Ikarus buses have been carrying passengers for more than half a century, both before in the Soviet Union and now in the post-Soviet space. During the Soviet era, the Hungarian manufacturer supplied 143 thousand buses of several modifications. One of the most popular models, although not the largest in terms of supply, is the Ikarus 280 bus.
A bit of a common story
The most famous in the 60s of the last century were "Ikarus Lux", which mainly carried out long-distance transportation.
The first articulated model (the so-called "accordion") "Ikarus 180" was supplied to the USSR since October 1968. These buses could be seen on city routes for almost fifteen years.
In the late 60s, models of the two-hundredth series began to be produced. They were distinguished by the angular body shape fashionable in those days. For the European market, bodies were installed on the chassis of MAN, Scania, Volvo. There were many models in this series, but city buses of models 260, 263, 280 and 283 and intercity buses 250, 255 and 256 were delivered to the Soviet Union. City buses were all dark yellow because this factory color was accepted by the manufacturer for the USSR, later for Russia - white-red models "Ikarus 280" (see photo below).
Reds were delivered to Poland, white to Germany, with orange front and back and doors, to Hungary - blue, with a gray roof and doors.
The main factory of the Ikarus company is ruined, but in the post-Soviet space, the operation of Hungarian buses that came off the assembly line in the last century continues.
Model history
In 1973, the production of the Ikarus 280 bus began. The model had more than fifty modifications and was discontinued in 1993. Buses of this model were delivered to the countries of the socialist camp and the third world, assembled in Cuba from ready-made components. The buses that were issued for Iran differed in the location and number of doors, and for Kuwait, they had air conditioning.
Since articulated bus models were not produced in Russia, in 1994, buses began to be assembled at the Moscow Tushino-Avto plant. Work began with the installation of seats and upholstery for almost finished buses, but already in 1996 Ikarus 280.33M was released, standard Moscow white-green color. The Ikarus 280.33M2 modification, released by the Tushino plant at the turn of the century, worked on gas. The production of these buses was completely discontinued in 2002.
Description of the popular bus model
"Ikarus 280" is an articulated bus with increased passenger capacity, with a powerful engine, designed for densely populated large cities. A wide passage made it easy to move around the cabin. Modifications to the Soviet Union and later to Russia were delivered with a driver’s cabin completely separated from the passenger compartment and a three-row arrangement of single semi-soft seats. A large storage area in front of the rear doors made it possible to place on it a lot of passengers who did not interfere with traffic in the aisle. Interior ventilation was provided by ceiling hatches with rubber seals and window leaves in a quarter, and then half of the side window.
The driver’s workplace was equipped with a high-mounted seat, which was regulated not only by height, tilt of the back and pillow, but also by the weight of the driver.
The switches of the main devices on the dashboard were located on the left, and on the right were the toggle switches to open the four double doors of the bus. Dual pneumatic cylinders allowed to open both halves of the doors at the same time. On earlier models, the doors were screen, later - pivoting. If city buses had four doors, then in suburban buses, where passengers boarded and disembarked less often, there were two, in the tractor compartment and in the trailer.
Advantages and disadvantages
The Ikarus 280 bus model is unpretentious, well adapted to difficult environmental conditions, high passenger capacity and a comfortable layout of the cabin. Employees of operating organizations say that the bus has not yet been created more reliable, economical and convenient to operate.
Ikarus is characterized by a high floor location, although it is even along its entire length, without steps and ramps, and two steps at the passenger doors, somewhat slowing down the loading and unloading of passengers. This design feature is considered the main disadvantage of the city bus.
The disadvantage of this model is the design of the interior heating system. In winter, the interior was heated by two "Sirocco" autonomous heaters, which actively consumed diesel fuel. In an effort to save fuel, the drivers did not turn on the heaters, and it was cold in the bus compartment.
Weakness and poor anti-corrosion treatment of the body can be considered a drawback, although the developers were unlikely to plan a useful life of more than twenty years for their machines, including the Ikarus 280 model.
Model Specifications
Over the entire production period of the 280th model buses, the gearbox remained mechanical, the rear wheels of the tractor were driving, the trailer's steered axle provided the long articulated bus with excellent maneuverability. The elastic elements of the suspension were air bags. The tractor and trailer were connected by an articulated joint. In the passenger compartment, the steering rods of the trailer wheels were closed with a two-part turntable.
The motor was specially designed for buses, the layout of which provides for the horizontal position of the cylinders. The engine, licensed by the German company MAN, has been changed and modified in accordance with environmental safety requirements. Since it was located under the floor, exhaust fumes did not enter the passenger compartment.
The braking system has been specifically designed for safe transportation in urban areas. The parking brake was combined with a spare brake system. The engine retarder served as an auxiliary brake. In cold weather, the system was protected from freezing by a half-liter alcohol fuse.
The fuel tank is designed for 260 liters of diesel fuel. The delivery set included a full package of documentation, which facilitated not only operation, but also bus repair.
Operator Reviews
For the convenience of servicing the bus, it is very important that access to the gearbox and engine is possible through hinged covers on the port side and special technical hatches in the passenger compartment floor.
A manual gearbox may be an outdated technical solution, but in the conditions of an urban winter (in Russia at least four months a year), icing and packed snow only it helps the driver in a lower gear to take the heavy car to a slippery rise. Ikarus drivers praise the clutch pedal and the convenient gearshift mechanism, which works very accurately, since in this model the gear of the gearshift drive is a powerful shaft, not cables, as in later models.
The large distance between the side handrail on the turntable and the cover of the bellows of the "accordion" forced the driver to often get the fallen things of passengers, at stops raising the cover of the turntable.
Passengers always complained about the cold in winter in buses, but this was not so much a question of the design of the heating system as fuel economy. Repairmen believe that in the new issues of Ikarus 280 the stoves heat poorly because of design flaws, because with delay the liquid passes from the cooling system to the stoves with a second thermostat, which is installed behind the front panel lining.
The scale model of the bus
Ikarus is such an epoch-making bus in the history of passenger transportation that the well-known Russian company Classicbus, which produces collectible vehicles, could not ignore it. Today, the company has produced more than thirty models of buses not only of the domestic automobile industry, but also of the most famous world manufacturers. In 2011, the Ikarus 280 collection model was released (1:43). The prototype is a 1994-1996 bus.
The body of the model is made of ocher metal, the interior is made of plastic. To assemble the product with dimensions 385x58x74 mm and a weight of 0.9 kg, 180 parts were needed. The circulation of the issue is only three thousand pieces.
Trolleybuses of the Ikarus brand
In 1975-77, on the basis of the bus, Ikarus and the Budapest Transport Company built seventy-seven articulated trolleybuses with electrical equipment for decommissioned Soviet trolleybuses of the plant named after Uritsky. Then, after 1977, several experimental trolleybuses with equipment from various well-known manufacturers were created. Sea trials of these machines took place in major cities in Europe and North America. From 1985 to 1992 About three hundred Ikarus 280T trolleybuses with Ganz Electronics equipment for the domestic market, East Germany and Bulgaria were produced.
Ikarus trolleybuses were not officially delivered to the USSR. At the end of the last century, about two dozen used cars bought in East Germany carried passengers in Chelyabinsk.
In Moscow, decommissioned bus bodies were used in the production of SVARZ-Ikarus trolleybuses. Electrical equipment for them was produced by the Dynamo plant. One trolleybus was also launched at the Tushino plant in the back of the Ikarus 280.
Similar converted trolleybuses were produced in Poland, Bulgaria and North Korea.
Articulated buses "Ikarus 280" are considered to be perhaps the most noticeable milestone in the history of urban transport in Russia. They were delivered to the Soviet Union for thirty years and later to Russia, and have been transporting passengers for more than half a century.