page_title: KES Class A
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: KES Class A / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei Class A tram no. 12Norsk bokmål: Blåtrikk tilhenger (fra 1894) type Kühlstein nr. 12 som levert foran vognhall 1. Administrasjonsbygningen til KES bak. Reklame for Pellerins margarin.
context_page_description: Class A was a class of twenty-one trams and twelve trailers built by Allgemeine Elektrizitäts Gesellschaft and P. Herbrand & Cie. for Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei for use on the Oslo Tramway of Norway. The units measured 6.4 by 2.0 meters and featured a wooden superstructure with an indoor cabin and open platform bays. This gave a capacity for sixteen seated passengers. Each twin-axle unit was equipped with two motors. Eighteen of the units had a power output of 24 kilowatts, the other three 36 kilowatts. One unit was built by Norsk Elektrisk and Skabo.
  The first series of eleven trams and seven trailers were delivered for the company's opening of services on 2 March 1894. A further four trams were delivered in December and two more in 1897. The Norsk Elektrisk unit was bought in 1897 and the next year the three more powerful units were delivered. The last batch of trailers were bought in 1899. From 1910 the class was too small and the motor units were rebuilt to trailers. From 1917 they were again modified, this time merging two and two to make a larger trailer. The original trailers were in service until 1936, while the larger units remained until 1949.
context_section_description: Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei was the second tram operator in Oslo when it was established in 1892. Its first task was the construction of the Briskeby Line and the Skøyen Line. The company issued a tender for a complete electrical system, and six companies bid. KES selected Allgemeine Elektrizitäts Gesellschaft of Berlin as its supplier, not only for the trams, but also the power supply and overhead wire system. As part of the agreement AEG became a majority shareholder in KES. The system in Oslo was AEG's sixth system and was still subject to a trial and error approach.
  The trams were manufactured by P. Herbrand & Cie. of Cologne, with electrical components from AEG and undercarriages from Bergische Stahlindustri. The first series of eleven trams and seven trailers were delivered 1894 ahead of the official opening on 2 March 1894. The trams were numbered 1–11 and the trailers 12–18. The service proved more popular than the company had calculated and they therefore quickly ordered additional trams. Four units were delivered in December and numbered 19–22.
  Meanwhile the Norwegian electrical manufacturer Norsk Elektrisk intended to enter the tram market. They cooperated with Skabo to build a tram with the same specifications as the Class A, which was completed in 1895. They applied KES to conduct trial runs on their tramway, but KES had a clause in their contract with AEG which hindered from fraternizing with other manufacturers. NEBB was therefore forced to carry out tests on their own private tracks. However, KES was able to use the incident as leverage to get two additional trams delivered in 1896. They were headed to the Straßburg Tramway, but delays there allowed them to be relocated to Oslo and numbered 23–24.
  AEG's ownership was taken over by Norwegian investors in early 1897. KES immediately took contact with Norsk Elektrisk and requested that they test the tram. This was successful and the tram was bought in May. In September a race was organized by Norsk Elektrisk, where an AEG, NEA and Class 1898 tram of Holmenkolbanen raced up the Holmenkollen Line. The AEG tram won, reaching an average speed of 17.3 km/h (10.7 mph) with a power usage of 0.40 kilowatt per tonne. The Holmenkolbanen tram finished second, with an average speed of 16.7 km/h (10.4 mph) and 0.38 kW/t. The NEA unit finished last, with an average 16.5 km/h (10.3 mph) and 0.36 kW/t.
  About this time all the units were rebuilt to control power through regulation of their resistance, which simplified operations. The last three trams were delivered in 1898 and already had resistance controlling. They were numbered 18–20. Unlike the others these had more powerful motors. In addition, KES took delivery of five trailers from Herbrand, numbered 41–45.
  A year later KES started taking delivery of the more modern Class U trams. In 1902 KES was forced to renumber all its trams to avoid confusion with its competitor Kristiania Sporveisselskap (KSS), and all trams were thus numbered from 101 and upwards. KES started taking delivery of the larger Class SS trams in 1909. With them the Class A was regarded as small and from 1910 the company started rebuilding them to trailers. The original trailers originally did not have any braking system, and with increasing speeds this became necessary to install from 1912 to 1914. At the same time the wheelbase was increased. The last motorized versions were taken out of service after the 1914 Jubilee Exhibition. No. 102 was never rebuilt and kept as a shunter. It was therefore possible to retire it as a heritage tram in 1919. It was then rebuilt to its original design at delivery and has since been transferred to the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology.
  From 1917 the modified trailers were rebuilt. The carriages and undercarriages of two and two units were split and merged to make a larger unit, to create ten new trailers. These were numbered 356 through 365. They were at first used on the Lilleaker Line. KES was merged with KSS in 1924 to form Oslo Sporveier and the trailers were transferred to the new company. There the 
caption: Trailer no. 12
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