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135-555: The OC Streetcar is a modern streetcar line currently under construction in Orange County, California , running through the cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove . The electric-powered streetcar will be operated by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), and will serve ten stops in each direction along its 4.15-mile (6.68 km) route. With the exception of a short loop in downtown Santa Ana,

270-413: A block and tackle arrangement. Lines are divided into sections to limit the scope of an outage and to allow maintenance. To allow maintenance to the overhead line without having to turn off the entire system, the line is broken into electrically separated portions known as "sections". Sections often correspond with tension lengths. The transition from section to section is known as a "section break" and

405-533: A high-voltage electrical grid . Electric trains that collect their current from overhead lines use a device such as a pantograph , bow collector or trolley pole . It presses against the underside of the lowest overhead wire, the contact wire. Current collectors are electrically conductive and allow current to flow through to the train or tram and back to the feeder station through the steel wheels on one or both running rails. Non-electric locomotives (such as diesels ) may pass along these tracks without affecting

540-419: A swing bridge . The catenary wire typically comprises messenger wire (also called catenary wire) and a contact wire where it meets the pantograph. The messenger wire is terminated at the portal, while the contact wire runs into the overhead conductor rail profile at the transition end section before it is terminated at the portal. There is a gap between the overhead conductor rail at the transition end section and

675-476: A "Backdoor" connection between different parts, resulting in, amongst other things, a section of the grid de-energised for maintenance being re-energised from the railway substation creating danger. For these reasons, Neutral sections are placed in the electrification between the sections fed from different points in a national grid, or different phases, or grids that are not synchronized. It is highly undesirable to connect unsynchronized grids. A simple section break

810-679: A 2021 start. The streetcar will operate between the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center to a new Harbor Transit Center in Garden Grove, linking the Metrolink station and downtown Santa Ana . The streetcar's planned eastern terminus is the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center , which is served by Metrolink commuter rail and the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner , as well as a number of bus routes. From

945-440: A city street instead of on the unpaved street surface as the omnibus lines used. When a wagon was drawn upon rails the rolling resistance of the vehicle was lowered and the average speed was increased. A horse or team that rode along rails could carry more fare paying passengers per day of operation than those that did not have rails. North America's first streetcar lines opened in 1832 from downtown New York City to Harlem by

1080-414: A clipped, extruded aluminum beam with the wire contact face exposed. A somewhat higher tension than used before clipping the beam yielded a deflected profile for the wire that could be easily handled at 400 km/h (250 mph) by a pneumatic servo pantograph with only 3  g acceleration. An electrical circuit requires at least two conductors. Trams and railways use the overhead line as one side of

1215-500: A curbside, street running system between the Santa Ana station and Raitt Street; west of there, it will operate in a dedicated right-of-way. The streetcar is proposed to operate from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays; and 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays and holidays. Trains will run every 10 minutes between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., and every 15 minutes at other hours. A single trip from end-to-end on

1350-454: A daily basis. Several of the communities that grew as a result of this new mobility were known as streetcar suburbs . Another outgrowth of the popularity of urban streetcar systems was the rise of interurban lines, which were basically streetcars that operated between cities and served remote, even rural, areas. In some areas interurban lines competed with regular passenger service on mainline railroads and in others they simply complemented

1485-577: A defunct streetcar line using heritage streetcars in Philadelphia ( SEPTA Route 15 ) in 2005. Other cities in both the United States and Canada opened new heritage streetcar lines that operated only on weekends or seasonally, primarily as tourist services, and so didn't provide true "public transit" service. Truly modern streetcar systems arose in the United States, starting in 2001, in Portland, Oregon. This

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1620-577: A few sections, even partial street running, in reserved lanes (restricted to transit vehicles only). The development of light rail systems in North America then proliferated widely after 1985, mostly in the United States, but also in Canada and Mexico. Including streetcars, light rail systems are operating successfully in over 30 U.S. cities, and are in planning or construction stages in several more. New public transit streetcar services also returned, at least in

1755-411: A fixed centre point, with the two half-tension lengths expanding and contracting with temperature. Most systems include a brake to stop the wires from unravelling completely if a wire breaks or tension is lost. German systems usually use a single large tensioning pulley (basically a ratchet mechanism) with a toothed rim, mounted on an arm hinged to the mast. Normally the downward pull of the weights and

1890-507: A great deal of electric light illumination, an observation tower with electric elevators, and several prototype designs of electric streetcars. Montgomery, Alabama , established its electric streetcar system nicknamed the Lightning Route on April 15, 1886. Another early electrified streetcar system in the United States was established in Scranton, Pennsylvania , by November 30, 1886; it was

2025-484: A level crossing with the 1,200 V DC Uetliberg railway line ; at many places, trolleybus lines cross the tramway. In some cities, trolleybuses and trams shared a positive (feed) wire. In such cases, a normal trolleybus frog can be used. Alternatively, section breaks can be sited at the crossing point, so that the crossing is electrically dead. Many cities had trams and trolleybuses using trolley poles. They used insulated crossovers, which required tram drivers to put

2160-531: A light-rail system that could connect the county’s core," with potential future extensions to Disneyland , Anaheim's Platinum Triangle and the John Wayne Airport . An extension north to Anaheim along Harbor Boulevard could connect with the controversial Katella Avenue streetcar project ( Anaheim Rapid Connection ), should that project be built in the future. Although the Anaheim City Council rejected

2295-492: A main line running from Fullerton via Santa Ana to Irvine . It would have included service along the current OC Streetcar route between the Santa Ana train station and Bristol Street, but not along the diagonal West Santa Ana Branch right-of-way. Multiple branches were also proposed for the line to serve other areas of Orange County; most of the lines would have been elevated. The initial 1992 proposal called for 90 miles (140 km) of light rail, which due to political opposition

2430-610: A mule-powered line in Celaya, survived until May 1954. In the 21st century, horsecars are still used to take visitors along the 9-kilometre (5.6 mi) tour of the 3 cenotes from Chunkanán near Cuzamá Municipality in the state of Yucatán. Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, Cal., has operated a short horsecar line since it opened in July 1955. Similarly, Disney World theme park in Orlando has operated

2565-569: A multiple unit passes over them. In the United Kingdom equipment similar to Automatic Warning System (AWS) is used, but with pairs of magnets placed outside the running rails (as opposed to the AWS magnets placed midway between the rails). Lineside signs on the approach to the neutral section warn the driver to shut off traction power and coast through the dead section. A neutral section or phase break consists of two insulated breaks back-to-back with

2700-488: A projected $ 407.76 million (up from an estimated $ 299.3 million as of June 2017) with an expected completion in 2021. On September 24, 2018, OCTA awarded a $ 220.5 million contract to Walsh Construction Company to build the streetcar. On November 30, 2018, a groundbreaking ceremony was held, and the Federal Transit Administration announced that federal funding would be increased to $ 217 million. The line

2835-414: A rigid overhead wire in their tunnels, while using normal overhead wires in their above ground sections. In a movable bridge that uses a rigid overhead rail, there is a need to transition from the catenary wire system into an overhead conductor rail at the bridge portal (the last traction current pylon before the movable bridge). For example, the power supply can be done through a catenary wire system near

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2970-591: A short horsecar line since it opened in Oct 1971. At both parks, they run from 8-9am to 1:30-2pm, and, depending on the season, sometimes 5-7pm. During the nineteenth century, particularly from the 1860s to the 1890s, many streetcar operators switched from animals to other types of motive power. Before the use of electricity the use of steam dummies , tram engines , or cable cars was tried in several North American cities. A notable transition took place in Washington, D.C., in

3105-467: A short section of line that belongs to neither grid. Some systems increase the level of safety by the midpoint of the neutral section being earthed. The presence of the earthed section in the middle is to ensure that should the transducer controlled apparatus fail, and the driver also fail to shut off power, the energy in the arc struck by the pantograph as it passes to the neutral section is conducted to earth, operating substation circuit breakers, rather than

3240-530: A simpler alternative for moveable overhead power rails. Electric trains coast across the gaps. To prevent arcing, power must be switched off before reaching the gap and usually the pantograph would be lowered. Given limited clearance such as in tunnels , the overhead wire may be replaced by a rigid overhead rail. An early example was in the tunnels of the Baltimore Belt Line , where a Π section bar (fabricated from three strips of iron and mounted on wood)

3375-729: A single animal were known as "bobtail streetcars" whether mule-drawn or horse-drawn. By the mid-1880s, there were 415 street railway companies in the U.S. operating over 6,000 miles (9,700 km) of track and carrying 188 million passengers per year using animal-drawn cars. In the nineteenth century Mexico had streetcars in around 1,000 towns and many were animal-powered. The 1907 Anuario Estadístico lists 35 animal-powered streetcar lines in Veracruz state, 80 in Guanajuato , and 300 lines in Yucatán . Although most animal-drawn lines were shut down in

3510-429: A streetcar line because of its short length and use of single vehicles (rather than trains) of the same type as the low-floor streetcars used in Portland. However, the line is separated from other traffic over most of its length, making it a light rail line, which is what its operator ( Sound Transit ) considers it to be. Some 70 U.S. cities have studied the idea of bringing back streetcars as transit, although to date

3645-701: A streetcar network essentially unchanged in layout and mode of operation. Older surviving lines and systems in Boston , Cleveland , Mexico City , Newark , Philadelphia , Pittsburgh , and San Francisco were often infrastructure-heavy systems with tunnels, dedicated right-of-way , and long travel distances. Most of these older streetcar systems are largely rebuilt as light rail systems. About 22 North American cities, starting with Edmonton , Calgary and San Diego , have installed new light rail systems, some of which run along historic streetcar corridors. A few recent cases feature mixed-traffic street-running operation like

3780-436: A streetcar. Portland, Oregon , Seattle , and Salt Lake City have built both modern light rail and modern streetcar systems, while Tucson , Oklahoma City and Atlanta have built new modern streetcar lines. A few other cities and towns have restored a small number of lines to run heritage streetcars either for public transit or for tourists; many are inspired by New Orleans' St. Charles Streetcar Line , generally viewed as

3915-526: A successful light rail system ( MAX ), became the first city in the North America in more than 50 years to open a new streetcar system served by modern vehicles, with the opening of the Portland Streetcar . It uses low-floor cars built in the Czech Republic, but the system's first U.S.-assembled streetcar was delivered in 2009. The line serves as a downtown circulator between the central city core,

4050-471: A tilted position into the horizontal position, connecting the conductor rails at the transition end section and the bridge together to supply power. Short overhead conductor rails are installed at tram stops as for the Combino Supra . Trams draw their power from a single overhead wire at about 500 to 750  V DC. Trolleybuses draw from two overhead wires at a similar voltage, and at least one of

4185-689: A tramway. The tramway operated on 600–700 V DC and the railway on 15 kV AC . In the Swiss village of Oberentfelden , the Menziken–Aarau–Schöftland line operating at 750 V DC crosses the SBB line at 15 kV AC; there used to be a similar crossing between the two lines at Suhr but this was replaced by an underpass in 2010. Some crossings between tramway/light rail and railways are extant in Germany. In Zürich , Switzerland, VBZ trolleybus line 32 has

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4320-460: A way of influencing property development in the corridors served, in such a way as to increase density while attracting residents interested in relatively car-free living. The Portland Streetcar is considered to have been very successful in this regard. The second "second-generation" streetcar system opened in North America was in 2007, in Seattle , where the city's transportation department led

4455-530: Is being built parallel to the old bridge. In addition, the line will cross Westminster Avenue on an elevated bridge to reach the Harbor Transit Center in Garden Grove. Eight Siemens S700 light rail vehicles will service the route, with six in operation at any one time. Overhead lines will deliver power to the trains at 750 volts , direct current . OCTA projects a daily ridership of between 6,000 and 7,300 passengers, and each streetcar's total capacity

4590-405: Is being considered for redevelopment, potentially as a regional park with sports arenas and outdoor amphitheater, with mixed-used neighborhoods adjacent to a proposed stop on the streetcar route. In addition, 17.8 percent of households in the service area do not own a car, and the streetcar would markedly improve their access to the regional transit system. However, some businesses have opposed

4725-422: Is briefly in contact with both wires). In normal service, the two sections are electrically connected; depending on the system this might be an isolator, fixed contact or a Booster Transformer. The isolator allows the current to the section to be interrupted for maintenance. On overhead wires designed for trolley poles, this is done by having a neutral section between the wires, requiring an insulator. The driver of

4860-511: Is completed by using both wires. Parallel overhead wires are also used on the rare railways with three-phase AC railway electrification . In the Soviet Union the following types of wires/cables were used. For the contact wire, cold drawn solid copper was used to ensure good conductivity . The wire is not round but has grooves at the sides to allow the hangers to attach to it. Sizes were (in cross-sectional area) 85, 100, or 150 mm . To make

4995-422: Is in use, standard sizes for contact wire are 100 and 150 mm . The catenary wire is made of copper or copper alloys of 70, 120 or 150 mm . The smaller cross sections are made of 19 strands, whereas the bigger has 37 strands. Two standard configurations for main lines consist of two contact wires of 100 mm and one or two catenary wires of 120 mm , totaling 320 or 440 mm . Only one contact wire

5130-415: Is insufficient to guard against this as the pantograph briefly connects both sections. In countries such as France, South Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom, a pair of permanent magnets beside the rails at either side of the neutral section operate a bogie-mounted transducer on the train which causes a large electrical circuit-breaker to open and close when the locomotive or the pantograph vehicle of

5265-447: Is often used for side tracks. In the UK and EU countries , the contact wire is typically made from copper alloyed with other metals. Sizes include cross-sectional areas of 80, 100, 107, 120, and 150 mm . Common materials include normal and high strength copper, copper-silver, copper-cadmium, copper-magnesium, and copper-tin, with each being identifiable by distinct identification grooves along

5400-421: Is set up so that the vehicle's pantograph is in continuous contact with one wire or the other. For bow collectors and pantographs, this is done by having two contact wires run side by side over the length between 2 or 4 wire supports. A new one drops down and the old one rises up, allowing the pantograph to smoothly transfer from one to the other. The two wires do not touch (although the bow collector or pantograph

5535-405: Is up to 180 people. The OC Streetcar will use a proof-of-payment system, requiring valid payment before boarding and lacking a turnstile barrier at stations. Fares will be purchased as paper tickets and passes at ticket vending machines at stations, or through a mobile ticketing app. Fares will be the same as charged on OCTA's OC Bus service. Herzog Transit Services won the contract to operate

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5670-981: Is used only on the Gornergrat Railway and Jungfrau Railway in Switzerland, the Petit train de la Rhune in France, and the Corcovado Rack Railway in Brazil. Until 1976, it was widely used in Italy. On these railways, the two conductors are used for two different phases of the three-phase AC, while the rail was used for the third phase. The neutral was not used. Some three-phase AC railways used three overhead wires. These were an experimental railway line of Siemens in Berlin-Lichtenberg in 1898 (length 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi)),

5805-571: The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 in the United States. By the 1960s most North American streetcar lines were closed, with only the exceptions noted above and discussed below remaining in service. During the same time all streetcar systems in Central America were scrapped as well. The survival of the lines that made it past the 1960s was aided by the introduction of the successful PCC streetcar (Presidents' Conference Committee car) in

5940-553: The Great Depression of the 1930s. The onset of World War II held off the closure of some streetcar lines as civilians used them to commute to war related factory jobs during a time when rubber tires and gasoline were rationed. After the war automobile use continued to rise and was assisted in the 1940s and 1950s by the passage of the Trans-Canada Highway Act of 1948 and growth of provincial highways in Canada as well as

6075-620: The New York and Harlem Railroad , in 1834 in New Orleans, and in 1849 in Toronto along the Williams Omnibus Bus Line . These streetcars used horses and sometimes mules. Mules were thought to give more hours per day of useful transit service than horses and were especially popular in the south in cities such as New Orleans, Louisiana. In many cities, streetcars drawn by

6210-654: The Pearl District and Northwest Portland, Portland State University , and in 2005 was extended to the South Waterfront district, a new mixed-use development along the Willamette River shoreline. Running almost entirely on streets and without any separation from other traffic on most sections, it complements the MAX light rail system, which covers much longer distances and serves as a regional, higher-capacity rail system for

6345-477: The metropolitan area . The MAX system also runs along streets in central Portland, but is separated from traffic (other than buses) even in those areas, via reserved light-rail-only lanes. Construction of a second streetcar line, to the city's east side, began in 2009, and the new line opened in September 2012. The new Portland system and several of the new heritage streetcar systems have been intended, in part, as

6480-463: The tram or trolleybus must temporarily reduce the power draw before the trolley pole passes through, to prevent arc damage to the insulator. Pantograph-equipped locomotives must not run through a section break when one side is de-energized. The locomotive would become trapped, but as it passes the section break the pantograph briefly shorts the two catenary lines. If the opposite line is de-energized, this voltage transient may trip supply breakers. If

6615-506: The "sweep". The zigzagging of the overhead line is not required for trolley poles. For tramways , a contact wire without a messenger wire is used. Depot areas tend to have only a single wire and are known as "simple equipment" or "trolley wire". When overhead line systems were first conceived, good current collection was possible only at low speeds, using a single wire. To enable higher speeds, two additional types of equipment were developed: Earlier dropper wires provided physical support of

6750-492: The 1500 V DC overhead of the railway and the 650 V DC of the trams, called a Tram Square. Several such crossings have been grade separated in recent years as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project . Athens has two crossings of tram and trolleybus wires, at Vas. Amalias Avenue and Vas. Olgas Avenue, and at Ardittou Street and Athanasiou Diakou Street. They use the above-mentioned solution. In Rome , at

6885-460: The 1920s and some were pulled by steam locomotives. Only 15 Mexican streetcar systems were electrified in the 1920s. Between 1895 and 1929, almost every major city in the United States suffered at least one streetcar strike. Sometimes lasting only a few days, more often these strikes were "marked by almost continuous and often spectacular violent conflict," at times amounting to prolonged riots and civil insurrection . Streetcar strikes rank among

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7020-562: The 1930s, the park resurrected its trolley past with the "Lakeside Trolley" ride from 1997-2024, when the car was returned to the Shoreline Trolley Museum . In the days before widespread radio listening was popular and in towns or neighborhoods too small to support a viable amusement park streetcar lines might help to fund an appearance of a touring musical act at the local bandstand to boost weekend afternoon ridership. Many of Mexico's streetcars were fitted with gasoline motors in

7155-415: The 1940s and 1950s in all these cities except New Orleans. City buses were seen as more economical and flexible: a bus could carry a number of people similar to that in a streetcar without tracks and associated infrastructure. Many transit operators removed some streetcar tracks but kept the electric infrastructure so as to run electrified trackless trolley buses . Many such systems lasted only as long as

7290-647: The 19th century, a few lines lasted into the 20th century and later. Toronto's horse-drawn streetcar operations ended in 1891. New York City saw regular horsecar service last until 1917. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , the Sarah Street line lasted until 1923. The last regular mule-drawn cars in the United States 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

7425-428: The 4.15-mile (6.68 km) line is expected to take 22 minutes, an average speed of 11.3 miles per hour (18.2 km/h). The route will include 10 stations in each direction, which will connect to 18 existing OCTA bus lines. Each station will include platforms near major cross streets. The route will be double-tracked for its entire length. The maintenance and storage facility will be located adjacent to 5th Street near

7560-584: The Arts District. After rejoining at Ross Street near the Santa Ana City Hall, the line will continue west along Santa Ana Boulevard to Raitt Street, where it will continue on the former Pacific Electric West Santa Ana Branch right-of-way along the north side of 4th Street. Turning northwest, the line will cross over the Santa Ana River and Westminster Avenue on bridges. At the northwest end of

7695-571: The Girard Avenue Line ), that was " bustituted " in 1992, resumed trolley service in 2005 using rebuilt historic cars (see below ); two other former Philadelphia trolley lines have been proposed for a resumption in trolley service in the 2010s though such plans have stalled. In Canada, most cities once had a streetcar system, but today the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the only traditional operator of streetcars, and maintains

7830-517: The Hell's Gate Bridge boundary between Amtrak and Metro North 's electrifications) that would never be in-phase. Since a dead section is always dead, no special signal aspect was developed to warn drivers of its presence, and a metal sign with "DS" in drilled-hole letters was hung from the catenary supports. Occasionally gaps may be present in the overhead lines, when switching from one voltage to another or to provide clearance for ships at moveable bridges, as

7965-558: The Katella streetcar in January 2017, OCTA has listed a streetcar connection in its Central Harbor Boulevard Transit Corridor Study, leaving the possibility that it could be built as a county project, rather than a city project. OC Streetcar is one of two current transit projects intended to use the historic West Santa Ana Branch, the other being a Los Angeles Metro Rail Southeast Gateway Line . The two services are not planned to connect; however,

8100-546: The Los Angeles County line. Although OCTA has allowed some temporary uses (such as parking) in the historic right of way, and most of the tracks have been removed, the authority always intended to return this corridor to transit use in the future. As opposed to a streetcar system, the first proposals for a modern, second-generation light rail system serving north Orange County appeared in the 1990s. The CenterLine project would have created several light rail lines, including

8235-411: The U.S. where horsecars were used on street railways from 1862 to the early 1890s. From about 1890 to 1893 cable drives provided motive power to Washington streetcars, and after 1893 electricity powered the cars. The advantages of eliminating animal drive power included dispensing with the need to feed the animals and clean up their waste. A North American city that did not eliminate its cable car lines

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8370-494: The United States, around the same time as the emergence of the new light rail transit. Prior to 2001, the new streetcar systems that opened in North America for public transit were so-called heritage streetcar systems, alternatively known as "vintage trolley" or "historic trolley" lines. While Detroit and Seattle were the first cities to open heritage lines in 1976 and 1982, their heritage lines ultimately closed in 2003 and 2005, respectively. The first heritage system to be successful

8505-466: The Western Hemisphere's most extensive system in terms of track length, number of cars, and ridership. The city has added two new streetcar lines in recent years ( 510 Spadina in 1990, and 509 Harbourfront in 2000), and is upgrading its other lines. Its traditional fleet of CLRVs and ALRVs were replaced by the newer Bombardier Flexity low-floor models, and expansion is planned in combination with

8640-402: The active planning stages include Los Angeles , New York City , Sacramento , and Saint Paul . Overhead line An overhead line consists of one or more wires (or rails , particularly in tunnels) situated over rail tracks , raised to a high electrical potential by connection to feeder stations at regularly spaced intervals along the track. The feeder stations are usually fed from

8775-556: The arc either bridging the insulators into a section made dead for maintenance, a section fed from a different phase, or setting up a Backdoor connection between different parts of the country's national grid. On the Pennsylvania Railroad , phase breaks were indicated by a position light signal face with all eight radial positions with lenses and no center light. When the phase break was active (the catenary sections out of phase), all lights were lit. The position light signal aspect

8910-479: The casualties were passengers and innocent bystanders. The 1929 New Orleans streetcar strike was one of the last of its kind. The rise of private automobile ownership took the edge off its impact, as an article in the Chicago Tribune observed as early as 1915. The increased use of automobiles during the 1920s contributed to the decline of many streetcar lines in North America, and the decline continued during

9045-569: The center of St. Charles Avenue, while the surviving Xochimilco line in Mexico City, the interurban lines in Cleveland, and almost all of the above-ground portions of the Boston system have similar rights-of-way, and, thus, are generally treated as "light rail" lines in modern contexts rather than as "streetcar" lines. The only electric system to survive without using these alternatives to street running

9180-418: The circuit and the steel rails as the other side of the circuit. For a trolleybus or a trolleytruck , no rails are available for the return current, as the vehicles use rubber tyres on the road surface. Trolleybuses use a second parallel overhead line for the return, and two trolley poles , one contacting each overhead wire. ( Pantographs are generally incompatible with parallel overhead lines.) The circuit

9315-433: The city's plans for the rejuvenation of its waterfront. The table below lists the surviving first-generation "legacy" streetcars in those nine North American cities: CAF USA LRVs Notes Newly built systems using modern streetcars have so far only opened in cities in the United States, and are summarized in the table below (listed in order of opening): Brookville Liberty In 2001, Portland, Oregon, which already had

9450-405: The contact wire is zigzagged slightly to the left and right of the centre from each support to the next so that the insert wears evenly, thus preventing any notches. On curves, the "straight" wire between the supports causes the contact point to cross over the surface of the pantograph as the train travels around the curve. The movement of the contact wire across the head of the pantograph is called

9585-488: The contact wire without joining the catenary and contact wires electrically. Modern systems use current-carrying droppers, eliminating the need for separate wires. The present transmission system originated about 100 years ago. A simpler system was proposed in the 1970s by the Pirelli Construction Company, consisting of a single wire embedded at each support for 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) of its length in

9720-476: The controller into neutral and coast through. Trolleybus drivers had to either lift off the accelerator or switch to auxiliary power. In Melbourne , Victoria, tram drivers put the controller into neutral and coast through section insulators, indicated by insulator markings between the rails. Melbourne has several remaining level crossings between electrified suburban railways and tram lines. They have mechanical switching arrangements (changeover switch) to switch

9855-526: The crossing between Viale Regina Margherita and Via Nomentana, tram and trolleybus lines cross: tram on Viale Regina Margherita and trolleybus on Via Nomentana. The crossing is orthogonal, therefore the typical arrangement was not available. In Milan , most tram lines cross its circular trolleybus line once or twice. Trolleybus and tram wires run parallel in streets such as viale Stelvio, viale Umbria and viale Tibaldi. Some railways used two or three overhead lines, usually to carry three-phase current. This

9990-437: The current and its return path. To achieve good high-speed current collection, it is necessary to keep the contact wire geometry within defined limits. This is usually achieved by supporting the contact wire from a second wire known as the messenger wire or catenary . This wire approximates the natural path of a wire strung between two points, a catenary curve , thus the use of "catenary" to describe this wire or sometimes

10125-557: The deadliest armed conflicts in American labor union history. Samuel Gompers of the American Federation of Labor called the St. Louis Streetcar Strike of 1900 "the fiercest struggle ever waged by the organized toilers" up to that point, with a total casualty count of 14 dead and about 200 wounded. The San Francisco Streetcar Strike of 1907 saw 30 killed and about 1000 injured. Many of

10260-521: The eastern terminus of the Pacific Electric right-of-way at Raitt Street. The Harbor and Raitt stops will include park and ride lots in addition to the existing parking structure at the Santa Ana train station. Although the former Pacific Electric rail bridge over the Santa Ana River still exists, it is single-track and considered structurally inadequate due to its age. A new double-track bridge

10395-454: The experiences on modern-era streetcars operating in Little Rock, Memphis, Portland, Seattle, and Tampa. The research revealed that in these cities, the primary purpose of the streetcar was to serve as a development tool (in all cities examined), a second objective was to serve as a tourism-promoting amenity (in Little Rock and Tampa), and transportation objectives were largely afterthoughts with

10530-435: The first generation of equipment, but several survive to the present. The abandonment of city streetcar systems in the mid-twentieth century led to accusations of conspiracy which held that a union of automobile, oil, and tire manufacturers shut down the streetcar systems in order to further the use of buses and automobiles. The struggling depression-era streetcar companies were bought up by this union of companies who, over

10665-558: The first system to be run exclusively on electric power, giving Scranton the nickname "The Electric City". In 1887 an electric streetcar line opened between Omaha and South Omaha , Nebraska . The Omaha Motor Railway Company began operation in 1888. Along the east coast a large-scale electric street railway system known as the Richmond Union Passenger Railway was built by Frank J. Sprague in Richmond, Virginia , and

10800-542: The following decades, dismantled many of the North American streetcar systems. While it is true that General Motors , Firestone Tire , Standard Oil of California , Phillips Petroleum , and some other companies funded holding companies that purchased about 30 more of the hundreds of transit systems across North America, their real goal was to sell their products — buses, tires, and fuel — to those transit systems as they converted from streetcars to buses. During

10935-633: The inflexibility of a fixed-guideway transit system to adjust to system changes, as compared to buses. Streetcars in North America Streetcars or trolley(car)s ( American English for the European word tram ) were once the chief mode of public transit in hundreds of North American cities and towns. Most of the original urban streetcar systems were either dismantled in the mid-20th century or converted to other modes of operation, such as light rail . Today, only Toronto still operates

11070-451: The line is under maintenance, an injury may occur as the catenary is suddenly energized. Even if the catenary is properly grounded to protect the personnel, the arc generated across the pantograph can damage the pantograph, the catenary insulator or both. Sometimes on a larger electrified railway, tramway or trolleybus system, it is necessary to power different areas of track from different power grids, without guaranteeing synchronisation of

11205-492: The line will be double-tracked for its entire length. Most of the route follows the original path of the Pacific Electric Railway "Red Cars" that served Santa Ana in the early 20th century, before being abandoned in 1950. Construction on the streetcar broke ground on November 30, 2018. As of October 2023, the line's expected revenue service date has been pushed to August 2025, per OCTA staff, despite initial plans for

11340-440: The line, it will briefly enter the city of Garden Grove where an intermodal transit center will be constructed at the line's terminus at the intersection of Westminster Avenue and Harbor Boulevard. The transit center will connect streetcars to OCTA's Harbor Boulevard bus routes, which are the busiest in the county, accounting for about 8 percent of OCTA's ridership and Westminster Avenue bus routes. The streetcar will operate as

11475-858: The mainline roads by serving towns not on the mainlines. The largest of these was the Pacific Electric system in Los Angeles, which had over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of track and 2,700 scheduled services each day. The Hagerstown and Frederick Railway that started in 1896 in northern Maryland was built to provide transit service to resorts and the streetcar company built and operated two amusement parks to entice more people to ride their streetcars. The Lake Shore Electric Railway interurban in northern Ohio carried passengers to Cedar Point and several other Ohio amusement parks. The Lake Compounce amusement park, which started in 1846, had by 1895 established trolley service to its rural Connecticut location. Although outside trolley service to Lake Compounce stopped in

11610-478: The military railway between Marienfelde and Zossen between 1901 and 1904 (length 23.4 kilometres (14.5 mi)) and an 800-metre (2,600 ft)-long section of a coal railway near Cologne between 1940 and 1949. On DC systems, bipolar overhead lines were sometimes used to avoid galvanic corrosion of metallic parts near the railway, such as on the Chemin de fer de la Mure . All systems with multiple overhead lines have

11745-428: The new modern streetcar systems that are currently under construction: The systems listed above will use modern streetcars. For new heritage streetcar systems that are under construction, see relevant section below . In addition to the streetcar systems currently under construction, a number of additional streetcar systems are in the planning stages in the United States. Examples of cities with streetcar systems in

11880-449: The notable exception of Portland, and to a lesser degree, Seattle. Not all streetcar systems were removed after World War II. The San Francisco cable car system and New Orleans' streetcars are the most famous examples of the survival of a "legacy" streetcar system in the United States to the present day. In addition to New Orleans' streetcars, Toronto's conventional electric streetcar system also avoided abandonment, as did portions of

12015-550: The number that have come to fruition has been small. In the 2000s, one factor in this was lack of funding support for streetcar development from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) under the Bush administration . However, under the Obama administration , the FTA indicated it would provide funding for streetcar projects in cities interested in building new systems. The following table lists

12150-442: The other legacy systems have received new equipment and most have upgraded to modern light rail vehicles. Some of these cities have also rehabilitated lines, and Newark, New Orleans, and San Francisco have added trackage and new lines in recent years; San Francisco also restored a streetcar line with heritage service in 1995 (see Heritage streetcar systems section, below). In Philadelphia, a former trolley line ( SEPTA Route 15, aka.

12285-402: The overhead conductor rail that runs across the entire span of the swing bridge. The gap is required for the swing bridge to be opened and closed. To connect the conductor rails together when the bridge is closed, there is another conductor rail section called "rotary overlap" that is equipped with a motor. When the bridge is fully closed, the motor of the rotary overlap is operated to turn it from

12420-480: The overhead line is limited due to the change in the height of the weights as the overhead line expands and contracts with temperature changes. This movement is proportional to the distance between anchors. Tension length has a maximum. For most 25 kV OHL equipment in the UK, the maximum tension length is 1,970 m (6,460 ft). An additional issue with AT equipment is that, if balance weights are attached to both ends,

12555-411: The overhead line, although there may be difficulties with overhead clearance . Alternative electrical power transmission schemes for trains include third rail , ground-level power supply , batteries and electromagnetic induction . Vehicles like buses that have rubber tyres cannot provide a return path for the current through their wheels, and must instead use a pair of overhead wires to provide both

12690-520: The ownership of these companies. The former verdict was upheld on appeal in 1951. The systems described in the paragraphs above and below are genuine streetcars or tramways, with smaller vehicles and mixed-traffic street running (i.e. no separation from other vehicles), such as those in New Orleans and San Francisco . However, a greater number of North American cities have built light rail systems in recent decades, some of which operate partially in

12825-457: The pantograph causes mechanical oscillations in the wire. The waves must travel faster than the train to avoid producing standing waves , which could break the wire. Tensioning the line makes waves travel faster, and also reduces sag from gravity. For medium and high speeds, the wires are generally tensioned by weights or occasionally by hydraulic tensioners. Either method is known as "auto-tensioning" (AT) or "constant tension" and ensures that

12960-424: The phases. Long lines may be connected to the country's national grid at various points and different phases. (Sometimes the sections are powered with different voltages or frequencies.) The grids may be synchronised on a normal basis, but events may interrupt synchronisation. This is not a problem for DC systems. AC systems have a particular safety implication in that the railway electrification system would act as

13095-572: The possibility of re-establishing service between Santa Ana and Los Angeles has been studied by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) since 2012. Restoring full service to the Pacific Electric Santa Ana Line via light rail would cost about $ 3 billion to construct, and is expected to serve about 80,000 riders daily. Reception of the streetcar has been mixed among business owners and residents along

13230-470: The project to construct the South Lake Union Streetcar , but contracted with local transit authority King County Metro to operate the service. Connecting the neighborhood south of Lake Union with the transit core of downtown Seattle, it operates every 15 minutes and is served by three low-floor streetcars of the same type as some of those in Portland. Residents of the area began referring to

13365-454: The project, citing that customers might avoid the area during construction, and that the rail line would eliminate parking spaces and increase traffic congestion. In addition, low-income residents have expressed concern over the potential gentrification of their neighborhoods, and being unable to afford increased rents as a result of the rise in property value. The streetcar project has been criticized for its high cost ($ 70 million per mile), and

13500-558: The project, for a total of $ 175 million. The streetcar was also one of the "Top 10 State Infrastructure Projects" that Governor Jerry Brown has recommended for expedited federal review. The total funding would be 72.2 percent from the federal government, 8.6 percent from California's state cap and trade program, and 19.2 percent from the county sales tax. OCTA announced in September 2015 that HNTB Corporation would carry out design work. The $ 15 million contract covered design of tracks, bridges, stations, associated utilities and

13635-423: The proposed corridor. Supporters suggest that the project would increase property values and increase economic activity along the route, as has occurred with light rail projects such as the E Line in Los Angeles County. Underutilized areas along the route could be reappropriated for denser transit-oriented development , reducing the need for automobiles among new residents. The Willowick Golf Course in Garden Grove

13770-519: The reactive upward pull of the tensioned wires lift the pulley so its teeth are well clear of a stop on the mast. The pulley can turn freely while the weights move up or down as the wires contract or expand. If tension is lost the pulley falls back toward the mast, and one of its teeth jams against the stop. This stops further rotation, limits the damage, and keeps the undamaged part of the wire intact until it can be repaired. Other systems use various braking mechanisms, usually with multiple smaller pulleys in

13905-465: The right-of-way of city streets, but which mostly operate in exclusive rights-of-way. A few North American 'light rail' systems date to the "first" streetcar era, such as Boston's Green Line , Cleveland's Blue and Green Lines , Mexico City's Xochimilco Light Rail , and the light rail system in Newark, New Jersey , and so can be considered "holdovers" or "legacies" from that era. The term light rail

14040-443: The same metal or a mix of metals based on the required properties. For example, steel wires were used for strength, while aluminium or copper wires were used for conductivity. Another type looked like it had all copper wires but inside each wire was a steel core for strength. The steel strands were galvanized but for better corrosion protection they could be coated with an anti-corrosion substance. In Slovenia , where 3 kV system

14175-619: The service in 2020. The streetcar will partially follow the historic route of the Pacific Electric interurban railway's Santa Ana Line , whose Red Cars operated between Santa Ana and Downtown Los Angeles via the West Santa Ana Branch right-of-way starting in 1905. The Santa Ana Line began at the old Southern Pacific Station (now demolished) at Terminal Street just south of the current Santa Ana train station, and traversed downtown Santa Ana via 4th Street. Service to Orange County

14310-420: The stiffness of the spring for ease of maintenance. For low speeds and in tunnels where temperatures are constant, fixed termination (FT) equipment may be used, with the wires terminated directly on structures at each end of the overhead line. The tension is generally about 10 kN (2,200 lbf). This type of equipment sags in hot conditions and is taut in cold conditions. With AT, the continuous length of

14445-537: The streetcar systems in San Francisco, Boston, Newark , Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland , as well as Mexico City . The Newark, Philadelphia, and Boston systems run into subways downtown, while the Pittsburgh and San Francisco systems have tunnels under large hills that had no acceptable road alternatives for bus replacements. The St. Charles Avenue line in New Orleans runs down the park-like "neutral ground" in

14580-472: The system as the "South Lake Union Trolley" giving it the amusing but unfortunate acronym of "SLUT". A line serving First Hill opened in January 2016 and feeds Central Link , the light rail system that opened in 2009. Construction of an extension that will connect the two lines is set to begin in early 2018. A new rail line which opened in Tacoma, Washington in 2003, Tacoma Link , is sometimes referred to as

14715-514: The tension is virtually independent of temperature. Tensions are typically between 9 and 20  kN (2,000 and 4,500  lbf ) per wire. Where weights are used, they slide up and down on a rod or tube attached to the mast, to prevent them from swaying. Recently, spring tensioners have started to be used. These devices contain a torsional spring with a cam arrangement to ensure a constant applied tension (instead of varying proportionally with extension). Some devices also include mechanisms for adjusting

14850-523: The time the holding companies owned an interest in American transit systems, more than 300 cities converted to buses. The holding companies only owned an interest in the transit systems of less than fifty of those cities. GM and other companies were subsequently convicted in 1949 of conspiring to monopolize the sale of buses and related products via a complex network of linked holding companies including National City Lines and Pacific City Lines. They were also indicted, but acquitted of conspiring to monopolize

14985-654: The train station, the streetcar route runs west along Santa Ana Boulevard to downtown Santa Ana and the Santa Ana Civic Center , the main administrative center for the City of Santa Ana and the County of Orange, where an estimated 38,000 jobs are located. The route will split at Mortimer Street onto existing one-way streets with westbound service continuing on Santa Ana Boulevard through Civic Center, while returning eastbound service will travel on 4th Street (two blocks south), through

15120-465: The tram wire. The tram's pantograph bridges the gap between the different conductors, providing it with a continuous pickup. Where the tram wire crosses, the trolleybus wires are protected by an inverted trough of insulating material extending 20 or 30 mm (0.79 or 1.18 in) below. Until 1946, a level crossing in Stockholm , Sweden connected the railway south of Stockholm Central Station and

15255-444: The trolleybus wires must be insulated from tram wires. This is usually done by the trolleybus wires running continuously through the crossing, with the tram conductors a few centimetres lower. Close to the junction on each side, the tram wire turns into a solid bar running parallel to the trolleybus wires for about half a metre. Another bar similarly angled at its ends is hung between the trolleybus wires, electrically connected above to

15390-406: The upper lobe of the contact wire. These grooves vary in number and location on the arc of the upper section. Copper is chosen for its excellent conductivity, with other metals added to increase tensile strength. The choice of material is chosen based on the needs of the particular system, balancing the need for conductivity and tensile strength. Catenary wires are kept in mechanical tension because

15525-418: The vehicle maintenance and storage facility. In December 2016 OCTA released a request for proposals for the manufacturing and delivery of the light rail vehicles. Construction is planned to start in 2018, and revenue service was expected to begin in 2020. In March 2018, OCTA placed an order for 8 S70 vehicles (later rebranded as S700 by Siemens), at a cost of $ 51.5 million. By July 2018, costs had increased to

15660-410: The whole system. This wire is attached to the contact wire at regular intervals by vertical wires known as "droppers" or "drop wires". It is supported regularly at structures, by a pulley , link or clamp . The whole system is then subjected to mechanical tension . As the pantograph moves along under the contact wire, the carbon insert on top of the pantograph becomes worn with time. On straight track,

15795-496: The whole tension length is free to move along the track. To avoid this a midpoint anchor (MPA), close to the centre of the tension length, restricts movement of the messenger/catenary wire by anchoring it; the contact wire and its suspension hangers can move only within the constraints of the MPA. MPAs are sometimes fixed to low bridges, or otherwise anchored to vertical catenary poles or portal catenary supports. A tension length can be seen as

15930-415: The wire stronger, 0.04% tin might be added. The wire must resist the heat generated by arcing and thus such wires should never be spliced by thermal means. The messenger (or catenary) wire needs to be both strong and have good conductivity. They used multi-strand wires (or cables) with 19 strands in each cable (or wire). Copper, aluminum, and/or steel were used for the strands. All 19 strands could be made of

16065-548: The work that Sprague did in Richmond and quickly spread elsewhere. Los Angeles built the largest electric tramway system in the world, which grew to over 1600 km of track. A horse-drawn tramway was commenced in L.A. in 1872. In the first decade of the 1900s, Henry Huntington was behind this development. Trams ran in the city as well as to outlying settlements. Lines radiated from the city as far south as Long Beach . Cars could be coupled, running in multiple-unit operation. All

16200-459: The world's oldest continuously operating streetcar line. From the 1820s to the 1880s urban transit in North America began when horse-drawn omnibus lines started to operate along city streets. Examples included Gilbert Vanderwerken 's 1826 omnibus service in Newark, New Jersey . Before long Omnibus companies sought to boost profitability of their wagons by increasing ridership along their lines. Horsecar lines simply ran wagons along rails set in

16335-451: Was Dallas' M-line which opened in 1989. Memphis opened what ultimately became a larger heritage streetcar system in 1993, while San Francisco restored one of its defunct streetcar lines ( F Market & Wharves ) using heritage streetcar operations in 1995. These heritage systems were followed in the 2000s by new heritage streetcar lines in Kenosha, Tampa, and Little Rock, and the restoration of

16470-475: Was San Francisco and much of its San Francisco cable car system continues to operate to this day. In this transition period some early streetcar lines in large cities opted to rebuild their railways above or below grade to help further speed transit. Such system would become known as rapid transit or later as heavy rail lines. The World Cotton Centennial was held in New Orleans, Louisiana , from December 16, 1884, to June 2, 1885. It featured displays with

16605-446: Was Toronto's. The surviving legacy systems using PCC streetcars have since replaced their PCC cars with modern light rail vehicles, although restored vintage PCC cars are still in regular operation on Boston's Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line , and as well as on San Francisco's restored F Market heritage line . New Orleans' streetcar system also continues to operate a few surviving Perley Thomas cars (along with replica cars). All of

16740-415: Was abandoned by 1961. By 1889 110 electric railways incorporating Sprague's equipment had been started or were planned on several continents. By 1895 almost 900 electric street railways and nearly 11,000 miles (18,000 km) of track had been built in the United States. The rapid growth of streetcar systems led to the widespread ability of people to live outside of a city and commute into it for work on

16875-552: Was devised in 1972 by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA; the precursor to the U.S. Federal Transit Administration ) to describe new streetcar transformations which were taking place in Europe and being planned in North America. Some notable distinctions between light rail systems and their streetcar predecessors were that: The pioneering "modern" North American light rail system, Edmonton LRT ,

17010-621: Was expected to start operations in 2021, but the project has faced delays and setbacks, including the discovery of human remains at a construction site in September 2020 and lawsuits from Walsh Construction Company in March 2022. As of October 2023, OCTA staff will report a revenue service date of August 2025 to the Federal Transit Administration. Santa Ana mayor Miguel Pulido has suggested the OC Streetcar system could become "the hub of

17145-583: Was followed by new streetcar lines in Seattle, Salt Lake City, Tucson, and Atlanta. These systems were completely new in every way, operating on new track built specifically for them, and operating with "modern" streetcar vehicles rather than the "heritage" vehicles used in places like Dallas, Memphis and San Francisco. In 2015, the Mineta Transportation Institute released a peer-reviewed research report which used key informant interviews to examine

17280-541: Was modeled after street-running light rail services of the Portland Streetcar ( Portland, Oregon ) and TRAX ( Salt Lake City, Utah ). Environmental reports were completed and the project qualified for federal funding status by 2015. Former President Barack Obama included $ 125 million for OC Streetcar in the 2016-17 federal budget under the Major Capital Investments (New Starts) program . In January 2017, Congress approved an additional $ 50 million in funding for

17415-416: Was operating by February 2, 1888. The Richmond system had a large impact upon the burgeoning electric trolley industry. Sprague's use of a trolley pole for D.C. current pick up from a single line (with ground return via the street rails) set the pattern that was to be adopted in many other cities. The North American English use of the term "trolley" instead of "tram" for a street railway vehicle derives from

17550-715: Was originally devised by the Pennsylvania Railroad and was continued by Amtrak and adopted by Metro North . Metal signs were hung from the catenary supports with the letters "PB" created by a pattern of drilled holes. A special category of phase break was developed in America, primarily by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Since its traction power network was centrally supplied and only segmented by abnormal conditions, normal phase breaks were generally not active. Phase breaks that were always activated were known as "Dead Sections": they were often used to separate power systems (for example,

17685-436: Was reduced to 32 miles (51 km) by 2001, and 9.3 miles (15.0 km) by 2004. The CenterLine was opposed mainly due to its high cost (more than $ 1 billion for the 9.3-mile (15.0 km) segment between Santa Ana and John Wayne Airport ) and was ultimately canceled in 2005. A streetcar along the current, east-west route (the "Santa Ana-Garden Grove Fixed Guideway Corridor") was first proposed by OCTA in 2006. The streetcar

17820-540: Was started in Edmonton in 1974 and became operational on April 22, 1978 – it used mostly European technology, did not use street running, and operated in tunnels in the downtown area (which accounted for much of the high expense of building that system). It was soon followed by light rail systems in San Diego and Calgary in 1981 that used similar vehicles but which avoided the expense of tunnels by using surface alignments and, on

17955-423: Was terminated in 1950 due to the increasing use of automobiles and buses, and the original tracks through town were removed and paved over. West of downtown Santa Ana, the original 100-foot (30 m) wide right of way – purchased by OCTA after its abandonment – remains as a strip of vacant land extending diagonally across Orange County's cardinal street grid , from Santa Ana northwest to Cypress / La Palma on

18090-472: Was the result of OCTA's "Go Local" initiative, which offered funds for Orange County cities to study potential new transit links to existing Metrolink rail stations. The Measure M2 sales tax increase, also known as OC Go, will be partly used to fund transit projects in Orange County, was also passed in 2006. In 2008, the cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove partnered with OCTA to develop the project. The design

18225-461: Was used, with the brass contact running inside the groove. When the overhead line was raised in the Simplon Tunnel to accommodate taller rolling stock, a rail was used. A rigid overhead rail may also be used in places where tensioning the wires is impractical, for example on moveable bridges . In modern uses, it is very common for underground sections of trams, metros, and mainline railways to use

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