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Traditional trolleybuses had 2 main problems. Coming off the wires, an all too frequent event. And the ugly forest of wires above streets, especially major junctions. The modern version with battery backup seem like a good idea.

I don't remember dewirement to often in Romania. But maybe air suspension made a better work.
The thing with wires is a thing of taste. I don't hate them. I like them. I do hate the internet cables hung on the poles wheb they are too many.

When I was a young kid in the late 1950s/eearly 1960s we still had trolleybuses in London. My local major junction was Golders Green Station. This photo I found online shows just a fraction of the overhaed wiring at the junction and bus station.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/36844288@N00/3958006425

Apart fom the wires this view is remarkably similar today.

For a forest of overhead wiring this shot I took in Buenos Aires almost 2 years ago is pretty good. There's stuff elswehere that makes this look very modest. This one from Thailand looks fun: https://www.videoblocks.com/video/ta...vxanlmjdhq1dma

That "forest" of cables can be found in Romania. Both Argentinian and Thai ones.

Probably double decker trolleybuses where more prone to dewirment. Sadly, no double decker trolleybus network remained, except for the ones in museums.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telecolor 3007 (Post 3202554)

Anyway, why did Viena quited trolleybuses?

It was too much effort to change the wiring of this system with every required road and serwer tunnel work. This caused to quit the trolleybus system in late 1958.

Here is a nice picture I found:

http://www.bildarchivaustria.at/Preview/392105.jpg

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...