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Street Cars In Europe

Street Cars In Europe image
Parent Issue
Day
11
Month
March
Year
1891
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

"I have just had a long trip through Durope looking at their street cars, ot tram cars,' as they are called there," Baid a correspondent of the New York Telegram. "In Dublin I found the street railways under one management, called the Jnited Du blin Tramway Company. The cars carry twenty-six passengers inskle and twenty on top, and by a law of the iingdom all public conveyances are imited to their capacity. When the seats are full no more passengers are taken on, and there is none of the crowding and overloading we have in ;his country. The rails of the Dublin ;ramways are grooved and weigh nine;y pounds to the yard. They are not ;aid on ties and sleepers, but in cement on a concrete foundation and are connected with couplinp rods. The pavement, both inside and outsidethe track, ís of gTanite blocks on a concrete foundation, and the seams between the blocks are filled with tar and cement, makingthe pavement totally impervious to water. The rails are fiush with tlte pavement and are kept in perfect repair, so that one might drive over them with a buggy and not know that he was crossing a railway track. The fare is one penny, or two cents, for any distance inside of a mile. It is a horse system, and the speed is between eight and nine miles an hour. The horses are of a very high grade, as the Government offers a gratuity on every horse coming Tip to requlrements that makes up the difference in the prices of a good and a poor animal. In consideration of this gratuity the Government reserves the right to take the horses owned by the tramway company for cavalry service in case of war. "In Belfast and Glasgow the systems are similar, while Edinburgh and Birmingham have very good cable roads. Ja London there is the Ilighgate HUI cable road, and all the other roads are worked by horse power. In November last a new electric road was opened in London. The road is what is known as three or center-rail system, with the cars drawn by an engine which receives its power from the central rail, and electricity is generated from stations at the end of the road. On this line there are seventecn trains of three cars each, which leave the stopping-places at intervals of three minutes. The fare is flve cents in United States money, and is paid at a turnstile. The speed is about twelve to fifteen miles an hour. "Paris has electric cars run by the storagc system, and it seems to work very well. One feature of the Italian roads worthy of attention is that there are two fares - a first-class fare, where the passengers sit inside, and a secondclass, where the passengers stand outside. The difference in fare is two cents."

Article

Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Courier