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The New Coffee Room

  1. TNCR
  2. General Discussion
  3. Speaking of trolleys...

Speaking of trolleys...

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General Discussion
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  • George KG Offline
    George KG Offline
    George K
    wrote on last edited by
    #4

    They are our standard way of getting around town in New Orleans. Fantastic system. Portland also has a pretty extensive streetcar system.

    However, I can't comment on the profitability of either of those.

    "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

    The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

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    • jon-nycJ jon-nyc

      They used to be much more common here. I’m pretty sure they were mostly killed by lobbying from GM, and replaced with busses.

      jon-nycJ Online
      jon-nycJ Online
      jon-nyc
      wrote on last edited by
      #5

      @jon-nyc said in Speaking of trolleys...:

      They used to be much more common here. I’m pretty sure they were mostly killed by lobbying from GM, and replaced with busses.

      “ So, what happened to the streetcar system? A pointed assault from car-makers, which bought up the lines and got rid of them to promote cars and buses. A shell company owned by GM, Standard Oil, and Firestone Tires was responsible for the ploy, as Brooklyn Historic Railway Association explains, a perfect trifecta of companies that had very good reason to want buses, not streetcars, serving the city. The company was “ultimately found guilty of criminal conspiracy to destroy the American streetcar system,” the BHRA writes. “Unfortunately, the damage had already been done; by the time of the verdict (the 1950s), most of America’s trolleys were gone.””

      "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
      -Cormac McCarthy

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      • jon-nycJ Online
        jon-nycJ Online
        jon-nyc
        wrote on last edited by
        #6

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy

        "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
        -Cormac McCarthy

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        • MikM Away
          MikM Away
          Mik
          wrote on last edited by
          #7

          Qanon Jon. 😆

          “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

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          • brendaB Offline
            brendaB Offline
            brenda
            wrote on last edited by
            #8

            When we stayed in Budapest for three weeks, we used their transit system to go everywhere. We never needed to rent a car. Bus to tram to train, we used it all. We even used the train system to visit other towns in the area. It was very well used by the locals, and it ran day and night, with short wait times for the next one to arrive.

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            • jon-nycJ Online
              jon-nycJ Online
              jon-nyc
              wrote on last edited by
              #9

              Eastern Europe has great streetcars. So does Austria. Berlin too.

              "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
              -Cormac McCarthy

              brendaB 1 Reply Last reply
              • jon-nycJ jon-nyc

                Eastern Europe has great streetcars. So does Austria. Berlin too.

                brendaB Offline
                brendaB Offline
                brenda
                wrote on last edited by
                #10

                @jon-nyc said in Speaking of trolleys...:

                Eastern Europe has great streetcars. So does Austria. Berlin too.

                Ayup. We used train to go from Munich to Vienna, then street cars all over Vienna.

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                • brendaB Offline
                  brendaB Offline
                  brenda
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #11

                  In Budapest, they were still using some Soviet-era trams and trains while we were there. It was sort of surreal to ride in those, knowing the history and how darn old they were.

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                  • jon-nycJ Online
                    jon-nycJ Online
                    jon-nyc
                    wrote on last edited by jon-nyc
                    #12

                    Me too, but then I was there 20 years ago. Only a decade after Soviet times.

                    "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
                    -Cormac McCarthy

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                    • taiwan_girlT Online
                      taiwan_girlT Online
                      taiwan_girl
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #13

                      I dont think any public transport system pays for itself, especially in the US.

                      I remember reading somewhere that maybe Hong Kong and Singapore were actually making a profit. But other than that, not sure if any can.

                      But I agree with others above, streetcars are cool! Almost got ran by one in Amsterdam!! My fault, but what a way to go. LOL

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                      • jon-nycJ Online
                        jon-nycJ Online
                        jon-nyc
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #14

                        When we were in Amsterdam almost 4 years ago we rode the trams all the time. My son wanted to make a point to ride each of their 15 or so lines. Toward the end of our stay he and I made a superfluous trip around the city just to hit the last couple of lines that we hadn’t had occasion to take. #8yearolds

                        "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
                        -Cormac McCarthy

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