A tram is a vehicle that travels on city streets and runs on fixed tracks. In North America, it is commonly referred to as a ‘streetcar,‘ ‘trolley car,’ or ‘trolley.
This is because trams share road space with other vehicles and pedestrians. This pretty much answers the question: What are trams?
Most tram systems also include some off-street running. This is either on totally segregated alignments or along with the central reservation of roadways.
In the United States, they are referred to as the ‘median strip. This route segment is known as ‘reserved rights of way.’
Some tram systems run almost entirely on reserved tracks, with only a few brief stretches on the street. Many tram systems in the United Kingdom use former railway lines.
Also, share what was once only used by railways with heavy train services. A tramway is a track that a tram travels on, while a tramway system is a system as a whole.
But what are trams? What is the difference between light rail and trams? What sets trams and light rail apart from traditional railways?
In this article, we’ll review everything you need to know about trams.
History of Trams
Let’s go into a little history when discussing what trams are. Trams, streetcars, and trolley systems have a long history dating back to the early 1900s.
It can be separated into numerous periods based on the primary power source.
Horse-drawn
The Swansea and Mumbles Railway in Wales, UK, was the world’s first passenger train or tram. The service was discontinued in 1827 but was revived in 1860 using horses.
Horse cars had several drawbacks, including that each animal could only work a certain number of hours daily.
They had to be fed, groomed and cared for daily. This created a large amount of manure, which the streetcar company was responsible for keeping and subsequently disposing of.
Steam
Steam was used to power the earliest mechanical trams. There were two types of steam trams in general.
The first and most frequent had a small steam locomotive at the front of a line of one or more carriages, comparable to a miniature train.
In the UK, this was known as a tram engine. The other type of steam tram was known as a tram engine (UK) or a steam dummy (US). It had the steam engine built into the tram’s body.
Cable-hauled
The cable car was another tram motor system. A moving steel cable dragged it along a fixed track.
The power to move the cable was usually provided from a “powerhouse” facility located a long distance from the vehicle.
It faced many problems, including expensive cables, pulleys, and stationary motor systems. Also, long underground vault structures beneath the rails had to be constructed.
Cable cars suffered from exorbitant infrastructure expenses. They also required physical strength and talent to operate. Attentive operators avoided other cable cars and objects.
Gas
Trams were also powered by gas, naphtha gas, and coal gas. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they were used in various systems around the world.
The tramcar, equivalent in size, shape, and capacity to a cable grip car, used gas as its motive power.
The reservoir was charged once a day at power stations via a rubber hose. The automobile also had an electrical generator for lighting up the tram.
Also, it is used to drive the engine on steep gradients and start the motor.
Electric
In 1875, Russian inventor Fyodor Pirotsky constructed and tested the world’s first electric tram line in Sestroretsk, near Saint Petersburg.
New types of current collectors were invented in the second half of the 1880s. Before this, electric trains were problematic, unreliable, and had limited success.
Once the technical issues of electricity production and transmission were resolved, the efficiency and economy of electricity were rapidly accepted.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, electric trams generally supplanted animal power and other sources of mechanical power, such as cable and steam.
Light Rail
The phrase “light rail” refers to railway operations that use smaller vehicles with lower capacity and speed than traditional railways. Light rail infrastructure is less expensive to construct and maintain.
Light rail is an intermediate method of transportation that serves short intra- and inter-city journeys.
Stops are closer together than on commuter trains but farther apart than on local bus lines.
Difference Between Trams and Light Rail
When discussing what are trams, it is critical to understand the differences. Light rail is a relatively new phrase. It can be used to describe a wide range of systems.
Almost all tram systems can be classified as light rail. Trams are only light rail systems that travel on the street.
Because light rail is a modern phrase, it is safe to say that only modern systems can be labeled light rail.
However, many of the elements of modern light rail systems are still present in older tramways.
Many have also been gradually modernized to the point where they are very similar to systems built recently.
