File:Gotha Ostbahnhof, DDR, August 1989.jpg

English: Two early Gotha made trams in the early LOWA style -double-ended motor cars - wait inside the turning circle at Gotha's Ostbahnhof, the eastern end of route 2. -

In the background the factory of VEB Getriebewerk Gotha, still in business as ZF Gotha GmbH, makers of Gearboxes. ZF means „Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen“, the parent AG company which came into being to make the drive for Zeppelins. The turning circle here can be seen in the bottom left of the aerial photo of the plant which this tram served.

Nos 38 and 39 are spare vehicles for the two more modern Gotha double-ended cars which were running the service at that time. Track relaying meant that this section of route was isolated, with a temporary stub terminus near the junction with routes 1 and 3. The blue livery of 38 looks especially attractive. Town trams were painted blue, and the Waldbahn trams for Tabarz were yellow. Quite extraordinarily, both of these vehicles survive today (2009). The ivory and red motor car no 39 a local Gotha ET55 vehicle of 1955 behind has been retained and restored by the undertaking, and is now painted in a darker blue and white livery. No 38 is now a works car.

A complete list of Strassenbahn Gotha trams is found here. The T-shaped network with the four main routes is shown here