The Presidents' Conference Committee ( PCC ) is a streetcar design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful domestically, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the world where PCC based cars were made. The PCC car has proved to be a long-lasting icon of streetcar design, and many remain in service around the world.
163-551: The Pittsburgh Light Rail (commonly known as The T ) is a 26.2-mile (42.2 km) light rail system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , and surrounding suburbs. It operates as a deep-level subway in Downtown Pittsburgh , but runs mostly at-grade in the suburbs south of the city. The system is largely linear in a north-south direction, with one terminus near Pittsburgh's central business district and two termini in
326-724: A "light rail" vehicle (it is a heavy rail vehicle), and is only included for comparison purposes. Low-floor LRVs have the advantage of a low-floor design, allowing them to load passengers directly from low-rise platforms that can be little more than raised curbs. High-floor light rail systems also exist, featuring larger stations. Historically, the track gauge has had considerable variations, with narrow gauge common in many early systems. However, most light rail systems are now standard gauge . Older standard-gauge vehicles could not negotiate sharp turns as easily as narrow-gauge ones, but modern light rail systems achieve tighter turning radii by using articulated cars . An important advantage of
489-625: A batch of 25 for the San Francisco Municipal Railway , manufactured by St. Louis and delivered in 1951–2. A total of 4,586 PCC cars were purchased by United States transit companies: 1,057 by Pullman Standard and 3,534 by St. Louis. Most transit companies purchased one type, but Chicago, Baltimore, Cleveland, and Shaker Heights ordered from both. The Baltimore Transit Co. (BTC) considered the Pullman cars of superior construction and easier to work on. The St. Louis cars had
652-458: A bus, there will be even more capacity when there is a combination of cars and light rail. Table 3 shows an example of peak passenger capacity. The cost of light rail construction varies widely, largely depending on the amount of tunneling and elevated structures required. A survey of North American light rail projects shows that costs of most LRT systems range from $ 15 million to over $ 100 million per mile. Seattle's new light rail system
815-403: A chaotic breakdown inflow and a dramatic drop in speed (a traffic jam ) if they exceed about 2,000 vehicles per hour per lane (each car roughly two seconds behind another). Since most people who drive to work or on business trips do so alone, studies show that the average car occupancy on many roads carrying commuters is only about 1.5 people per car during the high-demand rush hour periods of
978-425: A circle. An arm rotating in the circle center had rollers on either end which cut out field resistance to increase speed as it was rotated a total of approximately 180 degrees rotation. This same accelerator also was used for dynamic braking ; when the accelerator pedal was released, the resistance wheel sought optimum braking for the speed, which prevented a lag when the brake pedal was depressed. Westinghouse's design
1141-722: A combination of economics and a desire to help revive the Girard Avenue corridor with a more "romantic" vehicle led to the agency restoring the old vehicles for about half the cost of new cars. SEPTA uses Kawasaki vehicles on the rest of its trolley lines, including the Subway-Surface Green Line linking West Philadelphia with Center City and its 69th Street Transportation Center with the western suburbs of Media and Sharon Hill via light rail routes 101 and 102 . San Diego ; started 2011; number in service: 2. San Diego Trolley currently uses 2 PCCs and
1304-1142: A common right-of-way (however, Link converted to full separation in 2019). Some systems, such as the AirTrain JFK in New York City, the DLR in London, and Kelana Jaya Line in Kuala Lumpur , have dispensed with the need for an operator. The Vancouver SkyTrain was an early adopter of driverless vehicles, while the Toronto Scarborough rapid transit operated the same trains as Vancouver, but used drivers. In most discussions and comparisons, these specialized systems are generally not considered light rail but as light metro systems. Around Karlsruhe , Kassel , and Saarbrücken in Germany, dual-voltage light rail trains partly use mainline railroad tracks, sharing these tracks with heavy rail trains. In
1467-712: A competitive design—the Brilliner —to market in 1938. Because Raymond Loewy designed elements that were very similar to the PCC look, the Brilliner attracted no large orders, being built only for Atlantic City Transit and the Red Arrow Lines in suburban Philadelphia. Fewer than 50 were sold. A significant contribution to the PCC design was noise reduction with extensive use of rubber in springs and other components to prevent rattle, vibration, and thus noise and to provide
1630-618: A comprehensive reconstruction and upgrading of the 10.5-mile (16.9 km) "main line" between downtown and the suburbs of Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair via Mount Lebanon and Beechview—basically following the Skybus alignment. The crowning achievement was to be a 1.1-mile (1.8 km) downtown subway, eliminating the trolleys' slow, street-running loop through Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle. On December 10, 1980, after receiving federal funding, Pittsburgh Regional Transit began construction on Stage One of its first "modern" light rail/subway service,
1793-433: A fleet of 83 LRVs as of 2006: Trains are generally run in a two-car configuration. The routes have sections that have a dedicated right of way as well as mixed sections that run along roadways with automobile traffic. Generally, stations along roadways have low level platforms while stops along the dedicated rights of way have high level platforms. To allow easy boarding in both situations, the trains have two sets of doors at
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#17327761459051956-883: A group of cars on October 1, 1936, followed by CSL on November 13, 1936. Production continued in North America by St. Louis Car Co. and Pullman Standard until 1952, with 4,978 units being built. Under license to use the designs patented by TRC, thousands more PCC and partially PCC type cars were produced in Europe through the last half of the 20th century. The cars were well built, and many hundreds are still in operation. The majority of large North American streetcar systems surviving after 1935 purchased PCC streetcars. The systems which eventually terminated streetcar operations often sold their cars to surviving operators. The Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) in Australia
2119-439: A length of 46 ft 5 in (14.1 m). Other body differences were a recessed windshield and wider doors. There were far fewer variations of this style, width being the most common. Most double ended cars, at 50 ft 5 in (15.4 m) long by 9 ft (270 cm) wide, were larger than standard, with different door arrangements. Only Dallas ordered standard size double ended cars. All double ended cars retained
2282-418: A level of comfort unknown before. Wheel tires were mounted between rubber sandwiches and were electrically isolated so that shunts were required to complete a ground. Resilient wheels were used on most PCC cars, with later heftier versions known as "Super-Resilient". Gears were another source of considerable noise, solved by employing hypoid gears which are mounted at a right angle to the axle, where three of
2445-514: A light rail line to connect Pittsburgh's Downtown and North Shore . Federal funding was approved for the extension on February 6, 2004. The main project involved twin-bore tunnels below the Allegheny River to connect a refurbished Gateway Station, which was the former Downtown terminus, to North Side station, located just west of PNC Park , and Allegheny station, located just north of Heinz Field . The completed project opened to
2608-416: A light rail train may have three to four cars of much larger capacity in one train under the control of one driver, or no driver at all in fully automated systems, increasing the labor costs of BRT systems compared to LRT systems. BRT systems are also usually less fuel-efficient as they use non-electrified vehicles. The peak passenger capacity per lane per hour depends on which types of vehicles are allowed on
2771-435: A live rail. In outer areas, the trams switch to conventional overhead wires . The Bordeaux power system costs about three times as much as a conventional overhead wire system and took 24 months to achieve acceptable levels of reliability, requiring the replacement of all the main cables and power supplies. Operating and maintenance costs of the innovative power system still remain high. However, despite numerous service outages,
2934-543: A longer distance. Light rail cars are often coupled into multiple units of two to four cars. Light rail systems may also exhibit attributes of heavy rail systems, including having downtown subways, as in San Francisco and Seattle . Light rail is designed to address a gap in interurban transportation between heavy rail and bus services, carrying high passenger numbers more quickly than local buses and more cheaply than heavy rail. It serves corridors in which heavy rail
3097-435: A maximum deceleration of 9 mph /s (14 km/h). Compared to a maximum of 14 points on older equipment, the PCC was considerably smoother. Most PCCs employed three pedals with a dead man's switch to the left, brake in center, and power pedal on the right. Depressing the brake about half-way and then releasing the deadman pedal put the PCC in "park". Lifting the deadman alone would apply all brakes, drop sand, and balance
3260-411: A more aesthetically pleasing design with a more rounded front and rear, compound-curved skirt cut-outs, and other design frills. When a wire is placed in a magnetic field and an electric current is passed through it, the wire will move. If this wire is wrapped on a spool and placed in a magnetic field with an electric current passed through it, the spool (rotor) will rotate, creating an electric motor. If
3423-642: A more diverse range of design characteristics than LRT, depending on the demand and constraints that exist, and BRT using dedicated lanes can have a theoretical capacity of over 30,000 passengers per hour per direction (for example, the Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit system operates up to 350 buses per hour per direction). For the effective operation of a bus or BRT system, buses must have priority at traffic lights and have their dedicated lanes, especially as bus frequencies exceed 30 buses per hour per direction. The higher theoretical of BRT relates to
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#17327761459053586-464: A professional driver is to cover the brake at all times). The left pedal applied the power and the heel interlock had to be engaged at all times since it was the deadman; only when the brake was in "park" could the deadman be disengaged. St. Louis is unique in that all 300 of their PCCs are All-Electric with the 1500s ordered in late 1939, the 1600s ordered late 1940s and the 1700s in January 1945. SLPS
3749-407: A result, has many of the operating characteristics of a metro system rather than a light rail system. A capacity of 1,350 passengers per train is more similar to the heavy rail than light rail. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is an alternative to LRT and many planning studies undertake a comparison of each mode when considering appropriate investments in transit corridor development. BRT systems can exhibit
3912-547: A short section of track and 4000 is used for rides in rotation with others streetcars in their collection. Most PCC-based systems were dismantled in the post-war period in favor of bus-based transit networks. Of the rail transit systems that survived this period, most had replaced their PCCs with modern light rail vehicles (LRVs) by the early 1980s. Beginning in the late 1990s, several cities began to make use of historic PCCs to serve historic streetcar lines that combined aspects of tourist attractions and transit. This table lists
4075-429: A sloped windshield to eliminate nighttime glare, redesigned back end, forced-air ventilation, and other features. Dynamic brakes were the service brake on all PCCs; when almost stopped, friction brakes completed the stop and held the car in "park". Dynamic brakes slowed the "Air" cars to 3 mph (4.8 km/h) at which point a lock-out relay allowed automatic application of air-applied friction brakes against each of
4238-607: A speed of 50 mph (80 km/h), adequate for their system. When Clark stopped building railroad equipment in 1952 PCC trucks were no longer available, Boston and Cleveland then used non PCC trucks with 28 in (710 mm) wheels. Chicago ordered the first of 770 (720 + 50 double-ended) 6000-series cars in 1948 (before the standard, which they influenced), Boston (40, then later 100) in 1950, and Cleveland (70 + 18 double-ended) in 1952. Chicago's first 200 cars were entirely new, but in 1953 they started using components salvaged from new, but no longer needed, streetcars. Toronto, on
4401-454: A staple of the city and region since the late 19th century, the idea of a downtown to Oakland or East Liberty subway had been considered since at least the 1910s. A public referendum was passed to fund such a subway with an initial investment of $ 6 million on July 8, 1919, another $ 5.5 million subway plan was finalized at City Hall in meetings on March 28, 1932, and the public/private Allegheny Conference presented detailed plans and funding for
4564-778: A subsidiary of the French Alstom) allowed the trams to coast under their accumulated kinetic energy. Two main body standards were made – 1936 and 1945, sometimes called pre-and post-war – the most prominent difference being the windows. The pre-war cars usually had a right side arrangement of front door, five windows, center door, five windows, and one large rear quarter window. These cars were 46 ft (14.0 m) long and 8 ft 4 in (254 cm) wide. There were variations, Washington, D.C. ordered shorter cars, at 44 ft (13.4 m), with one less window, while Chicago ordered longer and wider cars, at 50 ft 5 in (15.4 m) by 8 ft 9 in (267 cm), with
4727-432: A subway system on June 4, 1947. Pittsburgh Railways was one of the predecessors to Pittsburgh Regional Transit. It had 666 PCC cars, the third largest fleet in North America. It had 68 street car routes, of which only three (until April 5, 2010 the 42 series, the 47 series, and 52 ) are used by Pittsburgh Regional Transit as light rail routes. The oldest portions of these old Pittsburgh Railways routes now served by
4890-482: A three-door arrangement. Chicago cars were built with the centerline of the carbody to the right of the centerline of the tracks, so the widened cars could pass on the existing trackage. Post war cars had a rationalized window arrangement. The windows and pillars were narrower, and there were small "standee" windows above each window. Right side arrangement usually was front door, seven windows, side door, four windows, and two rear quarter windows. Most post-war cars had
5053-599: A timed transfer to the Blue Line allows continuing a trip to Overbrook and Downtown. For the trips that serve Downtown, the line splits again before Overbrook Junction station on the Red Line, as the Blue Line instead follows the Overbrook route. The line then makes eight well-spaced stops on its arc through the Overbrook, Brookline, Carrick, Beltzhoover, and Bon Air neighborhoods of southern Pittsburgh. The line merges with
Pittsburgh Light Rail - Misplaced Pages Continue
5216-534: A top speed of 55–71.5 miles per hour (88.51–115.1 km/h) depending on the system, while the trains on the all-underground Montreal Metro can only reach a top speed of 72 kilometres per hour (44.74 mph). LACMTA light rail vehicles have higher top and average speeds than Montreal Metro or New York City Subway trains. Many light rail systems—even fairly old ones—have a combination of both on- and off-road sections. In some countries (especially in Europe), only
5379-481: A tramway, a light metro, and, in a narrow sense, rapid transit. This is especially common in the United States, where there is not a popularly perceived distinction between these different types of urban rail systems. The development of technology for low-floor and catenary-free trams facilitates the construction of such mixed systems with only short and shallow underground sections below critical intersections as
5542-470: Is a generic international English phrase for types of rail systems using modern streetcars/trams, which means more or less the same thing throughout the English-speaking world . Light rail systems can range from trams runnig in streets along with other traffic, to semi-metro systems having portions of grade separated track. People movers are even "lighter", in terms of capacity. Monorail
5705-512: Is a separate technology that has been more successful in specialized services than in a commuter transit role. The use of the generic term light rail avoids some serious incompatibilities between British and American English . The word tram , for instance, is generally used in the UK and many former British colonies to refer to what is known in North America as a streetcar , but in North America tram can instead refer to an aerial tramway , or, in
5868-602: Is a significant amount of overlap between the technologies; similar rolling stock may be used for either, and it is common to classify streetcars or trams as a subcategory of light rail rather than as a distinct type of transportation. However, some distinctions can be made, though systems may combine elements of both. Low-floor light rail lines tend to follow a reserved right-of-way and with trains receiving priority at intersections, and tend not to operate in mixed traffic, enabling higher operating speeds. Light rail lines tend to have less frequent stops than tramways, and operate over
6031-563: Is by far the most expensive in the US, at $ 179 million per mile, since it includes extensive tunneling in poor soil conditions, elevated sections, and stations as deep as 180 feet (55 m) below ground level. This results in costs more typical of subways or rapid transit systems than light rail. At the other end of the scale, four systems (Baltimore, Maryland; Camden, New Jersey; Sacramento, California; and Salt Lake City, Utah) incurred construction costs of less than $ 20 million per mile. Over
6194-426: Is especially important for wheelchair access, as narrower gauges (e.g. metre gauge) can make it challenging or impossible to pass the tram's wheels. Furthermore, standard-gauge rolling stock can be switched between networks either temporarily or permanently, and both newly built and used standard-gauge rolling stock tends to be cheaper to buy, as more companies offer such vehicles. Overhead lines supply electricity to
6357-502: Is expensive. Similarly, the most expensive US highway expansion project was the " Big Dig " in Boston, Massachusetts, which cost $ 200 million per lane mile for a total cost of $ 14.6 billion. A light rail track can carry up to 20,000 people per hour as compared with 2,000–2,200 vehicles per hour for one freeway lane. For example, in Boston and San Francisco, light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour, respectively, in
6520-575: Is hard to distinguish between what is called light rail, and other forms of urban and commuter rail. A system described as a light rail in one city may be considered to be a streetcar or tram system in another. Conversely, some lines that are called "light rail" are very similar to rapid transit ; in recent years, new terms such as light metro have been used to describe these medium-capacity systems. Some "light rail" systems, such as Sprinter , bear little similarity to urban rail, and could alternatively be classified as commuter rail or even inter-city rail. In
6683-559: Is impractical. Light metro systems are essentially hybrids of light rail and rapid transit. Metro trains are larger and faster than light rail trains, with stops being further apart. Many systems have mixed characteristics. Indeed, with proper engineering, a rail line could run along a street, then go underground, and then run along an elevated viaduct. For example, the Los Angeles Metro Rail 's A Line "light rail" has sections that could alternatively be described as
Pittsburgh Light Rail - Misplaced Pages Continue
6846-593: Is in the process of determining viability of a third car as of 2016. They are in use on the Silver Line which opened in 2011 and runs in a clockwise loop around Downtown San Diego . San Francisco ; started 1995; number in service: 27 . The F Market Line (historic streetcar service) in San Francisco, opened in 1995, runs along Market Street from The Castro to the Ferry Building , then along
7009-585: Is limited due to the hilly terrain, despite a dense population. Fifteen stops occur between the split in the lines and their re-juncture at South Hills Junction . The route then enters the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel. The remaining stations in Downtown are at Station Square , First Avenue , Steel Plaza , and Wood Street . In March 2007, the closure of the Palm Garden Bridge for refurbishment suspended
7172-484: Is one of the highest capacity ones, having been upgraded in a series of expansions to handle 40,000 passengers per hour per direction, and having carried as many as 582,989 passengers in a single day on its Line 1 . It achieves this volume by running four-car trains with a capacity of up to 1,350 passengers each at a frequency of up to 30 trains per hour. However, the Manila light rail system has full grade separation and as
7335-407: Is similar to that of a traditional tram, while operating at a higher capacity and speed, often on an exclusive right-of-way. In broader use, it includes tram-like operations mostly on streets. A few light rail networks have characteristics closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail , yet only when these systems are fully grade-separated are they referred to as light metros . The term light rail
7498-557: Is still in existence, and is used as a bypass to the Mount Washington Tunnel during maintenance. The tunnel is closed to all vehicular (bus) and light rail traffic during maintenance. As of February 2021, Pittsburgh Regional Transit's newly released 25-year plan includes the possibility of reviving service on the Allentown line due to continuing growth of the neighborhood. The 44 Castle Shannon-Library ( 44L ) and
7661-695: Is the original purchaser. Toronto's first PCC streetcar entered service on September 22, 1938. All new PCCs purchased by 1951; second-hand by 1957. The TTC now owns and operates only two PCCs for private charter: numbers 4500 and 4549. One PCC, #4612, was donated in operating condition by the TTC to the Edmonton Radial Railway Society in 1997; the society has two additional PCCs from Toronto (4349 and 4367) awaiting restoration. The Halton Country Railway Museum (near Milton Ontario) owns 3 retired TTC streetcars, 4000, 4386 and 4426. They operate
7824-527: The 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge . In 2023, the system had a ridership of 3,417,100. In the early 1960s, Pittsburgh had the largest surviving streetcar system in the United States, with the privately owned Pittsburgh Railways Company operating more than 600 PCC cars on 41 routes. In 1964 the system was acquired by the Port Authority of Allegheny County , which rapidly converted most routes to buses. By
7987-466: The 44 Castle Shannon-Beechview ( 44S ) were truncated versions of the Blue Line – Library and Red Line, respectively. The 44L ran from Library to Washington Junction . The 44S ran between Overbrook Junction and Traymore. It was introduced when the closure of the Palm Garden Bridge cut off the Beechview line from the Downtown. The 44S was discontinued when the Palm Garden Bridge re-opened, in favor of
8150-463: The Beechview neighborhood. Six stops serve Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park before merging with the Blue Line at Washington Junction . The Red Line splits again before Overbrook Junction and the Red Line heads toward the suburbs of Castle Shannon, Mt. Lebanon, and Dormont. After entering Pittsburgh city limits, the route features a variety of closely spaced stops through Beechview, where bus service
8313-768: The Consolidated Traction Company was chartered and the following year acquired the Central Traction Company , Citizens Traction Company , Duquesne Traction Company and Pittsburgh Traction Company and converted them to electric operation. On July 27, 1896 the United Traction Company was chartered and absorbed the Second Avenue Traction Company , which had been running electric cars since 1890. The Southern Traction Company acquired
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#17327761459058476-542: The Cádiz TramBahia , where trams share track with commuter and long-distance trains from the main terminus in the city and curve off to serve cities without a railway connection. Some of the issues involved in such schemes are: There is a history of what would now be considered light rail vehicles operating on heavy rail rapid transit tracks in the US, especially in the case of interurban streetcars . Notable examples are Lehigh Valley Transit trains running on
8639-550: The Embarcadero north and west to Fisherman's Wharf . This line is run by a mixture of PCC cars built between 1946 and 1952, and earlier pre-PCC cars. Due to its success, a second heritage line was inaugurated in 2015, the E Embarcadero , which serves to facilitate a one-seat ride from the Caltrain San Francisco station to Fisherman's Wharf. Although San Francisco had removed PCCs from revenue service when
8802-581: The Expo 58 : they were single-body non-reversible two-bogie cars. Articulated trams arrived since 1965: first two-body non-reversible trams (series 7500) then two-body (series 7700–7800) and three-body (series 7900) reversible ones, the last one delivered in 1978. The last single-body PCC tram in commercial service in Brussels ran in February 2010. All series 7500 trams were converted to series 7700 by addition of
8965-758: The London Underground and the New York City Subway . Conventional rail technologies including high-speed , freight, commuter , and rapid transit urban transit systems are considered "heavy rail". The main difference between light rail and heavy rail rapid transit is the ability for a light rail vehicle to operate in mixed traffic if the routing requires it. The world's first electric tram operated in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg , Russia , invented and operated on an experimental basis by Fyodor Pirotsky in 1880. The first tramway
9128-958: The Mount Washington Transit Tunnel , emerging at a newly constructed station at Station Square before crossing the Monongahela River on the Panhandle Bridge (a former railway bridge), which then led into a newly built downtown ( cut and cover tunnel) subway with four stations, which incorporated the nineteenth century Pittsburgh & Steubenville Extension Railroad Tunnel . The downtown subway had four stations, Steel Plaza , Wood Street, Gateway Center, and Penn Station. The original subway branched north of Steel Plaza, with one branch heading west to Wood Street and one branch heading east to Penn Station . A suburban trolley line with conventional jointed rail, aging electrical overhead and single track segments
9291-637: The Netherlands , this concept was first applied on the RijnGouweLijn . This allows commuters to ride directly into the city center, rather than taking a mainline train only as far as a central station and then having to change to a tram. In France, similar tram-trains are planned for Paris, Mulhouse , and Strasbourg ; further projects exist. In some cases, tram trains use previously abandoned or lightly used heavy rail lines in addition to or instead of still in use mainline tracks. In 2022, Spain opened
9454-874: The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa, Ontario , Canada, the River Line in New Jersey , United States, and the Sprinter in California , United States, which use diesel multiple unit (DMU) cars. Light rail is different from the British English term light railway , long-used to distinguish railway operations carried out under a less rigorous set of regulations using lighter equipment at lower speeds from mainline railways. Light rail
9617-703: The Philadelphia and Western Railroad high-speed third rail line (now the Norristown High-Speed Line ). Such arrangements are almost impossible now, due to the Federal Railroad Administration refusing (for crash safety reasons) to allow non-FRA compliant railcars (i.e., subway and light rail vehicles) to run on the same tracks at the same times as compliant railcars, which includes locomotives and standard railroad passenger and freight equipment. Notable exceptions in
9780-599: The Seashore Trolley Museum . Dallas ; started 2003; number in service: 1. The McKinney Avenue Transit Authority in Dallas, Texas, owns three PCC cars, two from Toronto, one from the former Tandy Center Subway. One of the ex Toronto cars is currently in service. El Paso ; started 2018; number in service: 6. Officials in El Paso expressed their desire to preserve the history of the city by refurbishing
9943-612: The South Hills . The system is owned and operated by Pittsburgh Regional Transit . The T is one of the surviving first-generation streetcar systems in North America , with the oldest portions of the network dating back to 1903 and the Pittsburgh Railways . It is also one of only three light rail systems in the United States that continues to use the broad 5 ft 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,588 mm ) Pennsylvania Trolley Gauge on its lines instead of
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#173277614590510106-571: The South Hills Village station. The 47S line was established in an effort to relieve congestion on the Red Line for the additional traffic that the parking garage created. The Blue Line – South Hills Village route follows the South Hills Village leg of the Red Line and the common leg from Washington Junction to Willow Station, which is adjacent to Overbrook Junction, where it switches to the Silver Line mainline. It follows
10269-1007: The United States by the St Louis Car Company (SLCCo) and Pullman Standard . Clark Equipment built the only aluminum-body PCC as well as all narrow gauge B1 trucks for Los Angeles, all the standard and broad gauge B2 trucks both air- and all-electric, and the B2B trucks used under PRCo 1725–1799 and Toronto 4500–4549. SLCCo built all B3 trucks, both standard and broad gauge. PCC cars for Canadian cities were assembled in Montreal , Quebec by Canadian Car & Foundry from bodies and trucks supplied by St. Louis Car. Westinghouse ( Westinghouse Electric , Westinghouse Air Brake Company , Canadian Westinghouse Co.) and General Electric both supplied electrical packages and brake components which were designed and built in cooperation with
10432-650: The federal government for preliminary planning of the extension. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has taken a strong editorial stance in late 2012 for a workable extension to the Northern suburbs all the way to Cranberry . Other transit in the United States: Light rail Light rail (or light rail transit , abbreviated to LRT ) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology while also having some features from heavy rapid transit . The term
10595-530: The medians of roads . If run in streets , trains are usually limited by city block lengths to about four 180-passenger vehicles (720 passengers). Operating on two-minute headways using traffic signal progression, a well-designed two-track system can handle up to 30 trains per hour per track, achieving peak rates of over 20,000 passengers per hour in each direction. More advanced systems with separate rights-of-way using moving block signaling can exceed 25,000 passengers per hour per track. Most light rail systems in
10758-670: The "T", which used a former Pittsburgh Railways trolley route to connect Downtown Pittsburgh to the South Hills. Stage One began with two construction projects – the downtown subway, and the former trolley route from the newly constructed South Hills Village Station and Light Rail Maintenance Center to Castle Shannon – both ends working toward the middle section of the route. The first modern light rail cars began operation from South Hills Village to Castle Shannon on April 15, 1984. The downtown subway opened on July 3, 1985, initially with fare-free "demonstration" service running only as far as
10921-621: The 1700 series. They avoided the breakers yard, along with some other trolleys from the later years of PRT ownership. The South Hills Village Rail Center (SHVRC) is located at the end of South Hills Village station , adjacent to the shopping mall of the same name . All of the revenue light rail vehicles (LRVs) and some Maintenance of Way vehicles are stored there. All the old PCC cars were stored there as well prior to their retirement in 1999. The "T" has three active lines along with several discontinued lines. Formerly 42S. The Red Line runs between South Hills Village and Downtown Pittsburgh via
11084-462: The 1880s required a standing operator at a four-foot-high vertical controller "stand" to rotate a handle to one of ten electrical resistance points within the stand to provide trolley acceleration. The resistors were not very large and were mounted adjacent to one another along the outside frame bottom of the trolley to provide cooling as they would get very hot. For the PCC however, there were more than ten resistance/speed points; Westinghouse developed
11247-568: The 1960s a 92-mile (148 km) automated guideway transit system was planned fanning out to the north, south, east, southeast and west including connections to both the Pittsburgh International Airport the Allegheny County Airport , Monroeville Mall and adjacent to Kennywood Amusement Park. The modern subway/light rail system can be traced to the abandonment of the proposed "Skybus" system in
11410-624: The 1970s was proven to have been a technical failure by the following decade. After World War II, the Germans retained many of their streetcar networks and evolved them into model light rail systems ( Stadtbahnen ). With the exception of Hamburg , all large and most medium-sized German cities maintain light rail networks. The concept of a "limited tramway" was proposed by American transport planner H. Dean Quinby in 1962. Quinby distinguished this new concept in rail transportation from historic streetcar or tram systems as: The term light rail transit
11573-650: The 42C. Since November 1993 the Authority has studied the so-called "Spine Line" to the Oakland neighborhood which is the third largest center for commuters in the commonwealth and the home to Carlow University , the University of Pittsburgh , Carnegie Mellon University , the Pittsburgh Technology Center , the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Phipps Conservatory . Thus far
11736-594: The 42S for five months; it reopened in September 2007. Formerly 44L, 47L, and Blue Line – Library. The Silver Line begins near the Washington County–Allegheny County line in the Library neighborhood of South Park . Fifteen stops serve Library, Bethel Park, and South Park before merging with the Blue Line at Washington Junction. Some weekday and all weekend trips end at Washington Junction, where
11899-481: The Beechview line was rebuilt during the 1980s, the Overbrook line remained largely unchanged and continued to be operated using PCC cars. The reconstruction of this line would be part of the Stage II project, to be performed at a future date pending additional funding. However, the condition of the track and infrastructure of the Overbrook line continued to deteriorate and in 1993, Pittsburgh Regional Transit determined
12062-672: The Beechview line, no street-level stops were retained. The Overbrook line reopened in June 2004. Coinciding with the opening, Pittsburgh Regional Transit purchased 28 additional light rail cars to support the line and increase overall system capacity. At this time, the 55 existing cars were completely rehabilitated as well. In addition, as part of the Stage II project, upgrades to the traction power network, Operations Control Center, and signals and communications had been implemented. In January 1999, Pittsburgh Regional Transit began undertaking environmental analysis , planning, and began construction of
12225-579: The Brooklyn order would have all cars equipped by General Electric , and Clark Equipment Company pressed for one car to be made by them of aluminum for delivery to B&QT. Agreements among the parties were reached whereby St Louis Car Company would build 101 essentially identical cars and Clark would build one of its own body design. Brooklyn received its first car number 1001 on May 28, 1936, PRCo took delivery of car number 100 on July 26, 1936, and Baltimore received its first car on September 2, 1936. In
12388-467: The ERPCC. The customer specified the equipment, which was to be installed, performance was similar, and most cities ordered from both suppliers. Since Westinghouse was home based near Pittsburgh, PRCo ordered 75% of its PCC fleet with Westinghouse equipment, the balance with GE. Indeed, PCCs are often identified as either Westinghouse or GE. The last PCC streetcars built for any North American system were
12551-495: The French city of Bordeaux , the tramway network is powered by a third rail in the city center, where the tracks are not always segregated from pedestrians and cars. The third rail (actually two closely spaced rails) is placed in the middle of the track and divided into eight-metre sections, each of which is powered only while it is completely covered by a tram. This minimizes the risk of a person or animal coming into contact with
12714-724: The Netherlands; and particularly the Czech ČKD Tatra , who built the largest number of the PCC type in the world, supplying a number of Central and Eastern European countries. Trams such as the Tatra T3 and its variant Tatra T4 , together the most numerous of any tram model ever produced, are still in service today in many of the regions where they were first introduced. Modern variants of the Tatra T3 are still produced today by some manufacturers, such as KOS Krnov. The Polish Konstal 13N
12877-512: The Overbrook line in 1993 the Drake line was cut back to Castle Shannon; service would later terminate at Washington Junction. In September 1999, PRT withdrew the four remaining active-service PCCs from service and closed the Drake line altogether. This was a PCC trolley line that led commuters either northbound (via Overbrook line) or southbound (via South Hills Junction, Drake or Library lines) to Castle Shannon station. The line's turnaround point,
13040-601: The P.C.C. car to out-pace the average automobile which, in America, is of substantially higher performance than the typical British vehicle." This, however, is only true when compared to the automobiles of that period. The system of acceleration and braking described above means that the original PCC cars were (when in movement) always either accelerating or braking. A later improvement on the Brussels trams (built at that time under license by La Brugeoise et Nivelles and ACEC, now both subsidiaries of Bombardier Transportation, itself
13203-562: The Pittsburgh Light Rail system date to 1903–1909. With the PRT's Transit Development Plan, many route names will be changed to its original, such as the 41D Brookline becoming the 39 Brookline. Many of the streetcar routes have been remembered in the route names of many Pittsburgh Regional Transit buses (e.g. 71 series). 1895 to 1905 was a time of consolidation for the numerous street railways serving Pittsburgh. On July 24, 1895
13366-419: The Red Line at South Hills Junction before entering the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel. The remaining stations are at Station Square, First Avenue, Steel Plaza, Wood Street, Gateway, North Side, and Allegheny. To avoid confusion with "Blue Line – South Hills Village", the line was renamed to "Silver Line – Library" on March 15, 2020. Formerly 47S. In 2005, Pittsburgh Regional Transit opened a new parking garage at
13529-727: The Route 15 Girard Avenue line in Philadelphia in September 2005 after a 15-year "temporary" suspension of trolley service in favor of diesel buses. The line uses restored and modernized (by the Brookville Manufacturing Company) PCC cars, known as PCC-IIs (now upgraded as PCC-IIIs), painted in their original green and cream Philadelphia Transit Company livery, rather than SEPTA's white with red and blue stripes. Modernization included all-new control systems, modern turn markers, HVAC system (which accounts for
13692-517: The Shannon Loop, was located just past the station at Mt. Lebanon Blvd. This loop no longer exists. Also removed from the Shannon route were the tracks surrounding the old Castle Shannon Municipal Building (which is also gone) at the intersection of Castle Shannon Blvd. and Willow Ave. At this Overbrook line connector, incoming trolleys ran in front of the building and outgoing trolleys ran behind
13855-409: The Silver Line to South Hills Junction where it reunites with the Red Line before entering downtown. When light rail service began, PCC trolley service continued from Drake north through Castle Shannon along the Overbrook line to downtown. All downtown platforms incorporated both low- and high-level platforms enabling them to handle both types of vehicles. When safety concerns prompted the closure of
14018-662: The US are the NJ Transit River Line from Camden to Trenton and Austin's Capital MetroRail , which have received exemptions to the provision that light rail operations occur only during daytime hours and Conrail freight service only at night, with several hours separating one operation from the other. The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa also has freight service at certain hours. With its mix of right-of-way types and train control technologies, LRT offers
14181-455: The US as a whole, excluding Seattle, new light rail construction costs average about $ 35 million per mile. By comparison, a freeway lane expansion typically costs $ 1.0 million to $ 8.5 million per lane mile for two directions, with an average of $ 2.3 million. However, freeways are frequently built in suburbs or rural areas, whereas light rail tends to be concentrated in urban areas, where right of way and property acquisition
14344-666: The United States and in North America . In Britain, modern light rail systems began to appear in the 1980s, starting with the Tyne and Wear Metro from 1980 and followed by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in London in 1987, continuing into the 1990s including the establishment of the Manchester Metrolink in 1992 and the Sheffield Supertram from 1994. Due to varying definitions, it
14507-590: The United States are limited by demand rather than capacity (by and large, most American LRT systems carry fewer than 4,000 persons per hour per direction), but Boston's and San Francisco's light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour per track during rush hour. Elsewhere in North America, the Calgary C-Train and Monterrey Metro have higher light rail ridership than Boston or San Francisco. Systems outside North America often have much higher passenger volumes. The Manila Light Rail Transit System
14670-472: The United States, "light rail" has become a catch-all term to describe a wide variety of passenger rail systems. Light rail corridors may constitute a fully segregated corridor, a dedicated right-of-way on a street, an on-street corridor shared with other traffic, a corridor shared with other public transport, or a corridor shared with pedestrians. The most difficult distinction to draw is that between low-floor light rail and streetcar or tram systems. There
14833-467: The XD-323 underfloor rotary accelerator for the PCC's motor control with 99 resistance points. It was installed in the first Pittsburgh car, number 100, and minor modifications allowed use in the last PCCs produced in North America for San Francisco in 1952. The sitting PCC operator had a foot accelerator on the floor, much like that of an automobile, with linkage to underfloor resistance ribbons mounted in
14996-415: The ability of buses to travel closer to each other than rail vehicles and their ability to overtake each other at designated locations allowing express services to bypass those that have stopped at stations. However, to achieve capacities this high, BRT station footprints need to be significantly larger than a typical LRT station. In terms of cost of operation, each bus vehicle requires a single driver, whereas
15159-501: The building and through the narrow passage between the building and Castle Shannon Blvd. Formerly 52. The Brown Line ran from South Hills Junction over Mount Washington and across the Monongahela River to downtown Pittsburgh , terminating at Wood Street . It was the only downtown route that did not stop at Station Square nor use the Mount Washington tunnel. The line supplemented the 46K bus, running 4 times each during
15322-866: The case of the Disney amusement parks , even a land train . (The usual British term for an aerial tramway is cable car , which in the US usually refers to a ground-level car pulled along by subterranean cables .) The word trolley is often used as a synonym for streetcar in the United States but is usually taken to mean a cart, particularly a shopping cart, in the UK and elsewhere. Many North American transportation planners reserve streetcar for traditional vehicles that operate exclusively in mixed traffic on city streets, while they use light rail to refer to more modern vehicles operating mostly in exclusive rights of way, since they may operate both side-by-side targeted at different passenger groups. The difference between British English and American English terminology arose in
15485-634: The city's light rail was transformed into the Muni Metro system in 1980, they had made occasional festival trips in the ensuing years before being returned to full-time service. Car 1074 is painted in Toronto Transit Commission livery, but was never owned by the TTC. Toronto ; started 1938; number in service: 2. The first PCC cars in Canada were operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in 1938. By 1954, Toronto had
15648-421: The closure of Glasgow Corporation Tramways (one of the largest in Europe) in 1962. Although some traditional trolley or tram systems continued to exist in San Francisco and elsewhere, the term "light rail" has come to mean a different type of rail system as modern light rail technology has primarily post-WWII West German origins. An attempt by Boeing Vertol to introduce a new American light rail vehicle in
15811-631: The committee, initially considered buying the cars, but increased metal prices due to the Korean War made them prohibitively costly. Brooklyn, who had bought the first five prototype trainsets, also did not buy any production trainsets. 240 PCC rapid transit cars were built in four years, from 1948 to 1952, then 438 cars with non-PCC trucks until 1957, the last of Chicago's 570 cars built with salvaged components were delivered in 1958. Some Chicago cars were in regular service in 1990, car number 30 made its last revenue run in 1999. The operator listed
15974-560: The company declared bankruptcy twice, first in 1918 lasting for 6 years and then again in 1938, this time lasting until January 1, 1951. On July 26, 1936 Pittsburgh Railways took delivery of PCC streetcar No. 100 from the St. Louis Car Company . It was placed in revenue service in August 1936, the first revenue earning PCC in the world. Large scale abandonments of lines began in the late 1950s, usually associated with highway or bridge work. In
16137-415: The day. This combination of factors limits roads carrying only automobile commuters to a maximum observed capacity of about 3,000 passengers per hour per lane. The problem can be mitigated by introducing high-occupancy vehicle ( HOV ) lanes and ride-sharing programs, but in most cases, policymakers have chosen to add more lanes to the roads, despite a small risk that in unfavorable situations an extension of
16300-755: The direct translation, which is city rail (the Norwegian term, by bane , means the same). However, UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead. Light in this context is used in the sense of "intended for light loads and fast movement", rather than referring to physical weight. The infrastructure investment is also usually lighter than would be found for a heavy rail system. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), in its Glossary of Transit Terminology, defines light rail as: ...a mode of transit service (also called streetcar, tramway, or trolley) operating passenger rail cars singly (or in short, usually two-car or three-car, trains) on fixed rails in
16463-422: The doors so they could be pushed open easily. Chicago used "bicycle-type levers" for power and brake but converted some cars to two pedals. St. Louis Public Service Co. (SLPS) used two pedals, both with heel interlocks. The right pedal is the brake; depressing this pedal about halfway while lifting away from the heel applied "park". Once the brake is released the heel need not be engaged with the interlock (although
16626-422: The drums from releasing which would prevent power application, a fail-safe feature. Drum brakes were quite popular and greatly reduced maintenance thus some "Air" cars were retrofitted with drums. Four magnetic brakes, one between the wheels on each side of each truck , applied additional braking for emergency stopping where all brakes were generally employed. "These performances [acceleration and braking] enable
16789-529: The early 1970s, only a handful of streetcar routes remained, most of which used the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel just south of the Monongahela River to reach the South Hills area. At that time, Pittsburgh Regional Transit planners were determined to scrap the rail system entirely in favor of busways (now called "BRT" for "Bus Rapid Transit") and an automated guideway transit system developed by Westinghouse Electric called Skybus . Community opposition rallied against
16952-400: The eight wheels. On All-Electric cars the dynamics were effective to 0.75 mph (1.21 km/h) where the lockout relay then allowed a spring-applied friction brake to engage a drum on each of the four motor drive shafts; this completed the stop and held the car in park. Drum brakes were released by an electric solenoid operating from low-voltage battery power; a power failure would prevent
17115-573: The extension to Oakland has not gone beyond the design phase. The First Avenue station was added in 2001; service to Penn Station was suspended on September 2, 2007. The "T" is most heavily used in four stations downtown (three of which are underground), where service is free of charge. Former Chief Executive of Allegheny County, Dan Onorato , hoped to eventually extend the light-rail system east to Oakland and west to Pittsburgh International Airport . In 2009, Onorato along with Congressman Mike Doyle requested approximately $ 7 million in funding from
17278-490: The findings, and ultimately produced a set of specifications for a standardized and fixed design. It included a modest list of available options with ample room for customer customization but was to be built with standard parts as opposed to a custom designed car body with diverse parts added depending on the whims and requirements of the individual customer. Numerous national and international users operated large fleets of PCC cars for many years. Many design patents resulted from
17441-584: The front, with a low set and a staircase as well as a high set with level access from the platform to the train. As of 2023, there are plans to replace the aging fleet. The four remaining PCC cars were retired in 1999. These PCCs were from an original fleet of 12 "homebuilt" cars constructed in the 1980s in the PRT shops using a combination of new underframes, lower body panels, front and rear ends, interiors, wiring and controls, together with reconditioned components such as trucks, motors, and upper body parts and windows reused from original Pittsburgh PCCs numbered in
17604-500: The largest PCC fleet in the world, including many purchased second-hand from U.S. cities that abandoned streetcar service following the Second World War . Although it acquired new custom-designed streetcars in the late 1970s and 1980s (and which was replaced by modern LRVs by Dec. 2019), the TTC continued using PCCs in regular service until 1995, and retains two (numbers 4500 and 4549) for charter purposes. The PCC license
17767-514: The late 1936 discussions of operating experience, it was noted that the Brooklyn car had run 3,000 miles by the time the Pittsburgh car had run 1,000 miles. One of the key patents was filed by Dan H. Bell on January 8, 1937, and granted on July 5, 1938, and entitled, "Rail Car or Similar Article," Patent No. 110,384. The first car to be placed in a scheduled public service was PRCo 100 in August and B&QT launched its first scheduled service with
17930-458: The late 19th century when Americans adopted the term "street railway", rather than "tramway", with the vehicles being called "streetcars" rather than "trams". Some have suggested that the Americans' preference for the term "street railway" at that time was influenced by German emigrants to the United States (who were more numerous than British immigrants in the industrialized Northeast), as it is
18093-524: The latter is described as light rail. In those places, trams running on mixed rights-of-way are not regarded as a light rail but considered distinctly as streetcars or trams. However, the requirement for saying that a rail line is "separated" can be quite low—sometimes just with concrete "buttons" to discourage automobile drivers from getting onto the tracks. Some systems such as Seattle's Link had on-road mixed sections but were closed to regular road traffic, with light rail vehicles and buses both operating along
18256-621: The lease of the West End Traction Company on October 1, 1900. Pittsburgh Railways was formed on January 1, 1902, when the Southern Traction Company acquired operating rights over the Consolidated Traction Company and United Traction Company . The new company operated 1,100 trolleys on 400 miles (640 km) of track, with 178.7 million passengers and revenues of $ 6.7 million on the year. The lease and operate business model proved hard to support and
18419-462: The light rail concept was the "Shaker Heights Rapid Transit" which started in the 1920s, was renovated in 1980-81 and is now part of RTA Rapid Transit . Many original tram and streetcar systems in the United Kingdom , United States , and elsewhere were decommissioned starting in the 1950s as subsidies for the car increased. Britain abandoned its tram systems, except for Blackpool , with
18582-683: The line to be unsuitable for safe operation in its current state and suspended service on the line. The line remained dormant until 1999, when the PRT broke ground on the Overbrook Line reconstruction project. The rebuilt Overbrook line was essentially an entirely new line built along the original line's right of way. As had been done with the Beechview line prior, the rebuilt line was completely double-tracked with continuously welded rail, pandrol clip fixation, upgraded catenary and signaling, and other improvements. The rebuilt line included eight accessible stations with high-level platforms; unlike
18745-526: The line's bridges cannot support heavier light rail vehicles (LRV) operated on the MBTA's Green Line . Not considered historic equipment, the PCC cars in use on the Mattapan–Ashmont line represent the oldest cars still in revenue service, originally built between 1943 and 1946. These cars are also the only air-electric PCCs still in regular service in North America. Several retired PCCs from Boston are now at
18908-442: The longest at 55 ft (16.8 m), and narrowest at 8 ft 4 in (254 cm), Cleveland had the widest at 10 ft 4 in (315 cm). Trucks were a major focus, both Clark and St. Louis developed trucks with 28 in (710 mm) wheels and a 70 mph (110 km/h) maximum speed, but only Boston used them, Clark B10s on 40 cars. Chicago used streetcar type trucks, with 26 in (660 mm) wheels and
19071-438: The majority but could easily be changed for special situations. Windows were spaced to match seating. While some of the components in the PCC car had been used before— resilient wheels , magnetic braking , sealed gears, and modular design to name a few—the ERPCC redesigned, refined, and perfected many of these while developing new acceleration and braking controls and put them all in one package. PCC cars were initially built in
19234-538: The membership roll were manufacturers of surface cars ( streetcars ) and interested component suppliers. ERPCC's goal was to design a streamlined , comfortable, quiet, and fast accelerating and braking streetcar that would be operated by a seated operator using floor-mounted pedal controls to better meet the needs of the street railways and appeal to riders. ERPCC prepared a detailed research plan, conducted extensive research on streetcar design, built and tested components, made necessary modifications and revisions based upon
19397-440: The mid-1970s, and the subsequent $ 265 million federal grant on May 7, 1979, for construction of a downtown subway and modernization of suburban light rail. PRT, working with community representatives and government officials, undertook a detailed study on the future of the South Hills trolley lines, resolving to transform these valuable, high-density transit corridors into a modern LRT system. The resulting Stage I LRT plan achieved
19560-411: The more unique examples due to the installation of overhead wires being prohibited within the city limits, necessitating the use of conduit plows that collected current using a plow lowered into a slot between the rails contacting positive and negative rails under the street. A pit was located at the boundary line of the city limits, over which cars would stop to have their power collection changed from
19723-523: The morning rush and 3 times during the evening rush. A throwback to the days of the streetcars, the Brown Line did not feature stations or street-level boarding stops but instead allowed for boarding and unloading at designated 46K bus stops. The steepest grade on the entire light rail system is on this line, about 10 percent. This service was discontinued in the March 27, 2011 system-wide cuts. The line
19886-600: The noticeably larger roof enclosure), and ADA compliant wheelchair lifts. The line runs from Haddington to Port Richmond down the median of Girard Avenue. It crosses both the Broad Street Subway and the Market–Frankford Line , and stops at the Philadelphia Zoo , among other landmarks. SEPTA had originally planned to run modern Kawasaki trolleys along the line once service was restored, but
20049-605: The old PCC streetcars that once made their way through Downtown from 1949 to 1974. They operated on the international streetcar line that connected El Paso, Texas in the United States, with Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Originally, the line operated until 1973. Six cars in total have been restored, regular revenue operations began in late 2018 for the downtown loop. Kenosha ; started 2000; number in service: 7. The Kenosha Electric Streetcar in Kenosha, Wisconsin , has been operating six ex- Toronto Transit Commission PCCs (five since 2000 and
20212-465: The old and new systems. Since the 1980s, Portland, Oregon , has built all three types of system: a high-capacity light rail system in dedicated lanes and rights-of-way, a low-capacity streetcar system integrated with street traffic, and an aerial tram system . The opposite phrase heavy rail , used for higher-capacity, higher-speed systems, also avoids some incompatibilities in terminology between British and American English, for instance in comparing
20375-567: The peak direction during rush hour. PCC streetcar The Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) originated from the design committee formed in 1929. It was renamed the "Electric Railway Presidents' Conference Committee" (ERPCC) in 1931. The group's membership consisted primarily of representatives of several large operators of U.S. urban electric street railways plus potential manufacturers. Three interurban lines and at least one "heavy rail", or rapid transit , operator— Chicago Rapid Transit Company —were represented as well. Also included on
20538-532: The plan and in favor of retaining the electric rail trolley system and upgrading it into modern LRT. In the end, the LRT option was adopted for the South Hills suburbs, along with development of a busway ("BRT") system for the eastern and western suburbs. The modern subway in downtown Pittsburgh between Steel Plaza and First Avenue stations uses the Pittsburgh & Steubenville Extension Railroad Tunnel , which began construction in 1863. Rail lines (trolleys) had been
20701-575: The pre-war style body until the end of production. There were four rapid transit companies on the committee, but the primary focus was streetcars, rapid transit development was slower. The difference in operations between the systems also made standardization difficult. By 1940, Brooklyn had five three-section articulated trainsets with PCC components, after WWII Chicago ordered four similar trainsets . Chicago ordered two from Pullman and two from St. Louis, with different equipment, so that competing manufacturers could be directly compared. Experience from
20864-886: The public on March 25, 2012. The North Side station serves PNC Park , the Andy Warhol Museum , Allegheny Center and numerous office buildings in the vicinity. The Allegheny station serves Heinz Field , the Carnegie Science Center , the National Aviary , the Community College of Allegheny County , the Rivers Casino , and other nearby businesses. Unexpectedly high bids from construction companies had stalled construction, originally scheduled to begin in Fall 2005. The entire project
21027-556: The required clearance height can be reduced significantly compared to conventional light rail vehicles. Reference speed from major light rail systems, including station stop time, is shown below. However, low top speed is not always a differentiating characteristic between light rail and other systems. For example, the Siemens S70 LRVs used in the Houston METRORail and other North American LRT systems have
21190-432: The right-of-way that is often separated from other traffic for part or much of the way. Light rail vehicles are typically driven electrically with power being drawn from an overhead electric line via a trolley [pole] or a pantograph ; driven by an operator onboard the vehicle; and may have either high platform loading or low-level boarding using steps." However, some diesel-powered transit is designated light rail, such as
21353-415: The road network might lead to increased travel times ( Downs–Thomson paradox , Braess's paradox ). By contrast, light rail vehicles can travel in multi-car trains carrying a theoretical ridership up to 20,000 passengers per hour in much narrower rights-of-way , not much more than two car lanes wide for a double track system. They can often be run through existing city streets and parks , or placed in
21516-401: The roads. Typically roadways have 1,900 passenger cars per lane per hour (pcplph). If only cars are allowed, the capacity will be less and will not increase when the traffic volume increases. When there is a bus driving on this route, the capacity of the lane will be higher and will increase when the traffic level increases. And because the capacity of a light rail system is higher than that of
21679-415: The route, and between 1909 and 1910, converted it to dual gauge , retaining the existing narrow gauge for the coal hauling trains and adding the broad 5 ft 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,588 mm ) Pennsylvania trolley gauge for passenger service using streetcars . While the line was electrified with overhead power , the coal trains continued to use existing steam locomotives. While
21842-671: The same as the German term for the mode, Straßenbahn (meaning "street railway"). A further difference arose because, while Britain abandoned all of its trams after World War II except in Blackpool , eight major North American cities ( Toronto , Boston , Philadelphia , San Francisco , Pittsburgh , Newark , Cleveland , and New Orleans ) continued to operate large streetcar systems. When these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it light rail to differentiate it from their existing streetcars since some continued to operate both
22005-408: The six teeth constantly engaged the main gear, reducing lash and noise. All movable truck parts employed rubber for noise reduction as well. "Satisfactory Cushion Wheel of Vital Importance; Develop New Truck Design; Generous Use of Rubber" are headings within a paper that Chief Engineer Clarence F. Hirshfeld both presented and published. After a specification document suitable for purchasing cars
22168-548: The sixth since 2009) and one ex- SEPTA car since 2009. The Kenosha Electric is unique among modern PCC operations in that PCCs had not run in the city before 2000—the original rail system was shut down in 1932 before any PCC cars had been built. Two of its cars are still painted in their original TTC colours, while the rest have been re-decorated in the liveries of several U.S. cities including Pittsburgh, Johnstown, Chicago and Cincinnati. Philadelphia ; started 2005; number in service: 18 . SEPTA restored trolley service to
22331-408: The standard gauge is that standard railway maintenance equipment can be used on it, rather than custom-built machinery. Using standard gauges also allows light rail vehicles to be conveniently moved around using the same tracks as freight railways. Additionally, wider gauges (e.g. standard gauge) provide more floor clearance on low-floor trams that have constricted pedestrian areas at the wheels, which
22494-418: The strength of the magnetic field or the amount of current running through the motor is increased (or both), the motor's speed will increase. With a trolley, the speed is controlled by several resistors placed in the wire running to the rotor. Removing circuit resistors one at a time will increase the current in the motor's magnetic field and this will increase the motor's speed. Prior streetcar speed control from
22657-551: The system was a success with the public, gaining up to 190,000 passengers per day. Automatic train operation is employed on light rail networks, tracking the position and speed of a train and hence adjusting its movement for safety and efficiency. One line of light rail (requires 7.6 m, 25' right of way) has a theoretical capacity of up to 8 times more than one 3.7 m (12 foot) lane on a freeway, excluding busses, during peak times. Roads have ultimate capacity limits that can be determined by traffic engineering , and usually experience
22820-465: The then-new Station Square station for the first few days. The last day of streetcar service running on streets in downtown – and across the historic Smithfield Street Bridge – was July 6, 1985, with the subway opening for full service on July 7. The last leg of the modern suburban "Beechview" line (from Castle Shannon to South Hills Junction via Mt. Lebanon and Beechview – now part of the Red Line)
22983-464: The trainsets influenced the following car standards. Cars were to be approximately 48 ft (14.6 m) long (the Chicago maximum, Boston had some 55 ft (16.8 m) long) with one cab per car arranged in "married" two car sets, a double ended single car variant was possible. Number and type of doors and windows, interior layout, and width of cars varied with each system. Boston had two sizes,
23146-450: The trams, making it safe on city streets. Several systems in Europe and a few recently opened systems in North America use diesel -powered trains. When electric streetcars were introduced in the late 19th century, conduit current collection was one of the first ways of supplying power, but it proved to be much more expensive, complicated, and trouble-prone than overhead wires . When electric street railways became ubiquitous, conduit power
23309-587: The transit agencies that still employ PCCs in revenue service, as opposed to a short-run or intermittent heritage railway. Boston ; started 1941; number in service: 4. The Mattapan Line in Boston is a light-rail extension of the MBTA 's heavy Red Line . It runs from the Ashmont terminus of the Red Line to Mattapan , and runs PCCs exclusively. The line was shut down for reconstruction from June 24, 2006, until December 22, 2007, but PCC cars have resumed operation since
23472-502: The trolley pole to the conduit plow and vice versa. "The PCC car was not just another modular vehicle but the result of the only systems engineering approach to mass producing a rail car." Research into passenger comfort resulting from vibrations, acceleration, lighting, heating and cooling, seat spacing, cushion height, space for arms, legs, standing passengers, economies of weight affecting maintenance, cost of power, reduced wear of components and track. Dimensions were established to fit
23635-460: The vast majority of light rail systems. This avoids the danger potentially presented by an electrified third rail . The Docklands Light Railway uses an inverted third rail for its electrical power, which allows the electrified rail to be covered and the power drawn from the underside. Trams in Bordeaux , France, use a special third-rail configuration where the power is only switched on beneath
23798-434: The widest range of latitude of any rail system in the design, engineering, and operating practices. The challenge in designing light rail systems is to realize the potential of LRT to provide fast, comfortable service while avoiding the tendency to overdesign that results in excessive capital costs beyond what is necessary to meet the public's needs. The BART railcar in the following chart is not generally considered to be
23961-491: The work of ERPCC. These were transferred to a new business entity called the Transit Research Corporation (TRC) when ERPCC expired in 1936. Although this company continued the work of research on improvements to the basic design of the car and issued sets of specifications three times in the ensuing years, because TRC defined a PCC car as any vehicle which used patents on which it collected royalties, it
24124-481: Was approved for funding May 8, 1985, with $ 20 million in federal grants, and PRT completed the modern system on May 22, 1987, at a total cost of $ 522 million. The suburban line in the south hills were former streetcar lines that had been rehabilitated to accommodate light rail vehicles. The Beechview line was reconstructed (being completely double-tracked) and routed from the South Hills Junction through
24287-605: Was budgeted at $ 435 million, with approximately 80% ($ 348 million) coming from the Federal Transit Administration . Pittsburgh Regional Transit began construction in October 2006, with the first bore completed on July 10, 2008, and the second bore under the Allegheny river completed in early 2009. Service began on March 25, 2012, with a final cost of $ 523.4 million. Pittsburgh Regional Transit operates
24450-459: Was coined in 1972 by the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA; the precursor to the Federal Transit Administration ) to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany, the term Stadtbahn (to be distinguished from S-Bahn , which stands for Stadtschnellbahn ) was used to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt
24613-502: Was coined in 1972 in the United States as an English equivalent for the German word Stadtbahn , meaning "city railway". Different definitions exist in some countries, but in the United States, light rail operates primarily along exclusive rights-of-way and uses either individual tramcars or multiple units coupled together, with a lower capacity and speed than a long heavy rail passenger train or rapid transit system. Narrowly defined, light rail transit uses rolling stock that
24776-498: Was formed for the primary purpose of controlling those patents and promoting the standardization envisioned by the ERPCC. The company was funded by its collection of patent royalties from the railways which bought PCC cars. The company was controlled by a voting trust representing the properties which had invested in the work of ERPCC. One participant in Committee meetings, Philadelphia trolley manufacturer J.G. Brill Company , brought
24939-608: Was generated by TRC, orders were placed by eight companies in 1935 and 1936. First was Brooklyn & Queens Transit Corporation (B&QT) for 100 cars, then Baltimore Transit Co. (BTCo) for 27 cars, Chicago Surface Lines (CSL) for 83 cars, Pittsburgh Railways Co. (PRCO) for 101 cars, San Diego Electric Railway (SDERy) for 25 cars, Los Angeles Railway (LARy) for 60 cars, and then Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) for one car. In late 1935 or early in 1936 Westinghouse Electric Corporation pressed for one car to be equipped with their electrical equipment for testing in Pittsburgh, since
25102-677: Was introduced in North America in 1972 to describe this new concept of rail transportation. Prior to that time the abbreviation "LRT" was used for " Light Rapid Transit " and " Light Rail Rapid Transit ". The first of the new light rail systems in North America began operation in 1978 when the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta , adopted the German Siemens-Duewag U2 system, followed three years later by Calgary, Alberta , and San Diego, California . The concept proved popular, with there now being numerous light rail systems in
25265-887: Was keen to build two new tram routes after World War II, and these routes would be served by PCC Streetcars. The MMTB decided that it was too expensive and Melbourne only ever had two PCC streetcars, of which one was a prototype for a completely different class. Several dozen remain in public transit service, such as on the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line in Boston , as well as in Philadelphia , Kenosha, San Diego and San Francisco following extensive overhauling. All other surviving and functional North American PCC cars are operated by museums and heritage railways. Several retired PCCs from Boston, Cleveland, and Philadelphia were purchased as scrap and have been privately stored just outside Windber, Pennsylvania since 1992. The PCCs built for Washington, D.C. were among
25428-622: Was not built under license. Only models with direct references to the original American PCC streetcar are included here. Later models of a particular series such as the Tatra T5 were adapted and modernized further. Note that the country listed only covers areas where the cars were initially delivered; references for these areas can be found in the text. Belgium ; introduced 1951; number built: 125 (both models) . The first PCC cars in Brussels (series 7000–7100) were built in prevision of
25591-554: Was reborn as a wholly double track light rail line with continuous welded rail and modern catenary. Upon completion of the subway, all former streetcar lines were removed from the surface streets of Downtown Pittsburgh. The line from South Hills Junction to Castle Shannon via Overbrook (now called the Overbrook Line – part of the Blue and Silver lines) was first constructed by the Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad (P&CSRR) between 1872 and 1874. In 1905, Pittsburgh Railways leased
25754-596: Was remarkable and innovative in that it allowed motor control by floor pedal similar to that of an automobile. General Electric also developed a control system for PCC cars that mirrored the Westinghouse scheme in function although not in simplicity or maintainability . With the GE commutator motor controller operating by air pressure, it had to be redesigned with the advent of the All-Electric PCC. Acceleration
25917-632: Was the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway in Lichterfelde near Berlin in Germany, which opened in 1881. It was built by Werner von Siemens who contacted Pirotsky. It initially drew current from the rails, with overhead wire being installed in 1883. The first interurban to emerge in the United States was the Newark and Granville Street Railway in Ohio, which opened in 1889. An early example of
26080-457: Was the rolling laboratory for All-Electrics and what was learned here was applied to the post-WW2 All-Electric demonstrator in the fall of 1945. From 1936 to 1945, PCC cars were "Air-Electrics" with friction brakes , doors, and windshield wipers operated by air pressure. PRCo PCC 1600 of 1945 was the post WW2 All-Electric Demonstrator which eliminated the air compressor and associated piping while incorporating such features as standee windows ,
26243-527: Was used in those cities that did not permit overhead wires. In Europe, it was used in London, Paris, Berlin, Marseille, Budapest, and Prague. In the United States, it was used in parts of New York City and Washington, D.C. Third rail technology was investigated for use on the Gold Coast of Australia for the G:link light rail, though power from overhead lines was ultimately utilized for that system. In
26406-669: Was used worldwide after World War II had ended which resulted in adaptations based on the American PCC design. Two such licensees were successful, namely the Belgian company La Brugeoise et Nivelles (since 1988 a subsidiary of Bombardier Transportation , itself since 2021 a subsidiary of the French Alstom ), who built both standard-gauge and meter-gauge cars based on the PCC license for many networks in Belgium, France and
26569-445: Was variable between 1.5-to-4.75-mile-per-hour per second (2.41 to 7.64 km/h) depending upon the depression of the power pedal with the accelerator advanced automatically by a low-voltage pilot motor. Service braking was also variable and the maximum dynamic application decreased speed by 4.75 mph per second (7.64 km/h); pressing the brake pedal into emergency also brought the friction and magnetic brakes into play providing
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