On 24/11/2020 18:33, TP wrote:
> There are now very few quality new trams with swivelling bogies under 30 metres available from any manufacturers outside Czech Republic.


I'm sure you are right.

However, Melbourne has managed to force new designs on European manufacturers in the past and may well do so again.

The E class trucks ('bogies' to Europeans) are the standard Bombardier trucks with the attached springs removed and a bolster with room for a kingpin attached.

See: https://tdu.to/i/43692

When the B class was being designed, Duewag said they could not produce a Jacobs truck for Melbourne's minimum curves - so they were asked to think again and came up with the current design.

Perhaps a short E might be no more (in fact a bit less!) than an E with one end section missing.  The cabs are 'plug-in' modules that could be attached to the equivalent of the centre section of an E.  I attach a pic showing some plug-in cabs - waiting for the next prang - at Preston.  Ignore the Combino cab in the foreground and note the sealed up plugs and sockets on the E cabs.

Mal Rowe in a city that still has its own tram design expertise