Originally posted by Capt Carrales [ Living nearby to MP 186 of the UPRR Austin TX Sub Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Thank you Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, April 2, 2005 1:01 PM Thank you, While the rail facilities that approach the Port of Corpus Christi are in need of realignment, the trolly issue seems to be a moot waste of money. Capt Carrales Reply Edit trolleyboy Member sinceMay 2014 3,727 posts Posted by trolleyboy on Wednesday, April 6, 2005 1:25 AM On thing that may make it happen in your lifetime is the continuing rise in oil prices.At some point most major cities may well return to the good old days ie lite rail or streetcar systems.Buses are not imune to oil prices aand will at some point be almost as expensive to maintain and operate as literail. Of coarse electric trolley bus systems can be installed at a fraction of the cost of rail in the ground type systems and the lack of track work and switches will(would) make maintenance less of a head ache. trolley bus systems certainly would be more ecconomically sound for smaller comunities. Rob Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, April 6, 2005 10:08 PM Trolley buses generally work economically only on very dense out-and-back routes. They are less economical than conventionally fueled vehicles on most routes and would certainly be so in a small community. The future there is most likely hybrid with a propane or similar engine in a small bus. Reply Edit daveklepper Member sinceJune 2002 20,029 posts Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, April 7, 2005 3:07 AM All three modes have their place. Trolleybuses make sense only if railroad rights of way or not available for higher speed trolley service away from other traffic. Otherwise the streetcar can use the rails in the street where appropriate and have most of its operations separate from street traffic. The revived Canal Street New Orleans lines are excellent examples, with ex-freight RR right-of-way shared with the Rivefront line, then "neutral ground" on Canal Street, and with the Carollton branch to the Art Museum having one track in the neutral ground and one shared with traffic. Above a certain traffic level, streetcars are cheaper to run than buses mostly because one operator can handle up to twice as many people. Maintenance, even including the track, can be a lot less. I don't know the Corpus Christie situation. I do know the Calgary situation, and it is regarded as a successful system . If traffic into a city is so great that car commuting is a hassle, and 20% of the commuters switch to light rail (and in Calagary it does not share street space with private cars), then the remaining 80% can have a much better car commute, so the light rail system benefits both the riders and those staying with private cars. I am told this is pretty much what the Calgary situation is. Lowell, MA has an expanding recreation of an oldtime streetcar system with period and restored cars, an operating trolley museum on the street. The people like it, use it, and want to expand it. Portland, OR has a very fast and convenient suburban light rail system and a downtown modern street-based streetcar loop with smaller but modern cars, and it is expanding, having just opened an extension and planning another. Seattle has a waterfront heritage trolley line that was in danger of being shut down but is to extended instead. I just don't know the Corpus Christie situtation. I can think of one city where an extensive light rail system is being designed and my own careful evaluation says that certain lines would be better as trolleybuses. Reply Join our Community! Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account. Login » Register » Search the Community Newsletter Sign-Up By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our privacy policy More great sites from Kalmbach Media Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy
Living nearby to MP 186 of the UPRR Austin TX Sub
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