The LAZ-695 bus can be safely entered into the Guinness Book of Records. This model, constantly being upgraded, lasted 46 years on the factory assembly line, thereby putting absolute record by the duration of production of one bus model at one plant!
LAZ-695 became the first-born of the Lviv Bus Plant, the construction of which began in 1945. Since 1949, the plant began to produce car vans, trailers, truck cranes, and an experimental batch of electric vehicles was also produced. In parallel with the construction of a new plant and the development of the production of automotive products on it, a design team was organized under the leadership of V.V. Osepchugov. Initially, the plant planned to produce ZIS-155 buses of the Moscow Stalin Plant, but such a prospect did not suit the young design bureau team. According to the memoirs of the first director of LAZ B.P. Kashkadamov, Osepchugov literally infected young designers who had just left the institute's classrooms with his "bus disease".
The initiative to create their own bus model at LAZ was supported "at the top" and samples of the most modern European buses were purchased for LAZ: Magirus, Neoplan, Mercedes. They were studied, tested, considered from the point of view of production technologies at LAZ, as a result of which the design of the Lviv firstborn was practically developed by the end of 1955. The starting point in its design was the design of the Mercedes Benz 321 bus, and external stylistic solutions were peeped from the Magirus bus.
The first buses LAZ-695
In February 1956, the design team of the LAZ plant built the first prototypes of the LAZ-695 bus with the ZIL-124 engine located at the rear. Such a layout with a longitudinal arrangement of the engine in the rear overhang of the bus was used in the USSR for the first time. The body of the LAZ-695 also had a completely new design. All loads were perceived by the power base, which was a spatial truss of rectangular pipes. The body frame is rigidly connected to this base. The outer lining of the bus was made of duralumin sheets, which were attached to the body frame with "electric rivets" (spot welding). A double-disk clutch and a five-speed gearbox were taken from the ZIL-158 bus.
An interesting innovation was the dependent spring-loaded suspension of the bus wheels, developed jointly with NAMI specialists. Additionally, corrective springs provided the whole suspension non-linear characteristic- its rigidity increased with increasing load, as a result, regardless of the load, comfortable conditions were created for passengers. This circumstance has won a high reputation for LAZ vehicles. But just like the LAZ-695 city bus, it was imperfect: there was no storage area at the front door, the passage between the seats and the doors were not wide enough. The bus could be most successfully used for suburban communication, tourist and intercity trips. Therefore, 2 more models were immediately included in the unified series: the tourist LAZ-697 and the intercity LAZ-699.
Despite certain disadvantages, LAZ-695 stood out among other domestic buses. Thin window pillars with sliding vents, curved glass built into the radius roof slopes, gave the bus a light, "airy" look. Large rounding radii on the edges and corners of the body created the visual effect of a streamlined car. If we compare the LAZ-695 with the mass city bus of that time ZIS-155, then the first one could accommodate 4 passengers more, was 1040 mm longer, but 90 kg lighter and developed the same maximum speed - 65 km / h.
If necessary, the bus could be easily converted into an ambulance. To do this, it was enough just to dismantle the seats in the cabin. In front of the bus, under the windshield to the right of the driver's workplace, an additional door was provided in the back for loading the wounded. Such an "innovation" was fully justified at the time when this bus was created. All LAZ-695 buses and their modifications were equipped with a special door for loading stretchers until 1993.
LAZ-695B
Since the end of 1957, the car has been modernized: the base of the body has been strengthened, a pneumatic drive for opening doors has been introduced instead of a mechanical one. Moreover, since 1958, instead of side air intakes, a wide bell was used, which was brought out to the rear of the roof. Through it, air containing noticeably less dust entered the engine compartment. There have also been changes brake system, bus heating, the way passenger seats are installed, the tilt of the driver's steering column and much, much more. Serially modernized buses, which received the name LAZ-695B, began to be produced from May 1958 and, until 1964, 16,718 complete LAZ-695B buses were manufactured, as well as 551 bodies for trolleybuses (for OdAZ and KZET) and 10 fully complete LAZ-695T trolleybuses on their base.
Initially, the serial LAZ-695B retained a very large area of glazing of the roof slopes, but the operators constantly complained to the plant about the weakness of the entire upper body of the LAZ buses. As a result, the glazed front corners of the roof slopes first disappeared from the buses (autumn 1958), and later the glazing of the rear slopes was significantly reduced. Interestingly, as an experiment, in 1959, a copy of the LAZ-695B bus was made without any glazing of the roof slopes, but, apparently, such a bold approach to increasing the rigidity of the roof seemed to someone too radical and on serial machines the glazing of the slopes was left, only slightly reduced. Later, by the autumn of 1959, the front roof structure was slightly changed on the LAZ-695B buses, as a result of which a “cap” visor appeared above the windshields of the buses.
LAZ-695E
As soon as ZIL began production of a V-shaped eight-cylinder ZIL-130 engine, a single-plate clutch and a new five-speed gearbox, the question arose of equipping LAZ buses with them. The prototypes of the bus under the symbol LAZ-695E were manufactured in 1961. Serial production of the LAZ-695E began in 1963, but in a year only 394 copies were made, and only from April 1964 the plant completely switched to the production of the "E" model. In total, until 1969, 37916 LAZ-695E buses were manufactured, including 1346 for export.
The LAZ-695E buses of 1963 were no different from the LAZ-695B buses produced at the same time, but since 1964 all LAZ buses have received new - rounded - wheel arches, by which the LAZ-695E is instantly recognized.
LAZ-695Zh
At the same time, LAZ, together with the laboratory of automatic transmissions of NAMI, began the development of a hydromechanical transmission for a city bus. Already in 1963, the first industrial batch of buses with such a transmission was assembled at LAZ. These buses were named LAZ-695Zh. But in two years, from 1963 to 1965, only 40 LAZ-695Zh buses were assembled, after which their production was discontinued. The fact is that buses of the LAZ-695 type were mainly used on suburban lines, and they were not suitable for busy city routes, so the LiAZ-677 bus was created specifically for large cities in the mid-60s. So he received a hydromechanical transmission produced at LAZ. LAZ-695Zh buses outwardly did not differ in any way from similar buses with manual transmission the same period of manufacture.
LAZ-695M
A set of innovations implemented in 1969 made it possible to seriously improve the basic model, which became known as the LAZ-695M. It provided for the installation of higher window panes on the car with corresponding changes in the design of the body frame. The bus had a power steering, a rear axle "Raba" (Hungary) with planetary gears in the wheel hubs, the branded LAZ central air intake was replaced with slots on the sidewalls. The car has become 100 mm shorter, and its curb weight is greater. The production of LAZ-695M lasted seven years and during this time 52,077 copies were made, including 164 for export.
LAZ-695N
Having received a new front body panel with higher windshields since 1973, the car became known as LAZ-695N. However, this model went into the series only in 1976, before that the previous modification was produced. LAZ-695N cars of the late 70s - early 80s had small windows on the outside above the doors to the salon for illuminated inscriptions "Entrance" and "Exit", they were abolished on later cars. Also, the early LAZ-695N buses differ from newer cars in the shape and location of the rear lighting.
LAZ-695NG
In 1986, specialists from the All-Union Design and Experimental Institute "Avtobusprom" adapted the LAZ-695N bus to work on natural gas. Cylinders with methane compressed to 200 atmospheres were placed on the roof of the bus in a special casing. From there, the gas was fed through pipelines to a pressure reducer. The gas-air mixture from the gearbox entered the engine. Due to the placement of cylinders on the roof of the bus, methane, which is lighter than air, is instantly vented in an emergency, before it catches fire. Since the LAZ-695NG cylinders were placed in the rear of the body, the ventilation hatch located there was moved to the middle of the cabin.
Buses LAZ-695NG became quite common in the late 80s and early 90s. In addition, due to the fuel crisis and the cheaper operation of buses running on liquefied gas, many fleets began to independently install gas-cylinder equipment on the LAZ-695N. Similar buses differ from factory cars in the standard location of the rear ventilation hatch in the roof; cylinders were usually mounted on top of this hatch.
LAZ-695D, LAZ-695D11
In 1993, at LAZ, on an experimental basis, they tried to install D-6112 diesel engines from the T-150 tractor and a 494L diesel engine from military equipment on the LAZ-695 bus. Both diesel engines are of Kharkov production. In the same 1993, the Dnipropetrovsk association "DneproLAZavtoservis" LAZ-695N buses began to be equipped with diesel engines of the Kharkov plant "Hammer and Sickle" SMD-2307. But the most effective were the efforts of the Interstate Automobile Trade Association. By their order, LAZ developed and began mass-producing since 1995 a diesel modification of the bus - LAZ-695D, which received its own name "Dana". This bus was equipped with a diesel engine D-245.9 Minsky engine plant. This modification of the bus was mass-produced at the Lviv Bus Plant until 2002 and since 2003 has been produced at the Dneprodzerzhinsk Automobile Plant (DAZ).
In 1996, the diesel bus project was significantly revised, as a result of which the LAZ-695D11 Tanya bus appeared. This project was coordinated by Simaz, a member of the Interstate Automobile Trade Association. The bus "Tanya" differed from the previous diesel model by hinged doors in the front and rear overhang and installed soft seats in the cabin. By and large, it was a return to the LAZ-697 long-discontinued intercity bus in a new capacity and under a new name. Modification LAZ-695D11 "Tanya" was mass-produced in small batches.
LAZ-695 manufactured by DArZa
In 2002, big changes took place at the Lviv Bus Plant: all old models were discontinued and consumers were offered a modern range of buses. But the production of LAZ-695N buses was never stopped. All technological documentation was transferred to the Dneprodzerzhinsky car factory(DArZ), where small-scale assembly of LAZ-695N buses continued until 2010. Dneprodzerzhinsk buses LAZ-695N differ from Lviv ones in the absence of a driver's door, seamless sides without molding and yellow handrails in the cabin.
Trolleybuses LAZ-695
The rapid development of trolleybus systems in many cities of the USSR in the early 60s and the lack of rolling stock for them forced the production of trolleybus vehicles with bus bodies. A trolleybus based on the LAZ-695B bus was first manufactured in Baku in 1962 and received the name BT-62. It was converted from a 1959 bus (without a visor-"cap" and with rear glazing).
In the summer of 1963, a trolleybus based on the LAZ-695B bus body was manufactured directly at LAZ. Some factory documentation indicated the basic body of the LAZ-695E bus, but, in fact, at that moment these buses differed only in the model of the installed internal combustion engine, which was not on the trolleybus, so the model of the base body for the trolleybus is not fundamental. However, one should proceed from the fact that in 1963 the LAZ-695B was the main bus at LAZ, and only in 1964 the plant completely switched to the production of LAZ-695E.
The Lviv trolleybus received the name LAZ-695T and was manufactured at the plant in the amount of only 10 pieces. All Lviv trolleybuses remained to work in their hometown, and for other cities, the production of trolleybuses was launched at the Kiev Electric Transport Plant (KZET), where it received the name Kyiv-5LA. For the production of Kyiv-5, KZET received ready-made bodies of Lviv buses, and the electric transport plant only installed electrical equipment of its own production. In total, 75 Kyiv-5LA trolleybuses were assembled at KZET in 1963-1964.
However, the capacities of the Kyiv plant were not enough to satisfy the rapidly developing trolleybus in the USSR, and the Odessa Automobile Assembly Plant (OdAZ) joined the production of LAZ-695T (in the same 1963). By that time, the Odessa plant transferred the production of its dump trucks to Saransk and, in fact, was left without a production facility. In Odessa, the trolleybus was named OdAZ-695T. From Lviv, OdAZ received bus bodies with elements of the running gear, and all electrical equipment from Kyiv. The trolleybuses assembled at OdAZ were mainly intended for trolleybus fleets of nearby regional centers with trolleybus traffic. In total, 476 OdAZ-695T trolleybuses were assembled in Odessa for three years (1963-1965).
On trolleybuses of the LAZ-695T type (as well as Kyiv-5LA and OdAZ-695T), a 78 kW electric motor was installed, and the trolleybus itself was capable of speeds of 50 km / h. Compared to the most common trolleybus of that time, the MTB-82, the Lviv trolleybus turned out to be much lighter and, with comparable engine power, was naturally more dynamic and economical. And at the same time, it was short-lived (service life 7-8 years) and small-capacity (part of the electrical equipment was located in the cabin), with narrow aisles between the seats and narrow doorways, but the release of these machines to some extent made it possible to reduce the shortage in the trolleybus mobile composition of the country.
Buses LAZ-695 in Kharkiv
In Kharkov, LAZ-695 appeared almost immediately after the start of its production - in the late 50s. For more than forty years, without exception, all modifications of this car drove through the streets of our city. In the 60s, LAZs worked on the most "prestigious" and demonstrative routes, such as 34 (Pavlovo Pole - KhTZ), 44 (Vokzal - Pavlovo Pole), 41 (Vokzal - KhTZ). This was due to the fact that at that time there were no large-capacity buses, and the main rolling stock of the city's fleets were our heroes, as well as ZIL-155 and ZIL-158. With the advent of more capacious LiAZs and Ikarus in the early 70s, the LAZ-695 began to lose ground. Gradually, LAZs began to serve short routes with relatively small passenger flows, as well as most suburban routes. However, at the latter, a suburban modification of the Hungarian Ikarus-260 was a significant competition to them.
By the beginning of the 80s, the LAZ-695 buses of the first modifications, produced in the 60s, were decommissioned. LAZ-695E traveled through the streets of our city much longer. The last buses of this modification operated on the 17th route back in 1993. In the late 80s, LAZ-695 buses worked mainly on routes serving individual development areas, such as Nemyshlya, Osnova, Danilovka. They also completed one of the busiest routes at that time - No. 17 (Forest Park - Heroes of Labor), which was associated with a difficult profile of the route (it passed along the descent of Gilardi). LAZ-695 formed the basis of the ATP-16331 rolling stock, which specialized in suburban routes. In addition, many LAZs worked in the service and custom mode.
After the crisis of trucking in the early 1990s, with the advent of commercial road carriers, the number of routes served by LAZs increased significantly. Buses of a large class - "Ikarus" - turned out to be too expensive to operate in the new conditions: the fuel crisis affected, as well as the lack of spare parts for "Hungarians". At the same time, LAZs have established themselves as one of the most unpretentious buses. In addition, if the supply of Hungarian Ikarus buses to the car parks of Kharkov and the region ended in 1990 due to lack of funds, domestic LAZ-695 buses were regularly purchased for the city's car parks until 1993, although in much smaller quantities than before. Therefore, by the end of the 90s, the history of the Kharkov bus was thrown back 30 years ago.
As in the distant 60s, the LAZ-695 became the main passenger bus on the streets of our city. But unlike the 60s, at the end of the twentieth century it was hopelessly outdated. In addition, most of the LAZs were in poor technical condition. The program of regular overhauls, which were carried out at the 4th Kharkov Automobile Repair Plant for cars not only in Kharkov, but also in many other regions of Ukraine, was curtailed in the 90s. At the same time, the plant itself ceased to exist, and one of the first Kharkov hypermarkets ("Brig") was opened in its buildings on Tarasovskaya Street.
In 2004-2005, the number of LAZ-695 buses on the streets of the city has noticeably decreased. At the request of the city authorities, carriers were obliged to replace the rolling stock on city routes with newer vehicles. Therefore, LAZs gave way to new PAZs, Bogdans and Etalons. The operation of LAZ-695N buses on Kharkov city routes ended in May 2011. The last route that LAZ-695N buses took was No. 46 (metro station "Prospekt Gagarina" - Zhikhor), but with the change of carrier on this route from May 31, 2011, the operation of LAZ-695N on it was discontinued.
For 40 years, from the mid-60s to the mid-2000s, LAZ-695 buses also determined the appearance of urban transport in the regional centers of the Kharkiv region. These cars were in every district fleet and carried out passenger transportation both on intra-district routes and on routes connecting some regional centers with Kharkov. However, deliveries of LAZ-695 buses to the fleets of regional centers also ceased in the early 1990s. Since the beginning of the 2000s, obsolete cars have been gradually replaced by GAZelles and PAZs. last city in the Kharkiv region, where the LAZ-695 buses were massively operated, Izyum became. The last LAZ-695N in this city left the city routes at the end of 2013. Single copies of LAZ-695N buses continue to operate in Chuguev and Lozovaya.
In addition to regular passenger traffic, LAZ-695 were also very common as service buses; these cars were purchased for transportation of employees by many enterprises of the city and region until 2000. A number of service buses continue to operate to this day, so the LAZ-695 can still be seen relatively often on the streets of Kharkov and the region.
gentle operation and overhaul held in 1986 provided long life the last Kharkov LAZ-695M. The 1974 car transported employees of the Kharkov FED plant for many years. In the middle of the "zero" this LAZ was put aside from operation. However, unlike most of its counterparts, the rare bus did not end up in a metal depot. In 2013, the author of the Coffeebus project, a resident of Kiev, Vadim Navrotsky, became interested in him. , where, after refurbishment, he became one of the "coffee buses" on the streets of the capital.
Andrey Butkovsky, 2018
Sources:
Technical characteristics of the bus LAZ-695N:
| dimensions | |
|---|---|
| Length, mm | 9190 |
| Width, mm | 2500 |
| Height, mm | 3120 |
| Wheel base, mm | 4190 |
| Front overhang, mm | 2130 |
| Rear overhang, mm | 2870 |
| Front wheel track, mm | 2116 |
| Track rear wheels, mm | 1850 |
| Ground clearance, mm | 320 |
| Passenger door opening width, mm | 830 |
| Weight and occupancy of the bus | |
| Weight of equipped bus, kg | 6800 |
| Gross weight of the bus, kg | 11200 |
| Number of seats | 34 |
| Total Seats | 60 |
| Engine and gearbox | |
| Engine brand | ZIL-130YA2N (ZIL-508.10) |
| Type | carburettor |
| Number and arrangement of cylinders | 8V |
| Working volume, l | 6,0 |
| Compression ratio | 7,1 |
| Power, kW (hp) | 110 (150) at 3200 rpm |
| Torque, Nm | 402 at 1800-2000 rpm |
| Fuel consumption at full load, l / 100 km | 41 |
| Gearbox model | ZIL-158V |
| Gearbox type | mechanical |
| Number of gearbox steps | 5 |
| Steering gear | ZIL-4331 with hydraulic booster |
| Front suspension | on semi-elliptic springs with adjusting springs two shock absorbers |
| Rear suspension | the same without shock absorbers |
| Brake system | |
| working: | pneumatic, double-circuit, brake drum type mechanisms |
| spare: | one of the circuits of the working brake system. |
| parking: | mechanical drive to brake mechanisms rear wheels |
| Ventilation | natural, through hatches and vents side windows |
| Heating system | calorific from the cooling system engine |
| Electrical equipment, V | 12 |
| Maximum speed at full load, km/h | 80 |
| Fuel tank capacity, l | 154 |
| wheels | 7,5-20 |
| Tires | 10,00-20 |
So, the history of Soviet buses began with a bus based on AMO F-15.
The first AMO bus with a capacity of 14 passengers was created in 1926 on the chassis of a 1.5-ton AMO-F-15 truck. The body was made on a frame of bent wooden profiles and sheathed with metal, the roof was covered with leatherette. There was only one passenger door - in front of the rear wheel arch. Four-cylinder carbureted engine 35 HP allowed the bus to accelerate to 50 km / h. In addition, since 1927, a two-door mail bus was produced (the rear door was behind the rear wheel arch) and an ambulance (without side doors). Third-party manufacturers put their own bodies on the AMO-F-15 chassis, for example, an open one with a tarpaulin awning for serving resorts. Photo from a 1983 postcard:
Later, an extended version appears - AMO 4 (1933). 22 places. Top speed with 60 hp 6-cylinder engine was 55 km/h. A batch of several dozen cars was produced.
Based on the ZIS-5, or rather its lengthened base from 3.81 to 4.42 m, the ZIS-11 chassis in 1934-1936. a 22-seater (total number of seats 29) ZIS-8 bus was produced. Six-cylinder in-line carburetor motor volume of 5.55 liters with a capacity of 73 hp. allowed ZIS-8 gross weight 6.1 t accelerate to 60 km / h. Only 547 units were produced at ZIS. ZIS-8.
In 1938, the ZiS-8 was replaced on the assembly line by a more advanced ZiS-16 that met the trends of that time. The production of the ZIS-16 bus, which, in accordance with the then automobile fashion, had a streamlined body shape, but was still made on a wooden frame, was deployed from 1938 and continued until August 1941. The bus accommodated up to 34 passengers (with 26 seats). Forced up to 84 hp the ZIS-16 engine accelerated the car with a gross weight of 7.13 tons to 65 km / h.
The production of passenger buses was resumed after the war, in 1946.
Then the body was developed, which simultaneously became the MTV-82 tram, the MTB-82 trolleybus and the ZiS-154 bus. ZiS-154 was not just a bus .. In 1946, domestic designers managed to create a hybrid!
The design of this bus was advanced for the domestic auto industry: the first domestic serial all-metal wagon-type load-bearing body (by the way, unified with the MTB-82 trolleybus and the MTV-82 tram) with a passenger door in the front overhang and an engine in the rear of the body, a door pneumatic actuator, adjustable in three directions driver's seat, diesel and electric transmission with electric generator and electric motor. Forced diesel YaAZ-204D with a power of 112 hp allowed the bus with a gross weight of 12.34 tons to accelerate to 65 km / h. A total of 1164 ZIS-154 buses were produced. However, the diesel engine, which was then just being mastered in production, turned out to be unfinished in terms of exhaust smoke and reliability, therefore the ZIS-154 equipped with it, which also suffered from a whole bunch of "childhood diseases", became the object of serious complaints from the townspeople and operators, which led to a relatively quick removal of the bus from production in 1950. One of them is preserved in the Mosgortrans museum.
The unsuccessful ZIS-154 was replaced by an easier-to-manufacture, but less capacious 8-meter ZIS-155, from the design of which ZIS-154 body elements and ZIS-150 truck units were used. By the way, it was on the ZIS-155 for the first time in domestic auto industry installed alternator. The bus could carry 50 passengers (28 seats). Engine ZIS-124 with a power of 90 hp accelerated the car with a gross weight of 9.9 tons to 70 km / h. A total of 21,741 ZIS-155 buses were produced, which remained the main model of the bus fleets of the capital and other large cities of the USSR from the mid-50s to the mid-60s.
Preserved in the Mosgortrans museum, as well as as monuments in some cities and sheds in some collective farms.
In 1955, for the first time in the USSR, an intercity bus was developed (before that, ZiS-155 cars ran along the Moscow-Yalta route, it’s scary to imagine how much and how it was to go in it ..) It turned out huge, luxury bus American style.
bus with original load-bearing body 10.22 m long could carry 32 passengers, located in comfortable aircraft-type seats with headrests and adjustable backrests. The power plant consisted of a YaAZ-206D two-stroke diesel engine, located transversely in the rear of the bus with a gearbox and driving the rear axle cardan shaft located at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the bus. In terms of the level, design of the body and interior, comfort for passengers and dynamic qualities, the ZIS (ZIL) -127 corresponded to the best foreign analogues and deservedly was the flagship domestic automotive industry. However, the overall width of the ZIS-127 is too large, equal to 2.68 m, which exceeded international requirements (the width of the vehicle is not more than 2.5 m) and the emphasis on the development of economic ties with the socialist countries of the CMEA, which was given priority in the production of large buses ( Hungary, Czechoslovakia) decided the fate of a completely competitive model (in fact, the last competitive domestic bus) - in 1960, the production of ZIL-127 was curtailed. In total in 1955-1960. 851 ZIS(ZIL)-127 buses were produced.
Until our days in perfect condition ZiS-127 is preserved in the museum in Tallinn. Even on the territory of the former USSR there are several cars in the state of "a shed in the backyard of the motor depot."
Interestingly, on the basis of ZIL-127 in 1959, NAMI created and tested the Turbo-NAMI-053 gas turbine bus, which reached a speed of 160 km / h or more. GTE mounted in the rear of the cabin developed 350 hp. and was twice as light as the base YaMZ-206D diesel engine. However, such a machine did not go into series because of the complexity in production and operation.
ZIL-158, ZIL-158V - city bus. Produced from 1957 to 1959 at ZIL and from 1959 to 1970 at LiAZ. ZIL-158 was the main bus model in urban bus fleets Soviet Union in the 1960s and early 1970s. It was a further modernization of the ZIS-155 bus. It was distinguished by a body lengthened by 770 mm with an increased capacity of up to 60 people. nominal passenger capacity (32 seats), redesigned front and rear masks, modified side windows, as well as an engine with a 9% increase in power. The first ZIL-158 had windows in the ventilation hatches in the roof, as well as windows in the corners on the rear roof slopes.
A front-engine layout was used, which subsequently migrated to the LiAZ-677 and PAZ-652.
Sometimes there are buses like this...
At the same time, the production of buses was started in Lvov, at a plant that used to produce truck cranes and trailers.
LAZ-695. I think he needs no introduction. Initially, he looked like this. Huge windows in the ceiling (at the far, earlier - tinted), an interesting air intake on the back of the roof. Rear-engine layout, ZiLovsky engine. It began to be produced back in 1956, since then it has been simplified and transformed many times.
There were quite a few changes to the hodovka during the entire production period.
And in the end, 695 turned into such a dear and familiar worker of commuter routes to all of us, which was produced right up to 2002 (and in fact - until 2010 !!!) of the year.
In the late 50s, LAZ began developing intercity buses. There were dozens of interesting options, but only a few went into the series. For example, LAZ-697
In 1961, the LAZ-Ukraine bus was created. Remember "Queen of the Gas Station". Learned?
In 1967, a bus was created that made a real world breakthrough.
In the spring of 1967, this bus took part in the international bus competition in Nice (XVIII International Bus Week), where it received the following awards:
- Prize of the President of France, two Grand Prizes of Distinction and a Special Prize of the Organizing Committee - for participation in the rally.
- Silver medal for bodybuilders - for the competition of bodies.
- Big prize and Organizing Committee Cup - for technical tests.
- Big Cup - for the absolute first place in driving skills (driver - test engineer S. Borim).
Here she is, "Ukraine-67"
Let's go back to LiAZ, which in 1962 started producing the legend. LiAZ-677. Warm, gurgling and swaying to an incredible amplitude, it is familiar to almost everyone and needs no introduction .. In some places they still run, but in most cities they have long been melted down "into pots".
There were many variations. e.g. for the far north.
Meanwhile, Ukravtobusprom engineers prepared a surprise.
1970 The world's first low-floor bus. LAZ-360. Collected two copies. The first one is LAZ360EM. In 1970, when creating the LAZ-360EM (in some sources LAZ-360E), the main task of the designers was to lower the floor level in the bus to 360 mm above the road level (hence the bus index - "360"). It was possible to make the bus low-floor only by abandoning cardan gears, therefore, the transmission on the LAZ-360EM is electromechanical. The bus engine (170 hp / 132 kW), together with the electric generator, was located in front (most likely behind driver's seat), and the drive wheels were rear, connected with traction motors. A feature of the bus was a four-axle chassis with small diameter tires. Two front axles are steered, two rear axles are driven. The body with an unusual artistic solution was also interesting - bent in a vertical plane windshields and trapezoidal side windows. The length of the bus was 11.000mm.
Some time later, it became clear that the chosen four-bridge scheme with electric transmission did not justify itself, and then the design of the bus was thoroughly revised and practically developed anew. For the updated version, a biaxial scheme was chosen, with the usual mechanical transmission, but with front-wheel drive and steered wheels - in this way it became possible to make a flat low floor for almost the entire length of the bus. The engine of the new bus also changed its position in the cabin - now it was on the right side of the driver. The number and arrangement of entrance doors has also changed. The modernized bus received the name LAZ-360 (that is, with low level floor, but without electromechanical transmission).
| Full title: | CJSC "Lviv Bus Plant" |
| Other names: | Public Transport Plant (ZKT), CJSC Lviv Automobile Plant |
| Existence: | 1945 - present day |
| Location: | (USSR), Ukraine, Lvov, st. Stryiska, 45 |
| Key Figures: | Churkin Igor Anatolyevich - top manager |
| Products: | Buses, trolleybuses |
| The lineup: |
692:
695: LAZ-695 "Lviv" LAZ-695D "Dana" LAZ-695D11 "Tanya" 42xx: ; LAZ Liner 10 52xx: ; |
History of the LAZ enterprise.
Decree on creation car assembly plant in Lvov was adopted on April 3, 1945. Literally a month and a half later, on May 21, the main issues for its construction were identified.
By a decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR in 1949, the still unfinished plant was ordered to master the production of buses and electric vehicles, while the plant itself received the name "Lvov bus factory named after the 50th anniversary of the USSR. At the same time, even before the completion of construction work, the process of manufacturing spare parts for truck cranes is being established.
LAZ took the place of honor in the USSR as a manufacturer of buses intended for tourist, intercity and suburban transportation. The plant became the leader in the production of buses throughout the Soviet Union.
Some time later, the Council of People's Commissars decided to start manufacturing the defense industry, because of which the LAZ program was radically changed. The new task looked like this: per year, the plant should produce truck cranes AK-32 in the amount of 3,000 and weighing three tons each (their production was transferred to the plant from Dnepropetrovsk), ZIS-155 buses in the amount of 2,000, as well as 1,000 electric vehicles.
The plant is starting to master the production of automobile cranes ZIS-150.
A few years later, the plant is entrusted with the production of new vans. This was the result of a government decree in 1953: "On further development Soviet trade. The plant was supposed to start producing LAZ-150F - vans, as well as LAZ-729; LAZ-742B; LAZ-712; 1-APM-3 - groups of trailers, and set up the release of trailers-shops. Already by 1955, the range of products manufactured by the Lviv Automobile Plant had noticeably expanded. Although the basis of production was still on cranes (production of which doubled in just 5 years of operation of the plant), the plant also began to make grain trailers, spare parts and chassis for trailers, various types of trailers.
On August 17, 1955, an expanded meeting of the plant's technical council was held. The meeting determined a new technical policy plant, as well as a type of future Lviv buses which will have to meet the needs of the national economy. The new policy provided for the production of buses of medium capacity, which were maximally adapted to Soviet operating conditions.
At the same time, a new, young design team was being organized, the leadership of which was taken over by V.V. Osepchugov (at that time, new plant). Initially, they planned to produce the ZIS-155 bus at the Lviv Bus Plant. This prospect did not suit the young KB team. The new leader Osepchugov "infected" the young designers, who had recently graduated from a higher educational institution, with a "bus disease", which he successfully suffered from himself.
A group of young designers created their own model of the bus and sent it to the "top" for consideration. This model proved successful and was approved. For LAZ, they purchased samples of the most modern buses Europe: Magirus, Neoplan, Mercedes. These samples They were studied, tested, examined. The result of these tests and studies was the new design of the Lviv "first-born bus", "born" by the end of 1955. The basis for the bus took the design " Mercedes Benz 321", and the external style was peeped at the West German bus "Magirus".
For the first time in the USSR, a layout with a longitudinal rear location engine and bearing base: in LAZ-695, the body had a power base, presented in the form of a spatial farm of rectangular pipes. Also an innovation was the dependent suspension of the spring-spring type wheels. The suspension was developed jointly with specialists from US. With an increase in load, the stiffness of the suspension grew, this provided comfortable conditions in the cabin. Especially while driving. Thanks to this, LAZ machines have won high praise from consumers.
At LAZ in 1967, the GSKB was created - the Main Allied Design Bureau.
In the same year, one of the Lviv cars won the Best European Bus nomination in Brussels. Two years later, LAZ products received another Grand Prix in Nice. At the same festival in the same year, LAZ receives a gold medal for the most best design bus body, the driver of this bus S. Borim, test engineer, received gold for the best driving presented at the competition. In addition to the above, LAZ received prizes from the President of France, as well as two Grand Prizes of Excellence.
The buses produced by the Lvov plant were rated simply and concisely - "The best in the USSR." The machines were reliable in operation, unpretentious in maintenance, possessed high traffic. And what's more, they were comfortable! LAZ products could be seen in any part of the Former Union.
From 1969 to 1973, the plant produced several samples of two bus models - LAZ-696 and LAZ-698. Manufacturers were hopeful. That 1974 will be the year of release of the first industrial batch, but this did not happen. Despite the fact that samples of new bus models outperformed the existing LAZ-695 in many respects: they were more adapted to passenger transportation in major cities, but they still did not get into mass production. The main products of LAZ did not change - LAZ-695 buses. The main reason that served as a refusal to release new models was the purchase of Hungarian Ikarus. Due to a number of obligations to the countries of the socialist bloc, the Soviet Union stopped its design development of buses with increased capacity.
The construction of the new main building of the plant was completed in 1979. The area of the building exceeded all production areas at least twice. Such a scale made it possible to launch the production of new city buses LAZ-4202 at the plant.
The 80s were “golden” for LAZ - the plant became the largest European manufacturer buses. Up to 15 thousand cars were produced here annually.
In 1981, the plant celebrated its 200,000th bus.
1984 - the plant produces the 250,000th bus. In the same year, the production of the medium suburban bus LAZ-42021, equipped with a diesel engine, begins.
The year 1986 was marked for the plant by the start of the production of LAZ-695NG buses, which use gas fuel.
In 1988, a record number of buses for the factories of the USSR was produced - 14646 units.
In 1991, the production of LAZ-42071 - new intercity buses - was launched.
Due to the collapse of the USSR after 1991, production volumes were greatly reduced at the Lviv plant. For 10 years of its work (from 1989 to 1999), the plant began to produce 60 times fewer cars. Over the entire period of the crisis, a myriad of attempts were made at the plant for new versions of the base buses.
1992 - serial production of LAZ-5252 began.
The current state of affairs.
In 1994, it was created on the basis of the existing enterprise JSC "Lviv Bus Plant".
October 2001 was marked by a change in owners - a controlling stake in LAZ, which included 70.41%, was put up for auction and acquired on a competitive basis by the Ukrainian-Russian OJSC Sil-Avto. It is worth noting. that the buyer received the factory in a very hard times– the whole I quarter of the year the enterprise completely stood idle in out of order. By the end of 2001, the plant produced only 514 cars, which is 45% less than it was produced in the previous year.
With the new owners, the life of the plant began to change: the products were updated, obsolete models of buses LAZ-699 and LAZ-695 were discontinued. In May 2002, the plant took part in the Kiev international motor show, where he presented a family of updated buses. Since that time, the enterprise has been completely retrained for the production of unified buses of different lengths: 9, 10 and 12 meters. The result was buses: Liner-9 (9 meters long), Liner-10 (10 meters long) and Liner-12 (12 meters long). These buses were mostly delivered to Kazakhstan and Russia. The company also produced the A-291 articulated bus, which was successfully tested.
At the end of 2002, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine signed a resolution on possible creation ZAO LAZ. The main specialization of the newly created enterprise is the production of trolleybuses, buses, as well as special and trucks.
It should be noted that in December of the same year CJSC LAZ received the UkrSEPRO certificate and the international TUV CERT certificate.
In May of the following year, two types of urban transport were presented: "Airport" - an apron LAZ-AX183 and "City" - a low-floor bus LAZ-A183.
In 2006, on June 7, CJSC LAZ was renamed the Public Transport Plant. This year has become even more significant. Since it was then that licensed packages for three-dimensional modeling “3-D” were first used at the plant during the development and construction of buses. In the same 2006, for the first time, we carried out an update of technological processes at the plant, updated production equipment not after creating a new model. As it was customary to do before, but before its creation.
To date, the Lviv Bus Plant has retained the status of a leader in the production of passenger liners, which covers the entire territory of the former USSR.
Nowadays, LAZ is a large enterprise that occupies more than 70 hectares. The total area of the plant buildings reaches 280 thousand sq.m., 188 thousand sq.m. which are directly production areas. The enterprise employs 4,800 units of equipment (both domestic and imported), which makes it possible to produce up to 8,000 buses and trolleybuses (of all sizes and for any purpose) per year.
LAZ is trying to meet the requirements modern world. One of the innovations that have been used in European countries for a long time was the introduction of a new body assembly technology into the work of the plant: earlier assembly was carried out by welding, today welding has been replaced by gluing. In addition, most of the processes have been mechanized; from now on, priming, grinding, and applying glue are performed by modern devices. It should be noted that adhesive mixtures, mastics and sealants used in the installation of glass and panels are also additional elements noise protection. Also at the factory there are laser systems that cut metal. Thanks to the availability of precise programs, the entire process is carried out as accurately and economically as possible. The body frame is phosphated, which significantly increases the level of corrosion resistance of the metal. The plant gives a ten-year warranty on its buses.
Also, the enterprise operates more than a dozen flow-mechanical lines, hundreds of units of semi-automatic and automatic equipment, various CNC machines. total length the production conveyor has reached 6000 m. Each bus, before release, is tested at a unique diagnostic station.
It is worth noting the modern method of applying paint, which is used at the factory. This is a powder method that ensures not only the high quality and brightness of the colors, but also their durability.
In any case, it can be argued that the Lviv bus builders have made a significant leap forward: in a very short time, the plant's employees have developed and put into production new models of buses.
Only last years Seven completely new and unique models left the factory assembly line: the suburban Liner-10 and the tourist Liner-12, the A-291 articulated city bus, the LAZ-5252J - a large city bus, the NeoLAZ one and a half-story city bus, the airport LAZ SkyBus and the large low-floor CityLAZ.
Starting from the day of its foundation, the plant has produced more than 364 thousand buses. Of this amount, over the past two decades, 39 thousand cars have been created and sold. Every year LAZ develops more and more and again becomes the main flagship of the bus industry. A considerable part of its products already satisfies not only the Ukrainian market, but is also exported to the Russian market.
LAZ-695- urban bus middle class of the Lviv Bus Plant.
Bus has undergone modernization more than once, mainly with changes in the appearance of the body, but at the same time the overall dimension and layout of the body and the main units bus remained the same. The most significant change from the basic first generation 695/695B/ 695E/695Ж was the modernization of the front and rear in two stages - first in the second generation 695M the rear part was changed (with the replacement of one large “turbine” air intake at the rear of the roof with two side “gills”) with an almost unchanged front mask, and then the third generation 695N / 695NG / 695D also received a modernized front part (“licked” form changed to "visor"). In addition, the factory emblems and the headlight space on the front changed (both from generation to generation, and within generations. For example, in the third - from an aluminum false radiator grille to the same black-plastic and then its complete removal), headlights and sidelights, front bumpers, wheel covers and more.
Not without a number of shortcomings (cramped interior and doors, frequent overheating of the engine of buses of the 2nd and 3rd generations, etc.), bus characterized by simplicity of design and unpretentiousness in operation in all categories automotive roads. In the post-Soviet space, both produced in the 21st century and 30-year-old buses are still used LAZ-695. Even without taking into account the ongoing custom assembly in small batches at DAZ, the mass production of buses at LAZ went on for 46 years. The total number of produced buses LAZ-695 is about 115-120 thousand cars.
background
LAZ-695 was the first by bus Lviv Automobile Plant, the construction of which began in 1945. In 1949, the plant began to manufacture automotive vans, trailers, truck cranes and (experimental batch) electric vehicles. With development automotive production at the plant, a design team was formed under the leadership of V.V. Osepchugov. At first, they planned to transfer the production of obsolete ZIS-155 buses from the Moscow Stalin Plant to the plant, but such a prospect did not inspire the young staff of the plant and its design bureau. With the support of the first director of LAZ, B.P. Kashkadamov, Osepchugov literally infected young designers and production workers who had just left the institute's classrooms with a “bus dream”.
Initiative for the development and production of a new model bus was supported "at the top" and samples of modern European buses were purchased for LAZ: Magirus, Neoplan, Mercedes. They were carefully studied in terms of design and production technology, as a result of which the first Lviv bus was practically developed by the end of 1955. When designing its design, the experience of Mercedes Benz 321 was most of all taken into account, and external stylistic decisions were made in the spirit of the bus " Magirus."
LAZ-695
In the summer of 1956, the team of designers of the LAZ plant manufactured the first prototypes of the bus LAZ-695 with a rear-mounted ZIL-124 engine. A similar layout with the engine in the rear overhang bus was used for the first time in the USSR. Frame LAZ-695 also had a completely new design. All loads were perceived by the power base, which was a spatial truss of rectangular pipes. The body frame is rigidly connected to this base. External cladding bus was made of duralumin sheets, which were attached to the body frame with "electric rivets" (spot welding).
A double-disk clutch and a five-speed gearbox were borrowed from the ZIL-158 bus. An interesting innovation was the dependent spring-spring suspension of the wheels bus developed jointly with NAMI specialists. Additionally, corrective springs ensured a non-linear characteristic of the suspension as a whole - its stiffness increased with increasing load, as a result, regardless of the load, comfortable conditions were created for passengers. This circumstance has won a high reputation for machines LAZ.
But as an urban bus LAZ-695 was imperfect: there was no storage area at the front door, the passage between the seats and the doors were not wide enough. Bus could be most successfully used for suburban communication, tourist and intercity trips. Therefore, 2 more models were immediately included in the unified series: tourist LAZ-697 And intercity LAZ-699.
Despite certain shortcomings, LAZ-695 stood out among other domestic buses. Thin window pillars with sliding vents built into the radius roof slopes curved glass gave bus light, "airy" look. Large radii of curvature on the edges and corners of the body created the visual effect of a streamlined car.
If we compare LAZ-695 with the mass city bus of that time ZIS-155, the first one accommodated 4 passengers more, was 1040 mm longer, but 90 kg lighter and developed the same maximum speed - 65 km / h.
Buses LAZ-695 had an interesting design feature. If necessary, the bus could be easily converted into an ambulance. To do this, it was enough just to dismantle the seats in the cabin. In front of the bus, under the windshield to the right of the driver's workplace, an additional door was provided in the back for loading the wounded. Such an innovation was fully justified at the time when this bus was created.
LAZ-695B
Very soon, at the end of 1957, the car was modernized for the first time: the base of the body was strengthened, a pneumatic drive for opening doors was introduced instead of a mechanical one. Moreover, since 1958, instead of side air intakes, a wide "turbine" bell was used, which was brought out to the rear of the roof. Through it, air containing noticeably less dust entered the engine compartment. Changes have also been made between the headlights of the front end, the brake system, the heating of the bus, the way the passenger seats have been installed, the tilt of the driver's steering column, and much, much more. Serially modernized buses, which received the name LAZ-695B began to be produced from May 1958 and in total by 1964 produced 16718 complete buses of the first generation LAZ-695B, as well as on its basis 10 fully complete LAZ-695T trolleybuses and 551 bodies for trolleybuses of the OdAZ and KZET plants.
Serial first LAZ-695B retained a very large area of glazing on the roof slopes, but the operators constantly complained to the plant about the weakness of the entire upper body of the buses. As a result, the glazed front corners of the roof slopes first disappeared from the buses (autumn 1958), and later the glazing of the rear slopes was significantly reduced. Interestingly, as an experiment in 1959, a copy of the bus was made LAZ-695B completely without glazing of the roof slopes, but, apparently, such a radical approach to increasing the rigidity of the roof then seemed too simplistic to someone, and on production cars, the glazing of the slopes was left, only slightly reduced.
Later, by the autumn of 1959, on buses LAZ-695B the design of the roof was slightly changed in front, as a result of which the first small visor - “cap” appeared above the windshield of the bus.
LAZ-695E
As soon as ZIL began production of the ZIL-130 V-shaped eight-cylinder engine, a single-plate clutch and a new five-speed gearbox gears, the question arose about equipping LAZ buses with them. Experienced copies of the bus under the index LAZ-695E were made in 1961.
serial production LAZ-695E began in 1963, but in a year they produced a total of 394 copies, and only from April 1964 did the plant completely switch to the production of the "E" model. In total, until 1969, 37916 buses were manufactured LAZ-695E, including 1346 for export.
Buses LAZ-695E 1963 releases outwardly did not differ from the buses produced at the same time LAZ-695B, but since 1964 all buses LAZ received new - rounded - wheel arches, along which LAZ-695E and became recognizable externally.
LAZ-695Zh
In the same years, together with the laboratory of automatic transmissions of NAMI, the plant began the development of a hydromechanical transmission for a city bus. Already in 1963, the first industrial batch of buses with such a transmission was assembled at LAZ. These buses are named LAZ-695Zh.
However, in the two years from 1963 to 1965. collected only 40 buses LAZ-695Zh, after which their production was discontinued. The fact is that buses of the LAZ-695 type were mainly used on commuter lines, and for busy urban routes they were not suitable enough, therefore, especially for large cities in the mid-60s. created the LiAZ-677 bus, for which all sets of hydromechanical transmissions produced at LAZ were transferred.
Buses LAZ-695Zh Outwardly, they were no different from similar buses with a manual transmission of the same period of manufacture.
LAZ-695M
A set of innovations implemented in 1969 made it possible to seriously improve appearance basic model, which became known as LAZ-695M. It provided for the installation of higher window panes on the car with the removal of glazing of the roof slopes and corresponding changes in the design of the body frame, and the proprietary LAZ "turbine" central air intake at the rear was replaced with small slots - "gills" on the sidewalls.
The bus also received a power steering, rear axle "Slave" (Hungary) with planetary gears in the wheel hubs. The car has become 100 mm shorter, and its curb weight is greater.
Production LAZ-695M the second generation lasted seven years and during this time 52,077 copies were made, including 164 for export.
LAZ-695N
Having received in 1973 a new front body panel with higher windshields and a large visor on top, the car became known as LAZ-695N. However, this third-generation model went into series only in 1976, before that the previous modification continued to be produced.
Cars LAZ-695N the late seventies and early eighties had small windows on the outside above the doors to the salon with illuminated inscriptions "Enter" and "Exit", they were removed on later cars. Also late buses LAZ-695N differ from earlier cars in the shape and location of the front and rear lighting. On early buses, rectangular headlights from the Moskvich-412 car and an aluminum false radiator grille were installed in front. Since the mid-eighties, the aluminum grille has been eliminated, and the headlights have become round.
For the 1980 Olympics and export, a small number of modification buses were produced LAZ-695R with more comfortable and soft seats and double doors (which were also previously on prototypes LAZ-695N, but did not go into the series). After the Olympics, buses of this modification were used as excursion buses.
LAZ-695NG
In 1985, specialists from the All-Union Design and Experimental Institute "Avtobusprom" adapted the modification bus LAZ-695N for operation on natural gas. Cylinders with methane compressed to 200 atmospheres were placed on the roof of the bus in a special casing. From there, the gas was fed through pipelines to a pressure reducer. The gas-air mixture from the gearbox entered the engine. Due to the placement of cylinders on the roof of the bus, methane, which is lighter than air, is instantly vented in an emergency, without having time to start fire or explode.
In the 90s. buses LAZ-695NG have become quite common especially in Ukraine due to the fuel crisis. In addition, many buses LAZ-695N fleets independently began to transfer to methane, which is cheaper compared to gasoline.
LAZ-695D
In 1993, at LAZ, on an experimental basis, they tried to install on a bus LAZ-695 diesel engines D-6112 from the tractor T-150 and 494L from military equipment. Both diesel engines are of Kharkov production. In the same 1993, the Dnepropetrovsk association "DniproLAZavtoservis" buses LAZ-695N began to be equipped with diesel engines of the Kharkov plant "Hammer and Sickle" SMD-2307.
But the efforts of the International Automobile Trade Association (MAO) of Ukraine turned out to be the most effective. By his order, LAZ developed and began mass-producing since 1995 a diesel modification bus - LAZ-695D, which received the proper name "Dana". This bus was equipped with a D-245.9 diesel engine from the Minsk Motor Plant. This modification bus was mass-produced at LAZ until 2002 and since 2003 it was produced at Dneprodzerzhinsky Dneprovsky bus factory (DAZ).
In 1996, a diesel engine project bus was significantly redesigned, resulting in a bus LAZ-695D11"Tanya". This project was coordinated by the Simaz company, which is part of the MAO. The Tanya bus differed from the previous diesel model by hinged doors in the front and rear overhang and installed soft seats in the cabin. By and large, this was a return to the long-discontinued medium-sized intercity bus. LAZ-697 in a new capacity and under a new name. Modification LAZ-695D11"Tanya" was mass-produced in small batches.
Lvovsky (LAZ) was founded in May 1945. For ten years, the company has been producing truck cranes and car trailers. Then production capacity factories have been expanded. In 1956, the LAZ-695 brand rolled off the assembly line, a photo of which is presented on the page. It topped a long list of models for subsequent releases. Each new modification improved technical specifications and became more comfortable compared to the previous one.
Magirus and Mercedes
The German Magirus purchased abroad was used as a prototype for the construction of the LAZ-695. The car was studied throughout 1955, the design was considered from the point of view of technological application for conveyor assembly in the conditions of the limited capabilities of the Soviet Avtoprom. In the process of preparing the LAZ-695 bus for serial production, the exterior and all external data were borrowed from Magirus, and undercarriage, chassis and power plant with transmission were taken from the German bus "Mercedes-Benz 321". German cars cost Soviet government inexpensive, because in the west, automotive equipment is written off early, replaced with a new one. "Magirus", "Neoplan" and "Mercedes-Benz" were bought for a third of the price, and at the same time all the buses were in excellent condition.
Start of production
Bus LAZ-695, specifications which were found to be sufficiently reliable, was produced for two years, from 1956 to 1958. Initially, the car was used on urban routes, but it soon became clear that its interior did not meet the requirements of intensive passenger traffic, the interior was uncomfortable and cramped. The LAZ-695 bus began to run on suburban routes, this time having established itself as a comfortable and fast carrier. Its technical data fully met the tasks of operation. In addition, tourist groups rented the bus with pleasure, the car moved smoothly, the ZIL-124 engine worked almost silently. Later, LAZ-695, the technical characteristics of which did not need to be improved, served the Cosmonaut Training Center in Baikonur.
The technical requirements for the bus were somewhat specific. The cosmonauts had to move from one module to another, following a pre-flight training program, so the cabin was half emptied of regular seats, and in their place were aircraft-type chairs on which one could lie.
In addition, the interior of the bus was easily converted for the needs of an ambulance. Apparatus for monitoring the general condition of the human body was installed in it: electrocardiographs, a tonometer for measuring pressure, equipment for the simplest blood test, and much more. Such transport was serviced by a medical team of three people (modeled on ordinary car urban type).
Lvovsky continued to produce a model in various modifications until 2006. The machine was constantly improved, and the demand for it kept on enough high level. Bus prices in Soviet time were constant, and this suited consumers. Until 1991, the so-called order orders were distributed in the USSR, according to which vehicles including buses. Payment for equipment was made by bank transfer, and subsequent operation, maintenance and repair at the expense of the auto enterprise.
The USSR assumed a phased development automotive industry, and city buses were at that time the first in the list in terms of demand in the national economy. Certain hopes were also pinned on Lviv models. However, a car with a five-speed transmission and solid rows of seats did not fit into the dynamic mode of street traffic. City buses needed a specially equipped interior, as well as a power plant adapted to frequent braking and stopping. conventional engine usually overheated. The height of the produced model also did not quite correspond to traffic standards in the city.
Reconstruction attempts
The new buses coming off the assembly line of the Lvov plant repeated the parameters of the basic model, and radical design changes were impossible. The LAZ design bureau made several attempts to change the interior, but it turned out to be easier to create a car "with clean slate"than to change the technical characteristics of an existing model. Thus, all new buses produced in Lviv were sent mainly to serve suburban lines. And trolleybuses that were produced at the Lviv Automobile Plant since 1963 (based on a bus body) ran on city routes.
First modifications
In December 1957, the LAZ-695B bus was put into production, upgraded version the previous model. First of all, a pneumatic drive was installed on the machine instead of a mechanical one (for opening doors). The side air intakes for cooling the rear engine were abolished. The central air intake in the form of a bell was placed on the roof. Thus, the cooling efficiency has increased, and the dust entering the engine compartment has become much less. The changes also affected the exterior in the front, the space between the headlights has become more modern. In the cabin, the partition of the driver's cabin was improved, it was raised to the ceiling, a door appeared for access to the cabin. Serial production of this model continued until 1964. A total of 16,718 cars were produced.
Simultaneously with the release of the 695B modification, the development of the 695E model with a new eight-cylinder ZIL-130 engine was underway. Some experimental machines assembled in 1961, but the bus went into series in 1963, while only 394 copies were produced. Since April 1964, the conveyor has been operating in full force and by the end of 1969, 38,415 695E buses were assembled, of which 1346 were exported.
External changes in the 695E version affected the wheel arches, which acquired a rounded shape. From the ZIL-158 bus, the hubs of the front and rear axles were borrowed along with brake drums. On the model 695E, for the first time, electropneumatics were used to control the doors. On the basis of version 695E, the LAZ "Tourist" bus was produced. This car was perfect for long trips.
Experiments on the introduction of automatic transmission
In 1963, the LAZ plant released another modification - 695ZH. The work was carried out in close cooperation with US, namely with the research center for automatic transmissions. In the same year, the production of buses was launched with automatic transmission gears. However, over the next two years, only 40 such LAZ-695 units were assembled, after which the production of the experimental model was discontinued.
Developments automatic transmission subsequently came in handy for city-type buses, the LiAZ brand, produced in the city of Likino-Dulyovo, Moscow Region.
Modernization of existing models
The creation of new modifications of buses of the Lviv Automobile Plant continued, and in 1969 LAZ-695M rolled off the assembly line. The car differed from previous models with windows of modern shape and style. Glass was built into the window opening without intermediate aluminum frames. The branded air intake on the roof was abolished, instead, vertical slots appeared on the sides of the engine compartment. Since 1973, modernized wheel disks lightweight configuration. The changes affected the exhaust system - two mufflers were combined into one. The bus body has become shorter by 100 mm, and the curb weight has increased.
Serial production of LAZ-695M continued for seven years, and during this time more than 52 thousand buses were produced, 164 of which were exported.
"Patriarch" in the LAZ family with thirty years of experience
The next modification of the base model was the bus with the 695H index, which featured wide windshields and an upper visor, completely unified front and rear doors, as well as a new instrument panel with a more compact speedometer and gauges. Prototypes were presented in 1969, but in mass production this model went only in 1976. The bus was produced for thirty years, until 2006.
Later versions of the 695H differ from the earlier ones in a set of lighting equipment, headlights, turn signals, brake lights and other lighting devices. The model was equipped with a large hatch in the front of the body; in the case of military mobilization, the buses were supposed to be used as ambulances. In parallel with the 695H version, a small number of 695P buses were produced, which were distinguished by increased comfort, softer seats and silent double doors.
gas version
In 1985, the Lviv Bus Plant produced a modification of the LAZ-695NG, which ran on natural gas. Metal cylinders that can withstand pressures up to 200 atmospheres were placed in a row on the roof, in the rear. The gas entered the pressure, then mixed with air and in the form of a mixture was sucked into the engine. Buses under the symbol 695NG gained popularity in the 90s, when a fuel crisis broke out on the territory of the former USSR. The LAZ plant also suffered from a shortage of fuel. Ukraine as a whole also felt a shortage of fuel, so many transport companies in the country switched their buses to gas, which was much cheaper than gasoline.
LAZ and Chernobyl
In the spring of 1986, after the workshops of the Lviv Automobile Plant, a special bus LAZ-692 was urgently created in the amount of several dozen copies. The car was used to evacuate people from the infection zone and deliver specialists there. The bus was protected with lead sheets around the entire perimeter, two-thirds of the windows were also covered with lead. Special hatches were made in the roof for the access of purified air. Subsequently, all the machines that participated in the liquidation of the accident at the nuclear power plant were disposed of, since they were unsuitable for operation under normal conditions due to radiation contamination.
Diesel engines
In 1993, at the Lviv Automobile Plant, as an experiment, they tried to install a D-6112 diesel engine from an energy-saturated T-150 caterpillar tractor on the LAZ-695 bus. The results were generally good, but more suitable motor working on diesel fuel was recognized as SMD-2307 ( Kharkov plant"Hammer and sickle"). Nevertheless, the experiments continued, and in 1995 the LAZ-695D bus equipped with the D-245 diesel engine of the Minsk Motor Plant was put into mass production.
Dneprovsky plant
A year later, the project was radically redesigned, and as a result, the 695D11 version appeared, which was called "Tanya".
The modification was produced in small batches until 2002, and since 2003, the assembly of buses was transferred to a plant in Dneprodzerzhinsk. It was not possible to immediately establish production at a new location, since technological processes at two specialized, at first glance, productions differed significantly. The large-sized bodies of LAZ buses did not always fit into the framework of the Dneprovets welding units, and this created certain difficulties. There was even some increase in the cost of LAZ buses, which were assembled in Dneprodzerzhinsk, although the build quality was in most cases impeccable. As a result, the balance of price and quality leveled off, and the production of cars began to gain momentum.
The search for a universal solution
The design bureau of the Lviv Automobile Plant was looking for options for new developments. Over the entire period of production at the Lviv Bus Plant, several attempts were made to create universal LAZs that could be operated both in the city and on international routes. However, the specifics of passenger transportation did not allow this. On long-haul flights, people need comfort and a special soothing atmosphere in the cabin of the bus. On urban routes, passengers enter and exit, several hundred people visit the car per day. Therefore, it was not possible to bring two opposite modes of operation closer together, and the plant continued to produce several modifications at the same time.
LAZ today
Currently, on the roads of the former Soviet Union, you can find buses of the Lvov plant of almost all modifications. Good repair base throughout the entire period of production, starting in 1955, allowed many machines to be kept in good condition. Some LAZ models are obsolete and are used as auxiliary vehicles in various industries.
Many dismantled bodies are ownerless - with removed engines and fallen into disrepair undercarriage. These are the costs of the automotive industry of the Soviet period, when buses were decommissioned in car fleets, and no one was interested in their further fate. The market economy dictates its own rules, decommissioned cars increasingly fall into the hands of private owners and get a second life. And since the resource automotive technology, produced in the USSR, was long enough, then this "second life" can also be long.
Lviv Bus Plant is going through hard times today, the main conveyor was stopped in 2013, many subsidiaries and related companies go through bankruptcy proceedings. The existence of CJSC LAZ will depend on the results. The prospects for a successful resolution of the difficult situation are rather pessimistic. Of great importance for the successful resuscitation of enterprises is the stability of the political situation in Ukraine, but this stability is not.
