The growing Soviet state at one time urgently needed roomy and comfortable buses. Citizens did not have a lot of personal automobile transport, and therefore long-distance movements were considered quite a problematic business. The Hungarian Ikarus plant volunteered to help, where they began to produce the legendary Ikarus 250.
It should be noted that their production did not begin from scratch, since back in the late 1960s, the concept of 200-series buses was developed, which were the forefront of road transport for its time. The main idea that predetermined the prevalence of the Ikarus 250 bus was modularity and high unification, which allowed us to quickly introduce new models into production. Simplification of the design made it possible to put a new bus on the stocks in the early 70s of the last century.
Living legend of Soviet routes
The Ikarus 250 model was in production from 1971 to 2003! More than 32 years old! It is believed that during this time about 150 thousand cars left the walls of the plant. Initially, this bus was widely imported into the "fraternal" republics for organizing intercity traffic, but soon, due to the accelerated growth of cities, cars began to be put exclusively on domestic flights. Due to the capacity and comfort, these "Ikarus" are very fond of various tourist organizations that used them to organize excursions.
In the southern republics, it is still practiced to remove all passenger seats in the cabin with the subsequent transformation of Ikarus into a huge lorry. True, for its normal operation it is necessary to sort out and re-boil the entire suspension, since the old one can’t cope with the increased loads. However, this situation is characteristic not only for our country: Ikarus 250 is found even in the USA and Latin America. Of course, most of the buses of this series are now in such poor technical condition that their operation is purely periodic.
Model Basics
Oddly enough, but even the body color in red with a white line on the bottom at one time was regulated by a separate GOST. The new model differed from its predecessors not only in this, but also in a significantly longer body. Each side has five expanded windows, which (in recent years) could be tinted at the request of the customer. The windows are located through the window, on the roof there are quite massive air intakes, one of which can be used as an emergency hatch. It is worth considering that the Ikarus 250 bus initially differed from its city "brothers" in four round headlights (two on each side). On some varieties they put a spotlight on the roof.
The most recent modifications are distinguished by the presence of two completely glazed doors. The first was equipped with a pneumatic drive, triggered by pressing a button on the panel. The door moved parallel to the side. Interestingly, some buses did not have a pneumatic drive initially, and therefore it had to be opened and closed manually. The second door is located in the "aft" compartment, opens and closes with a hand lever.
About salon
Of course, the Ikarus 250 bus is not equipped with a passenger compartment, which, at least to some extent, may be called modern, but it still has no gross flaws. From 43 to 57 pair seats with wooden armrests can be installed in it, and the distance between the seats is very small, only 65 cm. The seats are quite rigid and do not work well for long flights. But each pair of seats has individual air ducts and small lamps, which for the 70s in the USSR was something “cosmic”.
Convenience / inconvenience for passengers
For the general lighting of the cabin, three shades with eight lamps in each are responsible. Heating - radiators installed under each pair of seats; the engine cooling system is responsible for heating the liquid. The bus is notable for the fact that the floor in it is much lower than the seat level. This not only made it possible to significantly expand the luggage compartment, but also completely isolate the "bulge" from the wheels. However, it is the interior design that makes the Ikarus 250/40 (and its other varieties) practically unsuitable for urban use, as passengers who often have to enter and exit in a narrow aisle are extremely uncomfortable.
In normal configurations, blinds were mounted on the windows, which were very convenient for long flights during the daytime, when the sun could prevent people from taking a nap. The front of the cabin is characterized by the presence of an additional folding chair, which is used by guides, controllers, or an additional driver sits there. In the export versions of Ikarus 250/40 (photos of the bus are presented in the article), a special room with a toilet and a small refrigerator was mounted at the end of the building. Unfortunately, in the European part of the USSR such a variety was no more common than any Cadillac. An additional five seats were placed in the rear of the cabin, although it was extremely bad to ride them due to the strong vibration of the engine and the heat from it.
Driver's seat
Steering - type ZF S6-90U. The driver's seat in style and functionality is practically no different from the passenger. The only caveat is height adjustment. The driver’s workstation is not separated from the passenger compartment, except for a small glass wall. The instrument panel is characterized by the large size and good readability of all sensors: speedometer, tachometer, voltmeter, and fuel gauge.
Body
Assembled from square tubes, carriage type. The designers provided a service life of at least three decades. Alas, such a design entails unpleasant consequences. If the bus was operated in difficult climatic conditions without major repairs, the body sections in its rear literally sagged, severely deforming the interior. On the sides there are two large luggage compartments (one on each side), the volume of each is 5.3 m 3 . You can open the compartments in two ways: either using the hand lever directly on the case, or using the button on the dashboard.
The rear bumper on the Ikarus 250 bus (photo you will see in this material) is metal, attached to the body by means of welded fasteners. In the first buses of the series, the front bumper was installed almost exactly the same, which differed in some minor details. Due to the practical structural uselessness of the metal, plastic structures were subsequently installed, which made it possible to somewhat reduce the cost of the structure.
About engines
Most often, the Ikarus 250 engine is the notorious Raba-MAN D2156HM6U among drivers, there are also cars equipped with the Raba D10 and D11. They were in-line, had six cylinders, turbocharged. Their power varied, the most advanced modifications produced up to 220 liters. from. In recent years, Raba-MAN D2156HM6 diesel was installed on buses. The power of these motors was slightly higher, but their main characteristics remained the same. A common drawback of engines is poor power and even more sad traction on the bottoms. These factors cause both poor acceleration and extremely negative characteristics when driving uphill.
Many people remember how Ikarus almost by hours stormed the lifts that even MAZs could handle with completely killed engines. However, in a straight line, these diesels could well provide a constant speed of 100 km / h, which for Soviet buses was a very good result.
Cons and benefits of the Raba D10 (D11)
The main disadvantages are the same - dynamics and acceleration, although these engines still show much better results. But they were equipped with better parts, which provided quite acceptable reliability, durability and maintainability of the motor. That's just the weak dynamics, coupled with winding roads spread over most parts of the USSR with frequent climbs, nullified all the advantages, quickly devouring the resource. When worn, the engines begin to vibrate and smoke very strongly. In addition, the "Slaves" were notorious among Soviet drivers, since oil was consumed on a cosmic scale. The driver’s real dream was the Detroit DieselCummins VT350DAF LT120 engine, which was devoid of almost all of the Slave’s shortcomings, was more economical and more powerful, but was almost never found in machines that were serially operated in the USSR.
Gearbox
Manual gearbox, six steps, there is no synchronization in reverse gear, quite reliable. The peculiarity of this box is that, although it does not contribute to fast acceleration, it provides stable and relatively economical movement at high speeds, which was rare for Soviet buses. The drive includes reinforced cardan shafts with hinges. Dry type clutch, equipped with hydraulic drive and pneumatic booster.
Brake system characteristics
The Ikarus 250 bus, the technical characteristics of which we are considering, was equipped with a double-circuit drum brake mechanism. The brakes were driven by a pneumatic drive. The brake drums had a radius of 21 cm, their thickness was 14 and 18 cm, respectively. When driving at a maximum speed of 60 km / h for a settlement, the braking distance was up to 37 meters. Parking brakes on the rear wheels - mechanical spring with pneumatic drive. There is an auxiliary brake drive, the functions of which are duplicated parking. Compression in the system drives is from 6.2 to 7.4 kgf / cm 2 . So that the condensate formed there does not block the operation of the brakes in the winter, a special liquid based on technical alcohol is used.
Other characteristics
High beam lighting devices are equipped with 45 W lamps, 40 W lamps are used for low beam. In the
side lights , 5W Villtes series bulbs are installed. If there are any malfunctions of the engine cooling system or a drop in compression is noted in the brake hoses, a red signal immediately lights up on
the instrument panel . A low battery is also indicated by a separate indicator. For repair, the bus is convenient in that all electrical fuses are located directly on the driver's seat, in the form of a single unit.
In principle, the Ikarus 250 bus (the photo of which you will see in the article) had a good reputation among passengers who were most uncomfortable only with the insufficient work of the heater in the winter. Other factors did not so noticeably reduce ride comfort. An interior that was advanced at that time and soft chairs, a reliable suspension and a normal ventilation system - these are the factors that made it possible to travel long distances with relative comfort. It is not surprising that in some places the Ikarus 250/59 is still in operation.