tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post3501747553557289737..comments2024-03-26T13:27:26.499+00:00Comments on Zelo Street: Christian Wolmar’s Tram TripTim Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00726447899972084146noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-53814487412654628012016-06-08T13:20:17.857+01:002016-06-08T13:20:17.857+01:00"Yes, abandoning trams was short-sighted, but..."Yes, abandoning trams was short-sighted, but local authorities had to deal with where they were at the time, not where they might be decades in the future" - the problem with this argument is that it doesn't align with the facts. At the time that trams (and train) infrastructure were ripped out, motor cars were only used by a small minority in this country (under 10%). The local councils and governments that destroyed public infrastructure were acting in the interests of a minority (and wrongly claiming that this was the future). They were not being short sighted, and they were not dealing with the objective reality of where they were at the time. They were supporting the interests of a small and privileged minority, regardless of the impact on every one else. They laid claim to a futuristic vision (which was being peddled by the motor and oil industries), of utopian individual motoring on very little factual basis. The lesson for us today is in how people are swallowing the claims of utopia of individual motoring of a different kind (so called driverless vehicles), without any critical or factual analysis. A far better starting point would be looking at what has a proven track record in meeting the needs of cities, in a healthy and sustainable way.Rangjanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04837666680562854399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-57183230059408497142016-06-08T10:18:43.392+01:002016-06-08T10:18:43.392+01:00Just a small mention for Sheffield trams please. E...Just a small mention for Sheffield trams please. Excellent system and having ridden on Edinburgh Trams - miles better. <br />Dave Eyrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05115184482077878684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-76170158559855449132016-06-07T21:11:48.855+01:002016-06-07T21:11:48.855+01:00Manchester and Nottingham are fine examples of mod...Manchester and Nottingham are fine examples of modern tramways in Britain. Unfortunately we have the other side of the coin in Edinburgh and Birmingham which show how hard it is to do the job properly. There simply isn't enough quality management to do all the projects that Wolmar would like.<br /><br /><br />But Tim forgets that Bombardier have built modern trams in Derby - for Strasbourg. And when neighbouring Nottingham wanted some of the same Bombardier built them in Vienna - no, I don't understand them either!!<br /><br /><br />Meanwhile, Britain is happily buying buses built by Optare (Indian owned) or MCW (Egyptian owned) on Mercedes, Volvo and Scania chassis. Most of the industry we still have isn't actually ours!<br /><br /><br />One day I'll get round to sending in the stroy of how corrupt councillors in Crewe killed of plans for a tram system here - and no this isn't a Michael Jones story, it goes back 112 yearsSteveBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-46061278458919116862016-06-07T18:31:00.021+01:002016-06-07T18:31:00.021+01:00The trams in Manchester are great. Very popular an...The trams in Manchester are great. Very popular and expanding as we speak.Altfishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02203899908990244299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-80207091719398378722016-06-07T18:16:56.038+01:002016-06-07T18:16:56.038+01:00This is just one example of why British management...This is just one example of why British management is easily the worst in the Western world. And just one of the reasons why this country deindustrialised.<br /><br />When a market is rigged, easier profits for a tiny few are made in juggling money than making goods, trading and improving society to the benefit of all. That's capitalism in a nutshell.<br /><br />British management is the least talented and the most craven. Trams are the least of it. Ask the quarter of the population living in poverty and the millions unemployed or in casual jobs for lousy pay.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-26947537773513986702016-06-07T17:36:52.455+01:002016-06-07T17:36:52.455+01:00@1
Bradford was the last UK trolleybus operation ...@1<br /><br />Bradford was the last UK trolleybus operation to be abandoned, in 1972.<br /><br />The system had been expended until 1960 - the following year the abandonment started.<br /><br />One problem for trams in cities like Leeds was that there may have been reserved track in the suburbs, but in the City Centre trams had to share with other road traffic.<br />Tim Fentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00726447899972084146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-81789322688758393152016-06-07T17:25:23.353+01:002016-06-07T17:25:23.353+01:00I remember riding the trams in Leeds as a child in...I remember riding the trams in Leeds as a child in the late 50s. A number of roads there, and other towns, still have a central reservation, now grassed over and tree lined, that was where the tracks were. Wonderful mode of transport. I recall an exceptionally evocative BBC4 doco on the trams of the North, narrated I think by Alan Bennett. Having recently holidayed in New Orleans & Memphis, both of which have working tram systems, its obvious what a popular attraction they still can be. Cant remember if we rode on a Streetcar Named Desire. After our trams were got rid of, local authorities couldnt wait to be shot of the trolly buses, quiet pollution free electric vehicals, the hum of which I can still hear in my mind 50 yrs later. Bradford with its fleet of blue livered municipal buses had the county's last service I think, in the 60's.AndyCnoreply@blogger.com