Re: Balloon loops on Australian tramways

[davemcl@REMOVEiprolink.co.nz (David McLoughlin)]

James Guthrie

>Edmonton Transit has such loops on its trolley lines - including
>intermediate turning loops to allow for short runs, temporary vehicle
>storage and the like. ( Example at 124 St. and !08 St. )

James, pardon my pedantry, but some people will be confused by your
post.

You are talking about the turning loops/circles from Edmonton's
trolley-BUSES, but your use of the term "trolley" for them will cause
some US readers to think you mean trams/streetcars which they call
"trolleys."

Every trolleybus system in the world today (and there are several
hundred) uses a turning circle, a loop or a run around the block to
turn at the end of the line, because all trolley buses are
single-ended (like a motor bus) and thus need to turn around to go
back the way they came.

However, not all streetcar/tramway systems use single-ended vehicles.
Many use double-ended vehicles which do not need a loop to change
direction... they simply shunt and the driver walks to the other end
of the car to head the other way.

Just to recap, this thread began about turning loops on  Australian
tramways which were very rare, because all Australian electric trams,
past and present, were double-ended.

David McLoughlin
Auckland New Zealand

I remember the Ice Age. It was what they claimed was happening to the
weather before they invented Global Warming.