Category Archives: Trams

Why was this barbecue on the tram tracks?

A few months ago I came across a photo on Twitter showing a barbecue along tram tracks, with a hotplate full of sausages sizzling away on top. So where was the photo taken, and what was the story behind it? […]

Continue reading

Posted in Trams | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Freight trams of Europe

Trams are usually used to carry passengers, but across Europe there are a handful of tramway networks that also carry freight. Pure freight The best known in the English speaking world is the ‘CarGoTram‘ of Dresden, Germany. Photo by kaffeeeinstein, […]

Continue reading

Posted in Trams | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tram stops in Russia

Tram tracks are quite obvious when they run down the street, but in Russia finding a tram stop can be a tad tricky.

Moscow tram #2095 passes another tram on the reserved track outside VDNH Continue reading

Posted in Trams | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Traffic lights and Russian trams

Where trams and road vehicles co-exist on public roads, special traffic lights are often provided to give them priority at intersections, and Russian cities are no different.

ЛМ-99 tram number 3304 waits at a set of traffic lights Continue reading

Posted in Trams | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Electric trains, trams and trolleybuses on movable bridges

The Russian city of Saint Petersburg is a located across a collection of islands, divided by the Neva River, and reconnected by a series of lift bridges that allow boats to head upriver. So how do electric trains, trams and trolleybuses make their way across?

Disused tram tracks across Trinity Bridge (Тро́ицкий мост) over the River Neva Continue reading

Posted in Trains, Trams | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Moscow trams in the Garden Ring

Moscow is a city with a sizable tram network, but if you only wander around the inner city, you’d never know it. So why are tram routes so sparse in the inner city?

Saint Basil's Cathedral and the Spasskaya Tower on Red Square Continue reading

Posted in Trams | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Maintenance vehicles of the Budapest tramways

Tramway operators need a fleet of special vehicles to keep the tracks and overhead lines in good working order, and the city of Budapest is no different.

'Üzemzavar Elhárítás' truck for the Budapest tramways Continue reading

Posted in Trams | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

When tram and trolleybus wires cross

Trams and trolleybuses have one thing in common – they pull their power supply from wires above the vehicles. This presents difficulties when the two modes of transport cross paths.

Combino Supra #2030 passes a stopped trolleybus Continue reading

Posted in Trams | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Disused tram tracks in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg was once home to the tram network in the world – Wikipedia says it consisted of 340 kilometres (210 miles) of unduplicated track in the late 1980s, but today has shrunk to around around 200 kilometres of track, following widespread route closures.

Headed along reserved tracks, ЛМ-99АВ tram number 3311 Continue reading

Posted in Trams | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Confused by Saint Petersburg’s many railway museums

On my visit to Saint Petersburg a visit to the local railway museum was on my itinerary, but the city doesn’t make it easy – there are three separate museums, each catering to a difference facet of Russia’s railways. So how do you tell them apart?

Collection of locomotives at the south end of the museum Continue reading

Posted in Tourism, Trains, Trams | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment