Interesting things about trams. Transport blog SAROAVTO

We got used to the tram in Stargorod and got on it
fearlessly. The conductors shouted in fresh voices: “Mestov
no,” and everything went on as if the tram had been running in the city since
Vladimir Red Sun.

I. Ilf, E. Petrov “Twelve Chairs”

Each of us has ridden a tram at least once in our lives. However, probably not everyone has thought about the amazing history of this type of transport. More recently, the tram experienced its rebirth and, thanks to its environmental friendliness, became the embodiment of a real car of the future. Let's dive into amazing story this vehicle. Let's remember how it all began...

What do many of us associate with a tram? What comes to mind are torn off yellowish tickets (one of which may well become lucky), a conductor in a special uniform, the unique melody of a tram as it moves quickly along the rails, and announcements about stops through the speaker. A tram is a kind of rarity, news from the distant past, childhood memories. This is history and a huge layer of culture.

The tram certainly has a whole series benefits. In particular, it does not pollute environment and cannot stand tightly in a traffic jam. However, despite the above arguments, for some reason the tram in Russia is not at all popular.

Even despite the difficult environmental situation V major cities, kilometer-long traffic jams, paid parking spaces, citizens prefer a personal car or bus. This is explained by the fact that many Russians see the tram as an obsolete form of transport. They are wary of riding it because of its slow speed and frequent delays.

However, things are completely different in Europe. For example, in Berlin, Zurich and other large European cities, the tram fits very organically into the system public transport. Here you can see huge, extensive tram networks with dedicated lines, special tram traffic lights, transfer points, etc. The tram arrives at the stop strictly on schedule. And the interior is spacious and comfortable.

Traveling by tram historical city delivers a lot of the most vivid impressions. During the trip, you can calmly enjoy the beauty of the ancient streets and many attractions.

In many famous cities and at the resorts there are special excursion trams. These are, as a rule, old models of trams, which, among other things, are wonderful works art.
This tram usually runs along historical places city, and its passenger can listen to an interesting lecture during the trip. Such trams include “tram 302-BIS”, which offers a tour of Bulgakov’s places in Moscow, or the famous single-track tram in the city of Yevpatoria.

The first trams

The first prototype of the tram was the so-called horse-drawn tram. It was a closed or open carriage, which was pulled along a special railway by a pair of horses. The very first horse-drawn horses appeared back in 1828 in America.
This means of transportation became truly convenient only in 1852. It was at this time that the French inventor Alphonse Loubat created special rails that were recessed into the road surface. Until now, the rails protruded as much as 15 cm above the street level, which greatly interfered with street traffic. Luba’s invention, by the way, is still used today.

In those distant times, there were other types of trams, for example, tram-type locomotives. Cable-drawn trams were very popular in the USA.
In Paris, there was a city pneumatic network; tram cars were driven by a pneumatic engine. The compressed air necessary for its operation was contained in a special cylinder. One cylinder was enough to travel along all routes.

In Russia, there were gas-powered trams.

Electric trams

First electric trams were independently created by specialists from a number of countries. In Russia, the main theoretical issues related to electric transport were developed by famous scientists B.S. Jacobi, V.N. Chikalev, D.A. Lochinov, P.N. Yablochkov. The first inventor of the electric tram was Fyodor Pirotsky. It was Pirotsky who, in 1880, managed to successfully demonstrate the first electric horse-drawn carriage in Russia.
Vinogradova Tania: In Europe, the prototype of the first tram was a car that was created by the German engineer Ernst Werner von Siemens. In 1879, the machine was used at the German Industrial Exhibition, which took place in Berlin. This electric locomotive allowed visitors to successfully move throughout the exhibition area. Later, similar locomotives began to appear in different cities Europe.

In the USA, trams were created independently of Europe. The first experiments with electric traction began to be carried out by the inventor Leo Daft in 1883. He planned to convert the three-mile line to electric traction. Already in 1885, the first electric tram opened on the American continent. However, the system turned out to be not entirely successful. But in 1886 it was successfully improved.

Another creator of the tram in the USA was Charles Van Depule. He created his own electric carriage and successfully demonstrated it in 1883 at an industrial exhibition in Chicago.

The tram became widespread in the United States only after engineer Frank Sprague created a special current collector. It was a reliable system compared to those previously presented. Thus, in 1888, Richmond got its first tram network, created by Sprague. After this, trams successfully “ran” in many American cities.

Decline and rebirth of the tram

Since the 20th century, the tram began to rapidly spread in a number of cities around the world. It quickly became one of the main species street transport, completely replacing the outdated horse tram.

However technical progress did not stand still. Following the tram, cars, buses, minibuses and trolleybuses. The rapid growth in popularity of these types of transport led to the fact that trams began to disappear from city streets over time.

The car in its heyday was considered the main symbol of progress. Many tycoons sought to invest in this type of transport. After all, it had broader capabilities and gave its owner significant advantages. The trolleybus became an equally serious competitor to the tram.

As a result, the tram tracks stopped being reconstructed and their condition worsened sharply. The prestige of the tram has fallen. In some cities, this type of transport has even been completely removed from the streets.

However, at the end of the 70s of the last century, people suddenly realized reverse side universal motorization. After all, the environment in large cities was deteriorating more and more, the problem of traffic jams was increasing, there was unimaginable noise on the streets, and there simply weren’t enough parking spaces for all the drivers. The metro and trolleybuses could no longer solve the problems that had piled up.

It was during these years that the tram received a rebirth. New tram systems were rapidly opening in Europe, in particular in Canada, France and a number of other countries. Gradually, many passengers realized the undoubted advantage of the tram. It became clear that the tram practically does not violate ecological environment and helps reduce traffic intensity. This made it possible to highlight more areas to create beautiful public gardens, squares, pedestrian streets.

Currently, trams operate in many cities in Europe and America. We can confidently say that the last 15 years have become a real tram boom. In addition, new and improved tram models are appearing. This is the so-called “tram on tires” in France, which resembles a hybrid of a tram and trolleybus, and convenient light rail transport, which is characterized by less than railway and metro dimensions, and other, no less interesting innovations.

Would you install an application on your phone to read articles from the epochtimes website?

The tram is considered the oldest form of public transport.

The first trams were horse-drawn and they appeared in the first half of the 19th century, and the first railroads were built in Baltimore, New York and New Orleans (1828-1834). The word tram comes from 2 English words: tram - carriage and way - path.

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Now maximum speed trams reach 120 km/h.

St. Petersburg is considered the capital of trams in Russia. Currently in northern capital tram tracks have a length of more than 600 km. This fact was included in the Guinness Book of Records in the 90s.

The electric tram first appeared in 1881 in Germany. It consisted of a locomotive and 4 cars. Each carriage had 6 seats.

IN Russian Empire The first electric tram began operating in Kyiv in 1892.

Until 1936, it was possible to travel from Vienna to Bratislava by tram.

The oldest trams now operate on the Isle of Man. These cars were built back in 1893.

The longest tram route is in Germany. Its length is 105.5 km. The trip lasts about 5.5 hours, with eight transfers required.

Belgium has the largest direct tram route. Its length is 97 km and includes 60 stops.

In Frankfurt am Main there is a tram for children. It is an attraction in the form of a small tram.

The smallest tram system in the world is located near Yevpatoria in the village. Dairy. The length of the tram tracks is about 1.5 km.

Most small town Russia, where trams operate, is the city of Volchansk in Sverdlovsk region.

For a good half of the 20th century, the tram was the main vehicle in Moscow, was included in many books, films and was firmly rooted in city folklore.

On excursions we often talk about trams, and over the course of our time we have accumulated quite a lot interesting information and answers to frequently asked questions.

Today we will talk about how to ride a “sausage”, why Annushka is a boulevard prostitute, why trams were constantly ringing and where the first traffic jams were in Moscow almost 100 years ago —>

Putting aside the romance, let's be honest: old trams were not the most comfortable transport from the point of view modern man. The seats are wooden, it shakes and rattles, in winter it’s no warmer than outside, and in summer it’s a greenhouse. The windows had to be lowered to the very bottom in order to somehow act fresh air. As you can see in the photo, at first they were unmerciful towards the carriage drivers, who had to stand in the open area in the cold and rain

After the revolution, with a sharp increase in the population of Moscow, all the tram's shortcomings became even more noticeable, there were not enough trams and the cars were extremely overcrowded. It’s not for nothing that the famous “tram boor” was born in the 1920s.

True, new models also appeared, as in the photo below (however, such cars could be seen on city streets until the 1970s)

They were very happy about the new carriage. Here, for example, is what Lev Kassil wrote about Mayakovsky and the new tram:

Vladimir Vladimirovich and I boarded the “B” tram. The tram was almost deserted and seemed unusually spacious. It was a new type of carriage that was launched around Moscow not long ago. Mayakovsky looked at the tram with curiosity.

– The carriage is somehow strange, unusual! “- he said. “Or I’m just not paying attention during the day, in the crowd.” But, in my opinion, this is the first time I’ve ridden something like this.

– New series, - the conductor said, - the device is in a new style. See, the ceiling is high - domed. And instead of belt pendants, there are staples to hold on. And generally freer than the old ones.

Mayakovsky walked around the carriage and saw a plaque: “Kolomensky Plant. 1929".

- That's great! - Mayakovsky admired. - So, it’s no longer some kind of legacy; We can already produce such trams ourselves. A truly luxurious tram. Very cool... How many years do you think the dynasty of these leather loops lasted? The devil knows, probably how many years... And here's an improvement for you: a bracket. It's a small thing, but nice.

Mayakovsky lovingly touched the copper brackets, walked ponderously, like a businessman, around the carriage, mumbled something to himself, looked under the benches, listened to the progress, leaned out from the platform to inspect the tram from the outside.

The conductress looked with obvious condemnation at the huge man, who was delighted with such an everyday and unprepossessing phenomenon as a tram. It was clear from her condescending face that she mistook Mayakovsky for a loudmouth from the provinces.

And so that no one would fall under the wheels in a crush, they made shields on the sides from slats.

Including a lowering mesh in front for this purpose (see also the photo of the old tram above)

The same photograph shows an interesting reconstructed detail: number “A” and a “boulevard” sign.
The famous “Annushka” walked along the boulevards. On the right and left sides. For simplicity, they often wrote on the signs - “A” l.bul and “A” pr.bul., i.e. left boulevard line and right boulevard line. True, many Muscovites mockingly deciphered “A” Ave. Blvd. like “Annushka is a boulevard prostitute.”

For a long time now, that same route A has been gone (now it runs only along a small part of the Boulevard Ring), but route “B” (“bug”, in Moscow) along the Garden Ring has been completely preserved, only trolleybuses now run there.

Paustovsky, who worked as a conductor for some time, wrote best about popular Moscow routes:

Our hands, conductors, were always green with copper money. Especially if we worked on the “copper line”.

The “Copper Line” was the name given to line “B”, which ran along the Garden Ring. The conductors did not like this line, although Muscovites called it with affection “Bukashka”. We preferred to work on the “silver” line “A” - on the Boulevard Ring. Muscovites also affectionately called this line “Annushka”. It was impossible to object to this, but calling the B line “Bug” was simply ridiculous.

She walked near crowded station squares, along the dusty roadsides of Moscow. The cars on line "B" had trailers. It was allowed to get into trailers with heavy things. The passengers on this line were mostly from the outskirts - artisans, gardeners, milkmaids. This passenger paid with coppers, but hid the silver and did not very willingly pull it out of his wallets and pockets. That is why this line was called “copper”.

Line “A” was elegant, theatrical and shopping. Only motor cars traveled along it, and the passenger was different from that on line “B” - intelligent and bureaucratic. Such a passenger usually paid with silver and notes.

Behind the open windows of the Line A carriage, the boulevards rustled with foliage. The carriage slowly circled around Moscow - past the tired Gogol, the calm Pushkin, past the Pipe Market, where the bird whistle never ceased, past the Kremlin towers, the golden-domed bulk of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and humpbacked bridges across the shallowed Moscow River.

We strongly associate old films about Moscow with jingling trams. Why? The fact is that trams were required to constantly ring at stops, signaling their departure, and Moscow was filled with these sounds.

The system was as follows. The main thing in the tram was, oddly enough, not the driver, but the conductor. The first was a performer and a small fry, and the second was small, but still a boss. The conductor was obliged, after checking that everyone had entered and bought tickets, to close the back door (the front door closed automatically, connected by a mechanism) and give the command to the carriage driver to depart. The command was just given by means of a bell. A cord was stretched along the wall of the entire cabin; the conductor pulled it from any part of the cabin, and this was the signal for the driver to depart.

For a long time, even after the war, doors on trams were opened and closed manually, so careless passengers often got off at the wrong place, but where they needed to, and the quickest managed to jump into the tram while it was moving.

And riding on the bandwagon was a favorite activity. The footboards on the trams were large and were originally intended to serve them, but children and many adults continued to abuse them, violating the rules.

In addition to the footrest, you could ride on a “sausage”.

Instructions in two frames “How to ride a sausage” from the mid-1920s film “Cigarette Box from Mosselprom”. Feet are placed below, and hands hold on to the top

“Sausage” was the name for the roll of cables with which the second car was attached to the motor car.

In the photo “Annushka” is climbing along the Boulevard Ring from Trubnaya Square. Note the crowded carriage and the wide open doors.

And to top it off a few interesting facts, about traffic jams.

The first long traffic jams began to form in Moscow back in the late 1920s and early 1930s. At the same time, one of the most problematic places was Lubyanka Square.

Here she is in the Kukryniksy caricature:

Lubyanka, Myasnitskaya, Okhotny Ryad often represented one continuous traffic jam through which everyone who arrived at three stations traveled to the center and other areas of Moscow. There were a lot of inconveniences, which ultimately led to the construction of the metro, the first line of which in 1935 connected three stations with the center, but that’s another long story... The era of trams has sunk into oblivion and the era of the metro has arrived.

Amazing things are nearby" we say when we notice or get to know closer something that we have passed by hundreds of times, but either did not know or did not pay attention to.... I would also add - "the unknown around", because often in life we ​​are surrounded by things so banal and familiar that for some reason we think that we know everything about them... we cannot understand where such conviction and confidence comes from... it is also not clear why, having lived a fair number of years, knowing perfectly well, to for example, what a tram is, we know so little about it... when and where it first appeared, what it looked like, who was its predecessor... We can find out these and many other interesting facts and details from the history of the tram and tram traffic if we show interest ...

Tram is a type of street rail public transport for transporting passengers along given (fixed) routes. Used mainly in cities. This is probably what anyone who is asked to characterize this type of public transport will answer...

Word tram derivative from English tram (car, trolley) and way (path). According to one version, it came from trolleys for transporting coal in the mines of Great Britain. As a mode of transport, the tram is the oldest type of urban passenger public transport and arose in the first half of the 19th century - initially in horse traction.

Horse-drawn

In 1852, a French engineer Luba made a proposal to install rail tracks along the streets big cities for transporting wagons by horses. Initially, it was used only for cargo transportation, but after the construction of the first passenger lines, the horse-drawn horse began to carry passengers. Such a road was built by him in New York....

Horse-drawn horse on the street of New York

and very soon new type transport spread to other cities in America and Europe.

Detroit Koenigsberg

Horse-drawn horse in Paris

London

Sweden Czech Republic

“What about in Russia?” - you probably ask....Soon a horse tram appeared here too....
In 1854, in the vicinity of St. Petersburg, near Smolenskaya Sloboda, as an engineer Polezhaev a horse road was built from longitudinal wooden beams covered with iron. In 1860, engineer Domantovich built a horse-drawn railway in the streets St. Petersburg.

Despite the low speed (no more than 8 km/h), new look transport soon spread and took root in many large cities and provincial centers.

In Moscow at the Serpukhov Gate

V Minsk

Samara

Voronezh

in Tiflis

Kyiv

Tashkent

For example, in St. Petersburg, horse-drawn railways ran along all significant highways from the center to the outskirts.

In most cases, the horse tram was built with the participation of foreign capital, and if at the beginning this had a positive effect on the development of the transport network in cities, then over time it greatly slowed down the development process... Firms that owned horse trams became ardent opponents of the introduction of steam and electric trams...

History of the electric tram

The prototype of electric trams was a car created by the German engineer E. rnst Werner von Siemens. It was first used in 1879 at the German Industrial Exhibition in Berlin. The locomotive was used to take visitors around the exhibition grounds.

Electric railway of the Siemens & Halske company at the Berlin Exhibition of 1879

The first electric tram appeared in late XIX century - in 1881 in Germany in Berlin. Four carriages were attached to the locomotive, each of which had six seats.

The train was later shown in 1880 in Düsseldorf and Brussels, in 1881 in Paris (inoperative), in operation in Copenhagen the same year, and finally in 1882 in London.
After success with the exhibition attraction, Siemens began construction of an electric tram line 2.5 km in the Berlin suburbs Lichterfeld.

A carriage of the world's first electric tram line in the former Berlin suburb of Lichterfeld, opened on 05/16/1881. Voltage 180 volts, engine power 5 kW, power was supplied through running rails until 1890. Photo 1881

The motor car received current through both rails. In 1881, the first tram, built by Siemens & Halske, ran on the railway between Berlin and Lichterfeld, thereby opening tram traffic.
In the same year C imens built a tram line of the same type in Paris.

In 1885, a tram appeared in Great Britain in an English resort town Blackpool. It is noteworthy that the original sections have been preserved in their original form, and the tram transport itself is carefully preserved in this city.

The electric tram soon became popular throughout Europe.
Haalle

Warsaw

View of the portal of the Rhine Bridge in Mannheim a lovely-looking tram rolls by

tram in Barcelona

The appearance of the first trams in the USA occurred independently of Europe. Inventor Leo Daft(Leo Daft) began experimenting with electric traction in 1883, building several small electric locomotives. His work attracted the attention of the director of the Baltimore horse-drawn railway, who decided to convert the three-mile line to electric traction. Daft began electrifying the line and creating trams. On August 10, 1885, electric tram service opened on this line - the first on the American continent.

Boston Double-axle tram with open areas. USA.

However, the system turned out to be ineffective: the use of the third rail led to short circuits during rain, and the voltage (120 volts) killed many unlucky small animals: (cats and dogs); and it was unsafe for people. Soon they abandoned the use of electricity on this line and returned to horses.

Cincinnati. Ohio. USA.

However, the inventor did not abandon the idea of ​​​​an electric tram, and in 1886 he managed to create a workable system (a two-wire contact network was used instead of the third rail). Daft streetcars were used in Pittsburgh, New York and Cincinnati.

Ice tram of St. Petersburg

In St. Petersburg, according to the agreement with the horse-drawn owners (it was concluded for 50 years), there should have been no other public transport. In order not to formally violate this agreement, in 1885 the first electric tram ran on the ice of the frozen Neva.

Sleepers, rails and poles for contact network crashed straight into the ice.

They were called “ice trams”.

It is clear that this type of transport could only be used in winter,

however, the fact that the time of horse-drawn trams was coming to an end soon became absolutely clear.

Steam horse

It’s little known, but it’s a fact that, in addition to the traditional horse-drawn horse, there were two more lines in St. Petersburg steam horse. The first line of the steam tram or in common parlance - steam engine, was laid in 1886 along Bolshoi Sampsonievsky Prospekt and Second Murinsky Prospekt, although officially this line was called the “steam horse-drawn railway line”.

The steam engine had a number of advantages over the horse-drawn horse: higher speed, greater power. Due to the resistance of the owners of horse-drawn trams and the advent of the electric tram, the steam tram was not developed - the steam tram line from Vosstaniya Square to the village of Rybatskogo along the current Obukhovskaya Defense Avenue became the last one.

Also in the early 1880s, a steam train line was laid along the embankment of the Ligovsky Canal.

The steam locomotives were stored in the Vyborg Horse Park. As a passenger transport, the steam tram did not survive much longer than the horse-drawn tram (its last run was in 1922), but it appeared on the streets again besieged Leningrad for transportation of goods and weapons.

Electric tram in Russia.

Contractual obligations with horse-drawn tram owners in some cities have delayed the development of electric trams in them. Somewhere the tram tracks were laid parallel to the horse-drawn tracks in order to bankrupt it. Sometimes city authorities simply bought out the horse-drawn roads in order to turn the horse-drawn horse into a tram. Thus, the first electric tram in Russia was first launched not in St. Petersburg, as many mistakenly believe, but in Kyive.

Here he appeared in 1892 year on Alexandrovsky (Vladimirsky) descent. The builder is Siemens. Quickly becoming popular, he literally captivated the entire city. Soon others followed Kyiv’s example. Russian cities: V Nizhny Novgorod tram appeared in 1896

IN Ekaterinoslav(now Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine) in 1897,

tram appeared in Moscow in 1899

V Saratov

Smolensk

Electric tram, as the tram was also called, appeared in Tiflis and had a fairly extensive network there.

Details about the Tiflis tram can be found in guide to Tiflis 1903

In Odessa and St. Petersburg - in 1907.

At the end of 1904, the City Duma declared international competition for the right to carry out work. Three companies took part in it: Siemens and Halske, General Electric Company and Westinghouse ( English). On September 29, 1907, regular electric tram service was opened on the streets of St. Petersburg. The first line ran from the General Headquarters to the 8th line Vasilyevsky Island.

Saint Petersburg. Blessing of tram cars

Details:

On Sunday, September 15, at 10 a.m., those invited to the grand opening of tram service along the line: the main headquarters, the Nikolaevsky Bridge and the 7th line of Vasilievsky Island began to gather in the Alexander Garden. People were allowed into the garden by personal summons. The public, for the most part, occupied the opposite panel. At the entrance to the garden there were brand new carriages in 2 rows. Car drivers and conductors in brand new uniforms were grouped here. A tent was pitched in Alexander Square, and a prayer service was held there.
The first toast to the health of the Sovereign was proclaimed by the mayor Reztsov, then the mayor, Major General Drachevsky, proclaimed health to the entire city government and its representative Reztsov. The chairman of the tram commission, Sokov, in a long speech expressed his gratitude to the administration and the audit commission for their assistance in the construction of the tram. The mayor in his speech emphasized that despite the difficulties of the task, almost 80% of all work on the construction of the tram was completed in one construction period. A nice toast was proposed by the chief engineer of the tram commission, Statsevich, who raised a glass to the tram worker, who had carried a million pounds of tram work on his shoulders. Anya’s workers heard this fair assessment of their work, since their representative was not at the celebration.
At the end of the prayer service, the guests entered the new carriages and traveled to the 7th line and back. The carriages are striking in their miniature size. The carriages are striking in their miniature size. The fee is posted in prominent places: for broken large glass - 7 rubles, for small glass - 8 rubles, for damaged doors - 40 rubles. “Spitting and smoking are prohibited.” The carriages are divided by a partition into 2 classes: the first has 14 seats, the second 10. 10 passengers can stand on the rear platform, 6 on the front platform. The carriage drivers were apparently worried, but they passed the first test with honor. In the first carriage, traffic was opened by the mayor Drachevsky and the mayor Reztsov.
Upon his return, before opening passenger traffic, the mayor went out onto the platform of the lead car and, addressing the public, proclaimed: “Tram traffic in St. Petersburg is open, hurray!” To this there was a response of “hurray” from those present. The public rushed into the carriages, with the boys ahead of everyone. The older ones hesitated, and the boys took up all the seats. In the blink of an eye, the conductors' calls rang out and the carriages began to roll with the first paying passengers. ."

After the appearance of the electric tram in 1907, the horse-drawn tram was gradually replaced by it; on September 8, 1917, it disappeared completely. The use of horse trams in Moscow continued until 1912.

Moscow

Old electric trams were completely different from modern ones. They were smaller in size and less perfect. They did not have automatically closing doors; the front and rear platforms were separated from the interior by sliding doors. On the front platform, the carriage driver himself sat on a high stool with metal legs and a thick round wooden seat. In front of him is a tall black engine. With the inscription "Dynamo" on the lid.
The carriages had wooden seats inside. In some they were in the form of sofas for two passengers with common backs on one side of the car and chairs designed for one person on the other. At the end of each carriage there was a place for the conductor. A special sign warned about this, so that, God forbid, someone would not sit in this place. The conductor (more often the conductress) often wore a service uniform overcoat, or even just a coat or fur coat. He had a huge leather bag for money hanging over his shoulder, and a board with tickets was attached to his belt. Tickets were of different denominations, depending on the distance of travel and the number of payment stations. The tickets were very cheap. Then the cost became the same, and the conductor now had a roller of tickets hanging on his belt. A thick rope was stretched from the conductor to the driver through the entire carriage under the ceiling. When the boarding ended, the conductor pulled this rope, and the bell rang loudly at the carriage driver's place on the front platform. There were no electrical signals back then. From the second car, in the same way, the second conductor sent a signal to the rear platform of the first car. Only after waiting for him and checking the boarding of his car, the conductor of the first car could signal the carriage driver about the end of boarding.
Standing passengers could hold on to canvas loops located along the entire cabin and hanging from a thick wooden stick. These loops could move with the passenger, sliding along the stick. Later, the hinges began to be made of plastic. Metal handles were also added on the backs of the benches, as well as handles on the walls between the windows. But that was much later. The windows opened completely. They went down into the lower wall. It was not allowed to stick out. It was even written about this on signs at every window.

Small children had the right to free travel. But no one asked the child's age. It’s just that on the trim of the salon doors there was a deeply embedded and whitened mark, by which the child’s height was determined and whether he should be paid or not. Above the mark, the child already had to pay for his travel.

Intercity trams

Trams are primarily associated with urban transport, but intercity and suburban trams were also very common in the past.
The tram follows the route Pierrefitte - Cauterets - Luz (or vice versa) in the French Pyrenees. You can say intercity tram, which is not quite usual.

This is one of the most scenic spots the designated tram line that arose on the border of the 19th and 20th centuries, decorated with a bridge called Pont de Meyabat.

Intercity mountain tram in France

What stood out in Europe was Belgium's network of intercity trams, known as the Niderl. Buurtspoorwegen(literally translated as “local railways”)
First section of locals railways(between Ostend and Nieuwpoort, now part of the Coastal Tram line) opened in July 1885. Intercity trams were also common in the Netherlands. As in Belgium, they were originally steam-powered, but then steam trams were replaced by electric and diesel ones. In the Netherlands, the era of intercity trams ended on February 14, 1966.

Until 1936, it was possible to travel from Vienna to Bratislava by city tram.

Few people know, but there was an intercity tram in Italy. Tied up Solerno and Pompeii.

There was an intercity tram in Japan between Osaka and Kobe.

After its heyday, the era of which fell on the period between the world wars, the decline of the tram began, but already somewhere in the 70s of the 20th century, a significant increase in the popularity of the tram was again observed, including environmental reasons and thanks to technological improvements.

Interesting facts about trams of the world

The largest tram network in the world is located in Melbourne, Australia.
Oldest tram cars, still in normal service, are carriages 1 and 2 of the Manx Electric Railway. They were built in 1893 and operate on the 28.5 km Douglas en Ramsey Country Line]
The longest tram ride in Germany is from Krefeld, or rather its suburb St Tönis, to Witten. The length of the trip will be 105.5 km, covering this distance will take approximately five and a half hours, and will require transfers eight times.
The longest non-stop tram route is the Coastal Tram (Dutch). Kusttram) in Belgium. There are 60 stops on this 67 km line. There is also a line from Freudenstadt to Ohringen via Karlsruhe and Heilbronn with a length of 185 km.
The northernmost tram system in the world is located in Trondheim.
Frankfurt am Main has had a children's tram since 1960.

The third generation of trams includes the so-called low-floor trams. As the name suggests, they distinctive feature is the low floor height. To achieve this goal, all electrical equipment is placed on the roof of the tram (on “classic” trams, electrical equipment can be located under the floor). The advantages of a low-floor tram are convenience for the disabled, the elderly, passengers with strollers, and faster boarding and disembarking.

Interesting things about trams

Tram (from the English tram - car, trolley and way - path, the name comes, according to one version, from trolleys for transporting coal in the mines of Great Britain) - a type of street rail public transport, usually electric, used mainly in cities for transportation passengers on specified routes.

Trams appeared in the first half of the 19th century, electric ones - at the end of the 19th century. After its heyday between the world wars, the tram began to decline, but since the end of the 20th century there has been a significant increase in the popularity of the tram, including for environmental reasons.

The oldest tram cars still in normal service are cars No. 1 and 2 of the Manx Electric Railway. They were built in 1893 and operate on the 28.5 km Douglas en Ramsey Country Line.

The longest tram ride in Germany is from Krefeld, or rather its suburb St Tönis, to Witten. The length of the trip will be 105.5 km, covering this distance will take approximately five and a half hours, and will require transfers eight times.

The longest non-stop tram route is the Coastal Tram (Dutch Kusttram) in Belgium. There are 60 stops on this 67 km line. There is also a line from Freudenstadt to Ohringen via Karlsruhe and Heilbronn with a length of 185 km. The northernmost tram system in the world is located in Trondheim. Frankfurt am Main has had a children's tram since 1960.

The longest tram network in Russia (until recently in the world) is located in St. Petersburg. Her total length is 500 km. The longest route is route 40, about 20 km. Previously, Vienna held the record for the longest tram network.

The tram of the village of Molochnoe is the smallest tram system in the territory former USSR.
The smallest city in Russia that has tram service is Volchansk, Sverdlovsk region of Russia (See Volchansky tram). Previously, until its closure in 2004, the northernmost tram in the world was Arkhangelsk.

The longest routes in Russia (and the longest intracity routes in the world) are the oncoming ring routes in Kazan, with a length of 32 km, 46 stops, travel time 2 hours 10 minutes.

The Ryazan tram is the only tram system in the former USSR, opened in the city 14 years later than the trolleybus (January 2, 1963; Ryazan trolleybus opened on November 12, 1949). Riga and Daugavpils are the only cities of the former USSR where the tram has a rod current collector.
The Astrakhan tram was opened on June 24, 1900, before the railway came to Astrakhan.