SH Archive The Incredible Similarity of Electric Tram Systems Worldwide

[KD Archive]

This is a video by Michelle Gibson from YT. She only has 612 subscribers at the moment, which is not representative of the quality research she does. If you enjoy what she does, please subscribe, and let us give the lady a little boost.

I started to notice a close connection in my research between not only trams, trains, canals, and star forts, but the incredible similarity between these systems all over the world. Historical tram systems, also known as streetcars, keep cropping up, so this video is dedicated to this particular subject!

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[HollyHoly]

Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.
Username: HollyHoly
Date: 2019-10-09 08:31:50
Reaction Score: 1

I subscribed to her

 

[Tetromino]

I'm going to have to borrow a photograph from the recent chicago thread because I noticed something more important than the architecture and that is the fact that if you look at the trams you will notice they are being drawn by horses despite there being overhead lines in place.

 

[Jd755]

I'm going to have to borrow a photograph from the recent chicago thread because I noticed something more important than the architecture and that is the fact that if you look at the trams you will notice they are being drawn by horses despite there being overhead lines in place.

View attachment 30063​

If I may suggest you would be well served by using the search to go through the archived threads and their replies. There are no overhead power lines for trams in this photograph which is why the trams you see are drawn by horses.
During the life span of that building cable cars replaced horse drawn cars and from the time of its successor electric overhead lines powering trams with built in electric motors appeared to replace the cable cars.

 

[Tetromino]

The point is that electricity was present at this time yet they were using horses. Why build a big heavy metal tram and all these rails only to be pulled by horses? Makes zero sense at all. I do not believe that any of these trams were built to be pulled by horses and it is certainly possible that they had a wireless method of being powered.

 

[Jd755]

The point is that electricity was present at this time yet they were using horses. Why build a big heavy metal tram and all these rails only to be pulled by horses? Makes zero sense at all. I do not believe that any of these trams were built to be pulled by horses and it is certainly possible that they had a wireless method of being powered.

Believe what you want. Show us evidence that contradicts what I have found out about these trams if you have any.
Or go to the isle of man where you will see real living horses pulling heavy trams along rails right now.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4n8NloTs0z0​

With anything on wheels no matter what it weighs getting it in motion is where all the effort is required. Once its moving its easy to keep it moving.

 

[Tetromino]

According to the official narrative the omnibus was already around before the trams were. Let's think about it from a business perspective. So you've got your omnibus service going around town doing fine; now why spend the time and money on digging up the roads to lay down some expensive rails that you will now have to maintain and you won't be able to divert if there are any obstructions you can't go around so you'll have to stop or if a route isn't doing too well you can't just change it. You also would not want the carriage to be any heavier than it has to be because you don't want to be slowing your service down any more than it has to be. Sure once its moving it's easy to keep it moving but it's going to accelerate slower if it's heavier.

An example of a Double-Decker Omnibus which could carry almost as many passengers as a tram:

In the video you linked all I see is an old non-functioning electric tram with a horse tied to the front. Perhaps if I run out of diesel I'll have to tie a horse to my car.

 

[Jd755]

As I said you need to go see these things for yourself. Go to Blackpool and have a looking at the working vintage electric trams there then go over to the IOM and have a look at the trams there and see if it was once fitted with electric motors.
Or go to Beamish and learn about the electric trams running gear up close.
Fifty Years of Service – Beamish’s Tramway reaches its golden anniversary…

And once again use the search on here this motive power discussion is there in the archive.
Also of relevance is the content of this post.
Trams used atmospheric electricity

 

[Tetromino]

I can also go to Disneyland to see some trams being pulled by horses; that doesn't mean they were originally built to be pulled by them.

According to the official sources many of the carriages for the Douglas Horse Tramway were built by the same company which made electric carriages for the nearby Manx Electric Railway. The tramway was apparently constructed by a guy named Thomas Longfoot but when you look him up it turns out he was actually the Archdeacon of Cape Town. What was he doing building a tramway in Douglas? A common theme with these anomalies is their construction being credited to some obscure person who turns out to not have anything that would warrant their involvement.

 

[Jd755]

Okay you win. I cannot better wikiwakipedia. I'll go burn my 1897 encylcopeda or better still send it to Disney so they can get a slew of cartoons out of its content.

Hold the front page.
Wikiwakipedia gets it wrong again!!

From here Douglas Bay Tramway/Douglas Horse Tramway

The Douglas Bay Tramway was the brainchild of Thomas Lightfoot, an engineering contractor of Sheffield and latterly the Isle of Man. The first plans were deposited on the 27th November 1875, with Tynwald approving the final version on the 6th June 1876, work commencing the very next day. The relationship between Lightfoot and Tynwald must have been good as materials were ordered in May 1876 before the act had been signed off, and fully three months before it received Royal Assent on the 12th August 1876.

I'll hang on to the encyclopedia bugger Disney and bugger wikiwakipedia.