rogerfarnworth Posted June 8, 2023 Share Posted June 8, 2023 (edited) ‘The Modern Tramway‘ was the title of the journal of the Light Railway Transport League. I picked up a small batch of copies of The Modern Tramway Journal which included volumes from the 1950s, 1960s and 1980s and have begun reading through them. The first Journal that I have is dated 15th July 1953. At the time of writing it is almost 70 years old. Volume 16 No. 187 of July 1953 starts with an item entitled, “Tramways and the Press.” Starting with a specific instance of dubious reporting by the national dailies about tram parts being sent to Egypt, the article bemoans the way that tramways were increasingly being seen by the public, led by the press, as an outmoded form of transport. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/06/07/the-modern-tramway-part-1/ Edited June 8, 2023 by rogerfarnworth 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Dava Posted June 8, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 8, 2023 A journal before it’s time, I was given a copy in 1972 with an article on the Runcorn Busway, I wasn’t too impressed. Who would have thought 20 years later the tramway renaissance would be under way! Dava 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted June 8, 2023 Share Posted June 8, 2023 I remember the magazine, we used to sell it at Bud Morgan's when I were a lad. On a quiet afternoon, I'd be an avid reader. As Dava says, who'd have thunk it, tramways on the way back. (Personally, I'd like to see trolleybuses make a comeback - it was my mode of transport for years.) Cheers, Philip 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted June 9, 2023 Author Share Posted June 9, 2023 A second extract from The Modern Tramway Journal in 1953. ....... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/06/08/the-modern-tramway-part-2/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grovenor Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 The League has not dissappeared, just changed its name slightly. See https://www.lrta.org/about-lrta/history/ 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted June 11, 2023 Author Share Posted June 11, 2023 The Modern Tramway Journal from August 1953. ... The editorial focussed on public attitudes to the final replacement of London's trams. .... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/06/11/the-modern-tramway-part-3/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted June 14, 2023 Author Share Posted June 14, 2023 The Modern Tramway again. ... Still in 1953. ... and August of that year. This is a note about a visit to Ireland by members of the Light Railway Transport League in June 1953. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/06/13/the-modern-tramway-part-4-touring-irelands-light-railways-in-june-1953/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted June 16, 2023 Author Share Posted June 16, 2023 A fifth look at the Journal of the Light Railway Transport League in the mid-1950s. .... The Modern Tramway Journal of April 1954 took issue with the interpretation of a Road Research Laboratory Report by the London Transport Executive. The press release from the LTE was slanted in favour of decisions made about the closure of the tramway services in the capital .... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/06/15/the-modern-tramway-part-5-trams-and-road-accidents/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyRule1 Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 On 08/06/2023 at 20:17, Philou said: (Personally, I'd like to see trolleybuses make a comeback - it was my mode of transport for years.) The answer to this question that I heard from a senior manager in London Transport was that trolley buses had all the disadvantages of trams and non of the advantages of diesel enginedbuses. This was before emissions became an issue. Now limited charging of electric buses via overhead lines is making an appearance. https://www.intelligenttransport.com/transport-news/140828/tfl-innovative-pantograph-bus-charging/ 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 (edited) 19 hours ago, MyRule1 said: trolley buses had all the disadvantages of trams and non of the advantages of diesel enginedbuses @MyRule1 As I had understood it (and of course as time moves on, stories change etc.), it was quite the reverse. Whilst trolleybuses were tied to the overhead for power, they did nevertheless have a certain manoeuvrability off-line. In Cardiff, if there was a problem on the highway (accident, utility works), they could down poles (or booms) and travel a short distance on battery power, admittedly at low speed. Because they were NOT tied to rails they were extremely agile, excellent acceleration and good hill climbing due to rubber on road rather than steel wheels on steel rail. In the early 1950s, Routemaster were desperate to sell their buses and needed to sell 1500 of them to be viable. Coincidentally, London had a huge number of trolleybuses (and still some trams) and London Transport were persuaded that the new shiney, shiney, diesel buses were the way to go.... and what London did, so did all the other trolleybus undertakings. Given the first petrol shock oil crisis of 1976, that went really well, didn't it, whereas, at the time electrickery was produced from home produced coal and not oil (or gas). It was after that that the North Sea oilfields were developed. So, if I have it right, a diesel bus reliant on imported oil, emitting very dirty fumes (at the time), having poor fuel economy, poor acceleration and noisy to boot (and due to poor acceleration bus stops on former trolleybus routes were reduced by 50% to allow the poor bus to keep to a decent timetable), was going to be better than a silent, clean, and fast vehicle running on home produced electricity? I think someone was having a larf. Unfortunately, the UK seems very much wedded to the omnibus and is only now and very reluctantly taking trams on board. Trolleybuses per mile of infrastructure is still much cheaper as there is no need to divert utilities nor have segregated routes for them to run upon. Even the Chinese have introduced trolleybus routes - so they can't be all that bad! Cardiff had recently been trialling a rechargeable bus (made by Volvo, I think) where it would power up from a overhead charging unit at its terminus via a pantograph, but I don't know how that went - or even if is still running. Cheers, Philip Edited June 17, 2023 by Philou Wrong definition - doh! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted June 20, 2023 Author Share Posted June 20, 2023 The Modern Tramway again. ..... Articulated trams are relatively normal in today's world. There was a time when this was not the case. Much of Europe, save for the Italians, preferred to create tram trains from individual units and trailers. This was seen as being a more flexible policy. Stuttgart decided to to try out articulated vehicles in the 1950s. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/06/15/the-modern-tramway-part-6-modern-articulated-cars-for-stuttgart/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted June 21, 2023 Author Share Posted June 21, 2023 The Modern Tramway again. ..... In January 1957 the Journal reported on the decision by the Manx Government to take over the Manx Electric Tramway. ...... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/06/19/the-modern-tramway-part-7-the-manx-electric-railway/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted June 27, 2023 Author Share Posted June 27, 2023 'The Modern Tramway’ – Leeds City Tramways, 1956. … The Modern Tramway Journal in February 1957 carried an article about the tramways of Leeds. The data for the article was collated by A.K. Terry and the article was written by J.H. Price. The Suez crisis brought a temporary halt to a number of things within the UK economy. One of these was the planned scrapping of the tram routes and tramcars in Leeds. That pause provided the opportunity for the Light Railway Transport League to compile a map, fleet list and list of services for the city. ... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/06/22/the-modern-tramway-part-8-leeds-city-tramways-1956/ 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted June 30, 2023 Author Share Posted June 30, 2023 The Modern Tramway – Part 9 – More About Accidents (in London) ‘The Modern Tramway’ in March 1957 (Volume 20, No. 231) carried a follow-up article [1] to that carried by the Journal in April 1954. The original article is covered earlier in this thread. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/06/24/the-modern-tramway-part-9-more-about-accidents-in-london/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted July 1, 2023 Author Share Posted July 1, 2023 ‘The Modern Tramway’ – April 1957 – “Down the ‘Goldmine'” The Modern Tramway Journal of April 1957 included a nostalgic look at one of the Glasgow tram network’s successes. An ‘out-boundary’ route, No. 28, which at one time was part of the longest tram route in the UK, almost 23 miles in length. End to end it was a 2 hour tram journey. At that time, the early 1930s, the route from Renfrew Ferry to Milngavie was numbered 14. “In 1934 it was cut at Spiersbridge and renumbered 28, and on 3rd April 1949, the Glenfield – Cross Stobs section was closed.” The truncated line (No. 28) ran from Renfrew Ferry to Glenfield – a distance of 5.24 miles. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/06/29/the-modern-tramway-april-1957-down-the-goldmine/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted July 2, 2023 Author Share Posted July 2, 2023 The Modern Tramway, May 1957 – Rotterdam’s Trams in the 1950s This short article could be entitled, ‘The Modern Tramway takes on the Manchester Guardian‘. In. Its May 1957 journal the Light Railway Transport League asks whether its readers had read the Manchester Guardian on 22nd January. The featured image shows trams in Rotterdam in May 1957. In an article entitled ‘A Twisted Tale’, The Modern Tramway Journal was surprised to see the Manchester Guardian being taken in by the spirit of the current age which was decidedly anti-tram! http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/07/01/the-modern-tramway-may-1957-rotterdams-trams/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 A retrospective look back at London tramways at the end of the 1940s. .... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/07/07/the-modern-tramway-a-quick-look-back-at-1949-in-london/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted July 9, 2023 Author Share Posted July 9, 2023 In the 1950s, a tram Glasgow purchased some years before, a 'one-off', unidirectional double decker car which it numbered 1005 and which was sometimes known as the 'Blue Devil' for its unconventional three tone blue colour scheme, was put forward by the LIght Railway Transport League as an option for trails that the League hoped might happen in London. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/07/08/glasgow-tramcar-no-1005/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted July 18, 2023 Author Share Posted July 18, 2023 The final three years of the historic tram network in London ... and Operation Tramaway. ... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/07/17/london-tramways-1950-1951-and-1952/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted July 30, 2023 Author Share Posted July 30, 2023 The 'Modern Tramway' reported in January & February 1963 on a relatively short-lived experiment on Blackpool's trams. The Marton route was an inland route through Blackpool which complemented the promenade route. The two articles were written by F.K. Pearson who suggested that his articles could perhaps have been entitled, 'The Experiment That Didn't Quite ...' http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/07/29/modern-tramway-blackpool-the-marton-experiment/ 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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