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134-412: [REDACTED] Portland Streetcar routes in relation to MAX Light Rail routes. The Portland Streetcar is a streetcar system in Portland, Oregon , that opened in 2001 and serves areas surrounding downtown Portland . The 3.9-mile (6.3 km) NS Line runs from Northwest Portland to the South Waterfront via Downtown and the Pearl District . The Loop Service , which opened in September 2012 as
268-568: A Czech design, and the first ten – which is all cars purchased before 2009 – were built in the Czech Republic and shipped to the United States complete. Streetcars added to the fleet after the first ten were built in the U.S. by United Streetcar , to basically the same design. All have a low-floor center section between the trucks , and at one door on each side they are equipped with a MAX-like bridge plate —a short ramp that extends from
402-603: 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
536-405: A "Local Improvement District" (special property tax assessed on properties near the line). Another source of funding for the streetcar is sponsorships of vehicles and stops, which in most cases have a minimum duration of one year, in contrast to the shorter-term advertising found on TriMet buses and MAX. Sponsoring organizations can have their name placed on the side of the vehicle, stop shelter or in
670-638: A 20-minute frequency in the evening and on Sundays. Every stop is fitted with an electronic reader board giving real-time arrival information to waiting passengers, using the NextBus vehicle tracking system . This was first brought into use on March 25, 2002. As on TriMet's MAX line, the streetcar's fare system is a proof-of-payment (or "honor") system, with random inspections of passengers' fares, which minimizes wait times at stops by allowing boarding to take place simultaneously through all vehicle doorways. Streetcar operators do not collect or monitor fares. Although
804-515: 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
938-643: A desire by PS, United Streetcar and others to increase further the U.S. content of streetcars built by United Streetcar, led to discussions between Rockwell Automation and the various interested parties in Portland on the possibility and feasibility of Rockwell designing a control system for the United Streetcar design. In April 2010, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approved a $ 2.4-million grant, to be matched by $ 600,000 in local money, to fund
1072-404: A fare and then knowingly traveled beyond the zone's boundaries would be evading fare payment. Transfers were given to all passengers who paid fares within the fareless zone, which were subject to inspection by fare inspectors or drivers at the first stop outside of the fareless boundary. However, in practice, drivers did not systematically enforce fare collection on bus trips taken from points inside
1206-529: A high degree of spare parts compatibility with the existing fleet. They arrived in Portland in January 2007, and after a period of street testing, entered service in late May 2007. The next delivery, on May 15, 2009, was effectively another Škoda 10T, but built in the United States under license, rather than by Škoda itself. It entered service in September 2012. Under a 2005 federal transportation bill, $ 4 million
1340-403: A lighter and shallower construction (the rail bed is only 1 foot or 30.5 centimeters deep), and the two systems share the same overhead line voltage , 750 V DC . Because of this, it is technically possible for a Portland 10T or 12-Trio streetcar to run on MAX tracks, and indeed originally this was planned to take place if a streetcar needed a particular type of maintenance work that was beyond
1474-620: A major goal of the project. The Portland Streetcar is the first new streetcar system in the United States since World War II . Since September 2012, the Portland Streetcar system has three services, which share a section along 10th and 11th Avenues in downtown, through the West End. As of mid-2015, the two-line streetcar system measures 7.2 miles (11.6 km), measured in one direction only – not round-trip lengths – and counting only once
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#17328444086141608-559: A need to trim its budget in response to a regional economic downturn. The proposals were refined into one that would eliminate fareless service on buses but keep rail service free. Proponents of this change argued that, with MAX light rail being added along the Portland Transit Mall in 2009, most transit users riding solely within the fareless area would be served by MAX and the Portland Streetcar, and therefore still travel for free. TriMet stated that 93% of all trips made within
1742-417: A pair of stops directly in front of Union Station, added with Portland Mall construction and north of Irving Street, were added to the zone. In its last years, the free-service area covered 1.35 square miles (3.5 km ). In January 2009, TriMet again raised the idea of reducing the validity of Fareless Square or possibly imposing a discounted fare, of $ 1, in the area concerned, this time in conjunction with
1876-651: A seventh car (026) was purchased from United Streetcar and was delivered on November 21, 2014. On March 21, 2018, Portland Streetcar announced an approval from city council to purchase two new Liberty Streetcars from Brookville Equipment Corporation . A third car was added to the order in December 2018. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, production of the cars was delayed, and by spring 2021 they were not expected to arrive until late 2022 or early 2023. An option for two additional vehicles also exists. The delivery of
2010-695: 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
2144-530: A streetcar system in 1990, in response to recommendations in a Central City Plan the council had adopted in 1988. The proposed network was originally referred to as the Central City Trolley and was envisioned as using faux-vintage streetcars like those of the Portland Vintage Trolley service. However, the name was later changed to Central City Streetcar, out of concern by project supporters that
2278-808: A truing machine, which has been installed in the left bay of the North Yard. While streetcars can operate on the MAX light rail tracks, a MAX car would be too heavy to operate on the streetcar's tracks , too wide for portions of its right-of-way, and unable to pass through the tighter curves on the Portland Streetcar system. Streetcars are stored at the rail yard near the Portland Streetcar, Inc. headquarters (1516 NW Northrup Street). Storage tracks and facilities occupy three city blocks underneath an elevated section of Interstate 405 , between NW Overton and NW Lovejoy streets (north-to-south) and NW 16th and NW 15th streets (west-to-east). City of Portland planners began considering
2412-911: 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
2546-435: Is a NS Line stop) before entering yard via Northrup. Portland Streetcar launched a new program in 2022 called Rider Ambassadors they are groups of streetcar personnel who help people onboard, give directions and connect people to resources, and help keep the riders safe. They ride the trains throughout the day and can be recognized by their purple vests As of 2024, the system's fleet included 19 cars. The streetcars are
2680-591: Is in session – and the daily-ridership figure averaged over a 12-month period through summer 2012, the last 12-month period before the second line opened, was 11,200. On September 1, 2012, TriMet discontinued the Free Rail Zone (better known by its pre-2010 name, Fareless Square ), which had previously allowed free service on the streetcar within Downtown and the Pearl District. A new streetcar-only fare of $ 1.00
2814-536: Is in use at one time. The extension cost $ 18.1 million, including the purchase of two additional streetcars, with the intent to allow streetcars to run every 10 minutes. In 2005 the Portland Streetcar project was awarded the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence gold medal. Another extension of 0.42 mi (0.68 km) south to the lower terminus of the Portland Aerial Tram at SW Gibbs Street, in
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#17328444086142948-530: Is many times larger, so streetcars were operated along the MAX tracks to the light-rail workshops at Ruby Junction (near the Ruby Junction/East 197th Avenue station on the Blue Line) for maintenance work on their trucks a few times. However, because the streetcar has a limited top speed of about 40 mph (64 km/h) (compared with 55 mph or 89 km/h for MAX trains) and because of differences in
3082-622: 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
3216-729: 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
3350-442: The "Buy America" Act ( 49 U.S.C. § 5323j ). In February 2006, Škoda Transportation established an "exclusive technology transfer agreement" with Oregon Iron Works (OIW) to build streetcars meeting "Buy America" rules, and the two companies jointly prepared a detailed OIW submission when the city of Portland (owner of the Portland Streetcar system) issued a request for proposals in mid-2006 to build one new streetcar for
3484-688: 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
3618-823: 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,
3752-540: The Portland State University (PSU) campus, north through the Pearl District , west to NW 23rd Avenue and then back to PSU on adjacent streets. Most of the $ 57 million used to build it came from local sources, and only $ 5 million came from the federal government . On March 11, 2005, a 0.6-mile (1 km) extension was placed into service at the line's southern end, from PSU to RiverPlace . This
3886-692: 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
4020-570: The Steel Bridge , then southward along the western shore of the Willamette River. The boundary of the eastside section, added in 2001, started at the east foot of the Steel Bridge, ran northwest to North Interstate Avenue to Multnomah Street, then east to the 1400 block of Northeast Multnomah Street, south to Northeast Holladay Street, and west to the Steel Bridge. By implication the entirety of
4154-785: 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
Portland Streetcar - Misplaced Pages Continue
4288-522: The Willamette River west to I-405 . On April 3, 1977, it was expanded southward from Market Street to the point where I-405 meets the river at the Marquam Bridge . A minor adjustment of Fareless Square occurred during the 1990s in order to include the stops for Union Station ( Amtrak ), by extending the northern limits of the area by one block to Northwest Irving Street. In 2001, Fareless Square
4422-1202: 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
4556-692: 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
4690-420: 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
4824-475: 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
4958-457: 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
5092-478: The Brookville order began in late March 2023, with the arrival of the first car in Portland; the third and last car arrived in December 2023. Prototype car 015, uniquely fitted with the experimental Rockwell propulsion system, became unreliable within a few years of entering service in 2012, and by 2019 it had experienced a system failure that the city was unable to repair. The car was last used in service in 2019, and
5226-838: The Central Loop (CL Line), runs from Downtown to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry via the Pearl District, the Broadway Bridge across Willamette River , the Lloyd District , and the Central Eastside Industrial District and added 3.3 miles (5.3 km) of route. In September 2015 the line was renamed as the Loop Service, with the A Loop traveling clockwise, and the B Loop traveling counterclockwise. The two-route system serves some 20,000 daily riders. As with
5360-744: 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
5494-409: The Fareless Square (or Free Rail Zone) meant that fare inspectors did not check passengers' fares within the free-fare zone. In late 2007, a series of attacks against TriMet passengers, particularly on the MAX Blue Line in Gresham , led to increased public scrutiny of the security of the Portland transit system as a whole. Fareless Square was called into question as part of this inquiry, as it
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5628-469: The Free Rail Zone primarily to help fill a large shortfall in the agency's budget, and the action was one component of a package of extensive budget cuts which also included service reductions and fare increases. The Free Rail Zone ended on August 31, 2012. The boundary of the westside portion of Fareless Square (and later the Free Rail Zone) started at the west foot of the Marquam Bridge, ran northwest along Interstate 405 to Northwest Irving Street, east to
5762-404: The Free Rail Zone. Rides within that area were free at all times. TriMet ended the Free Rail Zone on September 1, 2012. Passengers not already in possession of a valid fare when boarding are required to use their credit/debit card on the hop card readers on board each Streetcar. Portland Streetcar used to have ticket machines on board but have since been removed and replaced with machines outside
5896-416: 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
6030-430: 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,
6164-436: 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
6298-492: The OMSI terminus (mostly on a streetcar-only viaduct over the Union Pacific Railroad main line) and the route sections nearest to, and across, the Broadway Bridge. With the opening of the second line, the system now has 76 stops. The steepest grade on the system is 8.75% in the block of SW Harrison Street between 1st and 2nd avenues, which since 2015 has been on a section of track used by both routes. Streetcars are scheduled to arrive at 15-minute intervals at most times, with
6432-457: The Portland Streetcar tracks in June and was certified for service on September 21, 2012. It entered passenger service the following day, September 22, 2012, the opening day of the new eastside line ( CL Line ). Meanwhile, the city also purchased an additional five streetcars for the eastside expansion. A contract for these was let to United Streetcar in August 2009 and was originally for six cars. However, in light of Portland's dissatisfaction with
6566-399: The Portland Streetcar. In January 2007, OIW won a contract from Portland to build the prototype streetcar, to the Škoda design, and reported that it had established a new subsidiary, United Streetcar LLC , to perform the work. The United Streetcar prototype, number 015 in the Portland Streetcar fleet, was delivered on May 15, 2009, but did not enter service until 2012. The car is model 10T ,
6700-417: The Portland Streetcar. The change took effect in January 2010, with the zone renamed the Free Rail Zone . TriMet's fiscal year 2013 budget proposed the elimination of the Free Rail Zone effective September 1, 2012, as part of a package of service cuts and other changes intended to deal with a $ 12 million budget shortfall, and the proposal was approved in June. The fareless zone was discontinued at
6834-487: The Rockwell equipment, because the Rockwell system was still being designed at the time that production was beginning on the additional cars. If the city had waited for it to be completed, installed and thoroughly tested in car 015 before installing it in the additional cars, doing so would delay the completion of those cars too much, city officials indicated. These first "production-series" cars are United Streetcar model "100", instead of 10T3. In 2011, production problems raised
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#17328444086146968-463: 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
7102-413: 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;
7236-426: The South Waterfront District, opened on October 20, 2006. For the next five years, that section of track differed from the rest of the line in that the streetcar track ran entirely in its own right-of-way (formerly used by the Willamette Shore Trolley ). It was also bi-directional single track . This configuration was always planned to be temporary, awaiting an expected rebuilding of Moody Avenue, and in November 2011
7370-469: The Steel Bridge was within the fare-free zone. According to the TriMet code, the free-ride zone was "within Zone 1" and did not constitute a separate fare zone. TriMet discontinued all fare zones effective September 1, 2012, and no longer uses a zonal, or distance-based, fare system. Adopted in 1975 to combat limited parking and air pollution, Fareless Square initially encompassed the area of downtown Portland between Hoyt Street and Market Street, and from
7504-446: The Streetcar. Each vehicle also carries a ticket validator machine, for stamping "unvalidated" TriMet tickets purchased in advance. TriMet and Portland Streetcar have agreed to honor one another's fares, which means that TriMet passes, tickets and bus transfer receipts are accepted on the streetcar, and tickets purchased or validated on a streetcar are valid for travel on TriMet services (bus, MAX or WES Commuter Rail ). To facilitate this,
7638-562: 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
7772-410: 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
7906-597: The Vintage Trolley service in late November 2005. It never resumed, and the two vintage-style cars were returned to TriMet and moved back to that agency's Vintage Trolley carbarn next to the Rose Quarter MAX station in January 2007. (One other Vintage Trolley continued to provide service on a portion of the MAX system until 2014.) Each Portland streetcar is 66 feet (20.12 m) long, whereas Portland's MAX cars are 88 to 95 feet (26.82–28.96 m) long, and streetcars are operated in revenue service as single cars at all times, never coupled into trains. However, all models of
8040-508: 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
8174-460: 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
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#17328444086148308-479: The capabilities of Portland Streetcar's own "carbarn". The two systems are connected at two places: the first is a single curve of track at SW 10th and Morrison connecting to the westbound Red and Blue Line track. An additional set of connections exists at both ends of the Tilikum Crossing , as Central Loop streetcars share tracks with the MAX Orange Line to cross the bridge. TriMet's light-rail maintenance shops feature additional equipment, as TriMet's railcar fleet
8442-439: 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
8576-458: 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
8710-614: The car was complete and operable in mid-2009, it had yet to undertake the extensive "acceptance testing" needed to certify that it was safe for passenger service and would run reliably. Car 015's propulsion control system was made by Škoda, whereas all 10 earlier Portland streetcars—even the seven cars built by Škoda—had control systems supplied by Elin EBG, an Austrian company (and only installed by Škoda). Acceptance testing began in late summer 2009, but revealed unspecified problems, and Škoda and Portland Streetcar were unable to reach agreement on resolving them. This issue, together with
8844-402: 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,
8978-409: 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
9112-442: The classic tramway built in the early 20th century with the tram system operating in mixed traffic, and the later type which is most often associated with the tram system having its own right of way. Tram systems that have their own right of way are often called light rail but this does not always hold true. Though these two systems differ in their operation, their equipment is much the same. Fareless Square Fareless Square
9246-416: 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
9380-414: The cost of manufacturing of these cars, and as a result, the city agreed to reduce the number of cars on order from six to five. These cars have been assigned numbers 021–025 in the Portland Streetcar fleet. The first car (021) was delivered in January 2013 and entered service on June 11, 2013. As Portland Streetcar prepared to "close the loop" on the CL line with the completion of the Tilikum Crossing bridge,
9514-430: 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
9648-583: The end of service on August 31, 2012. From time to time during Fareless Square's history, some in the Portland area called for it to be abolished, for various reasons. As bus drivers could only request, but not require, payment of fares on bus boardings within Fareless Square, critics of TriMet alleged that the existence of Fareless Square facilitated fare evasion , and thus lost revenue, which must be made up by other means, such as taxation . In particular, riders who boarded in Fareless Square without paying
9782-446: 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
9916-429: 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
10050-616: The expansion of service to South Waterfront. By that time, the partnership between Inekon and Škoda had dissolved in an "ugly divorce", so these cars were constructed in Ostrava , Czech Republic , by a partnership of Inekon and the Ostrava city transit agency, Dopravní Podnik Ostrava . This partnership was originally named DPO-Inekon , but soon adopted the (English) name " Inekon Trams ". Portland cars 008–010 are model 12-Trio (a particular version of Inekon's Trio series of streetcar designs) and have
10184-439: 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
10318-466: The fare-free zone to points outside it. (In other cities with fareless zones, pay-on-exit is used on trips leaving the fareless area, and that practice was also used by TriMet from 1975 until 1982, when TriMet went to proof-of-payment system-wide until 1984.) On the MAX Light Rail and Portland Streetcar lines, a proof-of-payment fare system (or "honor" fare system) is used, so the application of
10452-453: The fareless boundaries to ride transit within the current boundary for $ 10 for two years. The Portland Business Alliance and tourism bureau supported the move. At that time, the estimated loss of revenue attributed to free rides on buses in the fareless zone was $ 800,000. In August 2009, the TriMet board approved an ordinance to discontinue the fareless zone on buses but retain it for MAX and
10586-457: The fareless zone could be made via the rail system, following the 2009 expansion of MAX coverage within downtown. In addition, bus drivers complained about passengers boarding buses for rides lasting only a few stops within the fareless area, slowing down longer distance riders. In addition, to alleviate concerns about seniors and the disabled in the downtown losing access to free service, a photo ID card would be provided to residents living within
10720-433: The fleet can couple with each other for a rescue tow. The shorter car length keeps station construction expense lower than would be the case for a light-rail station, but the smaller cars do not provide equal carrying capacity as that of a light-rail train; a single articulated Portland streetcar is only about one-third the length of a two-car MAX train. Streetcar tracks in Portland are the same gauge as MAX tracks, but of
10854-472: The heavier-duty MAX Light Rail network which serves the broader Portland metropolitan area , Portland Streetcars are operated and maintained by TriMet . But unlike MAX, the streetcar system is owned by the city of Portland and managed by Portland Streetcar Incorporated, a non-profit public benefit corporation whose board of directors report to the city's Bureau of Transportation . Like some of Portland's original streetcar lines, redevelopment has been
10988-542: 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
11122-402: 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
11256-462: The line is not part of the TriMet system, the city honors TriMet's fares for the streetcar, for simplicity and convenience of transferring passengers. Streetcar-only fares are available, but are not valid on TriMet, unless using a Hop card, which will charge the difference in fare upon transferring. The portion of the streetcar route within Downtown and the Pearl District of the streetcar route used to lie within TriMet's Fareless Square , later known as
11390-565: The line. Streetcar A tram (also known as 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
11524-476: The logic of linking incidents of crime in Gresham with the existence of a free transit zone located several miles away, in downtown Portland, and TriMet's own statistics showed that in 2007 the agency received very few complaints about activities such as drug dealing and panhandling in Fareless Square. TriMet held two public hearings on January 16, 2008 to help determine the future of Fareless Square but, after receiving
11658-528: 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
11792-523: 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
11926-617: 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
12060-539: The remaining length of two-way single track to less than 100 feet (30 m) (in operational terms; less than 10 feet (3 m) of actual shared track), on Montgomery Street between 4th and 5th Avenues. On August 30, 2015, the Central Loop Line was renamed as the Loop Service, with the A Loop traveling in a clockwise direction and the B Loop traveling counter-clockwise. Funding for the streetcar operation comes primarily from TriMet , fares, city parking revenue, and
12194-466: The replacement of car 015's control equipment with new equipment to be designed by Rockwell Automation. Under FTA rules, the grant was made to TriMet (the region's primary transit agency), but TriMet only acted as intermediary in this instance, and it passed the funds along to the Portland Streetcar system's owner, the city of Portland, who administered the contract with Rockwell and the now-amended contract with Oregon Iron Works/United Streetcar. The change
12328-468: The route was extended south of Gibbs Street, to SW Lowell and Bond, serving more of the South Waterfront district. This 0.46-mile (0.74 km) extension is a 10-block loop, from SW Moody and Gibbs proceeding south on Moody Avenue, east on Lowell Street and north on Bond Avenue to OHSU Commons at Gibbs, which stop is also directly adjacent to the entrance to the aerial tram. By 2008, Portland estimated
12462-479: The same as Škoda-built cars 001–007, but features a slightly modified end design. Although the differences are relatively minor, car 015 is considered to be model variant 10T3, whereas cars 001-005 were 10T0 and cars 006-007 were 10T2. Car 015, which carries a red, white and blue paint scheme and large "Made in USA" lettering along the sides, was presented to the public in a July 1, 2009, ceremony, at which Secretary Ray LaHood
12596-643: The section served by both routes. The end-to-end length of the original route, now designated the "NS Line", is 3.9 miles (6.3 km) since 2007, and the 2012-opened "CL Line" added 3.3 miles (5.3 km). The total one-way length of the CL Line is 4.4 miles (7.1 km), for it shares 1.1 miles (1.8 km) of route along 10th and 11th Avenues in downtown with the NS Line. Of the NS Line's 7.8-mile (12.6 km) round-trip length, 5.3 miles (8.5 km) are one-way operation along streets which are mostly also one-way and with
12730-490: The signalling systems, streetcar movements to the Ruby Junction facility had to take place very late at night, a time when TriMet schedules maintenance on the MAX line. Portland Streetcar managers therefore decided, early on, simply to remove streetcar components needing repair at a TriMet facility and transport them there by road, avoiding the need to schedule time on the MAX line to move a streetcar. Portland Streetcar now owns
12864-519: The stop announcement, as well as a small advertisement placed inside the vehicle or shelter. Brochures and ticket sales can also be sponsored. For the eastside line, the federal government contributed $ 75 million in 2009, with $ 20 million coming from Oregon Lottery -backed bonds; the rest of the cost was paid by the city, through the Portland Development Commission and a local improvement district tax on property owners near
12998-480: The streetcar line began using new double track on a realigned section of Moody. This change left the short section of bi-directional single track around 4th and Montgomery as the only such running on the current PS system. At the streetcar's Gibbs Street stop, a new pedestrian bridge opened in summer 2012, linking the stop to the Lair Hill neighborhood that was otherwise cut off by Interstate 5 . On August 17, 2007,
13132-486: The streetcar line, and they lacked the satellite-detection equipment necessary for them to be detected by the real-time arrival system ( NextBus ) informing passengers waiting at stops. When the line was extended to RiverPlace, the Vintage Trolley service continued to terminate at PSU, because of concerns that the steep incline on the new section could damage the cars' motors . These and other issues led to suspension of
13266-427: The streetcar prompted the construction of more than 10,000 new housing units and 5,400,000 square feet (500,000 m) of institutional, office, and retail and construction within two blocks. During 2010, Portland Streetcar had a weekday average of 11,900 riders. In August 2012, it was reported by one source as "about 10,000", but ridership varies by season – for example, being higher when Portland State University
13400-896: The streetcar system was located entirely within TriMet's Zone 1. TriMet tickets and transfers were valid all-day on the streetcar prior to that change, which also coincided with TriMet's elimination of the Free Rail Zone (Fareless Square). Since September 1, 2012, TriMet and Portland Streetcar tickets have an identical period of validity, of 2.5 hours (except for all-day tickets). NS Line streetcars enter service on westbound tracks (at NW Northrup and 16th streets). Service starts at NW 23rd Avenue at Marshall. Yard-bound trains make their last stop at NW 18th Street and Lovejoy before entering yard via Lovejoy. Loop Service streetcars enter service on eastbound tracks (at NW Lovejoy and 15th streets). Service starts at NW 9th Street and Lovejoy. Yard-bound trains make their last stop at NW 14th Street and Northrup (which
13534-465: The streetcars following parallel streets in opposite directions. The remaining 2.5 miles (4.0 km) of round-trip route length are sections where the NS streetcar route uses a single street (or private right-of-way ) for both directions of travel. The CL Line, similarly, follows separate streets in opposite directions over most of its length. The only exceptions are a length of about 1,000 feet (300 m) near
13668-529: 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
13802-411: The ticket machines on board the streetcars and at streetcar stops sell TriMet tickets – covering both the streetcar fare and any TriMet rides the purchaser makes within the ticket's period of validity (2.5 hours or all day) – as well as streetcar-only tickets. For the same reason, prior to September 2012, the streetcar ticket machines offered all-zone (three-zone) and two-zone tickets, despite the fact that
13936-423: The time. This lack had forced streetcar systems to turn to overseas builders as the only source of the type of railcar needed. The first Portland Streetcar project had not used any federal funds. However, for any future streetcar projects desiring to obtain federal matching funds, among which were the planned future expansion in Portland, the vehicles would need to comply with the minimum 60% U.S. content provisions of
14070-545: 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
14204-416: 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
14338-460: 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
14472-427: 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 ,
14606-416: The vehicle doorway—to allow wheelchair access. Compared to MAX cars they are shorter and narrower, a result of having to run in mixed traffic on neighborhood streets, alongside parked automobiles. The cars are lighter than those used by MAX, allowing cheaper, less-intense track construction. Furthermore, couplers on the streetcars are hidden behind bumper skirts and only used to move disabled units back to
14740-804: 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
14874-409: 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
15008-489: The word "trolley" would carry the connotation that the service was only a tourist attraction rather than a form of transportation, and in 1993 the city decided the line would use modern, low-floor cars instead of vintage ones. In 1995, the city estimated the cost to build a line from Northwest Portland to PSU as $ 30 million. Portland Streetcar started with a 4.8 miles (7.7 km) counterclockwise loop of single track that commenced operations on July 20, 2001, running from
15142-524: 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,
15276-401: 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
15410-427: The yard. From spring 2007 until fall 2012, the serviceable fleet included ten streetcars. An 11th car was delivered in 2009 but did not enter service until September 2012 (see next section). The 11 cars were supplied in four batches between 2001 and 2009, built by any of three different manufacturers. However, they have nearly identical dimensions and are similar in all respects, since the design used for all eleven cars
15544-531: The Škoda propulsion control system, the city decided in 2010 to modify the OIW/United Streetcar contract for these cars, to substitute equipment from Elin for the originally planned Škoda equipment. Fabrication of the streetcars had yet to begin at the time of that decision, but the change was substantial enough that delivery was delayed as a result, and the first cars are now not projected to be delivered until December 2012. These five cars were not fitted with
15678-665: 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
15812-401: Was alleged that the perpetrators of such offenses were often fare evaders who boarded TriMet in Fareless Square, and who then traveled to other areas (such as Gresham) without paying any fare, and that more stringent fare collection would keep such "undesirables" off the trains. TriMet's general manager proposed limiting the hours of Fareless Square to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. However, others questioned
15946-466: Was allocated for construction of a U.S.-manufactured streetcar vehicle. Congressman Peter DeFazio indicated that the contract would go to Oregon Iron Works in Clackamas, Oregon , and that Portland would be permitted to keep the prototype vehicle permanently. This special federal grant was intended to foster the creation of a domestic manufacturing industry for modern streetcars, which was non-existent at
16080-605: Was an area within central Portland, Oregon , where all rides on TriMet buses and light rail and the Portland Streetcar were free . It primarily consisted of the downtown area and, after 2001, the Lloyd District . It existed from January 1975 through August 2012, but was briefly renamed the Free Rail Zone in January 2010 after its coverage became limited to light rail and streetcar service, with bus rides no longer being free. The TriMet board decided in June 2012 to discontinue
16214-486: 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
16348-518: Was developed by the same two Czech companies, Škoda and Inekon . Cars 001 through 005 have been in operation since 2001, while cars 006 and 007 were added in 2002. These seven were built by a now-defunct joint venture between Škoda and Inekon, and are Škoda's 10T model, originally also called Astra 10T. Inekon performed most of the design work, while Škoda carried out the construction, in Plzeň . Three additional cars, numbered 008–010, were ordered for
16482-563: Was expected to increase the overall U.S. content of the car from around 70% to around 90%, and this helped win the support of federal officials to approve the $ 2.4 million in "research funds" needed to allow project to proceed. Prototype streetcar 015 was transported back to the OIW factory, in Portland's southeast suburbs, in May 2010, and it returned on April 30, 2012, now fitted with the experimental Rockwell propulsion system. It began acceptance testing on
16616-619: Was extended again, this time across the river to the Lloyd District . Included were MAX stations along Holladay Street and bus stops on NE Multnomah Street from the Rose Quarter , past the Oregon Convention Center to the Lloyd Center shopping mall. This was a panhandle-shaped addition to the original free-fare zone, and consequently Fareless Square was, strictly speaking, no longer square-shaped, but it retained its name. In 2007,
16750-482: 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
16884-584: Was introduced at that time. On September 22, 2012, the Eastside Line, renamed the Central Loop Line (or CL Line, for short), opened for service. In 2014, about half of the system's only section of bidirectional single track used in service, along SW 4th Avenue and Montgomery Street, was converted to double track, with the installation a second track along 4th and around the turn onto Montgomery. This new track came into use on September 23, 2014, and reduced
17018-469: Was placed up for auction in 2024. Until late 2005 the fleet also contained two Portland Vintage Trolleys , replicas of 1904 J. G. Brill Company streetcars owned by TriMet. These two cars (of four such cars owned by TriMet) were transferred to the city of Portland in 2001 for use on the Portland Streetcar line on weekends. They were used on both Saturdays and Sundays, with just one car in service on each day. However, they were not wheelchair-accessible on
17152-548: 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
17286-616: 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
17420-616: 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
17554-411: 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
17688-442: Was the featured speaker. Car 015's entry into service was delayed by more than three years, not finally occurring until September 2012. The main reason for the delay was a 2010 decision to replace its propulsion-control system – the electronic equipment which controls and coordinates the operation of the car's motors and other key operating components – with equipment made by Rockwell Automation , of Milwaukee , Wisconsin . Although
17822-434: Was the first phase of a plan to serve Portland's South Waterfront redevelopment area, including a new outpost of Oregon Health & Science University . This section includes a short length of two-way single-track operation, which at the time was about 100 yards (91 m) long and ran along Montgomery Street and 4th Avenue. (The 4th Avenue section was doubled in 2014.) Streetcar-only signals ensure that only one direction
17956-851: 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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