Tram

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

History

Appearing in the first half of the 19th century, trams were at first pulled by horses.

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The first trams, known as streetcars or horsecars, were built in the US, and developed from city stagecoach lines and omnibus lines that picked up and dropped off passengers on a regular route and without the need to be pre-hired. These first lines operated in Baltimore, Maryland in 1828, in 1832 on the New York and Harlem Railroad in New York City, and in 1834 in New Orleans. At first the rails protruded above street level, causing accidents and major trouble for pedestrians. They were supplanted in 1852 by grooved rails, invented by Alphonse Loubat. The first tram in France was inaugurated in 1853 for the World's Fair, where a test line was presented along the Cours de la Reine, in the 8th Arrondissement. Trams were first regularly used in Europe in Sarajevo, starting in 1885.

Related Topics:
City - Stagecoach - Omnibus - Baltimore, Maryland - 1828 - 1832 - New York and Harlem Railroad - New York City - 1834 - New Orleans - Rails - 1852 - Grooved rail - Alphonse Loubat - 1853 - World's Fair - Cours de la Reine - 8th Arrondissement - Sarajevo - 1885

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These streetcars 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.

Related Topics:
Animal railway - Horse - Mule - Animal - Human

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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 system needed ten or more horses in stable for each horsecar. New York City had the last regular horsecar lines in the U.S., closing in 1914. A mule-powered line in Celaya, Mexico operated until 1956. Horse-drawn trams still operate in Douglas, Isle of Man.

Related Topics:
Rolling resistance - Metal - Wheel - Steel - Manure - New York City - 1914 - 1956 - Douglas - Isle of Man

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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.

Related Topics:
London - Berlin - Paris - Omnibus - Steam power - Electrical - Siemens AG - International Electricity Exhibition

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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 electric tram opened in Berlin in 1881.

Related Topics:
Berlin - 1881

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