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<DIV><FONT face="Century Gothic"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Century Gothic">Fred</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Century Gothic"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Century Gothic">The miraculous expansion of tramway networks in
France has been slowed somewhat by election of conservative mayors in several
cities who have axed plans for new lines. But that does not detract from
your thesis. And the new mayor in Paris is very pro tram.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Century Gothic"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Century Gothic">Back in the good ole USofA, when mentioning
Texass you left out San Antonio, which has a plan and some money--but
anti-streetcar advocates are trying to get the issue put onto the November
ballot in hopes of killing it. The "Streetcar Vote Coalition" is comprised
primarily of suburbanites who want the allocated money spent on new roadway
construction in their precincts. We shall see what happens there.
There is also agitation for a tramway in Ft. Worth but it has not progressed
beyond hopes and ideas at this time. OTOH Austin has a LRT line, albeit
DMU operated, and is looking to expand same. Houston will open two
more lines before the year is out. Yeah, whodathunkit in
Texass!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Century Gothic"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Century Gothic">Dwight</FONT></DIV>
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style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=fwschneider@comcast.net href="mailto:fwschneider@comcast.net">Fred
Schneider</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=pittsburgh-railways@mailman.dementix.org
href="mailto:pittsburgh-railways@mailman.dementix.org">Western PA Trolley
discussion</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, July 09, 2014 5:05
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [PRCo] Transit Happenings
(Not Necessarily PRCo)</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Additional comments follow this … original message was moved to
the top for clarity. Yes, Herb, I liked the Jerusalem
pictures. <BR><BR>On Jul 8, 2014, at 8:54 PM, Herb Brannon
wrote:<BR><BR>> <BR>> Next, I was watching all the "happenings" in
Jerusalem on CNN and noticed<BR>> that one of the streets shown in the
broadcast had tracks and overhead<BR>> wire. Who would have guessed that
Jerusalem had streetcars. Check out the<BR>> photos attached. Also, who
would have guessed that it snows there. I worked<BR>> in Saudi Arabia,
which is pretty much in the same area, and it was always<BR>> hot.<BR>>
<BR>> <BR>> -- <BR>> Herb Brannon<BR>> <BR>> <A
href="http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20140708/486f14ba/attachment.jpg">http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20140708/486f14ba/attachment.jpg</A>
<BR>> <BR>> <A
href="http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20140708/486f14ba/attachment-0001.jpg">http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20140708/486f14ba/attachment-0001.jpg</A>
<BR><BR>> <A
href="http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20140708/486f14ba/attachment-0002.jpg">http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20140708/486f14ba/attachment-0002.jpg</A>
<BR><BR>> <A
href="http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20140708/486f14ba/attachment-0003.jpg">http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20140708/486f14ba/attachment-0003.jpg</A>
<BR><BR><BR><BR>And now what Fred has to broadcast.
:<)<BR><BR>Whoda thunk it? The world is moving in places we
cannot go because we might have to do it in all states at once and the
politicians cannot do that. For example, we cannot have high speed rail
because we need it in California, Texas and the Northeast Corridor but the
politicians cannot give out the federal money unless you can also give it to
Idaho, Wyoming and North Dakota and they sure as the devil don't need high
speed trains. <BR><BR>Herb, a lot of the rest of the
world is using light rail today because it doesn't use oil.
Jerusalem has had that system for more two and half years.
<BR><BR> <A
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Light_Rail">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Light_Rail</A><BR><BR>
<A
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91wWmvJ6kWg">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91wWmvJ6kWg</A>
<BR><BR> <A
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kqys0ge339c">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kqys0ge339c</A><BR><BR>My
favorite example of where the world is going today is France, which was one of
the first nations to go modern and get rid of those noisy, old, ugly
streetcars. Most of their systems were gone by the end of the
1930s ,,, Paris included. Only tiny operations remained in Lille
and St. Etienne by the era when most of us began shooting
pictures. Today? Why there are 26 systems in 25 cities
in France,. The population of France is about 64 million --- just
about the same as California and Texas put together. Can you
imagine 25 cities in Texas and California with trolleys today?
We're not even close! (We have them in Dallas, Houston,
Sacramento, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles and the BART
system in the East Bay and a funded proposal to bring cars back to El
Paso.)<BR><BR>The first one is in Caens, in Normandy. Is it a bus or a
trolley? Well, it is fixed guideway using a single
rail. So we have a pantograph and a rail return for
power. But the cars ride on rubber tires. OK, Not our
way of doing it but it works for them and it doesn't waste as much
oil. Because of rolling friction, the tires probably require more
energy than steel wheels on steel rails. On the other hand, it
probably stops as fast as a bus if stupid fool walks out in front of it while
texting. Guys, I'm looking for the good and the bad, not
just an argument that it doesn't look like something we
worship.<BR><BR> <A
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiGrBzH9WTE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiGrBzH9WTE</A><BR><BR>And
here is a more conventional two rail operation in Nice down on the Cote du
Azur (the Azure Coast) Makes the sounds you want.
Fantastic artistic photography … one of the best videos I've seen of
trams. The chap who shot it deserves a pat on the back. Damed if
it doesn't make me want to go there and dine on a bowl of
Bouillabaisse. (Only the French know how to make that
fantastic fish stew.) <BR><BR> <A
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQMHv_gYf-g">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQMHv_gYf-g</A><BR><BR>Italy
had cars in Trieste, Turin, Genoa, Milan, Rome and Naples when I first visited
that country in 1961. Today? Twelve
cities. Most of us might go to Florence (Firenze), Italy to look
at the art musums. I think I want to go back to see the new light rail
cars.<BR><BR> <A
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKv8GSSrETY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKv8GSSrETY</A><BR><BR>The
United Kingdom? This was a lot like France. In 1960,
the time of my first visit, all that was left were a three lines in Glasgow,
the downtown and promenade lines in Blackpool, Grimsby and Immingham, a little
bit of Sheffield, and the Isle of Mann. G&I and Sheffield
disappeared before the army sent me home a year later and Glasgow was gone by
1962, leaving only the promenade line in Blackpool and the Isle of
Mann. Today? Nine cities!<BR><BR>Tyne-Wear Metro
started the revolution in Britain
<BR><BR> <A
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuI7Nmst0MM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuI7Nmst0MM</A><BR><BR>Nottingham
was next. Three more lines are now on the drawing
board.<BR><BR> <A
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd2wmx2Fk2o&list=PLMeK7Eqknvg5QmkS8uuqCmdLsMHFUzkZs">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd2wmx2Fk2o&list=PLMeK7Eqknvg5QmkS8uuqCmdLsMHFUzkZs</A><BR><BR>A
test train in Edinburgh, Scotland last fall:<BR><BR>
<A
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7inHmbJgZ1E">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7inHmbJgZ1E</A><BR><BR>And
the USA and Canada has gone from about 15 cities in the mid 1960s to 59 this
summer when Tucson opens. An e-mail landed on my computer this morning
announcing that DART will open its line to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport on August
18th. Nine other systems in the US and Canada are under
construction or being designed.<BR><BR>But all is not
perfect. Two new operations have closed … Galveston closed
allegedly because of a hurricane and Memphis allegedly because of fires.
I think that in both cases the management is attempting to find excuses to
shut down tourist or heritage operations that were losing money hand over fist
and it is much easier to blame the loses in Galveston, where it only hauled
100 riders a day, on a storm that really didn't damage the system. In
Memphis, if you are only moving 3300 riders a day on three lines, maybe two
accidental fires that might have been motorman error can be blamed on old cars
and the cost of new ones could just be too much. <BR><BR>What is
the latest complete line in the USA? The GREEN LINE from
Minneapolis to St. Paul which opened <BR><BR> <A
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou7fH_IjhfE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou7fH_IjhfE</A><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>On
Jul 8, 2014, at 8:54 PM, Herb Brannon wrote:<BR><BR>> <BR>> Next, I was
watching all the "happenings" in Jerusalem on CNN and noticed<BR>> that one
of the streets shown in the broadcast had tracks and overhead<BR>> wire.
Who would have guessed that Jerusalem had streetcars. Check out the<BR>>
photos attached. Also, who would have guessed that it snows there. I
worked<BR>> in Saudi Arabia, which is pretty much in the same area, and it
was always<BR>> hot.<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> -- <BR>> Herb
Brannon<BR>> <BR>> <A
href="http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20140708/486f14ba/attachment.jpg">http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20140708/486f14ba/attachment.jpg</A>
<BR>> <BR>> <A
href="http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20140708/486f14ba/attachment-0001.jpg">http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20140708/486f14ba/attachment-0001.jpg</A>
<BR><BR>> <A
href="http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20140708/486f14ba/attachment-0002.jpg">http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20140708/486f14ba/attachment-0002.jpg</A>
<BR><BR>> <A
href="http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20140708/486f14ba/attachment-0003.jpg">http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20140708/486f14ba/attachment-0003.jpg</A>
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