Charlotte trolley

Charlotte trolley
Car 92 (replica of a Birney Safety Car )
Basic information
Country	United States
city	Charlotte
opening	August 30, 1996
operator	Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS)
Infrastructure
Gauge	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system	Direct current over catenary
Stops	11
Depots	1
business
Lines	1
vehicles	3

Charlotte Trolley was a tourist tram in Charlotte in the US state of North Carolina . Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) was the owner and operator . Until 2010, it used most of its route together with the blue line of the Charlotte light rail ( Lynx Light Rail ) on a route of the Norfolk Southern Railway . The vehicles have been in use on the “CityLynx Gold Line” since 2015.

prehistory

A streetcar existed in Charlotte from 1891 to March 14, 1938.

history

On August 30, 1996, the line was put into operation, initially for a six-month trial phase. For the time being, the train ran 1.8 miles between the Atherton Mill depot and Stonewall Street, only three evenings a week and Sunday afternoons. Due to the success of the Norfolk Southern extended the permission to use their route for another year.

On June 28, 2004, after the construction of a bridge over Stonewall Street, daily operations from Atherton Mill to 9th Street were established. Traffic ceased between February 5, 2006 and April 19, 2008 as the line was prepared for the light rail system that opened in November 2007. Since April 20, 2008, the tram cars only drove on special occasions; daily traffic was not resumed. On June 28, 2010 the traffic was completely stopped.

On July 14, 2015, the 2.4-kilometer “Golden Line” went into operation. It leads from the Charlotte Transportation Center / Arena stop to the Hawthorne Lane & 5th Street terminus and has four intermediate stops. The ride is every 15 to 20 minutes every day, the ride is free.

vehicles

Car 93 - still with pantographs, 2006

There are three replicas of the Birney Safety Car (four-axle design) with road numbers 91, 92 and 93 for driving operations. They were built by the Gomaco Trolley Company and delivered in autumn 2004. In contrast to the similar cars used in Tampa , Little Rock and Memphis , the vehicles in Charlotte are now equipped with single-arm pantographs due to the mixed operation with the light rail .

There are also three original tram cars, two of which never ran in Charlotte. The last car 85 in service in Charlotte's former tram company was found again in 1987 and refurbished between 1989 and 1991. It was built in 1927 in the Dilworth Trolley Barn in Charlotte and was one of eight four-axle vehicles of the same type. It operated on the new route from 1996 to 2006, and is currently parked in the CATS shed on South Boulevard. It has a pantograph and is only allowed to run on the route twice a year. Car 117, an original Birney Safety Car built by Brill for Asheville from 1927, is waiting for refurbishment in the Charlotte Trolley Car Barn.

Railcar 1 was built by the United Electric Car Company in Preston (England) for the Piraeus (Greece) tram and ran there as car 60 from 1914 to 1960. It was found in Athens in 1985 , restored in Guilford (Connecticut) and in 1989 to Charlotte brought. The “little red car” is owned by the Historic Landmarks Commission, it was painted red below the window and was given the new car number 1, the first vehicle refurbished for Charlotte.

route

The route used between 1996 and 2010 began bluntly at a buffer stop on the southwest side of 9th Street. The platform was partially covered, it was on the planum of the northern track of the former railway line. At the following station, 7th Street, the train reached the section shared with the Lynx light rail. This station has two side platforms, on the north there is a stub track. After crossing 6th Street at the same level, there is an x-shaped double track change . The following stations Charlotte Transportation Center and 3rd Street are on bridges over the intersecting streets. Stonewall Street and Interstate 277 are also crossed by bridges, and the subsequent Morehead Street is driven under. From the Carson station, the route is largely at ground level again and crosses the streets at the same level. There is an easy platform change just before Bland Street. The route, which until then has been straight from northeast to southwest and crosses all roads at right angles, describes a long, gentle curve towards the south after the station of the same name. After the East / West Boulevard station, there is another track change, followed by a branch from the downtown track, the turnout of which is on the crossing Tremont Avenue. At this point the train left the shared route and ended shortly afterwards at the Atherton Mill shopping center .

The "Golden Line", which opened in 2015, begins at the Charlotte Transportation Center / Arena station, where there is a track connection to the light rail. It follows the almost straight line East Trade Street - Elizabeth Avenue, which runs at right angles to the light rail line, and turns northeast just before the terminus at Hawthorne Lane & 5th Street. The northwest turning and parking facility is located immediately south of the Charlotte Transportation Center light rail station, which the street crosses. The tram terminus is in front of the Time Warner Cable Arena building on East Trade Street. At its southern end, the connecting track to the light rail branches off. It circles the arena building and runs along East 5th Street to the light rail tracks. The tram route runs on two tracks in the street space of East Trade Street and the subsequent Elizabeth Avenue. The stops have side platforms. After the last intermediate station, Elizabeth Avenue & Hawthorne Lane, the route bends to the northeast and reaches its end point before East 5th Street.

The three Gomako replicas 91 to 92 used are located in the New Bern depot of the Stadtbahn. The railcars Tw 1 and Tw 85, which belong to the Charlotte Trolley association, are no longer allowed on the route.

museum

The Charlotte Trolley Powerhouse Museum is near Bland Street Station. It houses a stationary exhibit with the railcar 1339 built in 1910.

Web links

Commons : Charlotte Trolley  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Charlotte Trolley , homepage of the local tram museum

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Blickpunkt Tram 4/2015, p. 159
2. ↑ Plaza-Midwood Neighborhood of Charlotte at Google Books, accessed March 8, 2014
3. ^ Website of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission , accessed March 7, 2014
4. ↑ Charlotte Trolley website: Meet the Vintage Cars ( Memento of the original from March 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed March 7, 2014  
5. ↑ Charlotte Wedding Venue: The Charlotte Trolley Museum , Charlotte Magazine website, accessed March 8, 2014