LiAZ-6212 - the Russian version of "Ikarus"

The yellow small LiAZ (pictured below) plied on 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 - after a few years again left for the roads of big cities. Only now these logos are worn by buses LiAZ-6212 - high-floor vehicles of urban type.

It is interesting that the variant of such a machine appeared 4 times. The buses were produced by different enterprises, had different logos, capacities, capacity, but united them all one property - none of them went into mass production. For some time, prototypes traveled along the roads of Moscow, but then they disappeared. Then a new idea arose, and due to various circumstances, she got a sketch first 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 the country roads. At the dacha we went first to the obsolete yellow "old men", then to the PAs, and then each ATP began to solve this problem in its own way. As one of the reasons can be called that this version had three axles, four doors and a connecting part between two parts of the salon, called the "accordion" among the people. Also, it can include the cost of components and the transition to commercial relations with Hungary (the home of "Icarus"). 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 lengthy, could take up to 180 people, and most importantly, was produced in Russia. Interesting coincidence of factory numbers. The first bus from the factory had figures of 677.

LiAZ. History

What is common between ZiL and LiAZ? Communication here 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 like ZIL. But these buses did not satisfy the needs of passenger traffic in the 1960s. As a result, in the city of Likino-Dulyovo in the Moscow region in 1960, the design of a new model began. The project used already prepared sketches of ZiLa, as well as the workings of another bus giant - LAZ. So LiAZ-677 was born. 40 years have passed, and the same plant situated near Moscow is presenting a new development - LiAZ-6212.

But it can not be said that these 40 years the plant lived only on the issue of 677. Yes, it was a successful model, but the capacity of 90 people (this figure appears in the technical passport 677) could be arranged only by a small town. For a long time the city bus was considered to be 5256th from the same plant. Development enjoyed a certain popularity, but more and more large cities came to the conclusion that a single-section modification is unprofitable. Nevertheless, the first experimental LiAZ-6212 buses were an exact replica of its prototype, only more.

Record Certification

The experiment was prepared for the upcoming "Motor Show" (2002 Moscow, Krasnaya Presnya). These experimental buses received the body 5256, the German checkpoint, and the German "accordion". The engine on the experimental modification was installed Caterpillar-3126E, which had an electronic control, complied with the norms of "Euro-3", and showed quite 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 released in the series certified LiAZ-6212 - a high-floor two-section bus. But the record time for certification played a cruel joke with him. Since the first versions were assembled in the winter, problems began to arise in already serial models. At first, the cooling system refused, there was simply nothing to replace it with. It got to the point that for accident-free operation it was necessary to turn off the engine. Further follow-up along the route was possible only after its natural cooling.

Then, there were found faults in the levers at the junction, although none of the models using such nodes had problems before. A distinctive feature of the certification was also the modified body, but he also had his own problems. Often due to high temperatures, the facing is deformed. Also, the lack of facing panels led to the fact that even for minor repairs (for example, replacement of bulbs), they had to remove their parts.

ASAP

But, despite the problems, the cars were well bought up by car fleets in Moscow. However, before departure on their first routes, each bus received additional equipment at the plant in Tushino. 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. In the buses changed the partition separating the driver's cabin from the cabin, reinforced the railings and turnstiles for the system.

Features and photos

Despite many defects and complaints of drivers, the developers did not hurry to update. The factory has developed a new bus, based on slightly upgraded LiAZ-6212. The technical characteristics of the new model had one major difference. If the bus first used a diesel Caterpillar for 300 liters. With., The new version has received gas engine Cummins on 280 l. from. In addition to other fuel, the new engine complied with the Euro-4 standards. With other practically identical characteristics, the new modification received a new transmission (6 steps against 3) and a slightly higher altitude.

The main changes have 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 is a photo of LiAZ-6212. The photo of the new model has no special differences, except for the forward route board, which went into the cabin, due to which the windshield increased. It is interesting that at 6213 the block of the route number returned to the top, but the windshield remained the same large.

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

Conclusion

LiAZ-6212 is a fundamentally new development, and although a lot of imported parts are still used on the bus, it is considered purely Russian. The incentive for production was commercial relations with Hungary, the success of the 677 model, which saw everything, and no less success of the 5256th, especially considering the model 5280-trolleybus modification 5256.