Re: 80th anniversary of suburban electrification

[David Bromage <dbromage@omni.com.au>]

Barry Campbell wrote:
> 
> David Bromage wrote:
> >
> > Roderick Smith wrote:
> > >
> > > Of course, the terms have become muddied in recent years with the phrase
> > > 'light rail', adopted by tram systems to overcome public stigma of the
> > > traditional term.
> >
> > Lucky we don't have the British "light railway" to add to the confusion.
> >
> Even when we do have light railways as in the canefields of Qld, they
> are colloqially called trams anyway!

Again, it's not colloquial. They call(ed) themselves tramways for the
same reason Silverton did. It's a legal difference to reduce the amount
of infrastructure they have to maintain.

The British "light railway" was a system whereby operating procedures
could be simplified and many regulations did not apply. This was made
possible through a speed limit of 25mph. Many local, narrow gauge and
industrial lines operated this way. Most of the preserved lines in the
UK operate under light railway orders, although some have since become
"real" railways.

Cheers
David