Trams in popular culture

Last updated

There are many references to trams in popular culture. Major references include:

Contents

Ballet

Drama

Vivien Leigh in the trailer for the 1951 film, A Streetcar Named Desire. Vivien Leigh in Streetcar Named Desire trailer 2.jpg
Vivien Leigh in the trailer for the 1951 film, A Streetcar Named Desire .

Film

Literature

From time to time a strange vehicle drew near to the place where they stood—such a vehicle as the lady at the window, in spite of a considerable acquaintance with human inventions, had never seen before: a huge, low, omnibus, painted in brilliant colours, and decorated apparently with jingling bells, attached to a species of groove in the pavement, through which it was dragged, with a great deal of rumbling, bouncing, and scratching, by a couple of remarkably small horses.
Henry James, The Europeans, Page 2
Published in 1878, the novel is set in the 1840s, though horse trams were not introduced in Boston till the 1850s. Note how the tram's efficiency surprises the European visitor; how two "remarkably small" horses sufficed to draw the "huge" tramcar.

I can't make out why the corporation doesn't run a tramline from the parkgate to the quays, Mr Bloom said. All those animals could be taken in trucks down to the boats.

Instead of blocking up the thoroughfare, Martin Cunningham said. Quite so. They ought to.

Yes, Mr Bloom said, and another thing I often thought is to have municipal funeral trams like they have in Milan, you know. Run the line out to the cemetery gates and have special trams, hearse and carriage and all. Don't you see what I mean?

– O that be damned for a story, Mr Dedalus said. Pullman car and saloon diningroom.
– A poor lookout for Corny [the undertaker], Mr Power added.
– Why? Mr Bloom asked, turning to Mr Dedalus. Wouldn't it be more decent than galloping two abreast? [4]
The party on the way to Paddy Dignam's funeral, inJames Joyce, Ulysses, Episode 6 ("Hades")
Joyce appreciated the fact that public investment in trams benefits local property owners. In the fourth chapter of Ulysses, entitled Calypso, Bloom speculates that if Dublin Corporation were to build a tramline along the street, property values would "go up like a shot" [5]

When the first electric trams did run

In all their scarlet glory 'Twas well, but 'ere the day was done,

It was another story.

[12]

Music

Judy Garland and the chorus performing The Trolley Song, a song inspired by a picture of a tram in a turn-of-the-century newspaper. Judy Garland in Meet Me in St Louis trailer 2.jpg
Judy Garland and the chorus performing The Trolley Song , a song inspired by a picture of a tram in a turn-of-the-century newspaper.

Opera

Television

The Neighbourhood Trolley. a model tram that is commonly featured on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Mister Rogers Trolley.jpg
The Neighbourhood Trolley. a model tram that is commonly featured on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood .

Visual arts

Other

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tram</span> Street-running light railcar

A tram is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban 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. The vehicles are called streetcars or trolleys in North America and trams or tramcars elsewhere. The first two terms are often used interchangeably in the United States, with trolley being the preferred term in the eastern US and streetcar in the western US. Streetcar is preferred in English Canada, while tramway is preferred in Quebec. In parts of the United States, internally powered buses made to resemble a streetcar are often referred to as "trolleys". To avoid further confusion with trolley buses, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) refers to them as "trolley-replica buses". In the United States, the term tram has sometimes been used for rubber-tired trackless trains, which are unrelated to other kinds of trams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heritage railway</span> Railway used for heritage/historical/tourism purposes

A heritage railway or heritage railroad is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period in the history of rail transport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles</span> Aims to preserve historic rail vehicles

Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles aims to preserve historic rail vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Tramway Museum</span> UK national tramway museum

The National Tramway Museum is a tram museum located at Crich, Derbyshire, England. The museum contains over 60 trams built between 1873 and 1982 and is set within a recreated period village containing a working pub, cafe, old-style sweetshop and tram depots. The museum's collection of trams runs through the village-setting with visitors transported out into the local countryside and back and is operated by the Tramway Museum Society, a registered charity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birney</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horsecar</span> Animal-powered tram or streetcar

A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered tram or streetcar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">F Market & Wharves</span> San Francisco heritage streetcar line

The F Market & Wharves line is one of several light rail lines in San Francisco, California. Unlike most other lines in the system, the F line runs as a heritage streetcar service, almost exclusively using historic equipment both from San Francisco's retired fleet as well as from cities around the world. While the F line is operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), its operation is supported by Market Street Railway, a nonprofit organization of streetcar enthusiasts which raises funds and helps to restore vintage streetcars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenelg tram line</span> Tram line in Adelaide, South Australia

The Glenelg tram line is a tram/light rail line in Adelaide. Apart from a short street-running section in Glenelg, the line has its own reservation, with minimal interference from road traffic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double-decker tram</span>

A double-decker tram or double-deck tram is a tram that has two levels or decks. Some double-decker trams have open tops. Double-deck trams were once popular in some European cities, like Berlin and London, throughout the British Empire countries in the early half of the 20th century including Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington in New Zealand; Hobart, Tasmania in Australia and in parts of Asia. They are still in service or even newly introduced in Hong Kong, Alexandria, Oranjestad, Blackpool, Birkenhead, Franschhoek, Auckland and Douglas, mostly as heritage or tourist trams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of transport</span> Overview of and topical guide to transport

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to transport:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trams in Adelaide</span> Overview of trams in Adelaide, South Australia

Until 1958, trams formed a network spanning most of Adelaide, with a history dating back to 1878. Adelaide ran horse trams from 1878 to 1914 and electric trams from 1909, but has primarily relied on buses for public transport since the mid-20th century. Electric trams, and later trolleybuses, were Adelaide's main method of public transport throughout the life of the electric tram network. The tram network was progressively closed down through the 1950s with the last lines closing in 1958; the Glenelg tram line was the only line to survive these closures and has remained in operation ever since and has been progressively upgraded and extended since 2005.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trams in Australia</span>

The earliest trams in Australia operated in the latter decades of the 19th century, hauled by horses or "steam tram motors". At the turn of the 20th century, propulsion almost universally turned to electrification, although cable trams lingered in Melbourne. In cities and towns that had trams, they were a major part of public transport assets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H type Adelaide tram</span> Class of 20th-century tram in Adelaide

The H type Adelaide tram was a class of 30 trams built by A Pengelly & Co, Adelaide in 1929 for use on the newly constructed Glenelg tram line. They remained in regular revenue service until replaced by Bombardier Flexity Classic trams in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Electric Railway Museum</span> Museum in Brooks, Oregon, United States

The Oregon Electric Railway Museum is the largest streetcar/trolley museum in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It is owned and operated by the Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society and is located in Brooks, Oregon, on the grounds of Powerland Heritage Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trams in Bonn</span> Overview of trams in Bonn

The Bonn tramway network forms part of the public transport system in the city Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, along with the Bonn Stadtbahn with which the tramlines are heavily integrated. The tram network consists of three tram lines which makes Bonn's tramway relatively small, as it comprises only 29.52 kilometres (18.34 mi) of route. The tramway is operated by 24 low-floor tramcars.

The Melbourne tram network began in 1884 with the construction of the Fairfield Horse Tramway. However, the purpose of the line was to increase land prices in the area, and it soon closed during the depression in 1890. The first genuine attempt to construct a tramway network was the construction of the Richmond cable tram line by the Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company in 1885. Over the next few years, 16 more cable tram lines were constructed, as well as numerous other horse tramways. The depression of the early 1890s slowed further expansion of the cable network. The first electric tram line was the Box Hill and Doncaster tramway which opened in 1889. This was a pioneering line in what was then the countryside and thus didn't receive much patronage. It closed in 1896. The next attempt at an electric tramway was Victorian Railways' St Kilda to Brighton line, which opened in 1906. Later that year, the North Melbourne Electric Tramway & Lighting Company opened lines to Essendon and Maribyrnong. Many local councils formed their own tramway trusts and built tramways within their own constituency. The most successful of these was the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Historic Trolley Festival</span> Discontinued streetcar service in San Francisco

The San Francisco Historic Trolley Festival was a heritage streetcar service along Market Street in San Francisco, California, United States. It used a variety of vintage streetcars and operated five to seven days a week, primarily in summer months, between 1983 and 1987. Sponsored by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway, it was the predecessor of the F Market & Wharves heritage streetcar line that opened in 1995. It used historic streetcars from several different countries, as well as a number of preserved San Francisco cars. The impetus behind the Trolley Festival was that the city's famed cable car system, one of its biggest tourist attractions, was scheduled to be closed for more than a year and a half for renovation, starting in September 1982. The Trolley Festival was conceived as a temporary substitute tourist attraction during the cable car system's closure.

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.

References

  1. Patrick McGilligan, 2003. Buckley, R. J. 1984. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light ( ISBN   0-470-86973-9). Chichester, UK, John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
  2. "London 1934".
  3. Illusion Travels by Streetcar at IMDb
  4. pp. 94–5 of Penguin edition
  5. "Bloom or bust: what James Joyce can teach us about economics". Financial Times. 2022-06-10. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  6. "Mikhail Bulgakov - the Master and Margarita - Chapter 1. Never Talk to Strangers - WebLitera - library of translations".
  7. The chapter Die letzte Straßenbahn oder Anbetung eines Weckglases (The last tram or Adoration of a Preserving Jar). See page 584 of the 1959 Büchergilde Gutenberg German edition and page 571 of the 1961 Secker & Warburg edition, translated into English by Ralph Manheim
  8. "Ryco : welkom". Ryco.be. Archived from the original on 6 November 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  9. Chapter 38, p. 198 of the Companion Book Club edition
  10. Cumming, Charles (2016). A Divided Spy. London: HarperCollins. p. 411. ISBN   978-0-00-746754-9.
  11. p. 84, Vintage Books edition.
  12. "Agatha Christie (1890-1976) at the University of Exeter". 3 February 2013.
  13. Martin, Andrew (2004). The Blackpool Highflyer. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN   978-0-571-21902-5.
  14. "Glasgow Museums". glasgowmuseums.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008.
  15. "Southern Cross 'Cavalcade of Transport' mural takes back door to shopping centre progress". The Age. 7 March 2014. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015.
  16. "David Ball : Resume" (PDF). Davidmitchelbell.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  17. "Iconic W-class tram up-ended at Melbourne intersection – in the name of art". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  18. "Model - Flying Tram, Melbourne Commonwealth Games, 2005" . Retrieved 2 May 2019.