Vétra
Limoges was one of the last places where Vétra trolleybuses operated. This 1950-built example was photographed in 1988.
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| Private | |
| Industry | Transportation |
| Fate | Bankrupt |
| Founded | 1925 |
| Defunct | 1964 |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Products | Trolleybuses, electric locomotives |
 Seida-bodied three-axle Vétra trolleybus for the city of Madrid
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Vétra (or Vetra), or more formally the Société des Véhicules et Tracteurs Electriques, was a French manufacturer of trolleybuses and electric locomotives. Founded in 1925, it became one of Western Europe's largest builders of trolleybuses during the middle decades of the 20th century, making in excess of 1,750 vehicles, for cities in France and in several other countries. The company ceased production in 1964.
Vétra was founded in 1925 and was based in Paris. After initially experimenting with production of accumulator railcars, the company made its first trolleybus in 1927. The first Vétra trolleybuses were two vehicles, model MV, supplied to the Aubagne–Cuges trolleybus system, which was located just east of Marseille and began operation on 22 September 1927. In the decades that followed, Vétra had a near-monopoly on French trolleybus production. Trolleybus systems operating in France also bought their fleets nearly exclusively from Vétra. From the 1930s through the 1950s, the "overwhelming majority" of trolleybuses in use on French systems were built by Vétra. On a smaller scale, the company also sold trolleybuses to systems located in other countries.
The traction motors and other electrical equipment in Vétra trolleybuses were supplied by Alsthom (now called Alstom) in all or nearly all cases, while many mechanical parts, often including chassis, came from Berliet. The vehicle bodies were fabricated by various different companies, Berliet included. In its 38 years of trolleybus production, the company made no less than 31 different models. Some were only small variations on another model. For example, the VBRh was basically the same as the VBR except was 2.9 m tall instead of 2.7 m, and the h suffix in the model number stood for "haute" (high).
Models produced included both two-axle and three-axle rigid vehicles, with large numbers of each. In its history, Vétra only built one articulated trolleybus. This was a prototype for Algiers, Algeria. Built in 1950/51, it was designated model VA4.SR and had four axles, three in the front section and one in the trailing section. It was tested on the Paris trolleybus system in January 1951. This prototype was unsuccessful, and it was eventually rebuilt into a three-axle rigid vehicle.
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