Photos, videos and docs of Jon Searles, with the keywords: "light rail"

DPP #7058 In The Snow, Flora, Prague, CZ, 2007

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 11:45:01 +0000

I accidentally just deleted this! Here it is again. :-) I took this at the Flora tram stop in Prague in a snowy haze a year ago, when Prague was getting a fair-sized snowstorm, and I had to slow the shutter down considerably to get the 100 ISO E100GX film to pick anything up. I think I shot this at 1/60 or 1/45 at f4, and the result was, of course, that the moving tram blurred. I had to shoot from the ground, too, to get out of people's way, as you can see the umbrella above. In the end, what was technically mediocre ended up being fairly artistic, I think, or hope. :-) I hope that at least some of you will agree.

Very Red Tram, Karlovo Namesti, Prague, CZ, 2006

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 22:29:01 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

Here's one of my most alternative rail shots of all time. I'm not sure if you'll like it, but I figured I'd give it a try. This is, of course, again from my cross-processed roll of Fujichrome, but this time with the reds cranked up so high in Photoshop that it resembles a painting.

DPP #7076 at I.P. Pavlova, Cross Processed and Photoshopped, Prague, CZ, 2006

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 22:29:01 +0000

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This shot was one of the less wild ones from my first cross-processed Fujichrome. The original had a strong Magenta cast, just like the rest, but the more interesting feature was the way in which all electric lights (as on the whole roll), streaked to the right. Originally, I wasn't sure if this was the camera or the cross processing, but I'm now aware that this is the film transport being out of sync with the shutter. If anybody knows how to fix this please help!! It does create the feel of motion, though, even though it wasn't the motion of the tram which created the trails. Also, of course, I'll state the obvious and point out that I converted the photo to black and white.

DPP #8657 At Narodni Trida Stop, Prague, CZ, 2006

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 22:23:01 +0000

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The Narodni Trida tram stop is actually not on Narodni Trida, but rather on Spalena next to Tesco's. A few meters behind me, the tracks curve west onto Narodni Trida at the corner of Spalena and Narodni Trida. The tram pictured is a CKD-built Tatra T6A5, similar to the T6A4 trams used in Portland, Oregon. They were some of the first new trams built after the fall of Communism, being built mostly in the mid-1990s.

DPP #5002 At Vodickova, Prague, CZ, 2006

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 22:22:01 +0000

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#5002 is the second-oldest Tatra tram still in the DPP fleet, and it is now only used on the historic tram service, #91 from Depo Stresovice-Vystaviste. Even on this service, it usually doesn't work except for on November 17th, the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, which is also usually the last day of operations for #91 before the winter break. I was very, very lucky to be in the right place at the right time to get this, as I only have two other photos, both of them horrible, of this tram in service. This photo, also, was nearly a failure, as my Ikoflex was set wrong. I was in such a rush to get the shot that in my haste I pointed my light meter at the sky without even realising it, and as such I barely underexposed. I talked to a photo student, though, who was able to clean up the shot in the full version of Adobe Photoshop (on a high-end computer with a high-end 4000 dpi Nikon negative scanner), and I worked on it a little bit, too, and now I think it looks alright.

Cable Car On Turntable At Beach, Picture 3, San Francisco, CA, USA, 1993

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:49:02 +0000

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The Cable Cars of the San Francisco Municipal Railway Powell & Hyde Line run from the corner of Powell and Market Streets to Beach, which is actually a beach on San Francisco Bay rather than on the Pacific Ocean, near Aquatic Park. There, a turntable allows them to change direction, as they aren't uni-directional. The momentum of the moving cable car rolls it onto the turntable, as seen in Picture 1, the cable car is turned by hand, as in Pictures 2 and 3, and then the car is pushed back onto the active track, only for the opposite direction. It can then be reconnected to the cable upon departure.

San Francisco Municipal Railway, Cable House, San Francisco, CA, USA, 1993

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:49:01 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

Cable Cars aren't universally considered trams. That's the purpose that they serve, though, for all practical purposes. The main thing that makes them different from others is that standard trams are powered through overhead cantenary that powers electric traction motors that power each axle, whereas Cable Cars are pulled along by a cable underneath the street. You can check out www.cablecarguy.com for more technical info. In any case, I got my chance to ride and photograph the San Francisco Municipal Railway, the last of the traditional Cable Car systems, in 1993. All of the other surviving systems operate on the less-standard "funicular system," used on steep hills. Unlike a standard cable car system, a funicular is limited by the fact that the cable is connected to both cars (all TWO! :-)) semi-permanently, so while one goes up the hill, the other goes down. This would never work in S.F., though, since it's a full-service system with many cars running on different streets. Therefore, the cables are controlled from a central cable house, pictured here on the right, which is also the San Francisco Cable Car Museum. The cars then can run semi-independently of the cable house's whims, controlling their access to the constantly moving cables under the street through the use of a "grip," that is sort of between a pliers and an automotive clutch. As such, cable car drivers are called "grip men (or perhaps women)."

Cable Car On Turntable At Beach, Picture 1, San Francisco, CA, USA, 1993

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:49:01 +0000

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Cable Car On Turntable At Beach, Picture 2, San Francisco, CA, USA, 1993

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:49:01 +0000

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Metro Transit #110A, Minneapolis, MN, USA, 2004

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:31:01 +0000

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When I visited, Minneapolis was just putting the finishing touches on a controversial light rail project, called the "Hiawatha Line" after the famous steam-era express trains, and I was lucky enough to see them testing one of the new trams. These aren't particularly unconventional as modern trams go, except for that they have train horns and bells instead of traditional tram bells, making them extremely noisy. This may have had something to do with Metro Transit classifying them as "trains" rather than trams or trollies, even though they operate in the street and perform in every concievable way like most other modern trams. I haven't found out whether this has elicited complaints, improved safety, or both, but I do know that most of the controversy was unrelated to noise. Rather, the main argument against the project was that it didn't go anywhere locals wanted to go, instead providing a link only from Nicollet Mall (seen here) to the Mall of America. The line has since been extended further north to the Warehouse District, however, which would be to the rear of this photo (if I'm wrong on either of these points please correct me). In spite of the initial arguments against the project, however, this year Metro Transit reported their highest ridership on all modes in 22 years, with 73.8 million riders for 2006, blowing past their target of 71 million. The Hiawatha line only accounted for 9.4 million of these, but if you consider that initially it was predicted no one would ride, this could actually be called quite a success.

View From Chotkova, Prague, CZ, 2007

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:23:01 +0000

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Deviating from the Stefanikova story for a moment, here's perhaps the most spectacular view possible from a tram in Prague (not counting the Funicular). It was taken from Chotkova, on Tram 22 or 23 (I don't remember right now), southbound. The historic tram service, #91, and several other services also use it, but these three are the best for tourists because this is the way to and from Prazky Hrad, the castle. There was a bit of fog on this day as the sun melted the snow, and some of that is inevitably smog, too, but I think it adds atmosphere. As I get better shots, I'll probably post them, but for now, enjoy. :-)

Andel Tram Stop, Andel (Smichov), Prague, CZ, 2007