On Mon, 19 Sept 2022 at 10:35, David McLoughlin mcloughlin.dj@...>
wrote:

>

>

> > Our next stop is a city with a TVR system. They were to replace the TVRs

> with 'proper' trams, but that project has apparently succumbed to a

> 'financial crisis' (and change of city government) and they are looking at

> just acquiring 'standard' trolley buses... However I wouldn't mind betting

> there will be a significant push to get rid of the 'unsightly wires' now

> that 'technology doesn't require them'.

>

> Nancy has ordered 25 double-articulated Hess trolleybuses to replace the

> guide-railed TVR system; they will start running when pavements wrecked by

> the TVRs are repaired and the overhead wires modified, see:

>

>

> We arrived in Nancy yesterday and we road the TVR line from end to end.

Talk about combining the worst aspects of a bus and tram... Ride quality
was 'lively'.

There are also random bits of trolley bus overhead left insitu from their
former trolley bus operation.
What's surprising (and I've seen it before, Caen's TVR and the Translohrs
I've ridden) is that it's not just asphalt that gets damaged - the concrete
sections clearly show where the tyres run. Over time the concrete would get
ruts too.
And you thought the two-rooms-and-a-bath trams had to take corners slowly.
The TVRs crawl through curves lest they jump off the guide rail.

The Nancy TVRs run unguided for 40% of their route (according to the
Wikipedia page). There are several 'random' stops to retract or deploy the
guide wheels. You know this is happening from the loud CLUNK from under the
floor!

It was noticeable that the stops on the guideway nearly perfectly matched
the platform with small gaps and wheelchair users wouldn't need a bridge
plate or ramp. Several stops are at Kassel kerbs platforms with no guide
rail. A bridge plate would be needed for a wheelchair. Height matched but
a large gap. 3 stops were like a bus stop, step out and down onto the
ground. No hope for anyone with any sort of mobility issue or child in a
pram.