Modern Streetcars

[Phoebe Vet]

That is the light rail cat. that the replicas are running under.  The restored #85, on the other hand is on the light rail track but is pulling a generator for power because the cat. was not yet electrified.

[daveklepper]

Overhead for use by both poles and pantographs is possible and was typical of Key System.

[Phoebe Vet]

blue streak 1

Dave: noticed that the CLT street cars use trolley poles. The overhead wire is single trolley. Are the street car and light rail not going to run on the same track ?

I did not take that picture.  That was taken on the light rail line which was not yet in service.  They did briefly run on the same line, but the replica trolleys are now in storage at the CATS light rail maintenance facility.  They will not be running on the same tracks when the street car line is completed.

Charlotte had a private trolley museum that restored old trolleys and ran them with a generator on an abandoned NS rail line.  The runs were discontinued when that section of ROW became part of the light rail Blue Line.  They turned much of their inventory over to CATS.  Those two in the picture are not restored, they are modern replicas.  Number 85, on the other hand, is the last trolley that ran in Charlotte.  It was located and restored by that private museum.

 

[blue streak 1]

Dave: noticed that the CLT street cars use trolley poles. The overhead wire is single trolley. Are the street car and light rail not going to run on the same track ?

[Phoebe Vet]

Enroute to the train show in Timonium, my wife and I were waiting for the light rail in Baltimore.  When I saw it I said "Here it comes".  She looked and said "Where"?    "Right there".    "Behind that bus stopped at the traffic light"?    "That's not a bus".    "Are you serious?  The train has to stop at traffic lights?"...

[daveklepper]

Single car operation even during rush hours:                   streetcar

multple-unit,  train operation frequent                                  light rail

Mostly dedicated separate RoW:                                           light rail

Mostly street operaton                                                            streetcar

[Phoebe Vet]

The S70s are articulated, and Siemens calls them a low floor tram.

 

[jrbernier]

  I have to agree that LRV many times is just new politco-speak for street car.  The Twin City system uses articulated cars, runs in the streets, along-side the streets, and on private r-o-w(even a tunnel under the MSP International airport).

Jim

[Phoebe Vet]

Charlotte has a street car line actually under construction.  The "street cars" they have been testing look very similar to the existing light rail, but the current plan is to use three replica trolleys that have been in inventory since before the light rail opened.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

There isn't really a clear dividing line between streetcars and light rail as the earlier postings suggest a lot of overlap, which goes back more years than many of us might think.  As an example, consider the operations of Pacific Electric, Red Arrow Lines, Illinois Terminal near St. Louis, etc.

Not as murky but still not that sharp would be the dividing line between light rail and rapid transit.

[henry6]

More murk, BlueStreak. NJT's Light Rail systems do 90 degree turns and use articulation,too. Yes, the three systems use station stops rather than street stops. They are not interurban by strict definition but they are still, trolley cars. Except the River Line which is articulated diesels!

[blue streak 1]

The differences between Light rail and street cars can be murky. Many cities that have both types.  Often both can and do operate on the same tracks for at least some mileage.

The trains article does give one big distinction.   Street car tracks often have tighter curves and use articulated cars to traverse those curves.  Light rail cars many times cannot negotiate those curves due to their longer wheel base..  Mentioned was Atlanta that is building its street car tracks so that the under construction light rail can use those track when they are finally connected.  

IMHO the idea of limited stops for light rail versus street car becomes an express / local type operation where they overlap.

Even the MUing of both types is murky. 

 

[Phoebe Vet]

Charlotte has 20 of those S70s.  They must be working out well because Cats just ordered 22 more of them.

[henry6]

Definitions of streetcars and light rail must be clarified. NJT's Newark City Subway original line and extension is on total private right of way but the Broad St. extension runs aside streets and crosses frequently. Likewise the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail uses private rights of way but still utilizes the sides of streets in Jersey City. And the Riverline from Trenton to Camden is mostly private right of way but is alongside the street in Trenton and in the streets south of Rand Transportation center in Camden; also in median of streets in several downtown areas. So, what is a street car and what is light rail? Are they one in the same or only if they are down the middle of the street instead of on their own right of way? To me, they are one in the same if the given line is in the middle or in the side of a street but also has a private right of way.

[jrbernier]

  I was reading the article in the July Trains, and when I looked at the map - The Twin Cities light rail was missing..  The original Mpls to Mall of America line was powered by Flexity Swift cars from Bombardier.  The new purchase of cars will be the Siemens S70/Avanto cars.  Expansion operation between Mpls and St Paul is scheduled to start on June 14th.

Jim