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Old 03-25-2018, 06:44 PM
 
19,012 posts, read 27,562,983 times
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A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tram [in early years][1] or trolley[2][3]) is an electric bus that draws power from overhead wires (generally suspended from roadside posts) using spring-loaded trolley poles.

That's why it's called trolley. Because it has trolleys. It does not have trolleys - it ain't no trolley bus. It's a bus. One above this post is street bus styled to look like a tram.
I am very sorry, this country keeps getting it's own opinions on what is to be called what. Bus is bus, tram is tram, trolley is trolley. You want to call it street car - fine by me.



A tram (also tramcar; and in North America streetcar, trolley or trolley car) is a rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets

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Old 03-25-2018, 06:51 PM
 
Location: SC
8,793 posts, read 8,157,503 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ukrkoz View Post
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tram [in early years][1] or trolley[2][3]) is an electric bus that draws power from overhead wires (generally suspended from roadside posts) using spring-loaded trolley poles.

That's why it's called trolley. Because it has trolleys. It does not have trolleys - it ain't no trolley bus. It's a bus. One above this post is street bus styled to look like a tram.
I am very sorry, this country keeps getting it's own opinions on what is to be called what. Bus is bus, tram is tram, trolley is trolley. You want to call it street car - fine by me.



A tram (also tramcar; and in North America streetcar, trolley or trolley car) is a rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets
You miss the point. Someone designed that poster to show a bus, but instead of using an actually bus for a model they used a 1930's era PCC trolley (or Tram if you must - they are called trolleys in most of America) as the model and instead of showing the related track, catenary pole and wires, the truck sets, and the track itself, they painted in bus wheels.

There has never, EVER been a trolley-bus made that looked like the one in the picture. I will gladly withdraw that statement if someone can provide evidence otherwise.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCC_streetcar

Last edited by blktoptrvl; 03-25-2018 at 07:01 PM..
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Old 03-26-2018, 01:01 AM
 
Location: Oregon Coast
15,416 posts, read 9,049,675 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blktoptrvl View Post
... but if you are, I thought you might get a kick out of this movie poster!

I like PCC streetcars. One time I was riding one along the San Francisco waterfront and listening to some tourist talking about how modern the streetcar was. They clearly had no idea that they were riding on a 75 year old historical vehicle. PCCs were way ahead of their time.

The biggest transportation blunder in US history was most cities getting rid of streetcars.
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Old 03-26-2018, 03:05 AM
 
Location: Oregon Coast
15,416 posts, read 9,049,675 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ukrkoz View Post
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tram [in early years]or trolley[2][3]) is an electric bus that draws power from overhead wires (generally suspended from roadside posts) using spring-loaded trolley poles.

That's why it's called trolley. Because it has trolleys. It does not have trolleys - it ain't no trolley bus. It's a bus. One above this post is street bus styled to look like a tram.
I am very sorry, this country keeps getting it's own opinions on what is to be called what. Bus is bus, tram is tram, trolley is trolley. You want to call it street car - fine by me.
Streetcars aka trolley cars have spring-loaded trolley poles that draw power from overhead wires, same as trolleybuses do. So I'm not sure what your point is.

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Old 03-26-2018, 08:29 AM
 
Location: Florida
7,770 posts, read 6,376,660 times
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My guess is that the artist who compiled that picture has never seen a live trolley car, so he/she put motor coach wheels on it instead of trolley car wheels. Cars like that, with the correct wheels, were numerous in DC when I was a kid. Given the urban location, they went quite fast.
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Old 03-27-2018, 06:57 PM
 
Location: Eastern Washington
17,208 posts, read 57,041,396 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blktoptrvl View Post
You miss the point. Someone designed that poster to show a bus, but instead of using an actually bus for a model they used a 1930's era PCC trolley (or Tram if you must - they are called trolleys in most of America) as the model and instead of showing the related track, catenary pole and wires, the truck sets, and the track itself, they painted in bus wheels.

There has never, EVER been a trolley-bus made that looked like the one in the picture. I will gladly withdraw that statement if someone can provide evidence otherwise.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCC_streetcar
I think you are right. The picture is a trolley with bus wheels painted in. Kind of like a chicken with duck feet, no such thing in real life, far as I know.
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Old 03-27-2018, 08:17 PM
 
Location: SC
8,793 posts, read 8,157,503 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M3 Mitch View Post
I think you are right. The picture is a trolley with bus wheels painted in. Kind of like a chicken with duck feet, no such thing in real life, far as I know.
Thanks. That is what I was pointing out, but it seems not to have hit the mark...

But as an aside...

While looking at the many pictures of trolleys and buses, I noticed that almost all older trolleys have single head lamps while almost all buses have dual headlights. Does anyone have any idea what the history of this headlight design standard is?
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Old 03-27-2018, 11:41 PM
 
Location: Oregon Coast
15,416 posts, read 9,049,675 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blktoptrvl View Post
Thanks. That is what I was pointing out, but it seems not to have hit the mark...

But as an aside...

While looking at the many pictures of trolleys and buses, I noticed that almost all older trolleys have single head lamps while almost all buses have dual headlights. Does anyone have any idea what the history of this headlight design standard is?
I believe the two headlight custom started with horse-drawn carriages. One lamp was hung on each side of the carriage, to illuminate down the sides of the horses. Since electric streetcars didn't have horses, they only needed one headlight.

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Old 03-28-2018, 12:37 AM
 
35,309 posts, read 52,274,165 times
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For any trolley/tram fans if you are in the Montreal area stop by Canadas largest railway museum (Exporail) where they have quite a collection of trolleys and trams among other rail related stuff =
https://www.google.ca/search?q=expo+...w=1098&bih=512
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Old 03-28-2018, 11:50 AM
 
Location: SC
8,793 posts, read 8,157,503 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz View Post
I believe the two headlight custom started with horse-drawn carriages. One lamp was hung on each side of the carriage, to illuminate down the sides of the horses. Since electric streetcars didn't have horses, they only needed one headlight.
At the same time, Trolleys started out as horse drawn too.

But I can image that when they were first electrified, they went with one lamp for the reason you stated. Autobuses being developed later probably went with two - just to see better because they had to navigate as opposed to just following the rail.
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