The cab of tramcar 3764 of the Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe (KVB), seen during a
stop at Neumarkt on 22 July 2006. On this day the farewell of the eight-axled
tramcars was celebrated with special trains from Neumarkt to Junkersdorf and to
Poll, and a parade of four cars from Neumarkt to the West depot in the evening.
The long traktion/brake lever on the left actuates the switches mechanically, it 
is the reason why the cars of 3700 and 3800 series are called
"Knüppelwagen" ("cudgel cars"). The lever on the driver's console controls
the solenoid brake (disc brakes actuated by solenoids) and the electromagnetic
rail brake. The former is neccessary to bring the car to a complete stop (the
electro-dynamic brake does not work at very low speeds), and as parking brake
for short stops. The latter is used for a strong deceleration in case of an
emergency. The long lever on the right actuates the mechanical parking brake
which is used for longer stops. In the background a six-axled work car (which
is consisting of two foreparts of eight-axled cars, arranged back-to-back) is
passing by.
<p>
Digital photo by
<a href="http://www-users.rwth-aachen.de/christoph.schmitz2/index.html">Christoph
Schmitz</a>
(<a href="mailto:christoph.schmitz2@post.rwth-aachen.de">christoph.schmitz2@post.rwth-aachen.de</a>)