Tram

:For other meanings of tram, see tram (disambiguation).

Electric trams (Trolley cars)

Electric-powered trams (trolley cars, so called for the trolley pole used to gather power from an unshielded overhead wire), were first successfully tested in service in Richmond, Virginia in 1888, in an installation by Frank J. Sprague. There were earlier commercial installations of electric streetcars, including one in Berlin, Germany, as early as 1881 by Werner von Siemens and the company that still bears his name, and also one in St. Petersburg, Russia, invented and tested by Fiodor A. Pirotskiy in 1880. The earlier installations, however, proved difficult and/or unreliable. Siemens' line, for example, provided power through a live rail and a return rail, like a model train setup, limiting the voltage that could be used, and providing unwanted excitement to people and animals crossing the tracks. Siemens later designed his own method of current collection, this time from an overhead wire, called the bow collector. Once this had been developed his cars became equal to, if not better, than any of Sprague's cars.

Related Topics:
Trolley pole - Wire - Richmond, Virginia - 1888 - Frank J. Sprague - Berlin - Germany - 1881 - Werner von Siemens - St. Petersburg - Russia - 1880 - Model train - Voltage - Bow collector

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Since Sprague's installation was the first to prove successful in all conditions, he is credited with being the inventor of the trolley car.

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A rare but significant variant of the trolley car was the conduit car, which drew its power from an underground third rail.

Related Topics:
Conduit car - Third rail

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Golden Age

Trams experienced a rapid expansion at the start of the 20th century until the period between the two world wars. There was a rapid increase in the number of lines and increase in the number of riders: indeed, it became the primary mode of urban transportation. Horse-drawn transport virtually disappeared in all European, American and Indian cities by 1910. Buses were still in a development phase at this time, gaining in mechanical reliability, but remaining behind compared to the benefits offered by trams; the automobile was still reserved for the well-to-do.

Related Topics:
20th century - India - 1910 - Bus - Automobile

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A temporary disappearance from many cities

In several countries the advent of personal motor vehicles caused the rapid disappearance of the tram from most western and Asian countries by the end of the 1950s. The technical progress of the bus rendered it more reliable, and it became a serious competitor to the tram because it did not require the construction of costly infrastructure.

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In many cases buses also provided a smoother ride and a faster journey than the older trams. For example, the tram network survived in Budapest but for a considerable period of time bus fares were higher to recognise the superior quality of the buses.

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Governments thus put investment principally into bus networks. Indeed, infrastructure for roads and highways meant for the automobile were perceived as a mark of progress. The priority given to roads is illustrated in the proposal of French president Georges Pompidou who declared in 1971 that "the city must adapt to the car".

Related Topics:
Georges Pompidou - 1971

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Tram networks were no longer maintained or modernized, a state of affairs that served to discredit them in the eyes of the public. Old lines, considered archaic, were then bit by bit replaced by buses.

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Tram networks disappeared almost completely from North America, France, the UK, India, Turkey and Spain. On the other hand, they were maintained or modernized in Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Finland, Romania, Austria, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Japan and Eastern Europe. In France and the UK, only the networks in Lille, Saint-Etienne, Marseille, and Blackpool survive from this period, but they are each reduced to a single line. Australian tram networks disappeared by the 1970s, with the exception of the extensive system in Melbourne and the Glenelg line in Adelaide.

Related Topics:
North America - France - UK - India - Turkey - Spain - Switzerland - Germany - Poland - Finland - Romania - Austria - Italy - Belgium - Netherlands - Scandinavia - Japan - Eastern Europe - Lille - Saint-Etienne - Marseille - Blackpool - Melbourne - The Glenelg line - Adelaide

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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. The bus had shown its limits on account of its low capacity and its difficult coexistence with automobile traffic, which made it slow both on the road and commercially. Subways required a heavy investment and presented problems in terms of subterranean spaces that required constant security. For subways, the investment was mainly in underground construction, which made it impossible in some cities (with underground water reserves, archaeological remains, etc.). Subway construction thus was not a universal panacea.

Related Topics:
Smog - Traffic congestion - Sound pollution - Parking - Bus - Subway

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The advantages of the tram thus became more 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. 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.

Related Topics:
1970s - Nantes - Grenoble - 1985 - 1988 - 1994 - Strasbourg

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The public, who realized with each installation of tram lines their benefits in urban flexibility and redistribution and the reduction in downtown automobile traffic, encouraged numerous city governments to so equip their streets. Many cities already equipped with trams have extended their lines and built new ones.

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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.

Related Topics:
Munich - Metro - 1972 Summer Olympics - Rolling stock - 2003

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