Presbyterian College > Academic Web Server > Jon Bell > Transit > Summer 2004

Summer 2004 Transit Picture Sampler

Here are some samples of the pictures that I took during summer 2004. Eventually I will create new pages or update existing pages for these cities or systems. I have already done this for the following:

Calgary, Alberta

[picture] A southbound light rail train (C-Train) approaches the Anderson station in an unusual May snowstorm. [11 May 2004]

[picture] In much better weather about a week later, an eastbound train approaches the Barlow station, climbing the long hill out of the Bow River valley with the downtown Calgary skyline in the background. The sign on the front of the train reflects hockey playoff fever: the Calgary Flames were playing the San Jose Sharks for the NHL Western Conference championship. [17 May 2004]

Edmonton, Alberta

[picture] A southbound light rail train is about to enter the tunnel at the south end of the bridge over the North Saskatchewan River. In the background is the High Level Bridge, which has a heritage streetcar line on the upper deck, using abandoned railroad tracks. [12 May 2004]

[picture] A light rail train crosses a electric trolleybus line at 95th Street, Custom-built "special work" allows the two sets of overhead wires to intersect without interfering with each other. The light-rail pantographs pass underneath the trolleybus wires, and the light-rail overhead has short gaps to allow the passage of the trolleybus poles. [closer view] [12 May 2004]

[picture] Unfortunately, Edmonton's trolleybuses were not operating during my visit, because of various road construction projects. All I could see was a line of parked trolleys outside Westwood garage. [12 May 2004]

On 27 July 2004, the Edmonton City Council voted to continue trolleybus operations for now, against a recommendation from the city administration that the trolleybuses be replaced permanently with diesel buses. Demonstrator models for new trolleybuses and hybrid diesel-electric buses will be tested, and the issue will be revisited in 2008.

Vancouver, British Columbia

[picture] Two trolleybuses pass on Granville Street at Robson Street in downtown Vancouver. [15 May 2004]

[picture] Two trolleybuses head south across the Granville Bridge in the evening twilight, after leaving downtown. [15 May 2004]

[picture] An eastbound Skytrain leaves the Stadium station at the eastern edge of downtown Vancouver. This is an automated light rail system powered by linear-induction motors. [15 May 2004]

Nuremberg (Nürnberg), Germany

[picture] A modern Siemens Desiro diesel multiple unit (DMU) car of the German Railways (Deutsche Bahn) stops at Bad Windsheim, on route R81 of the Verkehrsverbund Grossraum Nürnberg, which coordinates local transit schedules and fares in the Nuremberg area. These units have become rather popular in Europe; I've seen references to Desiros in Germany, Denmark, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania and the UK. They will also be used in the USA on the forthcoming SPRINTER commuter rail line near San Diego, California, running between Oceanside and Escondido. [14 June 2004]

[picture] At Steinach, DMUs of routes R81 to Bad Windsheim and Neustadt (foreground) and R82 to Rothenburg (background) wait for connecting trains on the main line to and from Würzburg. This scene repeats once an hour. [15 June 2004]

[picture] Two different models of trams pass at the main railway station (Hauptbahnhof). [14 June 2004]

Basel, Switzerland

[picture] A two-car train on tram route 10 picks up passengers at the main railway station, Bahnhof SBB. This long route runs through French territory for a few kilometers and stops at Leymen before re-entering Switzerland near the terminal at Rodersdorf. [21 June 2004]

[picture] A new low-floor Combino tram built by Siemens-Düwag heads north on route 8 along Aeschengraben just north of Bahnhof SBB. In March 2004 a structural defect caused all of Basel's Combinos (as well as those in several other cities) to be taken out of service for inspection and repair. In April a handful re-entered service, including this one. In the meantime Basel has had to scramble to cover its needs with older trams. [21 June 2004]

[picture] Basel also has a small trolleybus system with two routes. This system was never very large, and is proposed to be converted to diesel buses within the next year, even though the fleet is rather new. Here we see an articulated low-floor Neoplan trolley of route 31 at Wettsteinplatz, just north of the Rhein. [21 June 2004]

Bern, Switzerland

[picture] A colorfully "wrapped" tram on route 5 comes off the Kirchenfeldbrücke as it enters the center of Bern. [22 June 2004]

[picture] A route 12 trolleybus in front of Bern's trademark clock tower, the Zytglogge. [22 June 2004]

Bonn, Germany

Bonn has two types of light rail: the traditional street-running trams (Strassenbahn), and the somewhat heavier Stadtbahn which runs mostly on reserved right-of-way or underground as a light-rail U-Bahn.

[picture] At the terminal of tram route 61, Quirinusplatz in the residential area of Dottendorf, a low-floor tram approaches the turning loop as another one waits to leave for its next trip into Bonn. [25 June 2004]

[picture] On the east bank of the Rhine in Königswinter, Stadtbahn route 66 makes a transition from double to single track at Clemens-August-Strasse, so northbound and southbound trains usually meet here. Notice the doors which can be used either at high-platform stations, or with fold-down steps for street-level boarding. [26 June 2004]

[picture] At Königswinter, one can ascend the Drachenfels, a popular excursion spot, via the Drachenfelsbahn, an electric cog-railway (or Zahnradbahn, "tooth-wheel-railroad", one of my favorite German words). [26 June 2004]

[picture] This train on Stadtbahn route 16 is entering the underground station at Bad Godesberg Bahnhof, shortly after beginning its northbound run. It will traverse the length of Bonn, mostly in the U-Bahn tunnel, then proceed to Cologne (Köln) on tracks that were originally built for an interurban electric railway, the Köln-Bonner Eisenbahn, and finally enter Cologne's U-Bahn to reach the center of that city. [26 June 2004]

Wuppertal, Germany

Wuppertal's famous suspension monorail, the Schwebebahn, is more than a hundred years old and carries about 70,000 passengers per day.

[picture] A westbound train emerges from the Wupperfeld station, which has been renovated in recent years. [28 June 2004]

[picture] From the platform at Wupperfeld, we watch an westbound train approaching. Most of the route runs above the Wupper River on a somewhat spindly-looking structure. Note the motor/wheel housings above the cars. Because the trains hang freely from the wheels, they swing outward when they enter a curve, then oscillate briefly from side to side like pendulums after they leave the curve. Inside the trains, signs above the doors warn: Achtung! Zug pendelt. [28 June 2004]

[picture] The westernmost section of the line runs above the Kaiserstrasse in Vohwinkel, supported by massive steel arches. Here we are looking towards the east from Gräfrather Strasse near the end of the line. Looking out the front of the train is like flying above the street traffic in a glider or helicopter. [28 June 2004]

Düsseldorf, Germany

[picture] A modern low-floor 6-fold articulated tram, built by Siemens in 2001, heads south along Kasernenstrasse near the Altstadt. [29 June 2004]

[picture] Like Basel (see above), Düsseldorf had to withdraw its new Combino trams from service because of defects, and had to place old trams back in service. Here is a classic Düwag tram from 1969, approaching Jan-Wellem-Platz. [29 June 2004]

[picture] A Stadtbahn train on route U76 from Krefeld passes through a semi-rural landscape near Kamperweg in Meerbusch. [29 June 2004]

This page was last updated on 22 April 2006.

Presbyterian College > Academic Web Server > Jon Bell > Transit > Summer 2004