A tram is a type of urban rail transit consisting of a rail vehicle, either individual railcars or self-propelled trains coupled by multiple unit, that runs on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Many recently built tramways use the contemporary term light rail.
Light rail transit (LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit characterized by a combination of tram and rapid transit features. While its rolling stock is similar to that of a traditional tram, it operates at a higher capacity and speed and often on an exclusive right-of-way. In many cities, light rail transit systems more closely resemble, and are therefore indistinguishable from, traditional underground or at-grade subways and heavy-rail metros.
In railroad structures, and rail terminology, a wye or triangular junction is a triangular joining arrangement of three rail lines with a railroad switch at each corner connecting to the incoming lines. A turning wye is a specific case.
The PCC is a tram design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful domestically, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the world where PCC based cars were made. The PCC car has proved to be a long-lasting icon of streetcar design, and many remain in service around the world.
A Birney or Birney Safety Car is a type of streetcar that was manufactured in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s. The design was small and light and was intended to be an economical means of providing frequent service at a lower infrastructure and labor cost than conventional streetcars. Production of Birney cars lasted from 1915 until 1930, and more than 6,000 of the original, single-truck version were built. Several different manufacturers built Birney cars. The design was "the first mass-produced standard streetcar " in North America.
Gauntlet track or interlaced track is an arrangement in which railway tracks run parallel on a single track bed and are interlaced in such a way that only one pair of rails can be used at any time. Since this requires only slightly more width than a single track, all rails can be carried on the same crossties/sleepers. Trains run on the discrete pair of rails appropriate to their direction, track gauge or loading gauge.
A passing loop or passing siding is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or trams travelling in opposite directions can pass each other. Trains/trams going in the same direction can also overtake, provided that the signalling arrangement allows it. A passing loop is double-ended and connected to the main track at both ends, though a dead end siding known as a refuge siding, which is much less convenient, can be used. A similar arrangement is used on the gauntlet track of cable railways and funiculars, and in passing places on single-track roads.
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas:
Rail transport – means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks consisting of steel rails installed on sleepers/ties and ballast.
The Belmont railway line is an abandoned coal haulage and passenger rail line from Adamstown, New South Wales to Belmont, New South Wales. This was a private railway, being the property of the New Redhead Estate and Coal Company and was generally known as the Belmont Branch. The line closed in December 1991. It has since been converted into a cycleway or rail trail - The Fernleigh Track.
The Sydney tramway network served the inner suburbs of Sydney, Australia, from 1879 until 1961. In its heyday, it was the largest in Australia, the second largest in the Commonwealth of Nations, and one of the largest in the world. The network was heavily worked, with about 1,600 cars in service at any one time at its peak during the 1930s . Patronage peaked in 1945 at 405 million passenger journeys. Its maximum street trackage totalled 291 km in 1923.
The history of trams, streetcars, or trolleys began in the early nineteenth century. It can be divided up into several discrete periods defined by the principal means of motive power used.
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self propelled passenger trains are known as multiple units or railcars. Passenger trains stop at stations or depots, where passengers may board and disembark. In most cases, passenger trains operate on a fixed schedule and have priority over freight trains.
Although tram systems date to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many old systems were closed during the mid-20th century because of the advent of automobile travel. This was especially the case in North America, but postwar reductions and shutdowns also occurred on British, French and other Western European urban rail networks. However, traditional tramway systems survived, and eventually even began to thrive from the late 20th century onward, some eventually operating as much as when they were first built over a century ago. Their numbers have been augmented by modern tramway or light rail systems in cities which had discarded this form of transport.
The Frankfurt am Main tramway network is a network of tramways forming a major part of the public transport system in Frankfurt am Main, a city in the federal state of Hesse, Germany.
Class B and Class E, normally referred to as Gullfisk, were a class of 46 trams built by Strømmens Værksted and Skabo Jernbanevognfabrikk for Oslo Sporveier and Bærumsbanen of Oslo, Norway, in 1937 and 1939. They were the first aluminium trams to operate on the Oslo Tramway and the first bogie trams to operate on street lines. They had contemporary modern electronic equipment, a streamlined shape, and comfortable accommodation. Until 1964, they were also faster than any other Norwegian tramcar or suburban railcar.
SM53, originally designed MBO and colloquially known as Høka, were a class of 58 trams and 50 trailers built by Høka and Hägglund for Oslo Sporveier. The units were used on the Norway's Oslo Tramway from 1952 until 2000. The 14.7-meter long and 2.5-meter wide trams weighed 16.9 tonnes. They had four motors providing a combined power output of 180 kilowatts (240 hp), allowing for a top speed of 60 kilometers per hour (37 mph).
The Kraków tram system is a tram system in Kraków, Poland. The tramway has been in operation since 1882, and is currently operated by Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacyjne w Krakowie. There are 22 ordinary, 2 fast, and 3 night tram lines with a total line length of 347 kilometres (216 mi). As of 2013, the total route length of the tramway was 90 kilometres (56 mi), including a 1.4-kilometre (0.87 mi) tram tunnel with two underground stops.
Lausanne, a city in western Switzerland and a cultural and commercial centre, has returned its tramway as a modern tram system.
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.
