On Mon, Dec 22, 2008 at 12:15 PM, Bob Sullivan <[email protected]> wrote: > Nice Frank, I like train shots, > and those are handsome little numbers.
Hi, Bob, I like the look of Toronto's current streetcars as well. They're near the end of their service schedule as they've been on the road since the 70's. Built in Canada, I recall that when they were being ordered many wanted a more "modern" look, but they decided on something a bit more "traditional" - the look's served them well over the years. There's currently a competition ongoing to build a new fleet, but there are lots of snags along the way, including a requirement of very short turning radii on ~all~ cars due to some very old trackage in parts of town - so far no one seems to be able to provide cars to meet that spec. Bombardier seems to be the front-runner, if for no other reason than that they're Canadian, but they seem to have the most trouble meeting all required specs. As lovely as these older cars are, they badly need modernizing. With their very high floors they're not accessible to those with disabilities, and the aisles are very narrow so standing room is cramped at best. I'm not thrilled with any of the proposed designs that I've seen, but I'm sure that passenger amenities will be better. I'm happy that Toronto was one of the few cities in North America that held onto their tramways, streetcars, trolleys, whatever one calls them, back in the 50's and 60's when everyone else seemed to be trashing theirs - they're an integral part of our public transit system, along with subways and buses. Thanks for looking and commenting. cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
