LiAZ-6212 - the Russian version of "Ikarus"

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

Yellow small LiAZ (shown in the picture below) plied the city bus routes during the Soviet Union, along with the Ikarus. The union is long gone, the bus went to the dustbin of history, and the logo - black Russian letters in a black circle - a few years later again left on the roads of big cities. Only now these logos are worn by LiAZ-6212 buses - high-floor urban vehicles.

It is interesting that a variant of such a machine appeared 4 times. The buses were produced by different enterprises, had different logos, capacities, capacity, but they all had one property in common - none of them went into mass production. For some time, prototypes traveled along the roads of Moscow, but then they also disappeared. Then a new idea appeared, and due to various circumstances, it first received a sketch, and then a finished look, which went into a series.

City bus

It is worth noting that the viewnot received much distribution on suburban highways. We went to the dacha first on the yellow “old men” that were becoming obsolete, then on the PAZs, and then each ATP began to solve this problem in its own way. As one of the reasons, one can name 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". Also here can be attributed the cost of components and the transition to commercial relations with Hungary (the birthplace of "Ikarus"). But the main reason remained the same - 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, it could take up to 180 people, and most importantly, it was made in the Russian Federation. Interesting coincidence of serial numbers. The first bus from the factory had the numbers 677.

LiAZ. History

What do ZIL and LiAZ have in common? The connection is the most direct. The first LiAZ (that yellow "old man" in the picture above) was developed at the ZiL factories. And he had to go out as ZIL. But these buses did not meet the needs of the passenger traffic of the 1960s. As a result, in the town of Likino-Dulyovo near Moscow in 1960, the design of a new model began. The project used ready-made sketches of ZiL, as well as the developments of another bus giant - LAZ. Thus, LiAZ-677 was born. 40 years have passed, and still the same plant near Moscow presents a new development - LiAZ-6212.

But it cannot be said that for these 40 years the plant lived only on the production of 677. Yes, it was a successful model, but the capacity is 90 people (such a figure appearsin the data sheet 677) could only suit some small town. For a long time, the 5256th from the same plant was considered a city bus. The development enjoyed some 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 larger.

Record certification

The experiment was being prepared for the upcoming "Motor Show" (2002 Moscow, Krasnaya Presnya). These experimental buses received a 5256 body, a German checkpoint, and a German “accordion”. The engine on the experimental modification was installed Caterpillar-3126E, which had electronic control, met Euro-3 standards, and showed quite good results. The new car became the "Best Bus of 2003". Six months later, in February 2003, the new model took off on its first city flight.

It was a certified LiAZ-6212, a high-floor two-section bus, already released into the series. But the record time for certification played a cruel joke on him. Since the first versions were assembled in the winter, problems began to arise in already serial models. At first, the cooling system failed, and there was simply nothing to replace it with. It got to the point that for trouble-free operation it was necessary to turn off the engine. Further following the route was possible only after its natural cooling.

Then there were malfunctions of the levers in the joint assembly, although not a single model usingsuch nodes, before that there were no problems. A distinctive feature of the certification was also a modified body, but it also had its own problems. Often, due to high temperatures, the lining was deformed. Also, the imperfection of the cladding panels led to the fact that even for minor repairs (for example, replacing light bulbs), parts of them had to be removed.

ASKP

But, despite the problems, the cars were bought up well by Moscow car parks. True, before leaving for their first routes, each bus received additional equipment at the plant in Tushino. Seats were changed, 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. In buses, the partition separating the driver's cabin from the passenger compartment was changed, handrails and turnstiles were installed to make the system work.

Features and photos

Despite many shortcomings and complaints from drivers, the developers were in no hurry to deal with updates. The plant developed a new bus, which was based on a slightly updated LiAZ-6212. The technical characteristics of the new model had one main difference. If at first the bus used a 300 hp diesel Caterpillar. s., then the new version received a Cummins gas engine with 280 hp. With. In addition to other fuel, the new engine complied with Euro-4 standards. With other almost identical characteristics, the new modification received a new gearbox (6 steps versus 3) and a slightly higher height.

Major changes have affected the appearance. The bus received a different cladding, a more convenient control system and an enlarged windshield. This version received the index 62127 as an improved version. Earlier in the article there is a photograph of LiAZ-6212. The photo of the new model does not have any special differences, except for the front route board, which went into the cockpit, due to which the windshield increased. Interestingly, in 6213, the routing number block returned to the top, but the windshield remained the same large.

Also, both versions are distinguished by a fundamentally new cooling system located on the roof of the first compartment. Perhaps this decision came after the start of production of trolleybus vehicles at the plant.

Conclusion

LiAZ-6212 is a fundamentally new development, and although a large number of imported parts are still used in the bus, it is considered purely Russian. The production was stimulated by commercial relations with Hungary, the success of the 677, which everyone saw, and the no less success of the 5256, especially if you take into account the model 5280 - a trolleybus modification of 5256.