Perambulator operation

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A perambulator operation or perambulator system is a method practiced in the second half of the 19th century to combine the advantages of a horse-drawn tram (low rolling friction and smoother running) with those of a horse-drawn bus (greater flexibility). The cars were smooth with four and the axes rotary wheels without flanges fitted, while an additional fifth wheel as a guide wheel or guide wheel functioned and held the track. Perambulator cars are thus an early form of a two-way vehicle , a track bus or a tramway sur pneumatiques . Ultimately, the perambulator operation could nowhere prevail over the conventional (horse) tram . The name perambulator comes from the Latin per = with, means, through and ambulare = to travel, to hike; consequently roughly: deflection operation or deflection carriage . In English, perambulator (short: pram) means, among other things, a stroller.

general description

Like classic carriages , perambulator wagons were usually asymmetrical . Here, the two front wheels fell off usually somewhat smaller, the way vehicles always took this forward. They also had a drawbar that was rigidly connected to the steering of the leading axle , with the help of which the driver could, if necessary, steer the car away from the track onto the pavement . The presence of the drawbar in connection with the axles steered by it meant that turning trips had to be carried out in the trackless area at the end points. At that time, turning loops were not common in connection with deflection trolleys. In return, the horses did not have to be re-harnessed at the end stations, as was customary with the two- way horse-drawn tram cars.

Three-rail system

The three-rail system Haworth in Manchester , i.e. with a middle guide rail
Planned three-track vehicle for Zurich, 1863

On September 25, 1860, the British John Haworth secured a patent for a three- rail perambulator system under registration number 2326 . Here, the large regular wagon wheels ran on two smooth outer rails, while the additional and much smaller fifth wheel was attached in the middle in front of the front axle. It also did not have a wheel flange and ran into a - also centrally located - grooved rail , giving it a rut served. If necessary, the guide wheel could be raised using a cable , which made the car freely steerable. The main advantage here was the quieter running compared to driving on uneven cobblestones or completely unpaved roads as well as the higher capacity due to larger cars. Haworth's system, however, was not compatible with the few horse-drawn trams that were already in existence at the time.

In 1863 the engineer Edmund Scharpe also proposed such a three- tier system to the government council for Zurich , but was unable to enforce it. Its outer, flatter rails would have been made slightly concave ; the middle one would have had a groove half an inch wide, in which a conductive wheel 1½ 'in diameter would have moved.

Two-rail system

Perambulator car of the Hamburg-Altonaer Pferdebahn-Gesellschaft in operation on the road, the raised idler wheel is not visible on this photo

The double-rail perambulator system, which was mainly used in Germany, is a little more recent. Classic grooved rails were used here, which could be driven on by regular trams and which enabled mixed operation. The additional guide wheel was rigidly connected to the front axle and ran in one of the two grooved rails. An additional third rail was no longer necessary. The guide wheel could be tightened or lowered using a threaded spindle . The main advantage of the two-rail system was its compatibility with classic railways; switches and crossings could also be used in mixed operation .

The double-track perambulator operation made it possible, above all, to avoid costly diversions on single-track tram routes . Instead, could at any point in the network crossed are also causing delays of course not also weighed on all counter classes. In addition , the alternative points did not have to be relocated in the event of changes to the timetable , e.g. In addition, perambulator cars could bypass obstacles on the tracks and serve route sections on which there were (yet) no rails.

In many cases, however, the guidance of the wagons through the idler left something to be desired. The rest of the wheels hit the pavement while running on the rail heads. Due to the wear and tear of the joints of the handlebars for the rear axle, the latter tended to roll, especially in arcs. The guide wheel had to be made relatively heavy in order not to climb up while driving. Attempts to calm the carriage movement by attaching a second guide wheel to the rear axle failed, however. Rather, the lurching resulted in both guide wheels becoming wedged and the movement of the vehicles made even more difficult. Attaching another guide wheel to the front axle improved the tracking, but not the lurching of the rear axle. Switching from rail to road was relatively easy. After lifting the guide wheel, which required some effort, the driver steered the horses onto the pavement. With the single-bar, however, not only the position of the guide wheel but also that of the rear axle had to be taken into account. Imprecise retraction ultimately led to the rear axle running on the pavement for the entire journey.

application

The perambulator operation was to be found in Germany during the horse-drawn tram era, among other things, on the Hamburg tram , the Oldenburg tram , the Barmen-Elberfeld tram and the new Berlin horse-drawn tram . In 1877, Bremen also considered introducing perambulator operation for the Walle - Hastedt route. After visiting the factories in Berlin and Barmen-Elberfeld, among others, it was advised against at the suggestion of the inspector responsible.

See also

The electric tram-omnibus from Siemens & Halske from 1898 also operated according to the perambulator system , but this had a third axle with two additional wheels

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Building inspector Böttcher and the perambulator system . In: Berliner Verkehrsblätter . No. 7 , 1978, p. 126-129 .
  2. ^ Otto Lueger: Tramways . In: Lexicon of all technology and its auxiliary sciences . tape 8 . Stuttgart and Leipzig 1910, p. 353-355 ( online ).
  3. ^ Horst Buchholz: Line history of the Hamburg tram 1866 to 1978 . Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-923999-17-0 , pp. 14 .
  4. ^ Andrew Turton: Horse-Drawn Transport in Leeds, William Turton, Corn Merchant and Tramway Entrepreneur
  5. ^ Author collective: Tramways . In: Meyers Konversationslexikon . 4th edition. tape 1885-1892 . Publishing house of the Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig and Vienna ( online ).
  6. ↑ Fabian Till Schneider: 140 years ago with the Rösslibahn through Zurich , article from April 7, 2017, online at blogs.ethz.ch, accessed on January 20, 2020
  7. ^ Horst Buchholz: Line history of the Hamburg tram 1866 to 1978 . Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-923999-17-0 , pp. 17 .