Light Rail Jacksonville
Promoting Intelligent Rail and Skyway Transit in Jacksonville
Types and Sources of Rolling Stock
Original American Streetcars—from transit systems
Most heritage lines would ideally like to obtain authentic American streetcars from a prior operator, if they were available. Unfortunately, there are no pre-World War II classic style American streetcars in the possession of US transit operators, except for those being used on existing heritage trolley lines.
The streamlined art-deco standard design known as PCC cars (a shortened acronym of the Electric Railway Presidents’ Conference Committee that developed the design in the 1930s) remain in use by a handful of transit systems (Boston, Kenosha (WI), Philadelphia, and San Francisco). None of these operators has any spare cars to sell.
San Francisco and Kenosha are examples of heritage trolley operations that operate PCC cars acquired from other transit systems.
Original American Streetcars—from other sources
Trolley museums are the only other potential source of authentic, pre-streamlined American streetcars. However, museums are fundamentally committed to preserving their cars, which means leasing cars for regular, heavy transit operation is incompatible with their mission, though special or supplemental service on heritage lines may be appropriate. However, there may be exceptions in the case of duplicate equipment or cars that may be deemed surplus and available for sale. Such cars will normally require structural, electrical, and mechanical overhaul before being used. The same is generally true for the streamlined PCC cars; though some are for sale.
PCC Cars for Sale: The Seashore Trolley Museum, has 6 double end and 5 single end PCC cars for sale.
Several private parties may have PCC cars for sale as well. All such cars will also need rebuilding. Brookville Equipment Corporation of Brookville, PA has rebuilt such cars for Philadelphia and San Francisco and is very interested in doing similar projects for other cities.
A final source of American streetcars is the many car bodies that were sold off by transit systems in the first half of the last century for use as houses, cabins, diners, or storage facilities. Many of these cars still exist, but tend to have been heavily modified and to show considerable deterioration. As well, they are always bodies-only, as the transit operator would sell mechanical and electrical parts for scrap before selling the car bodies. Restoration costs for such cars will typically approach or even exceed the cost of new replica cars equipped with reused mechanical equipment. Nonetheless, for many heritage operators, such bodies will be the only possible source of a car that once ran in the city in question. Trolley museums can be a valuable source of information about the location of such car bodies. Many museums have also restored such bodies to operation so can be a source of information on the work involved.
Follow this link to the Technical section of this site for reference to the standards that should be followed for rebuilding streetcars for heritage use.
Replica cars with second hand mechanical components
A number of new start heritage trolley systems in the United States have been equipped with newly-built replica cars. These cars use mechanical and electrical equipment salvaged from older transit vehicles then reconditioned for reuse. Most of this equipment has come from foreign streetcars, though some has come from American PCC cars. The Gomaco Trolley Company of Ida Grove, Iowa pioneered this field by building three replica cars—copies of cars at the Seashore Trolley Museum—for Lowell, Massachusetts starting in the mid 1980s. Those cars used equipment salvaged from Melbourne, Australia trams, a source that is no longer available. Gomaco subsequently built replica cars for Portland, Oregon using equipment from American PCC cars. It developed a new model, a replica of a double-truck Birney car, for Tampa, equipped with air conditioning, and using mechanical equipment from Milan, Italy. A subsequent order for the same type of car for Little Rock incorporates built-in wheel chair lifts. Recent orders of cars have typically been priced in the range of $600,000 to $800,000 each (early 2000s prices). The firm is now building cars with virtually all new parts (see next section).
The below photos, furnished by Gomaco, show the construction process on the Tampa cars.See Gomaco's website for more views and further information about their products:.
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Gomaco has supplied similar cars to Little Rock, Charlotte, and Memphis.
The Port of Los Angeles has also used a similar approach—new bodies with rebuilt mechanical equipment—for the replica interurban cars used on their San Pedro heritage line.
See Below: for links to other suppliers of heritage cars.
Replica cars—Completely new
The first heritage trolley operator to build accurate replica trolleys using new components both for the bodies and the mechanical equipment was the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority. As well, the RTA is the only operator to have built its replica cars in house. In the mid 1990s, the RTA built about a half-dozen replicas of the 1920s vintage Perley-Thomas cars it uses on St. Charles line to replace second-hand cars it was using on the relatively new Riverfront trolley line. The cars were very close copies of the St. Charles cars but had an extra door mounted on each side for a wheelchair lift at the cost of several seats and passenger space inside. These cars used PCC-style trucks plus modern electronic control equipment supplied by a Czech manufacturer, CKD Dopravni (formerly Tatra), that once was one of the dominant suppliers of streetcars to eastern block countries. The estimated cost of these cars was about $1 million each. (See The New Ladies in Red, for more about these cars).
The RTA subsequently built a prototype car followed by a production series of 23 more cars for the reintroduction of streetcar service on Canal Street. These cars used the same basic body design, but with a slight modification to the handicapped door layout, and were also equipped with air conditioning. The demonstrator also initially used CKD trucks and controls. The RTA began series production of 23 additional cars of this design for the Canal line in 2001. and placed them in service in April, 2004. The Brookville Equipment Corporation, a manufacturer of mining and other rail equipment provided the mechanical systems. The cost of the Canal cars was approximately $1.2 million each. See the New Orleans section of this site for photos of the Canal cars. Sadly, hurricane Katrina in August, 2005 left all but one of the RTA built streetcars in about 4 feet of water for several weeks. Initial estimates of rebuilding the cars are in the range of $1 million each.
As mentioned above, Gomaco is preparing to build cars with all new components and Brookville has expressed interest in doing the same.
New Modern Streetcars
New start streetcar systems in the United States, specifically Portland (OR) and Tacoma, operate new streetcars of eastern European design. Washington (DC) has selected similar cars for the planned Anacostia demonstrator line. These cars are shorter than modern light rail cars but somewhat longer than traditional American streetcars. They are articulated (the bodies bend) and feature low floor loading for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The initial cars for Portland and Tacoma were built by the Czech firm Skoda and have the model name Astra. Skoda subsequently decided to discontinue production of these cars, but another Czech firm, DPO Inekon, started manufacture of a very similar car which as been ordered by Washington and Portland. Follow these links for photographs of the Skoda cars operating in Portland and Tacoma.
The possibility of manufacturing cars of this type in America is being explored in Portland. The following notes from Rail Transit Online describe these plans:
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New Streetcar Builder |
Foreign streetcars—American style or foreign style
Several heritage trolley operators have purchased complete, operable streetcars from foreign countries. In many cases older styled streetcars have remained in service far longer than in the United States and Canada. Many early heritage operations purchased "W-2" cars from Melbourne, Australia or used components of these cars in new replica cars. Several other operations used cars from Portugal—in most cases standard gauge cars from Porto (Memphis, Dallas, and San Jose) and in one case (Detroit) narrow gauge cars from Lisbon (now out of service). However, in both of these Portuguese cities the few original cars left are either still in operation or are used for museum purposes.
The last remaining sizable fleet of American style conventional streetcars still in service is the fleet of "Peter Witt" style cars in Milan, Italy (San Francisco and San Jose have cars from this series and Gomaco made cars for Tampa and Little Rock using components of these cars. Gomaco also has supplied two rehabbed Milan Peter Witt cars to St. Louis for a line under consideration there.). The cars are smaller copies of cars built for Philadelphia in the mid 1920s. The remaining cars of this type in Milan are gradually being replaced by modern equipment, so this source may remain a viable source for North American heritage trolley operations.
The only other foreign source of cars that appear somewhat similar to conventional American cars is Japan, where some cars equipped with 1920s-era American running gear are still in service (but many are built to Japanese gauge of 4' 6"—2 1/2" narrower than standard). See Tucson for images of a typical Japanese car.
Beyond these sources, many foreign cities, particularly in Europe, operate streetcars of more modern European design, and cars may be available second hand.
Leasing Streetcars
Either heritage operators or trolley museums may consider leasing equipment for use on other systems. Some heritage operators may have surplus equipment if a shortage of funding prevents operating a full schedule. As well, trolley museums have occasionally leased cars to heritage operations, though normally for short term or relatively light service. Leasing may be an attractive way to demonstrate a potential operation or to begin service before funds are available to purchase cars. Click on Trolley Links via Seashore Web Site for links to museums that might consider leasing cars.
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Replica Vintage Trolley Cars | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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One of the most exciting aspects of today's vintage trolley systems are the new cars being built as "replicas" of vintage designs. Building on the traditions of America's streetcar shops of the past, these new vehicles strive to incorporate the classic looks of vintage streetcar designs, with the reliability and durability of a new vehicle. Although not all vintage trolley systems have the need, or the funding, to acquire new vehicles, the market continues to grow. While they demand a higher price tag, new vehicles also come with the advantage of lower maintenance costs, higher reliability, a more predictable price and delivery schedule, as well as the ability to incorporate modern features such as air conditioning and ADA accommodations. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As an alternative to replica cars, some systems have acquired cars from overseas or restored vintage cars from their local area. Unfortunately, the pool of original equipment surviving intact from America's trolley era is relatively small, and those that remain "in the wild" are typically without running gear and other vital operational components. Most of the cars that have survived complete are preserved by railway museums around the country. Depending on their condition, museums may be unwilling to expose these rare pieces to the potentially consumptive use of daily service on a busy transit operation. Maintenance of vintage vehicles can also be a problem, owing to evolving safety standards, lack of spare parts and difficulty in finding the necessary expertise to maintain the older technology. The largest sources of overseas cars have been Australia, Portugal and Italy. Large scale exports of Australian trams ended in about 1990 when the government decided it was better to retain its retired trams, and the export of Portuguese cars also ended as the supply of cars was exhausted. Throughout the 1990's, cars have been available from Milan, (and remain so) although the fact that they are single-ended limits their utility. Today, opportunities to import trams from Australia are once again available; Newstead Tramcars has three restored single truck cars on offer, and the Bendigo Tramways organization is offering vintage parts, as well as entire trolleys, for sale. The Bendigo website includes an extensive set of pages detailing the latest offerings. Additional cars are likely to become available in Australia in the near future, see our Australian Trams page for more information. In the US, the Gomaco Trolley Company offers complete trolleys and refurbishment services. The Brookville Equipment Corporation manufactures new running gear, refurbishes trolleys (including major rebuilds of PCC cars) and is also pursuing the replica trolley market. Transportation Innovations Group is also offering battery powered replica trolleys. It should also be noted that the majority of the "new" replica cars built to date have used some percentage of refurbished vintage components, typically trucks, motors, controllers, and some air brake system components. The extent to which refurbished components are used on future orders will depend on the requirements of the individual customer, and the types of parts the car builder has access to. A number of cars have used parts from retired Melbourne trams, although the export ban has effectively dried up this source. Additionally, Milan has also proven to be an excellent resource, and a great many parts have been acquired from this city as their older trams are gradually phased out. New Orleans is notable as being an exception to the use of refurbished parts, opting instead to purchase everything new for its 23 Canal St. replica cars, including the trucks and motors. The New Orleans cars use newly built PCC-derivative running gear and modern chopper control. Other factors influencing the development of replica cars includes the 2005 introduction of the "APTA Standard for Vintage / Heritage Trolley Vehicle Equipment", which provides important new guidelines for vehicle manufacturers and operators. The table below details all of the replica vehicles built or on order in North America since 1984. Corrections, updates, and additional information would, of course, be welcome. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Replica VT cars built since 1984, compiled by John Smatlak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
* Customer also provided some of the parts Note 1- Sold as part of package which included refurbished Melbourne cars Note 2- Built in-house by New Orleans RTA, estimated cost $900K Note 3- Built in-house by New Orleans RTA, prototype for new Canal St. fleet Note 4- Cars built in-house by New Orleans RTA, with major components subcontracted out. $30 Million overall vehicle budget for 23 cars. Note 5- No air conditioning, no inverter Note 6- Modern chopper control system used in lieu of K-type high voltage control.
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Types of track right-of-way
One of the attractions of street railway technology, and with its modern incarnation as light rail, is that the track routing can be adapted to widely differing urban and topographical conditions. The cars can negotiate relatively small radius curves and can handle fairly steep grades. Thus the tracks can be snaked through or around obstacles as needed with a minimum of expensive reconstruction or reprofiling.
The following are a number of types of track placement typically found in heritage trolley systems:
Street running on Main Street in Jacksonville early 1900's.
Street running
City streetcars classically ran along the central lanes of urban streets—hence the name “streetcar.” In the early days, before automobiles, they only had to contend with horses, horse drawn wagons, and pedestrians, so there were no major delays associated with operating in the street. Later, as automobiles became more popular, growing congestion slowed streetcar service, and motorists came to dislike the rather slow and unmovable trolleys—a factor that contributed to their discontinuance. Nonetheless, miles of street trackage, not segregated from auto traffic, can be found today on surviving streetcar/light rail systems in Philadelphia, Toronto, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Boston and on the newly constructed downtown streetcar system in Portland. Heritage lines in Dallas, Memphis, Galveston, and Tucson also operate, at least in part, in mixed traffic.
The following are typical variations of street trackage:
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Mixed traffic. This is the classic streetcar configuration in which the cars share lanes with traffic. The tracks are classically laid in the centermost lanes, as placing them close to parked cars or curbing tends to lead to delays from double parked vehicles, cars entering and leaving parking places, trucks unloading merchandise, etc. Even with tracks in the center of the street autos and streetcars get in one another’s way, left turning autos delay streetcars, and boarding and alighting from trolleys can subject passengers to an unpleasant encounter with auto traffic, unless stations or raised safety platforms are provided at stops. However, this configuration remains viable especially if auto traffic is not heavy. Any steps taken to discourage auto use of streets with tracks directly in the pavement can help speed trolley service and increase its reliability. Possible measures include limiting left turns, signage to encourage motorists to stay off the tracks, and traffic patterns that encourage motorists to use alternative routes. |
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Restricted lanes. The simplest step to avoid the potential problems of mixed traffic operations is to restrict lanes for streetcars only by the means of signage and lines painted on the street surface to guide autos away from the tracks. This approach is easily employed where traffic is light enough to be handled by lanes away from the tracks and where streets are wide enough to provide alternate lanes.
 Raised track in Amsterdam, with curb that road vehicles can traverse if needed.
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Separated/raised lanes with differentiated paving. The next higher measure to discourage auto use of lanes with streetcar track is to pave the area around the rails with a somewhat rougher surface, such as paving blocks. Motorists will tend to avoid the rougher surface, particularly if it is also marked as a restricted lane, but both motorists and emergency vehicles can use the track lanes if needed to swing around a stopped truck or other obstacle. Portland, Oregon has been most effective in marking the downtown streets shared by light rail and heritage trolleys by such paving and motorists tend to obey the restrictions
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Reserved track in Portland designated by rough textured paving blocks.
While in Amsterdam, the center has been to raised by about six inches to provide a visual indication to motorists that they are to stay off the track. However, the curbing along the edge of the raised section is sloped at about a 45 degree angle so that traffic or emergency vehicles can climb onto the reservation in order to pass an obstacle. This approach has been very successful in Europe and has been copied with equally satisfactory results in Toronto, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.
This California Trolley runs IN a shopping Mall!
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Pedestrian mall. Streetcars can share pedestrian-only spaces with foot traffic quite effectively. The fact that pedestrians know that the trolleys will not deviate from the rails combined with their relatively low speed leaves people comfortable sharing their space with trolleys. This approach is used by the heritage trolley system in Memphis and by tram and light rail lines in many European cities.
 North Main Street in Jacksonville's Springfield district |
Median strip
If a median strip separated from traffic is available it can make an ideal location for streetcar tracks and the line can be made visually unobtrusive by completely surrounding the tracks with grass. The St. Charles line in New Orleans is famous for its use of a central reservation, or “neutral ground” in New Orleans terminology, for the tracks that pass through some of the most desirable residential neighborhoods in the city. Such lines once crisscrossed the entire city. Re-creation of the Canal line, construction of which began in 2001, will again place tracks in a grassed neutral ground. Where necessary, the track area in the reservation can be paved so that buses and/or emergency vehicles can also use the space. This approach is used on the downtown portion of the Canal Street line.
My first train ride was on one of these cars just a few miles away in Long Beach, Note this is "TRAIN TRACK"
Railroad right of way
Existing railroad rights-of-way through a downtown area can very easily be converted for heritage trolley use, as has been done in a number of cities. Though such routings are less historically authentic than street running, they provide an easy and low cost way of bringing heritage trolleys into a district.
Private right of way
New right of way, outside of street boundaries, can be created if vacant land exists or land is cleared by redevelopment. Unused land in urban centers is less common, but if it is available track can be constructed relatively inexpensively. If track is planned as part of a new development, the costs might be borne by the developer whose product will be served by the heritage trolleys.
Sources of Power
Museum Worker adjusting Trolley Wire
600 volts DC
Trolleys traditionally operate on 600 volts direct current, drawn from an overhead wire (by means of a trolley pole) and returned through the rail (by the wheels). Modern light rail lines typically use somewhat higher voltage (750 or 1000 volts) to power the higher performance and heavier light rail equipment. Thus if a heritage trolley operation plans to use the track of a light rail system, and if historic cars or replica cars with traditional equipment are to be used, then the cars may have to be modified to operate at this higher voltage. Dedicated heritage trolley lines can simply be built to use 600 volt power.
As the power to operate all the cars on a line must pass through a single small trolley wire, the capacity of that wire will be exceeded if many cars operate simultaneously. Thus trolley power systems are normally broken into separate "sections," each fed by a different generating source, and high capacity feeder cables are strung along the line (on poles or below ground) and connected to the trolley wire at intervals to increase capacity.
Unfortunately, utility companies are seldom able to supply 600 volt DC power, as virtually all utility customers today use alternating current (AC) at higher or lower voltages. Thus heritage operators need to provide means of adjusting commercial AC voltage and converting it to direct current. Several options exist for obtaining the needed DC power.
Motor-generator sets
During the streetcar era, the means for producing direct current from commercial AC electricity was by use of a motor generator set. Such a set consists of a large AC electric motor connected, either by the armature shaft or by gears, to a rotary generator that creates the DC power. Second hand generator sets of this type may be available at low costs (some trolley museums use such equipment), but operating and maintenance costs for these units is greater than for the more modern equipment described below.
Scranton, PA, historical trolley line electric sub-station
Solid state rectifier sets
Modern electronic equipment can perform the same function with no moving parts. These units are readily available and physically small (a cube 6 feet per side or smaller) and can be placed indoors or outdoor easily. Most heritage systems use such units.
Alternate sources of power
The needed DC current can also be generated from other sources of energy such a petroleum based fuel, water power, solar power, or wind power. Some heritage operators (such as Charlotte) have used small, mobile generators towed or pushed by a car until trolley wire and a central generating plant can be installed. Though a practical interim solution, this approach means each car operating simultaneously must have a generator and it also detracts from the authentic historical ambience of the trolley.