An extraordinary eyecatcher has been created at Wuppertal Central Station: a historic Series 50 suspension railway carriage has found a new home there. The crane company Bracht lifted the carriage into its designated position using a Liebherr LTM 1450-8.1. The 450-tonne crane was assisted by a Liebherr LTM 1090-4.2 from the Wuppertal-based company Wilden, which was used as a support crane.
Precision work in a confined space
The on-site conditions placed high demands on the operational planning. The LTM 1450-8.1 could only be positioned on the narrow access road leading to the main station. Directly in front of the site are a basement-level shopping area and an indoor parking facility. According to the operational plan, only vehicles weighing up to eight tonnes were permitted to drive there.
Innovative crane technology made operation in confined spaces possible. The crane crew set up the LTM 1450-8.1 with a reduced outrigger width of 7.95 metres. The VarioBallast® with 134 tonnes of ballast was retracted to a radius of five metres. For the lift, the telescopic boom was extended to 31 metres and fitted with a 56-metre-long luffing jib. The maximum reach was 65 metres.
The cable car carriage and slings weighed a combined total of around seven tonnes. The combination of VarioBase® and VarioBallast® made it possible to adapt the mobile crane to the restricted space and carry out the lift safely.
Car 76 returns to the Bergisches Land
This historic vehicle is Car 76 of the Class 50 series, dating from 1950. It therefore does not belong to the same series as the famous ‘Kaiserwagen’ from 1901, but its design is reminiscent of it. Markus Bürger, the new owner of the main station, discovered the decommissioned carriage on a classifieds platform and purchased it for his project.
After its time in regular service, the carriage changed location several times. It was first sold to a restaurant in Düsseldorf, later moved to Siegen and finally to Witten. It remained in storage there until it was transported to Wuppertal. On 31 August 2026, Bracht loaded the carriage onto a flatbed lorry from Kahl Schwerlast. A day later, numerous onlookers watched its arrival at the main station.
After being hoisted into place on 1 September 2026, the suspension railway carriage was towed to its final position on 18 September. It was thus in place on the station forecourt just in time for the celebrations marking the 125th anniversary of the Wuppertal suspension railway on 19 September. Although the refurbishment work was not yet complete at that point, the carriage was already a real eyecatcher.
In future, the historic vehicle is set to serve, amongst other things, as a registry office and a venue available for hire for events. In this way, a piece of Wuppertal’s transport history will be preserved whilst also taking on a new role.
