This discussion on what may have happened if Brisbane or Sydney trams had
been re-used in Melbourne is interesting. On a practical note however,
considering the small market likely for trams in Australia, especially for
operation on existing suburban railways with interchanges to street
tramways, wouldn't a standard trsm design which could be used on 1067mm,
1435mm or 1600mm gauges simply by bogie exchange (as the Australian railways
have been doing for over fifty years) be the best way to go.

Instead of small orders for Citadis, Combino or Flexity trams, wouldn't a
big order for a tram which could be used on all gauges be the most
economical way to go ?

Raised platforms are already in place on suburban railways and raised
sections of existing (Melbourne) street platforms would allow easy access to
the floor level of conventional style trams which could operate via
interchanges between the railway and tramway systems.

Noel Reed. Who believes that a big order for a standard tram would bring
economies for all.

_____

From:TramsDownUnder@... [mailto:[email protected]]
On Behalf Of Roy Winslow
Sent: Thursday, 17 December 2009 11:12 PM
To:TramsDownUnder@...
Subject: [TramsDownUnder] Re: Transfers of trams from one system to another

--- In TramsDownUnder@ mailto:TramsDownUnder%40yahoogroups.com
yahoogroups.com, "Dudley Horscroft" <transitconsult@...> wrote:
>

> Many thanks for this, Ken. The width translates to 2324.1 mm, less even

than Adelaide's 2400 mm Flexities. So if BCC were to try
> to restore its tram system using old tracks where buried under tar, it

couldn't use Flexities. Not even ones only 49 inches long!
>

> Regards

>

> Dudley Horscroft

>


I always found the notion of reusing tram tracks in Brisbane as a way to
keep the costs down of a new light rail system a bit quaint and
oh-so-Queensland!

The problem touched on in the discussions on the width of FM cars is that
the track centres were based on the horse trams days when tram cars were a
lot smaller. I expect if the BCC had its way, it would have much preferred a
wider loading guage!

To continue with this limitation in an age of 'off the shelf' tramcar
designs would seem to be a false economy. Any saving in track construction
costs would no doubt be offset by the need for specialised tramcar design or
the modification of available designs.

But in saying all this - the FM was a fantastic design that maximised the
space that was available in a way other tram designs did not replicate until
the 1970's. It is my favorite tram of all, hence my yahoo name!

Roy (bcc550)