Download all attachments as a zip file
Unfortunately, I only get an error message when attempting to open the linked photos.
{"error":{"code":"EC-4008","requestId":"9e94e172-fc3c-178f-1c0f-ea0011013900"}}
Those repeat the picture already in the text. If those are not displayed, tell me and I will try to post them a second time via Imgur.
Ditto for the following continuation:
When I click on an image icon, I get a message similar to this:
{"error":{"code":"EC-4008","requestId":"6af8d550-6193-11e9-c000-e0c354f628e2"}}
Again: Those repeat the picture already in the text. If those are not displayed, tell me and I will try to post them a second time via Imgur.
I think the image icons do work if one has a Google account, and MAY result in an image sharper than those imbedded in the text. If the images do not work for anyone, then I will leave them off on future possings, and attempt to delete them on existing postings.
Let me know: If the pictures within the text are not displayed, say so in a posting. If you have a Google account and the icons don't work, say so in a posting.
daveklepper Again: Those repeat the picture already in the text. If those are not displayed, tell me and I will try to post them a second time via Imgur. I think the image icons do work if one has a Google account, and MAY result in an image sharper than those imbedded in the text. If the images do not work for anyone, then I will leave them off on future possings, and attempt to delete them on existing postings. Let me know: If the pictures within the text are not displayed, say so in a posting. If you have a Google account and the icons don't work, say so in a posting.
Instead of posting all this stuff on Trains, why don't you just provide a link to the originating source. It would be cleaner.
Who is Jack May?
No one forces you to read a particular thread, and most readers want me to post this material.
So here is the next installment:
daveklepperNo one forces you to read a particular thread, and most readers want me to post this material.
Instead of being so defensive and hostile about a well-intentioned suggestion by JBS, why not examine what was said: "cleaner." Your last post gets cut off on the right side, probably because of Kalmbach formatting software. Previous posts were missing photos. If you simply post the link with a description of content, folks can look at it more easily.
And who is May?
1. Apologies. A Trains Forum reader had committed a specifically hostile act via a different website.
2. The only URL for this material is Kalmbach's.
3. Jack May is an old friend, and during my second stay in New York City, 1970-1996, we did more railfanning together than either did separately.
4. Jack distributes his trip reports to about 50 good friends, and occasionally for publication in the Electric Railroaders Association Bulletin. I am authorized to post what he emails me on Kalmbach websites.
5. I find having to pull-up URL's to read material annoying. I much prefer to read it on the Kalmbach website.
6. I wish to contribute to the Kalmbach Website and enjoy doing so, which is what railfanning is all about.
7. I will repost photos via Imgur if you list the first few words of each caption of each missing photograph on this thread. Thanks.
Perhaps the moderator can have more success than I have had in editing out duplicate material without removing the original as well!
In the past two days I've received a number of comments regarding my posts about Glasgow, including particularly interesting ones from Rich Taylor, Richard Horne, Andrew Beech and Martin Heyneck.First, Rich Taylor, who resides here in New Jersey, discovered these two photos from the internet illustrating the electric operation of freight (goods) on the streets of Glasgow.He wrote, with respect to the photo below: One more showing the goods loco running from the trolleybus overhead, however in this image the railway has its own lines centered to allow buses to pass. My friends (and occasional travel companions) from Britain, Richard Horne and Andrew Beech, provided some informative data and photos that I thought might be of interest.First, this is part of what Richard wrote regarding the Glasgow subway in the days before it was renovated and was still running its original rolling stock:
The first photo below shows the "trolley" or current collector (covering the door area toward the front of the car) used to pick up low-voltage current for lighting, etc., while making contact with the twin conductor rails on the right wall above and below the Buchanan St. station sign, as shown in the second photo. Of course this could only work if all stations had center island platforms, which they did.Glasgow subway car 22 being lifted at the Govan Cross Workshop (June 19, 1970 by Richard T. Horne)Glasgow subway cars 29 and 42 at Buchanan Street Station (June 19, 1970 by Richard T. Horne)Here are three more of Richard's photos:Glasgow subway car 2 at stairway leading to the Govan Cross Workshop (June 19, 1970 by Richard T. Horne)Glasgow subway battery locomotive 1 at the Govan Cross Workshop (June 19, 1970 by Richard T. Horne)Glasgow subway car 45 at the Govan Cross Depot (June 19, 1970 by Richard T. Horne)Andrew Beech provided some information about the tramways in the Coatbridge area and expanded on the text I provided about the Summerlee tram museum, putting it into the context of the times. He, along with Martin Heyneck from Germany, corrected me regarding my description of ex-Dusseldorf car 392. It is an Aufbau car, not a KSW. Martin wrote about "Aufbauwagen" as follows: These were new carbodies built on rescued trucks of war damaged cars. Later on they were built completely new with new trucks too (VÖV I). Further on they got beveled ends (VÖV II).Andrew also wrote:Coatbridge was served by the Glasgow Corporation Tramways, and was near the easternmost point it reached, at Airdrie. The line originated in a typical small town system, linking Airdrie and Coatbridge, served from 1902 onwards by a fleet of 15 trams. In 1922 Glasgow acquired the line, and extended its own system to join the two up. Glasgow also acquired the neighbouring Paisley and District Tramways, with its 72 trams, the following year, in 1923.
Sadly, one of the consequences of Government agreement to fund the electrified blue train network around Glasgow in the 1950s was a requirement that competing tram services be withdrawn. So most Glasgow tram services outside the city boundary, including those to Coatbridge and Paisley, were withdrawn in 1956 as a direct result. Incidentally the blue trains initially ran only as far east as Airdrie. Passenger trains east of Airdrie were withdrawn in 1956, although the line stayed open for freight. Electrified passenger service was extended one stop beyond Airdrie to Drumgelloch in 1989, but wasn’t extended further to Edinburgh via Bathgate until 2010.
Paisley tram 17 (later Glasgow 1017) was built as an open top double decker by the British Electric Car Co of Trafford Park, Manchester in 1904, one of the initial batch of 49 trams. BEC was a company set up to exploit the huge demand for trams around that time as new systems were built and old ones were electrified. Like many such companies in this and other industries they built shoddy products using insufficiently seasoned wood. Accordingly most of their products had short lives and the company itself went bankrupt later the same year 1904. The Paisley trams deteriorated quickly and all had been rebuilt by 1917.
After Glasgow bought the Paisley tramways seventeen of this batch of trams were converted to single deckers , as your email says, for the Duntocher route. After closure the tram became a training car and was sold in 1960.
What became the Lanarkshire Tramways Co opened in 1902. The system spread throughout the Lanarkshire coalfield. There were end to end connections with the Glasgow tramways at two points, but no through running. What killed the Lanarkshire tramways was World War I. During the war the quality of motor lorries improved greatly. At the end of the war huge quantities of lorry chassis were available, and were sold off cheap. Many ex-servicemen, who learned to drive during the war, bought lorry chassis, put a bus body on them and started to run bus services (equivalent to the jitney services in the USA). Many of these competed with tramways, which were unable to adapt. Until bus services in the UK were regulated in 1930, such competition was allowed to destroy the tramways, which were seen as old-fashioned. One such casualty was the Lanarkshire Tramways. Having been one of the most profitable tram companies in Britain in 1924, it closed completely at the ends of 1930.
Tram 53 was built by the United Electric Co of Preston in 1908, the last of a batch of seven open top double deck trams. They were heavy on power consumption and relatively little used as a result. Car 53 was involved in a major accident in 1917 and was thereafter stored, being used as a source of spare parts. It never ran again in passenger service until restoration at Summerlee. After closure of the Lanarkshire Tramways it was sold to a farmer.
The “restored” tram 53 is, to all intents and purposes, a replica. Only a few metal components from the original survive; the rest, including the entire wood body, is new. The truck (a Brill 21E made in Philadelphia) and electrical equipment come from a Porto tram.
Summerlee has owned two other trams as well as Rheinbahn 392 (which is an Aufbau car built by Duewag in 1951 using a truck from a war damaged tram). These were Brussels 9062 and Graz 225. Brussels 9062 was rebuilt prior to the 1958 exhibition to look like a two-axle PCC car and Graz 225, which has been built by SGP in 1950. Sadly much of the area east of Glasgow city centre, extending as far east as Coatbridge, is an area of high deprivation. Vandals entered the museum and destroyed Brussels 9062 and badly damaged Graz 225. A sad end.
There is a significant bibliography:
“The Glasgow Horse Tramways” by Struan Robertson, published by the Scottish Tramway and Transport Society in 2000; “The Glasgow Tramcar” by Ian Stewart, published by the Scottish Tramway and Transport Society in 1994; “Paisley’s Trams and Buses – Eighties to Twenties” by AW Brotchie and RL Grieves, published by NB Traction in 1988; “Lanarkshire’s Trams” by AW Brotchie, published by NB Traction in 1993; “Tramways of Western Germany” by MR Taplin, published by the LRTA in 1971
Andrew also commented about car 779, which I photographed at the Riverside museum.Before the Glasgow system closed in 1962 a decision was taken to restore a number of Standards to illustrate the various stages of their construction and modification. Inevitably with such a huge number of trams (1004 Standards were built) built over a period spanning nearly 30 years the ones built at the end were much more modern looking than those built earlier. But all the earlier ones were modified over the years to look like later ones. So 779 is not in as-built condition, neither is it in as-withdrawn condition.
We woke up early on Wednesday, May 23, our last [half] day in Glasgow. Wewould check out of the Z (leaving our luggage with the desk clerk), do som> last minute sightseeing, and eventually go our separate ways for the lastdays of our journey. We visited the Council Chambers (built in 1889) andthe Modern Art Museum before reclaiming our bags and walking to Queen Streetstation. I purchased a ticket for Clare at a machine and put her on the12:15 train to Edinburgh, and then walked to the bus stop just outside thestation. The route 500 express coach to the airport was running every 10minutes (:03, :13, :23, etc.) and I caught one at 12:18, paying the driverthe 8-pound fare using a credit card. The ride took less than a half-hourwith arrival coming at 12:40. The airport is less than a mile and a halffrom one of Glasgow's suburban rail lines and there have been on-again,off-again plans for direct rail service from Central Station to the airfield.The terminal is relatively small, and the announcement of the departuregate was not made until 14:40. After passing through security, the walk tothe Ryanair area (gate 7B) made me feel that with just a little more effortI could have reached Dublin on foot. Loading began at 15:25, our scheduleddeparture time. Passengers were instructed to leave carry-ons on the tarmacand board the aircraft by either the front or rear stairs, as per theirboarding passes. The flight was far from full and I was able to move fromseat 19E (middle--didn't pay extra for seat selection) to 19D with ease.The Boeing 737 pulled away from the gate at 15:53 (25), but wasn't aloftuntil 16:06. As soon as the Fasten Seat Belts light was turned off, anattendant began walking down the aisle, and in the best PennsylvaniaRailroad news-butcher tradition, tried to sell us Clark Bars and Baby Ruths(actually drinks, snacks and duty-free items like perfume). We hit the tarmac in Dublin at 16:49 and got to our parking place at 16:53(25), where passengers alighted using stairs at both the front and rear.Then it was a long walk (again!) to Irish Customs and Immigration, wherethere was already a long line for non-Shengen visitors, extending way pastthe maze into a holding pen. I joined the masses, shoulder to shoulder withmany others and noticed the line was hardly moving. Was a job actionunderway? Suddenly, about a half hour later, more agents appeared out ofthe blue and the line began to advance--fortunately now at a brisk pace.I'll probably never know what that problem was, but soon enough I wasperfunctorily questioned and admitted into the country. A route 757 bus wasloading as I reached it, and it departed shortly after I boarded. But myordeal was not yet over. A huge amount of traffic congestion led to a long1-hour trip (schedule called for 39 minutes) to my stop, which was the onebefore the end of the line, but fortunately directly in front of theentrance to my B&B. It was now 19:00 and after being checked in I found aJapanese restaurant and had a good dinner. My room was a bit odd,reasonably large, but arranged in a way that if I didn't want to crawlacross my bed's mattress I could only reach half of it, and not the window.But it was reasonably priced, had a decent clean and well-equipped bathroom,a large, comfortable double bed and good lighting. I didn't really needanything else, so I definitely would go back.
Tuesday, May 22 dawned dark and gloomy--and it stayed that way all day,which included some periods of rain, but also brief stretches of brightenedsky. The blue sky in some of the photos below was serendipitous, butbecause the clouds filled almost the whole sky there weren't any shadows.The breakfast at the Kilronan House was excellent, up to the level of what Irish breakfasts
are touted to be.
Dublin, which houses over 550,000 people, is the capital and largest cityin Ireland, and accounts for almost one-third of its population. AlthoughEnglish is the predominant language, about 40 percent of the inhabitants areable to speak Gaelic (Gaeilge), which is formally known as Irish. Theofficial language of Ireland is Irish, according to the nation'sconstitution. As a result, despite the fact that only about 5 percent ofthe natives use it in conversation, a great deal of signage is bilingual. The tramway in Dublin is called Luas (not a mnemonic, as it means speed inGaelic). It was inaugurated in 2004 with two unconnected lines. Clare andI traveled to Dublin in 2005, where we rode the initial 15-mile long systemand did a great deal of sightseeing. Since then the standard-gauge 750-voltDC operation has expanded, almost doubling in size, with the North-SouthGreen Line extended through the city center and across the River Liffey toconnect with the Red Line and continuing even further (seehttp://www.urbanrail.net/eu/ie/dublin/dublin.htmhttp://www.urbanrail.net/eu/ie/dublin/dublin.htm).It is 15 miles long and operates with two services, combined over most theirlength through the areas of the heaviest traffic. The Red Line was extendedtoo, and now has short branches at both ends, with a total route mileage o> 13.The roster consists of 73 double-ended low-floor cars, numbered in the3000, 4000 and 5000 series, all built by Alstom. The 3000s started out as5-section Citadis 301 units, but were since lengthened with the addition oftwo more sections, to be virtually the same as the 4000s, which are Citadis401s. Both are not totally low floor. The 5000s were built for theextensions, with the first 26 being 100-percent low-floor Citadis 402s. Thelast 7 came in 2017, and have 9 sections, thus they are Citadis 502s.During this period, all the equipment received yellow horizontal striping toaid in visibility. Right now the original 40 cars are assigned to the RedLine, while the newer 33 operate on the Green. They are totally compatible,so those assignments could be easily changed. Luas is operated by Transdev,a transit spin-off of Veolia that also manages streetcar operations in NewOrleans, Cincinnati, Detroit and Milwaukee. The Harcourt stop on the Luas Green line was a couple of blocks from myhotel and I found a ticket machine that issued a day pass in exchange for Euro 7.30;
it would serve me well for my planned activities--principallyriding the entire system. I was soon approached by a young lady who urgedme to vote "Yes" in the election that was taking place today--to eliminateIreland's rigorous and vigorous anti-abortion statutes. Throughout my
travels within the city, I observed much electioneering, with
preponderance of folks wearing Yes buttons (others displayed No), along witha number of small demonstrations, mainly populated with attractive youngwomen favoring a Yes vote. There was much exuberance and great optimism onthe Yes side, while a good number of those wearing No buttons seemed to beolder prim-looking people and clergy. On the next morning I found out thatYes had won by a landslide (just short of 2 to 1)--a great blow to theCatholic Church. Now terminations are allowed during the period leading upto 12 weeks of pregnancy, and beyond that if there is a risk to the life ofthe woman or the fetus. The pill remains illegal unless medicallyprescribed.The Harcourt stop is adjacent to the site of the old Harcourt Streetrailway line, a steam road (later diesel), which closed in 1958, and nowprovides the right-of-way for the southern end of the Green Line. Thestation itself became the Odeon, an upscale cocktail bar in this area thatis home to many beautifully preserved Georgian-style buildings that lie along the light rail line. Several of them are hotels and B&Bs, and Clareand I stayed at one back in 2005. Like Britain, the rule of the road inIreland is left handed, so one had to be extra careful when crossingstreets.I hopped on the first southbound car, whose destination was Sandyford, theoriginal end point of the line (the other end at the line's inauguration wasSt. Stephen's Green, one station in the other direction). Two
mostly-overlapping services are operated on the line, with off-peak headwaysevery 12 minutes from Broombridge to Sandyford and from Parnell to BridesGlen, which means there's a car every 6 minutes between Parnell on the northside of the Liffey, through the city center crossing the river, and on toSandyford. I did not bother with a picture at my car's terminal, butcontinued on the next tram to Brides Glen, where I laid over and took somephotos. There are a number of photogenic locations on the original GreeLine,
but I covered them nicely in good weather in 2005, so I wasn't upsetthat I hadn't time to stop at the cable-stayed bridge nor in an attractivewell-landscaped cut. I then rode a Parnell tram back to O'Connell Street inthe city and then continued to Broombridge on the following car. It was abit too dark for photos along O'Connell, but it was a bit lighter at thenorthern end of the line.
An Alstom Citadis 401 lays over as the Brides Glen terminal of the GreenLine. It will loop at the Parnell stop at the northern edge of Dublin'sbusiness district. Service beyond Parnell is provided by cars that start atSandyford.
The bumper blocks at the Broombridge terminal of the Green Line don't looksufficiently sturdy to withstand a runaway tram. The line's northernterminal can be considered multi modal, as the overpass at left connectswith the Broombridge station of the suburban railway system, which is alongthe former Midland Great Western line to Galway and Sligo. Ath an Glainimhis clearly Irish for Sandyford. Luas destination signs switch back andforth between the two languages. The tram on the left is one of the threewrapped ones I noticed.I especially enjoyed the new part of the line that threads its way throughthe city center north of St. Stephen's Green. The routing had been a bitcontroversial because of fears of traffic congestion, but it seems to haveworked out very well. Northbound and southbound rails run roughly parallelto each other on different one-way streets, and cross the Liffeyseparately. Part of the purpose of today's activities was to find placesthat were photogenic, and on the return trip, I stopped at Phibsborough forpictures, as the station is in a cut with streets crossing over theright-of-way at either end. The lighting, however, was not good, but I cameback on the following morning to retake my photos in bright sunlight,ashown below.Above and below: The Green Line travels through Phibsborough in anattractive cut. The upper photo shows a tram heading for Broombridge, whilee lower shows two trams in the station. Elevators and stairways connectthe stop to Cabra Road (from which the upper photo was taken) and NorthCircular Road (behind the photographer).After returning to the city center I transferred to the Red Line to do theequivalent, riding first eastward to The Point and then all the way toSaggart, covering the new extensions. There is a great deal of high-riseoffice and residential construction along this part of the line. I alsoshuttled from Belgard to Tallaght and return, stopping for a few more> photos. Similar to the Green Line, overlapping services operate on the RedLine, but with branches at each end. With a combined off-peak frequency ofevery 4 to 5 minutes, trams between The Point and Saggart run every 7minutes and between Connolly and Tallaght every 14. Thus there is a never along wait for a photo, except along the branches. The Red Line connectsDublin's two major railway stations, Connolly and Heuston. An intensiveelectric suburban rail service called DART operates with eMUs throughConnolly station, and over an elevated structure that passes above the heartof the city, serving the area with stops at Pearse and Tara Streetstations. Diesel MU commuter service from Heuston Station is alsooperated.Above and below: Canopies stretch over at least two stations on the LuasRed Line. The upper photo shows the Connolly terminal. Note the signs onthe left posted before the abortion referendum. All was peaceful--it'stoday's Ireland, not the United States--and the posters were removed afterthe results of the voting had been tallied. The lower view is at theBelgard stop, the last before the junction of the Red Line branches toSaggart and Talaght.The Red Line parallels Dublin's Grand Canal for several stops, and I hadnoticed swans congregating around the Drimnagh station while I was ridingoutbound. Heading back downtown I saw they were still there, so I stoppedoff for a few additional photos. Unfortunately it was raining at the time,so I couldn't stop for long (and the results were far from being great).
Above and below: Two views of the Red Line along the Grand Canal. Thiswaterway runs east-west through the southern portion of Dublin, while asimilar one, the Royal Canal, roughly parallels it on the north, close tothe outer end of the Green Line. Both connect Dublin with the RiverShannon, and were closed to commercial navigation between 1950 and 1960.They each had over 40 locks and now are maintained for pleasurable outdoorpursuits.I had dinner in a neighborhood steak house, which was barely acceptable,but it did sate my hunger. Breakfast the following morning, Thursday, May24, was excellent again, even better because the sun was shining brightly. I would only have a few hours to get some photos and would not be able to gofar. I checked out and left my bags for collection later, and walked backto the Green Line at Harcourt, where I bought another day ticket. I firsttraveled to Phibsborough, where I repeated my pictures from yesterday, andthen went back to the Red Line, where I took some photos downtown. I thenheaded back toward the hotel, saw I had a little extra time and continuedbeyond my starting point for one stop to, Charlemont, which is on anelevated structure. I took my last photos of Dublin there and alongAdelaide Road, a half-block from my B&B.The rear of a Connolly station-bound tram near St. James Hospital.Conghaile is the Irish translation of Connolly.
Connolly station bound car pauses just short of the intersection withO'Connell Street. Note the connecting track from the Green Line to the RedLine in the foreground.Dublin's Hilton is conveniently located adjacent to the Grand Canal and theelevated Charlemont station of the Green Line.I had checked the location of the bus stop for the airport and saw that itwas a good 5-minute walk from my B&B, as the bus makes a one-way loopstopping in front of the hotel only in the outbound direction, but then laysover one stop beyond before heading back. Thus I left Kilronan House withmy bag at 11:35. The 11:55 trip of route 757 picked me up at 11:59 and Iwas at the airport at 12:45. I had to navigate security twice, the secondbeing pre-clearance so I would not have to go though Customs and Immigrationback at Stewart Airport. I persuaded them to refrain from frying my filmthe second time, which I appreciated. I was assigned Seat 21A on Boeing737, and was fortunate the middle seat was empty. Before boarding theNorwegian Air personnel announced we would be delayed 20 minutes on theground. All the passengers impatiently waited until boarding began at14:20. We pushed away from the gate at 15:05 (14:25) and left the tarmac at15:27. The flight was uneventful, and I skipped purchasing any food orbeverages.
Far above Greenland. My return flight was a continuous sightseeingopportunity.
Our aircraft smoothly landed at 17:15 and we arrived at a gate shared withdomestic carriers at 17:20 (16:15). I didn't mind the lateness as I had towait for Clare anyway; her arrival from Edinburgh wasn't scheduled until19:30 and she would have to go through Immigration and Customs. If I couldbail out our car by 20:30 I would be able to avoid an extra day's worth ofcharges. As it happened Clare's plane was late, but only by about 25minutes, and we connected at 20:10. We drove to a nearby Outback Steakhousefor dinner, where Clare told me about her achievements in Edinburgh, and gothome by about 22:15. It was a great trip. So ends the report.Jack May
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