page_title: Trolleybuses in Valparaíso
section_title: Fleet evolution
hierarchical_section_title: Trolleybuses in Valparaíso / Fleet evolution
caption_attribution_description: English: Valparaíso trolleybus No. 203 is ex-Schaffhausen (Switzerland) 203, acquired by Valparaíso in 1992. It was built in 1966 by Berna. It is pictured at Barón terminus (in the center of Avenida Argentina just south of Calle Chacabuco) still wearing its yellow Schaffhausen paint scheme and city-crest on the side. Its destination sign is also displaying a Schaffhausen route number and destination (9 to Bahnhof SH). Most trolleybuses in Valparaíso only display "Valparaíso" or "Trolebuses de Chile S.A." (the current operator's name) in the overhead sign box, never any destinations, so passengers are not accustomed to reading the overhead signs and, therefore, are not confused when Swiss names are displayed. Trolleybus 203 was repainted dark green in 2004 and is still in regular service in 2017.
context_page_description: Trolleybuses in Valparaíso, Chile, have provided a portion of the public transit service since 1952. The trolleybus system is the second-oldest in South America. The originally state-owned system has been privately owned since 1982, and since 1994 it has been Chile's only operational trolleybus system. Almost two-thirds of its vehicles were built in 1946–52 by the Pullman-Standard Company, and they are the oldest trolleybuses in regular service anywhere in the world. Those vehicles were collectively declared a national monument by the Chilean government in 2003. They helped the city gain its designation by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, and have been called "a heritage sight in their own right" by at least one travel writer.
  In 1991–1992 the system acquired several secondhand trolleybuses from four Swiss cities. Even these vehicles, already old at the time of acquisition, became historic in their continued service after some 45–50 years or more, with 1959-built ex-Zürich number 105 being the oldest articulated trolleybus of any make still in service on any trolleybus system worldwide for almost 20 years until its retirement in May 2015.
context_section_description: For nearly 40 years, the fleet comprised solely Pullman-Standard trolleybuses, a combination of new-to-Valparaíso 1952-built Pullmans (the 700-series) and, from 1954 on, a number of ex-Santiago Pullmans, built in 1946–1948 (the 800-series).  All had electrical propulsion equipment by General Electric.  As of 1986, the total number of trolleybuses available for service was 23–24.
  Under a program started in late 1986 and continuing until 1989, ETCE rebuilt the bodies of some of its 800-series vehicles with more modern front ends and, in some cases, sides and backs also.  The remaining 700-series vehicles were not rebuilt.
caption: Ex-Schaffhausen trolleybus 203, still in Schaffhausen colors, at Barón terminus in 1996. It operated in Valparaíso from 1992 to 2017.[29]
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