by Myrtone
gardendance wrote:I don't know the dimensions, so I can't say that Philly actually has curves as tight as 10m as you say. If they do, I assume they're in critical places from the time they were built, and easing those curves nowadays costs too much.That's what I read, and it's not surprising given all the right-angle curves at intersections.
gardendance wrote:I'm sure if there was some other remedial curve or tunnel work Philly could have done in the 1980's to handle cars with clearance issues, such as what today's low floor cars seem to have, they would have done so.Clearance is not the problem, the problem is the lateral bearing forces, since entire carbody sections are tracking curves. Entire carbody sections tracking curves that tight is simply begging for trouble, it doesn't matter about clearance.
gardendance wrote:Since Philly went for non-articulated 2 truck cars, I'm betting that they must have felt articulated cars, and presumably low floor articulated cars, aren't worth the effort.Those twin-bogie 'cars were bought back in the 1980s when low floor trams were still in an early stage of development and as far as North Americans and Australaisians were concerned, science fiction. I'll find out more about the 15t and whether shorter versions are available. And how hard would it be to straighten a right angle curve at an intersection?
I'm also assuming that whatever insurmountable clearance issues they might have are in the tunnel. I'd imagine straightening a curve would be a lot easier on the street surface than in the subway.
Edit:
wigwagfan wrote:Maybe if the streetcar craze grows, we'll see more than one Streetcar manufacturer. Maybe well see Inkeon enter into an actual partnership so that any of its European spec cars can be easily built here in the U.S. Maybe we'll see Bombardier open up a U.S. plant for its streetcar that it had demonstrated in Vancouver, BC during the Winter Olympics. I believe Europe has some excellent rolling stock available - the Bombardier Talent is one of my favorite DMU designs, but I won't see it here in the U.S.1. It depends on what you mean by European spec because North American versions will be built to meet North American, not European conditions.
2. Bombardier's on street trams aren't as good (at least by technological aspects) as the Skoda. Bombardier only offers fixed bogies trams, which, even though well designed, will require easing of curves at great cost and inconveniance, not to mention grief surrounding building demolition. Or they offer pivoting bogie part high floor designs. But as far as I know, their DMU and EMU designs are just great.
Also known as Myrtonos