User:L blue l/sandbox
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Trams and Light rail or light rapid transit (LRT) is a form of urban rail transit that typically uses less massive equipment and infrastructure than rapid transit systems. Due to there reduce size and weight the tracks can be partly or wholly laid in streets, which are shared to a greater or lesser extent with other road traffic.
Tram systems were common throughout the industrialized world in the early 20th century. Although they disappeared from many cities in mid-century, in recent years they have made a comeback. Many newer light rail systems share features with trams, although a distinction is usually drawn between them, especially if the line has significant off-street running.
Light rail is the modern version of the tram (British English) or streetcar or trolley (American English) in many locales, although the term is most consistently applied to modern or modernised tram or trolley operations employing features more usually associated with metro or subway operations, including exclusive rights-of-way, multiple unit train configuration and signal control of operations.
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[edit] Definition of Tram
A tram, or tramcar, is a railborne vehicle, lighter than a train, designed for the transport of passengers (and/or, very occasionally, freight) within, close to, or between villages, towns and/or cities. In North America, a tram is known as a trolley, trolley car, or streetcar.
[edit] Definition of light rail
The term light rail was devised in 1972 by the U.S. Urban Mass Transit Association (UMTA) to describe new streetcar transformations which were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany the term stadtbahn was used to describe the concept, and many in the UMTA wanted to adopt the direct translation, which is city rail. However, the UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead. [1]
In 1989 the U.S Transportation Research Board defined Light Rail as a metropolitan electric railway system characterized by its ability to operate single cars or short trains along exclusive rights-of-way at ground level, on aerial structures, in subways, or occasionally, in streets, and to board and discharge passengers at track or car floor level. [2]
[edit] History and Development of Trams and Light Rail
- main Trams in Europe, Streetcars and Trams in Australasia
From the mid-19th century onwards, horse-drawn trams (or horsecars) were used in cities around the world. One of the advantages over earlier forms of transit was the low rolling resistance of metal wheels on steel rails, allowing the animals to haul a greater load for a given effort. Problems included the fact that any given animal could only work so many hours on a given day, had to be housed, groomed, fed and cared for day in and day out, and produced prodigious amounts of manure meant it was fairly expensive when compared to other technologies that is why mechanical drives were rapidly developed, with steam power in 1873, and electrical after 1881, when Siemens AG presented the electric drive at the International Electricity Exhibition in Paris. The convenience and economy of electricity resulted in its rapid adoption once the technical problems of production and transmission of electricity were solved.
A distinctive feature of many Australasian trams was the early use of a lowered central section between bogies (wheel-sets). This was intended to make passenger access easier, by reducing the number of steps required to reach the inside of the vehicle. It is believed that the design first originated in Christchurch, as early as the first decade of the 20th century. Cars with this design feature were frequently referred to as "drop-centres".
In North America, many of these original systems were decommissioned in the 1950s and onward as the popularity of the automobile increased. Britain abandoned its last system except Blackpool by 1962.[3] Although some traditional trolley or tram systems still exist to this day, the term "light rail" has come to mean a different type of rail system. Modern light rail technology has primarily German origins, since an attempt by Boeing Vertol to introduce a new American light rail vehicle was a technical failure. After World War II, the Germans retained their streetcar networks and evolved them into model light rail systems (stadtbahnen). Except for Hamburg, all large and most medium-sized German cities maintain light rail networks. [4]
The renaissance of light rail in North American began in 1978 when the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta adopted the German Siemens-Duewag U2 system, followed three years later by Calgary, Alberta and San Diego, California. Britain began replacing its run-down local railways with light rail in the 1980's, starting with Tyneside and followed by the Docklands Light Railway in London. The trend to light rail in the United Kingdom was firmly established with the success of the Manchester Metrolink system in 1992.
[edit] Discussion
Europe = History from Trams
North America = History From Light rail
Australasia = Trams in Australasia
I understand the Europe and North America sections need to be revised somewhat for there region but even without an edit it is already close. After this is done i believe it could be possible to move them to there respective pages Trams in Europe and Light rail in North America and a summary be place here of the 3 respective regions here. From this an new introduction to the History of Trams / Streetcars could be made. L blue l 13:31, 6 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Europe
These trams were an animal railway, usually using horses and sometimes mules to haul the cars, usually two as a team. Rarely other animals were tried, including humans in emergencies.
One of the advantages over earlier forms of transit was the low rolling resistance of metal wheels on steel rails, allowing the animals to haul a greater load for a given effort. Problems included the fact that any given animal could only work so many hours on a given day, had to be housed, groomed, fed and cared for day in and day out, and produced prodigious amounts of manure, which the streetcar company was charged with disposing of. Since a typical horse pulled a car for perhaps a dozen miles a day and worked for four or five hours, many systems needed ten or more horses in stable for each horsecar. Electric trams largely replaced animal power in the late 19th and early 20th century. New York City had closed its last horsecar line in 1917. The last regular mule drawn streetcar in the U.S.A., in Sulphur Rock, Arkansas closed in 1926. However during World War II some old horse cars were temporarily returned to service to help conserve fuel. A mule-powered line in Celaya, Mexico operated until 1956. Horse-drawn trams still operate in Douglas, Isle of Man. There is also a small line operated on Main Street at DisneyWorld, outside of Orlando Florida. A small horse-drawn service operates every 40 minutes at Victor Harbour, South Australia daily with 20 minute services during tourist seasons. This service runs between the mainland and Granite Island across a causeway.[1]
The tram developed after that in numerous cities of Europe (London, Berlin, Paris, etc.). Faster and more comfortable than the omnibus, trams had a high cost of operation because they were pulled by horses. That is why mechanical drives were rapidly developed, with steam power in 1873, and electrical after 1881, when Siemens AG presented the electric drive at the International Electricity Exhibition in Paris.
The convenience and economy of electricity resulted in its rapid adoption once the technical problems of production and transmission of electricity were solved.
The first prototype of the electric tram was developed by Russian engineer Fyodor Pirotsky. He modified a Horse tramway car to be powered by electricity instead of horses. The invention was tested in 1880 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
The world's first electric tram line opened in Lichterfelde near Berlin, Germany, in 1881. It was built by Werner von Siemens. (see Berlin Straßenbahn).
[edit] North America
From the mid-19th century onwards, horse-drawn trams (or horsecars) were used in cities around the world. In the late 1880s electrically-powered street railways became technically feasible following the invention of a trolley system of collecting current by American inventor Frank J. Sprague who installed the first successful system at Richmond, Virginia. They became popular because roads were then poorly-surfaced, and before the invention of the internal combustion engine and the advent of motor-buses, they were the only practical means of public transport around cities. [5]
The light rail systems constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries typically only ran in single-car setups. Some rail lines experimented with multiple unit configurations, where streetcars were joined together to make short trains, but this did not become common until later. When lines were built over longer distances (typically with a single track) before good roads were common, they were generally called interurban streetcars in North America or radial railways in Ontario.
In North America, many of these original light-rail systems were decommissioned in the 1950s and onward as the popularity of the automobile increased. Britain abandoned its last light rail system except Blackpool by 1962.[6] Although some traditional trolley or tram systems still exist to this day, the term "light rail" has come to mean a different type of rail system. Modern light rail technology has primarily German origins, since an attempt by Boeing Vertol to introduce a new American light rail vehicle was a technical failure. After World War II, the Germans retained their streetcar networks and evolved them into model light rail systems (stadtbahnen). Except for Hamburg, all large and most medium-sized German cities maintain light rail networks. [4]
The renaisance of light rail in North American began in 1978 when the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta adopted the German Siemens-Duewag U2 system, followed three years later by Calgary, Alberta and San Diego, California. Britain began replacing its run-down local railways with light rail in the 1980's, starting with Tyneside and followed by the Docklands Light Railway in London. The trend to light rail in the United Kingdom was firmly established with the success of the Manchester Metrolink system in 1992.
Historically, the rail gauge has had considerable variations, with narrow gauge common in many early systems. However, most light rail systems are now standard gauge.[4] An important advantage of standard gauge is that standard railway maintenance equipment can be used on it, rather than custom-built machinery. Using standard gauge also allows light rail vehicles to be delivered and relocated conveniently using freight railways and locomotives. Another factor favoring standard gauge is that low-floor vehicles are becoming popular, and there is generally insufficient space for wheelchairs to move between the wheels in a narrow gauge layout.
[edit] Australasia
In the 19th century numerous horse drawn systems were established, with Adelaide and Brisbane establishing reasonably large systems (for their day) and retaining their horse drawn trams when other systems had adopted steam or cable traction. Victor Harbor and Gawler in South Australia are examples of small, single-line horse-drawn systems which survived until 1953 and 1931 respectively.
Following a short lived experiment with a privately run horse tram line in Pitt Street in the 1860s, Sydney adopted steam trams, which were operated by the state government. By comparison, Melbourne adopted cable trams, which were owned and operated by the local government. Melbourne's cable tram network became the largest in the world in the late 19th century, with some cable lines retained until 1940. Sydney operated only two cable tram lines (in North Sydney and along South Head Road) and eschewed the high capital outlay required for cable traction, preferring instead to retain their steam trams, until most of the system was converted to electric operation between 1898 and 1910.
Smaller provincial towns in New South Wales, such as Maitland, Broken Hill and Newcastle had steam tram systems operated by the New South Wales Government. Rockhampton, Queensland, also had a steam tram system, which was operated by the Rockhampton City Council. With the exception of Newcastle, these systems had closed by the 1930s.
Gold mining towns, with their rapid growth and wealth soon adopted trams, with Bendigo and Ballarat in Victoria and Kalgoorlie and Leonora in Western Australia all adopting electric tram systems. Bendigo held trials of a battery-operated tram, but this was unsuccessful. The Victorian systems survived until 1972 following their takeover by the state government, whereas the West Australian examples ceased operations in the 1930s as a result of the economic decline of those towns at the time.
Electrification was quickly adopted in Australian systems, with Hobart and Brisbane the first systems to be electrified in 1893 and 1897 respectively. Hobart thus was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to operate a successful electric tramway system. It was also the only Australian city to use the European-style 'bow collector', instead of Frank Sprague's trolley pole system. Hobart was also the first city outside Europe to employ electric double-decker trams. The Hobart system retained a distinctly "English" appearance throughout its existence.
Perth had an electric tram system in operation between 1898 and 1958.
Adelaide was the last major city to convert its trams to electric operation, in 1908, with the system closing (except for the Glenelg line) in 1958.
[edit] Return to grace
The priority given to personal vehicles and notably to the automobile led to a loss in quality of life, particularly in large cities where smog, traffic congestion, sound pollution and parking became problematic. Acknowledging this, some authorities saw fit to redefine their transport policies. Rapid transit required a heavy investment and presented problems in terms of subterranean spaces that required constant security. For rapid transit, the investment was mainly in underground construction, which made it impossible in some cities (with underground water reserves, archaeological remains, etc.). Metro construction thus was not a universal panacea.
The advantages of the tram thus became once again visible. At the end of the 1970s, some governments studied, and then built new tram lines. In France, Nantes and Grenoble lead the way in terms of the modern tram, and new systems were inaugurated in 1985 and 1988. The first UK modern light rail system opened in Manchester in 1992 with Italian built vehicles. In 1994 Strasbourg opened a system with novel British-built trams, specified by the city, with the goal of breaking with the archaic conceptual image that was held by the public.
A great example of this shift in ideology is the city of Munich, which began replacing its tram network with a metro a few years before the 1972 Summer Olympics. When the metro network was finished in the 1990s the city began to tear out the tram network (which had become rather old and decrepit), but now faced opposition from many citizens who enjoyed the enhanced mobility of the mixed network -- the metro lines deviate from the tram lines to a significant degree. New rolling stock was purchased and the system was modernized, and a new line was proposed in 2003.
[edit] Trams and Light Rail around the World
[edit] Europe
In many European cities, as in other parts of the world, tramway infrastructure was lost in the mid-20th century, though not always on the same scale as in other cities (in America, for example). Much of Eastern Europe lost less tramway infrastructure but some cities are now reconsidering their transport priorities, while some Western European cities are rehabilitating, upgrading and even reconstructing their old tramway lines.
[edit] Western Europe
Europe, particularly Germany, Italy, Finland, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium, has an extensive number of tramway networks. Some of these networks have been upgraded to light rail standards, called Stadtbahn in Germany and Pre-metros in Belgium.
[edit] Germany
- For more details on this topic, see Stadtbahn.
Stadtbahn, meaning city railway in the German language, is the term for light rail in Germany. Most German light rail systems were started in the 1960s and 1970s with the intention of establishing full-scale subway, or U-Bahn, systems. By the 1980s virtually all cities had abandoned these plans due to the high costs of converting tramways, and the most common systems now are a mixture of tramway-like operations in suburban areas, and a U-Bahn like mode of operation, featuring underground stations, in the city centres.
[edit] Central and Eastern Europe
All countries of the former Soviet Bloc, excluding Lithuania and Moldova, have extensive tram infrastructure. Industrial freight use of city tram lines was a widespread practice until 1960s but has since mostly disappeared. Another factor is an increasing replacement of trams with trolleybuses as cities face a rapid increase in traffic and such replacement often allows to increase road size. One of the exceptions is Warsaw, Poland, where the last trolleybus line was closed in the year 1995 due to high maintenance costs, and replaced with more efficient trams. Czech ČKD Tatra and the Hungarian Ganz factories were notable manufacturers of trams.
[edit] North America
[edit] Trams
Note that in North America, especially the United States, trams are generally known as streetcars or trolleys, while the term tram is more likely to be understood as a tourist trolley, an aerial tramway, or a people-mover.
- See also: Light rail in North America
Streetcars were largely torn down in the mid-20th century with exception including New Orleans' streetcars and Newark which still have them. Toronto has the largest streetcar system in the Americas. In the later 20th century, the term Light Rail is preferred, with many cities in North America opting to install them, often along the same corridor as the old streetcars. Some have even restored their old streetcars and run them as a heritage line for tourists like the Vancouver Downtown Historic Railway.
[edit] Light Rail
- For more details on this topic, see Light rail in North America.
Light rail has been introduced in the face of considerable opposition in the United States, which has a much lower rate of transit use than Europe or Canada. Despite that, there are a large number of new light rail systems in operation in the U.S., and several more are planned. Canada has a much higher rate of transit usage than the U.S, including a few high volume light rail systems.
 PCC car in San Francisco |
[edit] Australasia
In Australasia, trams are used extensively only in Melbourne, and to a lesser extent, Adelaide, all other major cities having largely dismantled their networks by the 1970s. Christchurch has subsequently opened a new tourist tramway in the centre of the city.
A distinctive feature of many Australasian trams was the early use of a lowered central section between bogies (wheel-sets). This was intended to make passenger access easier, by reducing the number of steps required to reach the inside of the vehicle. It is believed that the design first originated in Christchurch, as early as the first decade of the 20th century. Cars with this design feature were frequently referred to as "drop-centres".
Despite the tram system being dismantled it is often considered in plans to increase public transport patronage, and is presently featured in proposals for Adelaide, Sydney and the Gold Coast.[citation needed]
List of major Australian Tram Systems
- Trams in Brisbane (closed)
- Trams in Melbourne
- Adelaide Tram
- Trams in Perth (closed)
- Trams in Sydney (closed)
Other cities which have had trams include Bendigo and Ballarat. In Tasmania, Launceston operates a lesser known tramway museum.
Tram museums also operated in many cities following the closure of their networks. Major museums include the Brisbane Tramway Museum and the Sydney Tramway Museum.
List of major New Zealand Tram Systems
- Wellington tramway system (closed)
- Dunedin cable tramway system (closed)
Other cities in New Zealand include Auckland and Christchurch have operating heritage lines and museums.
[edit] South America
South America currently has few Light Rail systems but new infrastructure is being planned or under construction in Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela amongst others. Heritage Tramways currently operate in Brazil, Argentina and Peru.
[edit] Argentina
An experimental line in Buenos Aires with Citadis Trams from France
The Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company opened Latin America's first "underground tramway" system, (Subte line A) in 1913. The original route was partially underground and on street level until 1926, for this reason these "pantograph" cars built by La Brugeoise in Belgium had both low doors at the ends for boarding from the street and high doors in the middle for loading from platforms in the tunnel, therefore, "Subte" line A might also be considered one of the continent's first light rail trams. These vintage beautifully maintained carriages (sans end doors) are still in operation.
Buenos Aires street tramway networks where one of the most extensive in the world with over 857 km (535 mi) of track and as in many countries, most of it was dismantled during the 1960s in favor for bus transportation. Today a prototype line is about to be inaugurated witch will run 1.3 mile (2 km), in Buenos Aires' new Puerto Madero district to expose Alstom' new tramways technology to both authorities and potential passengers as a solution to address the urban problem of transportation in Argentina and show that it responds to a modern transport policy.
(Tren de la Costa) (Train of the Coast) is a modern light rail in the Northern Suburbs of Buenos Aires, this line is very particular since it dates back to 1890 when it was operated by steam, in 1931 the line was electrified and ran until 1961 when it was abandoned, in 1995 it came back to life as a modern Light Rail and is quite interesting since it blends turn of the century English-style stations witch have been refurbished with modern light rail.
2006 was a very significant year for tramways in Argentina, a 2 kilometre experimental tram known as the Tranvía del Este (Eastern Tram) will be inaugurated in the middle 2007 in Puerto Madero with extensions to Retiro station and La Boca neighborhood being talked about, these are ultra-modern Citadis302 cars from France, there's also talks about a “heritage tram” to be put in service in colonial San Telmo.
A proposed Ferro Tranvía Urbano (Urban Ferro Tram) in the city of Mendoza is to be inaugurated in two years.
[edit] Asia
Asia has had relatively few tram systems, with the notable exception of Japan.
Japan
Many Japanese cities have tram systems. Among them are Sapporo and Hakodate in Hokkaidō; Tokyo, Kamakura, Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima on Honshū; Matsuyama and Kochi on Shikoku; and Nagasaki, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima on Kyūshū. Some extend into neighboring communities.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong still possesses the Hong Kong Tramway, a traditional British Isles-style double-decker tramway with street running, along the north shore of Hong Kong Island. More recently the KCRC Light Rail system has opened in the north west New Territories. Despite its name, the Peak Tram is actually a funicular railway.
China
The only cities in mainland China with a tram network are the seaside resort of Dalian in Liaoning province, which as of 2003 had three working lines, Anshan in Liaoning and Changchun in Jilin province. The last trams ran in Shanghai in the mid-1960s.
Philippines
The Philippines once had a tram network in Manila, but it was destroyed during World War II. The system has been replaced with the LRT and MRT.
India
In India, Kolkata (Calcutta) has a tram network. Chennai (Madras), Kanpur and Mumbai (Bombay) were the other three which had a network but were dismantled.
Korea
Seoul, Korea had trams up into the 1960s. Some of their cars were acquired second-hand from the Los Angeles system.
Pyongyang, North Korea has an extensive tram system that first opened in 1991. It is now 50km in length running mainly ČKD/Tatra vehicles with some other trams originally from Zürich.
Vietnam
In Vietnam, tram networks were once running in Hanoi and Saigon until 1954. Bangkok trams were also dismantled after WW2.
Malaysia
In Malaysia, trams were introduced in Penang in 1906. Thirty years later, in 1936, trams were replaced by bus and the tram lines were dismantled.
[edit] Africa
Trams are used frequently in Tunis, Tunisia, and has a very large Tram system which has been running for many years.
[edit] Egypt
In Egypt both Cairo and Alexandria have historic and still existent tram systems. Tunis has a modern tram system.
In Cairo, the urban tramway network is now defunct, but the express tramway linking it with Heliopolis is still in operation, as is the relatively new tram system in the satellite town of Helwan 25km to the south.
In Alexandria, both the urban tramway network and the express tramway system serving the eastern suburbs are still in operation. The urban system operates yellow cars, including some acquired second-hand from Copenhagen, on largely street track. The express tramway operates 3-car trains of blue cars, including some double-deck cars, on largely reserved track. There are also trams that serve on the urban tram lines and the express tram lines at the same time.
 Former Copenhagen articulated car in service on Alexandria's urban tramway |
 A tram from Heliopolis terminates at Cairo's Ramses Station |
[edit] South Africa
Public transport in South Africa commenced for the first time in Cape Town in May 1801 when a weekly wagon service from Cape Town to Simon's Town was announced. Round about 1838 the Cape's first horse-drawn omnibus, based on George Shilbeer's omnibus, was introduced. In September 1862 the Cape Town and Green Point Tramway Company was formed and on 1 April 1863 it began operating. Both single-deck and double-deck horse drawn trams were used. In 1896 the power station at Toll Gate Cape Town, with two stacks supplied by Milliken Brothers of New York, was completed and the old horse sheds were remodelled. Cape Town's electric tram system initially consisted of ten cars made in Philadelphia, USA. On 6 August 1896 Lady Sivewright, wife of Sir James Sivewright opened the new system. At Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1897 there were thirty-two electric trams on Cape Town's roads serving the city and its suburbs over about twenty-three miles of track. The new power station at Toll Gate was proving inadequate to meet demands and additions were called for.
Tram services also existed in Johannesburg (where the suburban railway to Boksburg, opened in 1890, was also called the Rand Tram), Pretoria and Durban but were replaced by petrol, diesel and trolley bus systems by the early 1960s.
