZ-6212. The technical characteristics of the new model had one main difference. If at first the bus used a 300 liter diesel Caterpillar. s., the new version received a Cummins gas engine of 280 liters. from. In addition to other fuel, the new engine met the Euro-4 standards. With other almost identical characteristics, the new modification received a new gearbox (6 steps versus 3) and a slightly higher height.
The main changes affected the appearance. The bus received a different lining, a more convenient control system and an increased size of the windshield. This version received the index 62127 as an improved version. Earlier in the article, a photograph of LiAZ-6212. The photo of the new model does not have any special differences, except for the front route sign, which went into the cabin, due to which the windshield increased. Interestingly, at 6213, the block of the route number returned upstairs, but the windshield remained as large.
Both versions are also distinguished by a fundamentally new cooling system located on the roof of the first compartment. Perhaps this decision came after the start of trolleybus production at the plant.
Conclusion
LiAZ-6212 is a fundamentally new development, and although the bus still uses a large number of imported parts, it is considered purely Russian. The stimulus of production was commercial relations with Hungary, the success of the 677 model, which everyone saw, and the equally great success of the 5256th, especially when you consider the 5280 model - the 5256 trolleybus modification.