History
In the 1920s, the increasing traffic on the Milan urban tramway network made pressing the substitution of the old tramcars ″type Edison″. The municipal tram office decided to design a new type of tramcars, built on two bogies, taking as model the Peter Witt streetcars built in Cleveland and in other cities of the United States.
The Milan streetcar was projected by the municipal engineers in 1927, and two prototypes, built by Carminati & Toselli and numbered 1501 and 1502, came into service at the end of the same year.
After a few tests, the construction of a 500 units stock (numbered 1503 to 2002) began, divided between several manufacturers:
The electrical equipment were built by Ansaldo and TIBB, the bogies by Fiat under Commonwealth-license.
The cars were delivered in 1929–1930 and immediately put into service. In 1932–1935 some cars were equipped with an experimental half door at the tail, and from 1938 to 1940 with a definitive entire door; the Peter Witt system were therefore abandoned after a few years of service.
During the Second World War many cars were seriously damaged, but only one unit had to be scrapped, the others being repaired or reconstructed from 1945 to 1949.
From 1970 on, the traditional green livery (introduced in 1930) was abandoned, and a new orange one introduced; from 1972 the traditional trolley pole was substituted by a pantograph. Since 1976 some cars were put aside and later demolished.
Nowadays circa 135 units are still in service, repainted in the last years in a white and yellow livery already used on the prototypes. Most trams are in use for daily service, but some are for special occasions (trams 1503, 1699, 1702, 1723, 1822 and 1847), some for drivers instructions (trams 1602, 1798, 1862), two for the driving restaurant service ATMosfera (trams 1855 and 1970) and there is the ″white tram″, the school tram (″Scuolaintram″).
No. 1544 in green livery
No. 1577 in orange livery
No. 1661 in yellow livery
No. 1813 in rainbow livery
A low-floor tram is a tram that has no stairsteps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. The low-floor design improves the accessibility of the tram for the public, and also may provide larger windows and more airspace.
The Peter Witt streetcar was introduced by Cleveland Railway commissioner Peter Witt (1869–1948) who led the transit agency from 1911 to 1915 and designed a model of streetcar known by his name that was used in many North American cities, most notably in Toronto and Cleveland.
The Socimi Eurotram (later sold as the Bombardier Flexity Outlook (E)) was an electric tramcar designed for the tram system of Compagnie de Transports Strasbourgeois (CTS). Initially produced by Socimi, after the company became bankrupt Eurotrams were manufactured first by ABB Group's transportation division, then by Adtranz and finally by Bombardier Transportation, who marketed the tram as part of their Flexity Outlook range.
The Tramway Français Standard (TFS) is a type of tram designed and manufactured by Alstom for use on various tramway systems in France. The TFS is no longer in production, having been superseded by the Alstom Citadis range of tramcars.
The Z-class are single-unit bogie trams that operate on the Melbourne tram network. Between 1975 and 1983, 230 trams spanning three sub-classes were built by Comeng, Dandenong. The design was based on two similar Gothenburg tram models, and a prototype built by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board. While the Z1 and Z2-class trams were very similar, the Z3-class had significant design changes.
The Trieste–Opicina tramway is an unusual hybrid tramway and funicular railway in the city of Trieste, Italy. It links Piazza Oberdan, on the northern edge of the city centre, with the village of Villa Opicina in the hills above.
The W-class trams are a family of electric trams built by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) between 1923 and 1956. Over the 33 years of production, 752 vehicles spanning 12 sub-classes were constructed, the majority at the MMTB's Preston Workshops.
The Hawthorn Tramways Trust was a tram operator in Melbourne, Australia. Its assets and liabilities were transferred to the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board on 2 February 1920.
SL79 is a class of 40 articulated trams operated by the Oslo Tramway of Norway. The trams were a variation of the Duewag trams that had been developed by the German manufacturer since the 1950s. The six-axle vehicles are unidirectional with four doors on the right side. The trams can seat 77 passengers three and four abreast, with an additional 91 people able to stand. Power output is 434 kilowatts (582 hp), provided by two motors on the two end bogies, that supplement a central unpowered Jacobs bogie located under the articulation. The trams are 23.0 metres (75.5 ft) long and 2.5 metres wide. They are capable of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph) and have standard gauge.
Azienda Trasporti Milanesi S.p.A. is the municipal public transport company of Milan and 46 surrounding metropolitan municipalities. It operates 5 metro lines, 17 tram lines, 124 bus lines and 4 trolleybus lines, carrying about 776 million passengers in 2018.
Tatra KT4 is the name of a four-axle type articulated tramcar developed by the Czech firm ČKD Tatra. The first pre-production vehicles entered service in Potsdam in 1975, with the first production vehicles in 1977. A total of 1,747 units were built, with initial deliveries to East Germany (DDR) and later to the USSR and SFR Yugoslavia. KT4 variants were built for both standard gauge and metre gauge tramways. Production of the KT4 tramcar was halted in 1991 due to worldwide economic and political changes at the time. Production was briefly resumed in 1997 to construct the last 20 units for Belgrade, Serbia.
The Milan tramway network is part of the public transport network of Milan, Italy, operated by Azienda Trasporti Milanesi (ATM).
The Cruden Bay Hotel Tramway operated an electric tramway service between the Cruden Bay Hotel and Cruden Bay railway station between 1899 and 1940.
Dundee and District Tramways operated a tramway service in Dundee between 1877 and 1899.
The ATM Class 4600 and 4700 are a series of articulated trams used by the ATM on the Milan urban tramway network.
The C-class trams were a class of single bogie end-loading electric trams operated on the Sydney tram network.
The N-class was a class of 10 trams built by Duncan & Fraser, Adelaide for the Hawthorn Tramways Trust (HTT) as numbers 11 to 20, all passed to the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (M&MTB) on 2 February 1920 when it took over the HTT, becoming the N-class and being renumbered 117 to 126.
Blackpool Heritage Trams are a mixed fleet of restored vehicles that run on the Blackpool Tramway, which runs from Blackpool to Fleetwood on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire, England. The line dates back to 1885 and is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world. It is operated by Blackpool Transport (BT) and is the last surviving first-generation tramway in the United Kingdom. Excluding museums, it is one of only a few tramways in the world to still use double-decker trams.
Trams have been used since the 19th century, and since then, there have been various uses and designs for trams around the world. This article covers the many design types, most notably the articulated, double-decker, drop-centre, low-floor, single ended, double-ended, rubber -tired, and tram-train; and the various uses of trams, both historical and current, most notably cargo trams, a dog car, hearse tram, maintenance trams, a mobile library service, a nursery tram, a restaurant tram, a tourist tram, and as mobile offices.
