Karosa B731/B732/B741 Serie

Karosa B731/B732/B741 Serie

Type B 731 (like the 700 series) has undergone many changes and modifications during its long production. Among the most prominent were the replacement of the noisy rear axle Rab for another, which no longer produced so much noise, changing the engine suspension and changing the location of the alternator, later use of several types of Liaz engines, initially non -filled, later turbocharged. In newer cars, the Voith automatic transmission (probably since 1991) was also used instead of the Praga product. Catalysts of the EKOS exhaust gases began to be mounted, and at the turn of 1993 and 1994, the cars also began to be installed in the car more filling (to meet the Euro1 emission standard), which also led to the bodywork – the third door was created. In the last 1995 cars, the Renault engine also appeared. Only 50 pieces were produced under the designation B 731.1659. Due to the range of gearboxes with a retarder for Liaz engines, the B 731 cars have been produced since 1994 with an extended stern (the very first car with a very similar stern was produced in 1992, it was a prototype B17). This included, for example, types B 731.1667 and B 731.1669 with Liaz engines and Voith gearbox with built-in retarder. This rear forehead is identical to the 900 series.

Type B 732 is in design and visually the same as Karosa B 731. The car is located behind the rear axle, in the rear panel. In the right side, there are three double-leaf hinged doors (the front ones are designed primarily for the output of passengers, so they are narrower). Passenger seats are located 1+2, above the axles 2+2. The only change compared to type B 731 with automatic transmission is the mechanical transmission, which was installed in cars B 732 because while B 731 was intended exclusively for urban traffic, buses B 732 could be used for suburban transport.

Buses B 741 are based on the intercity of Karosa C 744 and are also maximally unified with urban standard types B 731 and B 732. Therefore, it is a three -axle bus consisting of two parts. These are connected to each other by joint and cover bellows. The cars have a semi -samon -sized body of the panel structure and the engine is located behind the rear axle, in the rear panel space (the drive was the rear axle). On the right side there are four two-leaf hinged doors for passengers (the first and last are narrower than the middle ones). The transverse seats are covered with leatherette and are located 1+2, above the axles 2+2.

Production and operation [edit | edit the source]
Bus prototype B 741 was created by rebuilding Karosa C 744 in 1991. At the end of the same year, serial production began, which continued until 1997. The largest operators of the 700 series of the 700 series were the transport companies in Prague (174 pieces) and Bratislava ( 107 cars). A total of 620 Karosa B 741 buses (including the prototype) were produced between 1991 and 1997. [1]

The production of type B 741 was followed in 1997 by the Karosa B 841, which was de facto the same bus with several modifications, which was designed for the Eastern markets, where Karosa B 941 buses could not be supplied at first.
In the second decade of the 21st century, the operation of these buses, due to their age, was gradually terminated in Czech cities. For example, in Prague they arrived in June 2015. Since 2015, the last car B 741 in normal operation in České Budějovice remained in the Czech Republic, where it was last dispatched on the regular line on 12 November 2021. [2] [3] In Slovakia, the last cars B 741 were dispatched to lines in Bratislava (all reconstructed with CNG drive), of which the remaining eight buses were shut down on 26 November 2021. Distribution of two B 741 cars for several regular evening connections of the trolleybus line No. 44.