[PRCo] Re: Fwd: Caen

[Edward Skuchas]

Fred,

Would it be possible to receive the photos please.

Thank you.

Ed
On Jul 31, 2009, at 7:24 PM, Schneider Fred wrote:

> There is another set of Caen photos that are similar.   Tell me if
> you want them.
> Caen is a great jumping off point to explore Normandy.
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: "Jack May" <jack.may at americomm.net>
>> Date: July 31, 2009 6:14:50 PM EDT
>> To: "Schneider Fred" <fwschneider at comcast.net>, "Skip Gatermann"
>> <biker4 at sbcglobal.net>, "Craig Phil"
>> <philgcraig204 at yahoo.com>,	"Bente Bruce" <bbente at bellsouth.net>,
>> <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
>> Subject: Caen
>>
>> Caen is in Normandy and is a popular jumping-off point for touring  
>> the
>> beaches and battle sites of post D-Day World War II.  It was the
>> center of
>> major wartime activity and was captured by the Allies a week after  
>> the
>> Normandy invasion.  It also is the location of another proprietary
>> rubber-tired fixed-guideway surface operation, this one the GLT
>> system from
>> Bombardier.  Like Translohr in Clermont-Ferrand, the GLT system  
>> uses a
>> single rail for guidance and for returning the 750-volt DC current
>> picked up
>> from the overhead wire by the pantographs.  The system, which
>> opened in
>> 2002, consists of a trunk line with two branches on either end.  Thus
>> Twisto, Caen's urban transit agency, operates two GLT routes.
>>
>> 5:  The principal attraction of Caen is its 17th century Chateau.   
>> The
>> medieval castle is the site of a number of museums, although others
>> are
>> scattered about the city.  The Bombardier vehicles look more like
>> buses than
>> the corresponding rolling stock built by Lohr for Clermont-
>> Ferrand.  One of
>> the 24 low-floor vehicles (I hesitate to call them trams) passes
>> the castle,
>> near the center of the city.  Note the rear-view mirror and the
>> license
>> plate.  The interior of each unit is equipped with a steering wheel
>> for
>> operation off the route using a diesel engine.
>>
>> 6:  The rolling stock is single-ended, and the four terminals have
>> loops.
>> Each has a tight radius, as the relatively short 100-percent low- 
>> floor
>> vehicles can navigate sharp turns.
>>
>> 8:  The Jean Villar terminal of Line A, at the southern end of
>> Caen, is
>> covered by an attractive looking tubular structure.  Note the track
>> structure on the inbound side.  It allows the vehicles to attach
>> themselves
>> to the guideway after arriving from the garage under diesel power.
>>
>> 10:  This view in the city center contrasts the front and the rear
>> of the
>> single-ended rolling stock.  The vehicles are equipped with soft
>> two-and two
>> seating and do not ride quite as roughly as the Clermont-Ferrand
>> trams, but
>> they are still noisier than similar-style light rail lines in other
>> French
>> cities.  The portions of the concrete under the tires are already
>> beginning
>> to show ruts, and will eventually have to be repaved to avoid the  
>> ride
>> becoming as bumpy and uncomfortable as what I experienced on a  
>> similar
>> trolleybus application in Nancy a few years ago.
>>
>> 12:  A view from a pedestrian overpass in the suburb of
>> Herouville-Saint-Clair.  This area is a "new city," and the
>> guideway is an
>> integral part of the amenities that have been built to attract
>> residents.
>> Line B has four stops here, and is an important element of the area's
>> pedestrian-friendly circulation plan.
>>
>>
>> I recently heard that Caen's system was shut down for a few days
>> before my
>> visit due to a derailment (from the August issue of T&UT)
>> 
>
>