Re: [MELB] Trams with poles [ was Trams Stops in Balcava x 12

[David McLoughlin <davemcl*PISSOFFSPAMMERS*@iprolink.co.nzzzzz>]

Daniel Bowen wrote:
> 
> "McAndy B(tm) with cheese" <laurelb@dingoblue.net.au> wrote in message

> > Why have 2 poles on a tram? :)  Obviously there is some reason, otherwise
> > they'd just use the same one, and turn as necessary :)
> 
> Smaller trams do (eg HTT no. 8).
> 
> I presume there's some benefit to having two - perhaps it being near the
> back of the tram is an advantage. Or having two in case one breaks, of
> course!


Generally, double-ended bogie trams have had a pole at each end wherever
in the world they have operated, while single-ended bogie trams like the
American PCCs have had a single pole.

Exceptions include San Francisco's PCCs which while single ended, have a
pole at the front to which is raised for reversing the tram in depots
etc from a small controller at the back.  Some Wellington drop-centre
bogie cars had only one pole, on a tower in the middle. It swivelled
through 360 deg.

Most single truck trams with poles tended to have just one pole whether
they were double-ended or single-ended.

Hong Kong's double deck trams are single truckers and have a single
pole, in the middle. Theoretically they can go backwards, but there are
loops at all terminuses.

Calcutta's articulated trams have a single pole, but they are single
ended and turn at loops.

All Melbourne's tram lines are now fitted for pan operation and all
trams except the remaining Ws use pans in service exclusively (though
the Zs still retain one pole for emergencies). Pole trams can however
still operate over virtually the entire 240-km system except for the
Port Melbourne and St Kilda "light rail" lines.

There are now very few trams which use poles anywhere in the world
despite the growing number of tramway systems. Pans rule in Europe
except in Lisbon which has some single-truckers with poles, Naples which
still has poles but is changing to pans with the arrival of a new fleet
of trams and Riga and one or two other Baltic cities. Some other cities
ie Blackpool can operate pole trams but most service is with pans. 
Alexandria in Eygypt uses poles on the city lines and pans on the Ramleh
line.

All the Chinese and Japanese tramways use pans. Hong Kong's other
tramway, at Tuen Mun in the New Territories, uses pans (many of its
trams were built in Melbourne were and based on the A Class!).

Toronto is the only remaining "big city" system that exclusively uses
poles on all its many lines including the new Spadina route and the new
waterfront lines. San Francisco still operates PCCs with poles on the F
Market line (all the rest of the lines use pans though PCCs with poles
do operate in passenger service on the J Church line to and from Geneva
depot. New Orleans has decided to stay with poles, on its existing St
Charles line as well as the Riverfront line (opened with Melbourne W2s
but now using replica Perley Thomas cars) and the planned reopening of
the Canal and Desire routes  (imagine, there will be a Streetcar Named
Desire again, I bet that will be a tourist attraction). Boston uses PCCs
with poles on the isolated Ashmont-Mattapan lines but all its other
lines use pans. Philadelphia uses pans on the Kawasaki trams that run on
the Media and Sharon Hill lines, but still uses poles on the Kawasakis
that operate the five subway-surface lines. And when the long-closed
all-street route 15-Girard reopens next year (reconstruction is under
way) it will be operated by PCCs with poles.

Many of the various "heritage" and tourist tramways in the US, New
Zealand and Australia have trams with poles. It's amusing how many of
them run Melbourne W2s.

Melbourne and San Francisco are probably the last big cities where trams
with poles can run extensively over the same tracks as trams with pans.
I'm unsure how much longer this will be the case in Melbourne, it is
basically because the change from poles to pans was made so recently and
the wires were reconfigured to allow both. But I've heard talk that the
wires will be simplified for pan-only on many routes, confining the Ws
(when they finally return to service) to the five routes they are
supposed to run on. I wonder where that will leave the restaurant trams
which at present seem to roam much of the system?


David McLoughlin
Auckland New Zealand