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But then how the trams remained?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telecolor 3007 (Post 3202647)

But then how the trams remained?

I guess the tram rails were so needed and common in the time before subway existed that there was no other possibility than leaving things like they were :scratch2:

Quote:

Originally Posted by nasadowsk (Post 3201991)

Ahh, they are PCCs! The PCC was a big breakthrough in the US when it came out, and as I said, they're still used in a few places. Modern requirements for low floor boarding and all have put them out of favor. Boston still has a line with them, San Francisco and Kenosha do too. Philly has a line of rebuilt ones that have AC inverter drive.

The US had electrics early on, and naturally every railroad used its own system. Sadly, the massive 3,000 volt system out west to Seattle was torn down in the 70's - ironically, the RR tore it down to sell the copper to buy diesels. Then the fuel crunch hit and they went bankrupt. Whoops. There was a lot of electric freight in the east, but Amtrak decided to charge Conrail a lot for electricity, so Conrail shut the lines down.

Railroading in the US is basically a total disaster, especially passenger...

Romanian railway transporation is in large procent a disaster today...
The Czechs modified some 'Tatra' streetcars to be partially low floor.

Abandoned Chicago METRA...

Or not being used...

Why the did abnaonded it? :(

In London we're getting more electric buses. 2 of my local routes are now fully electric. In time I reckon the whole fleet will be electric. It's a good fit for battery electric vehicles: defined routes with relatively low daily mileage, lots of stop-start and heavy traffic, depots with charging facilities.

City delivery vehicles are increasingly electric too. Similar reasons. And London taxis, though not sure how that will work with the longer trips they do, such as to Heathrow airport.

Those old Metra cars sucked, hard. The ones pulled by diesels were glacial, the electric ones were no better. The interiors sucked, the ride sucked, the crews sucked.

I spent a few days in Chicago back in '02. CTA was goo, Metra should just be replaced with something that, you know, actually works...