On 12/01/2018 6:24 AM,mcloughlin.dj@... [TramsDownUnder] wrote:
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> Remember Trampower? It was an obscure organisation (given public support in Light Rail Transit Association literature) which  built a lightweight "tram" that was trialled at Wirral and then Blackpool (where it caught fire) a decade ago. It even tendered its vehicle for the new Toronto fleet!

>

> Well, it has turned up again, and proposes to run that very same tram (!) on a line in Preston UK, presumably as either the 11 or the 86.

>


It's an interesting concept - I have attached a low res drawing copied from a document from their site which shows the motors under the driver, with an automotive tail-shaft driving the trucks.  It also has a single axle under the centre articulation.

There's a very detailed description of what they have done in developing the prototype and lessons learnt along the way at:
http://www.trampower.co.uk/resource/City%20Class%20Tram%20Document.doc

Be warned: It is a 19MB file!

One of the key features is supposed to be its light weight - I think that may well be one of its main downfalls.

Mal Rowe - not sure if it is an innovation or an oddity