Liepāja's 72-year-old Snow White proves once again that age is no barrier – Riga's trams can cry quietly in the corner

While Riga starts an apocalypse over every snowflake, in Liepāja our 72-year-old Snow White simply puts on her work gloves and goes to do what she does best – clean the rails with such style that even sidewalk cleaners are left unemployed.

Yes, this is the same Snow White built from a 120-year-old wagon and, as our electrician Roberts Ruskulis says, "has a really nasty temper." The old lady can break down at any moment, but that only proves that in Liepāja even pensioners work with more power than Riga's new trams. Original parts, hot joints like the O. Kalpaks bridge – that's what you call quality, not some plastic imitation.

"She's like my grandmother – can be grumpy, but gets the job done," laughs local tram driver Jānis. "Sometimes we have to tow her back to the depot, but which of us hasn't thrown a tantrum at work sometimes?"

And while Riga thinks about million-euro new rail cleaners, we in Liepāja prove with our Snow White that old values and skillful hands can work miracles. Even if the brush needs fixing after every work shift – that's a character trait, not a defect.