The Skoda 15T isn't a derivative of the 14T, it's a completely different
design. The 14T belongs to the same family of fixed-truck trams as the
Citadis etc (though runs better than the Citadis). The 15T is a patent
design of its own and has no direct derivatives as no-one is using Jacobs
bogies nowadays and Skoda has patented the best Jacobs bogie design for a
low-floor tram. So the third stream of design platform in current low-floor
trams - for operators wanting proper swivelling bogie trams - is that
represented by the E class. This has the disadvantage of the bogies being
within the cabins, hence constraining internal layout and door
configuration options, but it's quite a popular design nowadays as trams
are conceived more as standee vehicles and not so much attention is given
to the niceties of seating. Within this design group, however, there are
sometimes different bogie layouts for individual clients, including a
mixture of fixed and swivelling bogies.
So that's the state of the art at present with no major technology shifts
(other than the wireless or autonomous tram) on the horizon. That early era
of experimentation with low-floor engineering, of which the Cobra and
Eurotram were examples, is over.
Tony P
On Tuesday, 20 July 2021 at 22:09:56 UTC+10transit...@... wrote:
> Mention of the Zurich Cobra Trams led me to browsing the Eurotram. and
> thence the Bombardier family of trams, with the woeful story of Bombardier
> trams in Ontario. This again led to the Skoda 15T and its derivatives - or
> perhaps I should say the derivatives of the 14T with their problems ironed
> out.
>
> This led me to wonder, has there been any real advance in tram design
> (other than technology) since the Eurotram and the Skoda 15T. How does the
> Melbourne E class stack up against these?
>
> Regards
>
> Dudley Horscroft
> On 20/07/2021 9:02 pm, TP wrote:
>
> Do you think so David? Like most older trams, I would describe the
> Ringhoffers most kindly as "quaint". My favourites are the American PCC
> and their derivative, the Tatra T3, and the Sydney R/R1, all first-rate
> examples of early modernity with high aesthetic quality. However, it's
> important to preserve representative examples of various types of vehicle
> throughout history and I admire any example of a fine restoration, whatever
> the vehicle. The low-floor era has brought more consistent aesthetics,
> though it's all reached a level of sameness where only the nose cone
> distinguishes them and there are certainly some ugly doozies among those.
> The Adtranz Cobra is my favourite example of good aesthetics in a low-floor
> tram. The fact that they didn't work so well is another subject, something
> that can't be said of the PCCs, the Tatra T3 and the R/R1!
>
> Tony P
> On Tuesday, 20 July 2021 at 15:40:40 UTC+10dba...@... wrote:
>
>> Thanks, Tony. Much nicer looking than the more modern ones I saw in
>> Prague.
>>
>> David
>>
>>
>> On 20 Jul 2021, at 2:28 pm, TP histor...@...> wrote:
>>
>> Any excuse for a good tram parade. Leading the parade is no. 18 from
>> Pilsen, the oldest operating electric tram in Central Europe.
>>
>>
>> https://www.expats.cz/czech-news/article/parade-of-historical-trams-honors-130-years-on-prague-rails
>>
>> A fine summer's day for it:
>>
>>
>> https://scontent.fsyd4-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/217713156_4143216382434848_5688233704860129311_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=OWQJ0WiABsIAX_-jGHj&_nc_ht=scontent.fsyd4-1.fna&oh=7fd2670dda4621fe0f0b9b08ab0174ff&oe=60FA7930
>>
>>
>> https://scontent.fsyd4-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/218851538_4143216159101537_4069468143783729548_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&_nc_rgb565=1&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=nGyYLDEAJWIAX_pcPvH&_nc_ht=scontent.fsyd4-1.fna&oh=0f3d9330e5a0dcf801bc1bfe8fc844e1&oe=60FC0207
>>
>>
>> https://scontent.fsyd4-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/217400009_4143216069101546_4036194390772267216_n.jpg?_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=5zZFviFZ-RQAX-8do0O&_nc_ht=scontent.fsyd4-1.fna&oh=4fa1173d5ed32a537814d5e4d0ed640a&oe=60FC0FCA
>>
>>
>> https://scontent.fsyd4-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/217663901_4143216059101547_3602521447494159218_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=WOzZ4QRrXWEAX-ZuuTs&_nc_ht=scontent.fsyd4-1.fna&oh=89d5a5b483a2aa49eb1b47a067744afe&oe=60FBDC4F
>>
>>
>> https://scontent.fsyd4-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/218228641_4143215932434893_2779728746671827262_n.jpg?_nc_cat=106&_nc_rgb565=1&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=viMSal5O4Y4AX9Qk5m0&_nc_ht=scontent.fsyd4-1.fna&oh=77e4b0ccd67c6611889a882d30ced19b&oe=60FB759E
>>
>> The photos at the multi-platform loop are at Prague's equivalent of the
>> Randwick Racecourse station, at Strahov Stadium.
>>
>> Tony P
>>
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