Shown below are some photos of the Portland Streetcar from last Saturday. The streetcar was jammed after 11:00 a.m. The first photo shows the trolley next to the new arial tram and the second photo is from the SW Gibbs Station.
There is an amazing amount of development that has go up around the trolley line and it is very popular in the City.
I never really understood the distinction between the portland street car system and the MAX light rail.
I mean, I understand the difference in naming sort of, but is it really an effective use of funds to use totally different equipment between the 2 systems? I mean, MAX is probably a bit more expensive per trainset, but couldn't the streetcars run on the max system during off peak or something?
The same thing is happening down here in San Diego with the North County Sprinter. All new facilities and new trainsets which cost millions. Why not just use the Coaster facilities up at new Fallbrook and get trainsets that can be used on both systems?
It just seems like an inefficency.
Of course, I'm from Chicago where it's all El all the time.
YoHo1975 wrote: I never really understood the distinction between the portland street car system and the MAX light rail. I mean, I understand the difference in naming sort of, but is it really an effective use of funds to use totally different equipment between the 2 systems? I mean, MAX is probably a bit more expensive per trainset, but couldn't the streetcars run on the max system during off peak or something?The same thing is happening down here in San Diego with the North County Sprinter. All new facilities and new trainsets which cost millions. Why not just use the Coaster facilities up at new Fallbrook and get trainsets that can be used on both systems? It just seems like an inefficency. Of course, I'm from Chicago where it's all El all the time.
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I still live in Chicago and I'm with YoHo on this one. So many terms of art, antique and new, can get so cluttered and mixed: streetcar, trolley (real or rubber-tired), light rail, LRT, trolley car, MAX, etc. How is the streetcar line different from MAX other than rolling stock and route: different expectations, capacities, technologies, more or less in-town . . . The whole system sounds terrific, but can you explain or send us to a site that explains how they are different, or shows how they function differently?
PS: YoHo is right, in Chicago the L is the L, even the parts that run subterranean downtown. Some people stretch a point and call the Skokie Swift RT, but it's all part of the L system and all CTA.
PPS: It would be wrong of me not to mention that the pix look great! - a. s.
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