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133-556: The Orange Line operates during normal MBTA service hours (all times except late nights) with six-car trains. It uses a 152-car CRRC fleet built in 2018–2024. The Orange Line is fully grade-separated and trains are driven by operators with automatic train control for safety. Wellington Carhouse in Medford is used for heavy maintenance and storage; a small yard at Forest Hills is also used for storage. All 20 Orange Line stations are fully accessible . Averaging 105,000 weekday passengers in 2023,

266-509: A streetcar or trolley in the United States) is a type of urban rail transit consisting of either individual railcars or self-propelled multiple unit trains that run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way . The tramlines or tram networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Because of their close similarities, trams are commonly included in

399-603: A tram engine in the UK) at the head of a line of one or more carriages, similar to a small train. Systems with such steam trams included Christchurch , New Zealand; Sydney, Australia; other city systems in New South Wales ; Munich , Germany (from August 1883 on), British India (from 1885) and the Dublin & Blessington Steam Tramway (from 1888) in Ireland. Steam tramways also were used on

532-679: A $ 566.6 million contract to a China based manufacturer CNR (which became part of CRRC the following year) to build 152 replacement railcars for the Orange Line, as well as additional cars for the Red Line. The other bidders were Bombardier Transportation , Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Hyundai Rotem . CNR began building the cars at a new manufacturing plant in Springfield, Massachusetts , with initial deliveries expected in 2018 and all cars in service by 2023. The Board forwent federal funding to allow

665-764: A 41,218 square feet (3,829.3 m ) assembly plant (installing propulsion, HVAC and other general assembly) being built in LA. Delivery of the MBTA Red and Orange Line cars was severely delayed, and problems with electrical shorts, loose brake bolts, and derailments led to several removals of the new trains from service. The company blamed supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic , but an MBTA official told CRRC MA management it "has completely abandoned its core responsibilities and commitment to lead, monitor and support quality management", and cited 16 specific failure areas. Workers at

798-618: A US$ 40 million assembly factory in Chicago, designed by Itasca, Illinois -based Cornerstone Architects Ltd. In March 2017, the subsidiary CRRC MA (based in Quincy, Massachusetts ) was awarded a contract by SEPTA to construct 45 bi-level rail cars with the option for 10 additional cars for delivery in October 2019. The SEPTA order was to be built at the Springfield plant and car shell manufactured from

931-565: A US$ 556.6 million bid in October 2014, the company started constructing a 13,900 square metres (150,000 sq ft) assembly plant in Springfield, Massachusetts , at a former Westinghouse plant beginning in September 2015. Manufacturing work began in April 2018. In mid-2015, production began at a rolling stock plant in Batu Gajah , Perak , Malaysia , a satellite of CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive , and

1064-515: A Vermont blacksmith, had invented a battery-powered electric motor which he later patented. The following year he used it to operate a small model electric car on a short section of track four feet in diameter. Attempts to use batteries as a source of electricity were made from the 1880s and 1890s, with unsuccessful trials conducted in among other places Bendigo and Adelaide in Australia, and for about 14 years as The Hague accutram of HTM in

1197-595: A fine of $ 500 per day per car for late deliveries. Delays began to accumulate in 2019, and then facilities in China and Springfield had to shut down and operate at reduced capacity for parts of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . As of September 2022, 78 of 152 new cars had been put in service on the Orange Line. This was enough for service almost all the time because of the rush hour service cap introduced after an FTA safety audit identified insufficient staffing of subway dispatchers. The MBTA indicated it would assess which delays were

1330-704: A newly-constructed plant in Springfield, Massachusetts , with 152 cars on order, along with additional cars for the Red Line. All in-service Orange Line trains run in six-car consists. Cars of the fleet are 65 feet (20 m) long and 9 ft 3 in (2.8 m) wide, with three pairs of doors on each side. As of February 2022, weekday peak and afternoon service was scheduled to operate on 8-minute headways, with headways ranging from 8 to 12 minutes at other times. Vehicle utilization ranged between 8 trains (48 cars) and 13 trains (78 cars). However, rolling stock availability and longer trip times due to slow zones reduced service. By July 2023, headways were 10–12 minutes on weekdays. This

1463-492: A one-third decrease in dwell times. The new cars have faced several issues since their August entry into service. In November 2019, a car derailed while undergoing initial testing at the Wellington yard. The last car of a six car trainset had jumped the rails while going over a switch , however no major damage had been reported. Several months earlier, the first two trainsets were taken out of service due to safety issues following

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1596-695: A similar technology, Pirotsky put into service the first public electric tramway in St. Petersburg, which operated only during September 1880. The second demonstration tramway was presented by Siemens & Halske at the 1879 Berlin Industrial Exposition. The first public electric tramway used for permanent service was the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway in Lichterfelde near Berlin in Germany, which opened in 1881. It

1729-585: A tight curve on Beach Street, the southern portion of the Atlantic Avenue Elevated , between South Station and Tower D on Washington Street, was closed (except for rush-hour trips from Dudley to North Station via the Elevated), breaking the loop; non-rush-hour Atlantic Avenue service was reduced to a shuttle between North and South Stations. In 1938, the remainder of the Atlantic Avenue Elevated

1862-911: A well-known tourist attraction . A single cable line also survives in Wellington (rebuilt in 1979 as a funicular but still called the " Wellington Cable Car "). Another system, with two separate cable lines and a shared power station in the middle, operates from the Welsh town of Llandudno up to the top of the Great Orme hill in North Wales , UK. Hastings and some other tramways, for example Stockholms Spårvägar in Sweden and some lines in Karachi , used petrol trams. Galveston Island Trolley in Texas operated diesel trams due to

1995-538: Is a Chinese state-owned and publicly traded rolling stock manufacturer. It is the world's largest rolling stock manufacturer in terms of revenue, eclipsing its major competitors of Alstom and Siemens . It was formed on 1 June 2015 through the merger of CNR and CSR . As of 2016 it had 183,061 employees. The parent company is CRRC Group , a state-owned enterprise supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of

2128-425: Is assessing its options for recouping funds that have been spent on the project” after spending $ 50 million on the project. CRRC expressed their disappointment at the cancellation, stating “[they] remain committed to completing the project.” In June 2016 a predecessor company of CRRC, CSR Corporation Limited , was implicated in allegations of bribery to obtain a 2012 US$ 6 billion tender to deliver 600 locomotives to

2261-683: Is most of what is now Phase 1 of the Silver Line ). Also in 1901, the Atlantic Avenue Elevated opened, branching at Causeway Street to provide an alternate route through downtown Boston (along the shoreline, where today there is no rail transit) to the Washington Street Elevated. In 1908, a new Washington Street Tunnel opened, allowing Main Line service to travel from the Charlestown Elevated , underground via an additional new portal at

2394-459: Is now part of Washington Street. In January and February 1967, the four original Washington Street Tunnel stations were renamed. Transfer stations were given the same name for all lines: Winter and Summer stations plus Washington on the Red Line became Washington, Milk and State plus Devonshire on the Blue Line became State Street after the cross street, and Union and Friend plus Haymarket Square on

2527-418: Is protected from the worst weather, but the 1970s-built Haymarket North Extension had older infrastructure and was in worse shape. From Sullivan Square north, it is exposed to the weather and largely built on an embankment, rendering it more vulnerable. That section is receiving new heated third rail, switch heaters, and snow fences to reduce the impacts of inclement weather. The work requires bustitution of

2660-622: Is still in operation in modernised form. The earliest tram system in Canada was built by John Joseph Wright , brother of the famous mining entrepreneur Whitaker Wright , in Toronto in 1883, introducing electric trams in 1892. In the US, multiple experimental electric trams were exhibited at the 1884 World Cotton Centennial World's Fair in New Orleans, Louisiana , but they were not deemed good enough to replace

2793-729: Is the sole survivor of the fleet). In Italy, in Trieste , the Trieste–Opicina tramway was opened in 1902, with the steepest section of the route being negotiated with the help of a funicular and its cables. Cable cars suffered from high infrastructure costs, since an expensive system of cables , pulleys , stationary engines and lengthy underground vault structures beneath the rails had to be provided. They also required physical strength and skill to operate, and alert operators to avoid obstructions and other cable cars. The cable had to be disconnected ("dropped") at designated locations to allow

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2926-688: The Bleecker Street Line until its closure in 1917. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , had its Sarah Street line drawn by horses until 1923. The last regular mule-drawn cars in the US ran in Sulphur Rock, Arkansas , until 1926 and were commemorated by a U.S. postage stamp issued in 1983. The last mule tram service in Mexico City ended in 1932, and a mule tram in Celaya, Mexico , survived until 1954. The last horse-drawn tram to be withdrawn from public service in

3059-567: The Blue Line 's 0600 cars manufactured at the same time, were based on the designs of the PATH PA3. After 41 years of service, the last 01200s ran on August 19, 2022 before the shutdown, and began to be sent to scrap on September 22, 2022. All were processed by the contractor Costello to remove hazardous materials and be recycled; two were offered to the Seashore Trolley Museum , but the offer

3192-504: The Canal Street incline , under downtown Boston and back up again to meet the Washington Street Elevated and Atlantic Avenue Elevated near Chinatown . The stations were richly decorated with tile work, mosaics, and copper; after criticism of the large Tremont Street subway headhouses, most entrances were comparatively modest and set into buildings. Use of the parallel Tremont Street subway was returned exclusively to streetcars . By 1909,

3325-668: The Charlestown Elevated to the Canal Street incline near North Station . It was carried underground by the Tremont Street subway (now part of the Green Line ), returning above ground at the Pleasant Street incline (now closed, located just south of Boylston station ). A temporary link connected from there to the Washington Street Elevated , which in 1901 ran from this point via Washington Street to Dudley Square (which

3458-635: The Chinatown station was closed to allow the Orange Line to be tied into the new Southwest Corridor. On May 4, 1987, the Orange Line was rerouted from the southern end of the Washington Street Tunnel onto the new Southwest Corridor. Instead of rising up to elevated tracks, it now veered west at the Massachusetts Turnpike and followed the Pike and the old Boston and Albany Railroad right-of-way to

3591-673: The Forest Hills–Everett Elevated (Route 2 on maps) under the Metropolitan Transportation Authority . After taking over operations in August 1964, the MBTA began rebranding many elements of Boston's public transportation network. Colors were assigned to the rail lines on August 26, 1965, as part of a wider modernization developed by Cambridge Seven Associates . Peter Chermayeff assigned red , green , and blue to

3724-879: The Lamm fireless engines then propelling the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar in that city. The first commercial installation of an electric streetcar in the United States was built in 1884 in Cleveland, Ohio , and operated for a period of one year by the East Cleveland Street Railway Company. The first city-wide electric streetcar system was implemented in 1886 in Montgomery, Alabama , by the Capital City Street Railway Company, and ran for 50 years. In 1888,

3857-642: The Richmond Union Passenger Railway began to operate trams in Richmond, Virginia , that Frank J. Sprague had built. Sprague later developed multiple unit control, first demonstrated in Chicago in 1897, allowing multiple cars to be coupled together and operated by a single motorman. This gave rise to the modern subway train. Following the improvement of an overhead "trolley" system on streetcars for collecting electricity from overhead wires by Sprague, electric tram systems were rapidly adopted across

3990-479: The Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine . From 1981 to 2022, the Orange Line used a fleet of Hawker-Siddeley heavy rail cars. These cars, nicknamed Orange Blossoms, featured reinforced roofs for pantographs. It was thought that if the Orange Line was extended, they would opt to use overhead collection. But since these extensions were never built, pantographs were never installed. The 01200s, along with

4123-415: The Silver Line bus rapid transit was added to connect Washington Street to the downtown subways, attempting to address this service need. This replacement service was controversial, as many residents preferred the return of rail transportation. In the mid-1980s, the MBTA spent $ 80 million to extend the platforms of seven Red Line and three Orange Line stations ( Essex , Washington , and State ) to allow

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4256-621: The South African Revenue Service due to possible instances of corruption paid to associates of the Gupta family . The United States Department of Defense alleges CRRC is a supplier to People's Liberation Army . In November 2020, Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting any American company or individual from owning shares in companies that the United States Department of Defense has listed as having links to

4389-785: The West Midlands Metro in Birmingham , England adopted battery-powered trams on sections through the city centre close to Grade I listed Birmingham Town Hall . Paris and Berne (Switzerland) operated trams that were powered by compressed air using the Mekarski system . Trials on street tramways in Britain, including by the North Metropolitan Tramway Company between Kings Cross and Holloway, London (1883), achieved acceptable results but were found not to be economic because of

4522-622: The 150 200 Series cars for the Subte . In 2017, the Argentine government purchased an additional 200 EMUs from CRRC. In mid-2015, CRRC formed a freight wagon joint venture, Vertex Railcar , as a minority partner with Hong Kong-based private equity firm Majestic Legend Holdings to establish production in Wilmington, North Carolina at a former Terex facility. CRRC provided railcar designs and some components, and Majestic Legend invested US$ 6 million;

4655-1202: The 1850s, after which the "animal railway" became an increasingly common feature in the larger towns. The first permanent tram line in continental Europe was opened in Paris in 1855 by Alphonse Loubat who had previously worked on American streetcar lines. The tram was developed in numerous cities of Europe (some of the most extensive systems were found in Berlin, Budapest , Birmingham , Saint Petersburg , Lisbon , London , Manchester , Paris , Kyiv ). The first tram in South America opened in 1858 in Santiago, Chile . The first trams in Australia opened in 1860 in Sydney . Africa's first tram service started in Alexandria on 8 January 1863. The first trams in Asia opened in 1869 in Batavia (Jakarta), Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) . Limitations of horsecars included

4788-692: The 1894-built horse tram at Victor Harbor in South Australia . New horse-drawn systems have been established at the Hokkaidō Museum in Japan and also in Disneyland . A horse-tram route in Polish gmina Mrozy , first built in 1902, was reopened in 2012. The first mechanical trams were powered by steam . Generally, there were two types of steam tram. The first and most common had a small steam locomotive (called

4921-420: The 1980s. The history of passenger trams, streetcars and trolley systems, began in the early nineteenth century. It can be divided into several distinct periods defined by the principal means of power used. Precursors to the tramway included the wooden or stone wagonways that were used in central Europe to transport mine carts with unflanged wheels since the 1500s, and the paved limestone trackways designed by

5054-424: The 1990 passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act . Construction at Sullivan Square and Wellington began in 1991. Haymarket was retrofitted with elevators in 2000. The 1975-built North Station was expanded into a "superstation" with a cross-platform transfer to the Green Line; elevators were in installed in 2001, though the Green Line did not use the station until 2004. The southbound platform at Chinatown

5187-428: The 2010s and into the 2020s. Several prominent incidents occurred in 2022 alone, despite the then-underway fleet replacement. Accelerated repairs took place across the entire Orange Line from August 19 to September 18, 2022, and again across different segments of the line throughout 2024. The Main Line of the electric Boston Elevated Railway opened in segments, starting in 1901. It proceeded from Sullivan Square along

5320-422: The Australian state of Queensland between 1909 and 1939. Stockholm , Sweden, had a steam tram line at the island of Södermalm between 1887 and 1901. Tram engines usually had modifications to make them suitable for street running in residential areas. The wheels, and other moving parts of the machinery, were usually enclosed for safety reasons and to make the engines quieter. Measures were often taken to prevent

5453-401: The Blue Line was built with overhead lines on its surface section due to its proximity to corrosive salt air, it was not subject to icing issues.) Starting in 2015, the MBTA began implementing its $ 83.7 million Winter Resiliency Program, much of which focused on preventing similar issues with the Orange and Red lines. The Southwest Corridor section of the Orange Line is located in a trench and

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5586-407: The British newspaper Newcastle Daily Chronicle reported that, "A large number of London's discarded horse tramcars have been sent to Lincolnshire where they are used as sleeping rooms for potato pickers ". Horses continued to be used for light shunting well into the 20th century, and many large metropolitan lines lasted into the early 20th century. New York City had a regular horsecar service on

5719-473: The Chinese state. Under the agreement, CNR Group would formally acquire CSR Group (but CSR Corporation Limited would acquire China CNR Corporation Limited ), and the combined business would be renamed CRRC Group and CRRC Corporation Limited respectively. The rationales given for the merger were increased efficiency, and the ability to better compete internationally. The merger came into effect 1 June 2015, with each CNR share exchanged for 1.1 CSR shares -

5852-477: The Entertainment Centre, and work is progressing on further extensions. Sydney re-introduced trams (or light rail) on 31 August 1997. A completely new system, known as G:link , was introduced on the Gold Coast, Queensland , on 20 July 2014. The Newcastle Light Rail opened in February 2019, while the Canberra light rail opened on 20 April 2019. This is the first time that there have been trams in Canberra, even though Walter Burley Griffin 's 1914–1920 plans for

5985-439: The Green Line became Haymarket after Haymarket Square . Boylston Street was renamed Essex to avoid confusion with nearby Boylston station on the Green Line. In May 1987, Essex was renamed Chinatown after the adjacent Chinatown neighborhood , and Washington renamed Downtown Crossing after the adjacent shopping district . In March 2010, New England Medical Center station was renamed as Tufts Medical Center two years after

6118-416: The Irish coach builder John Stephenson , in New York City which began service in the year 1832. The New York and Harlem Railroad's Fourth Avenue Line ran along the Bowery and Fourth Avenue in New York City. It was followed in 1835 by the New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad in New Orleans, Louisiana , which still operates as the St. Charles Streetcar Line . Other American cities did not follow until

6251-448: The MBTA subway system by the end of 2024. Under this plan, the first of several intermittent shutdowns of different segments of the Orange Line began on March 18, 2024, with more shutdowns taking place that June and October. All slow zones on the Orange Line were finally removed by early November 2024. Orange Line The Orange Line is standard-gauge heavy rail and uses a third rail for power. The newer cars are being built by CRRC in

6384-470: The MBTA's Safety Department and the Department of Public Utilities. The new cars were again removed from service on May 19–23, 2022, after a braking issue on one car due to an incorrectly installed bolt, and again between June and July 2022 due to a battery failure. In December 2022, some new cars were removed from service due to failed power cables causing electric arcing on axles. The CRRC contract requires delivery of all Orange Line cars by January 2022, with

6517-427: The MTA began operating " modified express service " on the line during the morning rush hour. Every other train bypassed Green Street, Egleston (southbound) or Northampton (northbound), Dover, and Thompson Square stations. This was discontinued in September 1961 to reduce wait times at the skipped stations, all of which were outdoors. The line was known as the Main Line Elevated under the Boston Elevated Railway , and

6650-676: The Main Line becoming the Orange Line. The Charlestown Elevated was closed in 1975; it was replaced by the Haymarket North Extension , which opened in phases from 1975 to 1977. The Southwest Corridor replaced the Washington Street Elevated in 1987, using an alignment originally intended for Interstate 95 , completing the modern Orange Line alignment. The downtown stations were lengthened in the 1980s to allow six-car trains. Accessibility modifications began with some of those stations and were completed in 2005. Assembly opened as an infill station in 2014. The Orange Line struggled with reliability issues, including aging infrastructure and trains, throughout

6783-430: The Netherlands. The first trams in Bendigo, Australia, in 1892, were battery-powered, but within as little as three months they were replaced with horse-drawn trams. In New York City some minor lines also used storage batteries. Then, more recently during the 1950s, a longer battery-operated tramway line ran from Milan to Bergamo . In China there is a Nanjing battery Tram line and has been running since 2014. In 2019,

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6916-436: The North Sydney line from 1886 to 1900, and the King Street line from 1892 to 1905. In Dresden , Germany, in 1901 an elevated suspended cable car following the Eugen Langen one-railed floating tram system started operating. Cable cars operated on Highgate Hill in North London and Kennington to Brixton Hill in South London. They also worked around "Upper Douglas" in the Isle of Man from 1897 to 1929 (cable car 72/73

7049-453: The Orange Line been extended to Reading , the third track would have been the northbound local track, and the present-day northbound track would likely have become a bi-directional express track. Expansion of the yard and carhouse was needed for the larger CRRC fleet. Yard work was substantially completed in August 2023, while carhouse expansion is expected to be complete in mid-2024. CRRC CRRC Corporation Limited (known as CRRC )

7182-413: The Orange Line has the second-highest ridership of the MBTA subway lines. The Orange Line originated as the Main Line Elevated of the Boston Elevated Railway , which was built in 1901. It consisted of the Charlestown Elevated , Atlantic Avenue Elevated , Washington Street Elevated , and a portion of the previously-built Tremont Street subway . All of the original route has been replaced, beginning with

7315-602: The People's Liberation Army, which included CRRC. In October 2022, the United States Department of Defense added CRRC to a list of "Chinese military companies" operating in the U.S. In February 2024, the European Union launched an investigation into CRRC for allegedly using state subsidies to undercut European suppliers. As of 31 December 2016 , CRRC was majority owned by CRRC Group directly and indirectly (via CRRC Financial and Securities Investment, Chinese : 中车金证投资 for 1.64% ) for 55.91% of total share capital (all in A share ). Other state-owned entities of

7448-463: The Romans for heavy horse and ox-drawn transportation. By the 1700s, paved plateways with cast iron rails were introduced in England for transporting coal, stone or iron ore from the mines to the urban factories and docks. The world's first passenger train or tram was the Swansea and Mumbles Railway , in Wales , UK. The British Parliament passed the Mumbles Railway Act in 1804, and horse-drawn service started in 1807. The service closed in 1827, but

7581-413: The Second Street Cable Railroad, which operated from 1885 to 1889, and the Temple Street Cable Railway, which operated from 1886 to 1898. From 1885 to 1940, the city of Melbourne , Victoria, Australia operated one of the largest cable systems in the world, at its peak running 592 trams on 75 kilometres (47 mi) of track. There were also two isolated cable lines in Sydney , New South Wales, Australia;

7714-414: The State Council . The State Council also owned additional shares via China Securities Finance and Central Huijin Investment . CNR Group and CSR Group , were once one company, China National Railway Locomotive & Rolling Stock Industry Corporation  [ wikidata ] (LORIC). The company was split up in 2002. In late 2014, CNR Group and CSR Group agreed to merge, subject to approval by

7847-472: The Tangshan plant. CRRC was selected over Hyundai Rotem and Bombardier, which also bid on the bi-level contract and had each produced equipment for SEPTA in the past. Later in March 2017, CRRC was awarded a contract to build 64 HR4000 cars for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) that will replace existing vehicles on the agency's Red and Purple lines, with an option for another 218 cars. The LACMTA order will result in

7980-562: The UK at Lytham St Annes , Trafford Park , Manchester (1897–1908) and Neath , Wales (1896–1920). Comparatively little has been published about gas trams. However, research on the subject was carried out for an article in the October 2011 edition of "The Times", the historical journal of the Australian Association of Timetable Collectors, later renamed the Australian Timetable Association. The world's first electric tram line operated in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg invented and tested by inventor Fyodor Pirotsky in 1875. Later, using

8113-410: The UK took passengers from Fintona railway station to Fintona Junction one mile away on the main Omagh to Enniskillen railway in Northern Ireland. The tram made its last journey on 30 September 1957 when the Omagh to Enniskillen line closed. The "van" is preserved at the Ulster Transport Museum . Horse-drawn trams still operate on the 1876-built Douglas Bay Horse Tramway on the Isle of Man , and at

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8246-399: The Washington Street Elevated had been extended south to Forest Hills . Trains from Washington Street were routed through the new subway, either all the way to Sullivan Square, or back around in a loop via the subway and then the Atlantic Avenue Elevated. In 1919, the same year that the Atlantic Avenue Elevated was partially damaged in Boston's Great Molasses Flood , the Charlestown Elevated

8379-421: The Washington Street Tunnel replacing the Tremont Street subway in 1908. The Washington Street Elevated was extended from Dudley Square to Forest Hills in 1909, with an infill station at Green Street in 1912; the Charlestown Elevated was extended from Sullivan Square to Everett in 1919. The Atlantic Avenue Elevated was closed in 1938. The newly formed MBTA assigned colors to its subway lines in 1965, with

8512-508: The advantages over earlier forms of transit was the low rolling resistance of metal wheels on steel rails, allowing the trams to haul a greater load for a given effort. Another factor which contributed to the rise of trams was the high total cost of ownership of horses. Electric trams largely replaced animal power in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Improvements in other vehicles such as buses led to decline of trams in early to mid 20th century. However, trams have seen resurgence since

8645-460: The busiest tram line in Europe, with a tram running once per minute at rush hour. Bucharest and Belgrade ran a regular service from 1894. Ljubljana introduced its tram system in 1901 – it closed in 1958. Oslo had the first tramway in Scandinavia , starting operation on 2 March 1894. The first electric tramway in Australia was a Sprague system demonstrated at the 1888 Melbourne Centennial Exhibition in Melbourne ; afterwards, this

8778-439: The capital then in the planning stage did propose a Canberra tram system. In Japan, the Kyoto Electric railroad was the first tram system, starting operation in 1895. By 1932, the network had grown to 82 railway companies in 65 cities, with a total network length of 1,479 km (919 mi). By the 1960s the tram had generally died out in Japan. Two rare but significant alternatives were conduit current collection , which

8911-458: The car up the hill at a steady pace, unlike a low-powered steam or horse-drawn car. Cable cars do have wheel brakes and track brakes , but the cable also helps restrain the car to going downhill at a constant speed. Performance in steep terrain partially explains the survival of cable cars in San Francisco. The San Francisco cable cars , though significantly reduced in number, continue to provide regular transportation service, in addition to being

9044-402: The cars to coast by inertia, for example when crossing another cable line. The cable then had to be "picked up" to resume progress, the whole operation requiring precise timing to avoid damage to the cable and the grip mechanism. Breaks and frays in the cable, which occurred frequently, required the complete cessation of services over a cable route while the cable was repaired. Due to overall wear,

9177-847: The central government, such as China Securities Finance (2.87%) and Central Huijin Investment (1.12%), also owned a minority stake. In terms of different shares, BlackRock owned 6.13% H shares in long position (267,971,072 number of shares), or 0.98% in terms of total share capital. Himalaya Capital , a Seattle based mutual fund also owned about 6.13% H shares in long position (267,904,000 number of shares). Other shareholders each owned less than 1% shares in terms of total share capital. CRRC has two operating units: On 8 January 2016 CRRC Corporation purchased 13.06% stake of China United Insurance Holding ( Chinese : 中华保险 ) from China Insurance Security Fund for CN¥4.455 billion. It also joint-owned Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology with parent company CRRC Group . In November 2016

9310-409: The city's hurricane-prone location, which would have resulted in frequent damage to an electrical supply system. Although Portland, Victoria promotes its tourist tram as being a cable car it actually operates using a diesel motor. The tram, which runs on a circular route around the town of Portland, uses dummies and salons formerly used on the Melbourne cable tramway system and since restored. In

9443-416: The combined coal consumption of the stationary compressor and the onboard steam boiler. The Trieste–Opicina tramway in Trieste operates a hybrid funicular tramway system. Conventional electric trams are operated in street running and on reserved track for most of their route. However, on one steep segment of track, they are assisted by cable tractors, which push the trams uphill and act as brakes for

9576-517: The combined company became the largest railway rolling stock manufacturer in the world, and held over 90% of the Chinese market. Total employment of the combine was 175,700 persons, and the share capital was valued at CN¥ 27.289 billion . After the re-merger, CRRC started expanding overseas; after being awarded a 284 vehicle order (later expanded to 404 vehicles) for metro cars for Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority 's Red and Orange lines with

9709-483: The company (via CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive ) confirmed plans to buy Škoda Transportation based in the Czech Republic . The deal eventually did not go through. On 1 March 2024, CRRC 40% with Grupo Comporte 60% entered at Trens Intercidades Proposal with the possibility to deliver 22 inter-city trains, to be used from Luz Station to Campinas since supposidelly 2030. Streetcar A tram (also known as

9842-491: The contract to specify the cars be built in Massachusetts, to create a local railcar manufacturing industry. In conjunction with the new rolling stock, the remainder of the $ 1.3 billion allocated for the project would pay for testing, signal improvements and expanded maintenance facilities, as well as other related expenses. Sixty percent of the car's components are sourced from the United States. After delays due to issues with

9975-456: The contractual requirement of 90,000 miles by over a quarter. The Orange Line has two tracks for most of its length; a third track is present between Wellington station and the Charles River portal. This track is used to bypass construction on the other two tracks and for testing newly delivered cars for the Orange Line. The primary maintenance and storage facility is at Wellington station. Had

10108-547: The corporation's first plant outside China. Additionally the former CSR had acquired Emprendimientos Ferroviarios in Argentina in 2014 and announced in 2016 that it would begin maintenance and production of new rolling stock for export in the country. Argentina had previously purchased a variety of rolling stock from the company over the years, including 704 EMU cars , 81 DMU cars, 44 passenger locomotives, 360 carriages, 107 freight locomotives and 3,500 freight cars, in addition to

10241-505: The current Orange Line cars and the old Blue Line cars, ordered at the same time and largely identical except for size and color. In October 2013, MassDOT announced plans for a $ 1.3 billion subway car order for the Orange and Red Lines, which would provide 152 new Orange Line cars to replace the existing 120-car fleet and add more frequent service. On October 22, 2014, the MassDOT Board awarded

10374-492: The derailment until April 12. The CRRC cars remained out of service as of July 2021; defective side bearer pads were identified as a contributing factor. These dampen the movements of the trucks (which include the wheels) with respect to the car bodies, but were found to be wearing in such a way as to produce too much friction. The first of the CRRC trainsets was returned to revenue service on August 20, after modifications were approved by

10507-652: The downhill run. For safety, the cable tractors are always deployed on the downhill side of the tram vehicle. Similar systems were used elsewhere in the past, notably on the Queen Anne Counterbalance in Seattle and the Darling Street wharf line in Sydney. In the mid-20th century many tram systems were disbanded, replaced by buses, trolleybuses , automobiles or rapid transit . The General Motors streetcar conspiracy

10640-446: The engines from emitting visible smoke or steam. Usually the engines used coke rather than coal as fuel to avoid emitting smoke; condensers or superheating were used to avoid emitting visible steam. A major drawback of this style of tram was the limited space for the engine, so that these trams were usually underpowered. Steam trams faded out around the 1890s to 1900s, being replaced by electric trams. Another motive system for trams

10773-417: The entire MBTA system was shut down on several occasions by heavy snowfalls. The aboveground sections of the Orange and Red lines were particularly vulnerable due to their exposed third rail, which iced over during storms. When a single train stopped due to power loss, other trains soon stopped as well; without continually running trains pushing snow off the rails, the lines were quickly covered in snow. (Because

10906-429: The entire length of cable (typically several kilometres) had to be replaced on a regular schedule. After the development of reliable electrically powered trams, the costly high-maintenance cable car systems were rapidly replaced in most locations. Cable cars remained especially effective in hilly cities, since their nondriven wheels did not lose traction as they climbed or descended a steep hill. The moving cable pulled

11039-507: The eponymous hospital changed its name. The Boston Transportation Planning Review looked at the line in the 1970s, considering extensions to reach the Route 128 beltway , with termini at Reading in the north and Dedham in the south. As a result of this review, the Charlestown Elevated – which served the Charlestown neighborhood north of downtown Boston and the inner suburb of Everett –

11172-731: The existing MBTA Commuter Rail stop at Back Bay . It then continued along new tracks, partially covered and partially open but depressed, to Forest Hills . This MBTA right-of-way is also shared by Amtrak as part of the national Northeast Corridor intercity passenger rail service. While ending more or less at the same terminus (Forest Hills), the new routing passes significantly to the west of its previous route on Washington Street; local residents were promised "equal or better" replacement service. Originally, plans provided for light rail vehicles street running in mixed traffic, from Washington Street to Dudley Square, then diverting southeastward on Warren Street towards Dorchester. In 2002, Phase 1 of

11305-439: The fact that any given animal could only work so many hours on a given day, had to be housed, groomed, fed and cared for day in and day out, and produced prodigious amounts of manure, which the streetcar company was charged with storing and then disposing. Since a typical horse pulled a streetcar for about a dozen miles a day and worked for four or five hours, many systems needed ten or more horses in stable for each horsecar. In 1905

11438-452: The fault of the contractor at the end of the contract. In 2023, cars were being delivered incomplete with incomplete paint repairs, connectors seen hanging on underframes, and parts sanded down to bare metal. The MBTA and CRRC have collaborated to resolve quality issues. In August 2023, MBTA General Manager has reported that the new Orange Line cars are exhibiting an average of approximately 114,000 miles traveled between failures, which surpasses

11571-496: The full line was 13 minutes slower than before the shutdown, and 20 minutes slower than it would be without any slow zones. On October 25, the MBTA sent a letter to Senator Ed Markey , who had been investigating the project, detailing work needed during November and December to lift remaining slow zones, ranging from always-planned to unexpectedly necessary tasks. In early November 2023, MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng announced an ambitious plan to eliminate all 191 slow zones across

11704-459: The inadvertent opening of a passenger door while the train was in motion. Cars were also rechecked in early December 2019, after issues with sounds combined with passenger overload necessitated removal from service. The first train was restored to service in January 2020. The trains were pulled again on March 16, 2021, after a derailment involving one of the cars. Buses replaced trains around the site of

11837-542: The late 19th and early 20th centuries a number of systems in various parts of the world employed trams powered by gas, naphtha gas or coal gas in particular. Gas trams are known to have operated between Alphington and Clifton Hill in the northern suburbs of Melbourne , Australia (1886–1888); in Berlin and Dresden , Germany; in Estonia (1921–1951); between Jelenia Góra , Cieplice , and Sobieszów in Poland (from 1897); and in

11970-402: The late 19th and early 20th centuries. There was one particular hazard associated with trams powered from a trolley pole off an overhead line on the early electrified systems. Since the tram relies on contact with the rails for the current return path, a problem arises if the tram is derailed or (more usually) if it halts on a section of track that has been heavily sanded by a previous tram, and

12103-532: The line from Sullivan Square to Oak Grove on certain weeknights and weekends. In October 2018, the MBTA awarded a $ 218 million signal contract for the Red and Orange Lines, which was planned to allow 4.5-minute headways on the Orange Line beginning in 2022. On July 22, 2022, an Orange Line train caught fire while crossing the Mystic River . A metal sill along the underside of the train came loose and came into contact with

12236-500: The necessary demolition. However, land for I-95's Southwest Corridor through Roxbury had already been cleared of buildings; moreover, the state had already committed to using this vacant land for transportation purposes. As a result, instead of an 8-lane Interstate highway with a relocated Orange Line running in its median (in a manner similar to the Chicago Transit Authority 's Dan Ryan , Congress, and O'Hare branches ),

12369-528: The necessity of overhead wire and a trolley pole for street cars and railways. While at the University of Denver he conducted experiments which established that multiple unit powered cars were a better way to operate trains and trolleys. Electric tramways spread to many European cities in the 1890s, such as: Sarajevo built a citywide system of electric trams in 1895. Budapest established its tramway system in 1887, and its ring line has grown to be

12502-523: The oldest operating electric tramway in the world. Also in 1883, Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram was opened near Vienna in Austria. It was the first tram in the world in regular service that was run with electricity served by an overhead line with pantograph current collectors . The Blackpool Tramway was opened in Blackpool, UK on 29 September 1885 using conduit collection along Blackpool Promenade. This system

12635-543: The other three lines based on geographic features; however, according to Chermayeff, the Main Line El "ended up being orange for no particular reason beyond color balance." The firm originally planned for yellow instead of orange, but yellow was rejected after testing because yellow text was difficult to read on a white background. (Yellow was later used for MBTA bus service). The MBTA and transit historians later claimed that orange came from Orange Street, an early name for what

12768-614: The plant was operational by the beginning of 2016. In August 2016, at the request of a letter from 55 US House of Representatives members alleging that Vertex was being unfairly subsidized by the Chinese government, the United States Department of the Treasury began an investigation into whether the Chinese investment in Vertex constituted a national security risk. 42 US Senators sent a similar letter in September, conveying concerns about

12901-617: The poor paving of the streets in American cities which made them unsuitable for horsebuses , which were then common on the well-paved streets of European cities. Running the horsecars on rails allowed for a much smoother ride. There are records of a street railway running in Baltimore as early as 1828, however the first authenticated streetcar in America, was the New York and Harlem Railroad developed by

13034-501: The same year, daily ridership surpassed 200,000. Increased running times – largely due to longer dwell times from increased ridership – resulted in headways being lengthened from 5 minutes before 2011 to 6 minutes in 2016. The increased fleet size with the new trains will allow headways to be reduced to between 4 and 5 minutes at peak. In the interim, a 2016 test of platform markings at North Station which show boarding passengers where to stand to avoid blocking alighting passengers resulted in

13167-518: The site reported problems with quality tracking, trains being advanced through the assembly process despite missing parts, assembly occurring in the wrong order, and being left with nothing to do for months at a time because a disorderly invoice system failed to reliably pay suppliers for parts. In 2023, CRRC received the equivalent of US$ 214 million in state subsidies . In April 2024, SEPTA terminated their order of bi-level rail cars, citing delays and poor build quality. They have stated “The authority

13300-428: The space would be occupied by the realigned Orange Line, a reconstructed three-track mainline for Amtrak 's Northeast Corridor and MBTA Commuter Rail trains, and a linear park . After this re-routing was accomplished in 1987, the Washington Street Elevated was torn down, the last major segment of the original elevated line to be demolished. Between April 30 and May 3, 1987, the Washington Street Elevated south of

13433-507: The state owned Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). It was reported that the future South African Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane was implicated in the deal when she worked as Counselor Immigration and Civic Services in South Africa's embassy in China. By 2020 it was reported that funds allocated to pay for an adjusted contract to deliver the locomotives produced by CSR Corporation, now reformed into CRRC, had been frozen by

13566-410: The state's Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, FTA Section 5309 New Starts program, and Federal Realty Investment Trust (the developer of Assembly Square). Construction began in late 2011 and finished in mid 2014. The new station, Assembly , opened on September 2, 2014. It was the first new station on the MBTA subway system since 1987. During the unusually brutal winter of 2014–2015 ,

13699-521: The state-owned enterprises behind Vertex. The Treasury Department released its report in December and found that the joint ownership was not a risk. In late 2015, Yu Weiping, one of the vice-president of the company, stated the company planned to double overseas sales over five years, with North American passenger rail being one target. Interim six month financial results for the new company showed an increase in overseas revenue of over 60%. Half year revenue

13832-529: The suburban tramway lines around Milan and Padua ; the last Gamba de Legn ("Peg-Leg") tramway ran on the Milan- Magenta -Castano Primo route in late 1957. The other style of steam tram had the steam engine in the body of the tram, referred to as a tram engine (UK) or steam dummy (US). The most notable system to adopt such trams was in Paris. French-designed steam trams also operated in Rockhampton , in

13965-502: The third rail, igniting sparks. Passengers had to jump out of the train onto the tracks, and one woman jumped into the river below and swam to shore. There were no injuries or casualties. Following various reliability issues on the Orange Line, the MBTA announced that it would close the entire line for renovations from August 19 to September 18, 2022. During the closure, the MBTA conducted accelerated repairs to track, ties, signals, and concrete walls, as well as replacing two crossovers. This

14098-545: The tracks. Siemens later designed his own version of overhead current collection, called the bow collector . One of the first systems to use it was in Thorold, Ontario , opened in 1887, and it was considered quite successful. While this line proved quite versatile as one of the earliest fully functional electric streetcar installations, it required horse-drawn support while climbing the Niagara Escarpment and for two months of

14231-440: The train's control system, the first new train entered revenue service on August 14, 2019; Replacement of the signal system is expected to be complete by 2022 on the Orange Line; the total cost is $ 218 million for both the Red and Orange Lines. While waiting for new cars, service has deteriorated due to maintenance problems with the old cars. The number of trains at rush hour was reduced from 17 (102 cars) to 16 (96 cars) in 2011; in

14364-416: The tram and completing the earth return circuit with their body could receive a serious electric shock. If "grounded", the driver was required to jump off the tram (avoiding simultaneous contact with the tram and the ground) and pull down the trolley pole, before allowing passengers off the tram. Unless derailed, the tram could usually be recovered by running water down the running rails from a point higher than

14497-460: The tram loses electrical contact with the rails. In this event, the underframe of the tram, by virtue of a circuit path through ancillary loads (such as interior lighting), is live at the full supply voltage, typically 600 volts DC. In British terminology, such a tram was said to be 'grounded'—not to be confused with the US English use of the term, which means the exact opposite. Any person stepping off

14630-427: The tram, the water providing a conducting bridge between the tram and the rails. With improved technology, this ceased to be an problem. In the 2000s, several companies introduced catenary-free designs: Alstom's Citadis line uses a third rail, Bombardier's PRIMOVE LRV is charged by contactless induction plates embedded in the trackway and CAF URBOS tram uses ultracaps technology As early as 1834, Thomas Davenport ,

14763-489: The use of six-car trains. Washington and State were made fully accessible, as was the northbound platform at Essex. The Southwest Corridor station opened in 1987 were all fully accessible . Six-car trains entered service on August 18, 1987. Oak Grove was also renovated around 1987. This left only Haymarket , five stations on the Haymarket North Extension, and the southbound platform at Chinatown inaccessible by

14896-804: The wider term light rail , which also includes systems separated from other traffic. Tram vehicles are usually lighter and shorter than main line and rapid transit trains. Most trams use electrical power, usually fed by a pantograph sliding on an overhead line ; older systems may use a trolley pole or a bow collector . In some cases, a contact shoe on a third rail is used. If necessary, they may have dual power systems—electricity in city streets and diesel in more rural environments. Occasionally, trams also carry freight . Some trams, known as tram-trains , may have segments that run on mainline railway tracks, similar to interurban systems. The differences between these modes of rail transport are often indistinct, and systems may combine multiple features. One of

15029-409: The winter when hydroelectricity was not available. It continued in service in its original form into the 1950s. Sidney Howe Short designed and produced the first electric motor that operated a streetcar without gears. The motor had its armature direct-connected to the streetcar 's axle for the driving force. Short pioneered "use of a conduit system of concealed feed" thereby eliminating

15162-524: The world's first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle tramcar at an assembly facility in Qingdao . The chief engineer of the CSR subsidiary CSR Sifang Co Ltd. , Liang Jianying, said that the company is studying how to reduce the running costs of the tram. Trams have been used for two main purposes: for carrying passengers and for carrying cargo. There are several types of passenger tram: There are two main types of tramways,

15295-401: The world. Earlier electric trains proved difficult or unreliable and experienced limited success until the second half of the 1880s, when new types of current collectors were developed. Siemens' line, for example, provided power through a live rail and a return rail, like a model train , limiting the voltage that could be used, and delivering electric shocks to people and animals crossing

15428-424: Was CN¥91.8 billion, with a gross profit of CN¥19.5 billion. Non-rail revenue (car equipment, generators) was CN¥20.94 billion. In March 2016, CRRC Qingdao Sifang was awarded a contract to build 400 7000-series cars for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), with an option for another 446 cars. The cost of the contract was US$ 632 million up to US$ 1.3 billion with options; as a consequence CRRC began development of

15561-665: Was a case study of the decline of trams in the United States. In the 21st century, trams have been re-introduced in cities where they had been closed down for decades (such as Tramlink in London), or kept in heritage use (such as Spårväg City in Stockholm). Most trams made since the 1990s (such as the Bombardier Flexity series and Alstom Citadis ) are articulated low-floor trams with features such as regenerative braking . In March 2015, China South Rail Corporation (CSR) demonstrated

15694-486: Was built by Werner von Siemens who contacted Pirotsky. This was the world's first commercially successful electric tram. It drew current from the rails at first, with overhead wire being installed in 1883. In Britain, Volk's Electric Railway was opened in 1883 in Brighton. This two kilometer line along the seafront, re-gauged to 2 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 825 mm ) in 1884, remains in service as

15827-462: Was closed, leaving the subway as the only route through downtown – what is now the Orange Line between Haymarket and Chinatown stations. Ownership of the railway was transferred from the private Boston Elevated Railway to the public Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) in 1947; the MTA was itself reconstituted as the modern Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in 1964. On December 5, 1960,

15960-578: Was demolished and replaced in 1975. The Haymarket North Extension rerouted the Orange Line through an underwater crossing of the Charles River . Service in Charlestown was replaced with service along Boston and Maine tracks routed partially beneath an elevated section of Interstate 93 , ultimately to Wellington and then to Oak Grove in Malden, Massachusetts , instead of Everett. Rail service to Everett

16093-452: Was extended north from Sullivan Square to Everett station , over surface right-of-way parallel to Alford Street/Broadway , with a drawbridge over the Mystic River . The Boston Elevated had long-term plans to continue this extension further north to Malden , a goal which would only be achieved decades later, under public ownership and not via the Everett route. Following a 1928 accident at

16226-439: Was improved to nine-minute headways on August 27, 2023. The "T" previously had a fleet of Pullman-Standard heavy rail cars for the Orange Line. These cars, known as 01100s, had been in service since the 1950s, and saw service on both the elevated and the northern extension before they were retired in 1981. Several remained on the property as Red Line work cars for some time before being scrapped. Units 01178-01179 are preserved at

16359-482: Was installed as a commercial venture operating between the outer Melbourne suburb of Box Hill and the then tourist-oriented country town Doncaster from 1889 to 1896. Electric systems were also built in Adelaide , Ballarat , Bendigo , Brisbane , Fremantle , Geelong , Hobart , Kalgoorlie , Launceston , Leonora , Newcastle , Perth , and Sydney . By the 1970s, the only full tramway system remaining in Australia

16492-408: Was intended to remove speed restrictions and improve safety and reliability. The shutdown also gave time for more new CRRC cars to be delivered and put into service; after the closure, service on the line resumed with new trains almost all the time. However, the work was not enough to eliminate all slow zones, and temporary slow zones were added where work was performed. By early October, a round trip on

16625-401: Was made accessible in 2002. Renovations to Community College and Malden Center were completed in 2005, making the Orange Line the first of the four original MBTA subway lines to become fully accessible. In the early 2000s, Somerville began planning an infill station between Sullivan and Wellington to serve the new Assembly Square development. The $ 57 million station was funded by

16758-403: Was not accepted. The last pair, units 01280-01281, were hauled away on July 17, 2024. In late 2008, the MBTA began the planning process for new Orange and Red Line vehicles. The agency originally planned for a simultaneous order for 146 Orange Line cars (to replace the whole fleet) and 74 Red Line cars (to replace the older 1500 and 1600 series cars). A similar order was used in the late 1970s for

16891-425: Was planned to have longer headways to account for the lower projected ridership. This extension was opposed by residents of Melrose who preferred restored commuter rail service. Because of this, the express track ends at Wellington and a single commuter rail track continues parallel to the Orange Line north to Reading. Construction of Interstate 95 into downtown Boston was cancelled in 1972 after local protest over

17024-566: Was replaced with buses. The extension was unique among Boston transit lines as it contained a third express track between Wellington and Community College stations. These stations, along with Sullivan Sq, have two island platform stations as opposed to the more normal single island stations found on the southern side of the Orange Line. This express track was designed for the never-built extension north of Oak Grove to Reading. The third track would have allowed peak-direction express service as well as places to terminate trains. Service north of Oak Grove

17157-548: Was restarted in 1860, again using horses. It was worked by steam from 1877, and then, from 1929, by very large (106-seat) electric tramcars, until closure in 1960. The Swansea and Mumbles Railway was something of a one-off however, and no street tramway appeared in Britain until 1860 when one was built in Birkenhead by the American George Francis Train . Street railways developed in America before Europe, due to

17290-616: Was tested in San Francisco , in 1873. Part of its success is attributed to the development of an effective and reliable cable grip mechanism, to grab and release the moving cable without damage. The second city to operate cable trams was Dunedin , from 1881 to 1957. The most extensive cable system in the US was built in Chicago in stages between 1859 and 1892. New York City developed multiple cable car lines, that operated from 1883 to 1909. Los Angeles also had several cable car lines, including

17423-616: Was the Melbourne tram system. However, there were also a few single lines remaining elsewhere: the Glenelg tram line , connecting Adelaide to the beachside suburb of Glenelg , and tourist trams in the Victorian Goldfields cities of Bendigo and Ballarat. In recent years the Melbourne system, generally recognised as the largest urban tram network in the world, has been considerably modernised and expanded. The Adelaide line has been extended to

17556-411: Was the cable car, which was pulled along a fixed track by a moving steel cable, the cable usually running in a slot below the street level. The power to move the cable was normally provided at a "powerhouse" site a distance away from the actual vehicle. The London and Blackwall Railway , which opened for passengers in east London, England, in 1840 used such a system. The first practical cable car line

17689-851: Was widely used in London, Washington, D.C., and New York City, and the surface contact collection method, used in Wolverhampton (the Lorain system), Torquay and Hastings in the UK (the Dolter stud system), and in Bordeaux , France (the ground-level power supply system). The convenience and economy of electricity resulted in its rapid adoption once the technical problems of production and transmission of electricity were solved. Electric trams largely replaced animal power and other forms of motive power including cable and steam, in

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