Photos, videos and docs of Don Barrett (aka DBs travels), with the keywords: "trolley"

Edinburgh tram (#1109)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 07:31:45 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

When traveling I like to stay in places that are NOT in the center of the tourist area. A large part of that is because I’m perfectly comfortable in a $100 room (and more comfortable in an $80 room), and see no reason to pay the over $200 prices for a more tourist central place. I also like discovering local restaurants and stores, not tourist-centered places.

When searching on the web, I was somewhat dismayed that it seemed to be hard to find a reasonably-priced place in Edinburgh just outside the tourist areas where there were local restaurants and good transportation for getting back into the tourist area. Somehow in that searching I discovered there was a tram with quick service to the Haymarket area that’s west of the city center. Searching that area I found a good hotel that was 2 blocks from the Haymarket tram stop, and saw that Haymarket was a neighborhood with a good selection of local restaurants and stores, so the problem was solved (pictures from that hotel area will appear later). The tram itself was easy and quick, and with the amount of rain and wind, a good shelter as well.

A note here about Edinburgh pictures. Most of the time I was in Edinburgh it was rainy, often windy, and cold. Juggling an umbrella, gloves, and a camera is difficult in that situation, so I ended up using my ‘pocket’ camera (Nikon S7000) for very many of the Edinburgh pictures. Fortunately it does a very good job and in some situations (particularly for low-light pictures) is much easier to use than my ‘normal’ camera, a Nikon D5600.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Rotterdam Centraal Station snow day (#0854)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 05:22:31 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

There's a central trolley station at Centraal (rail) Station, if you look closely you can see another trolley on the right side of the picture. Though the chartreuse trolley is very obvious, what isn’t obvious is that it isn’t moving.

This was the day before I was flying out of Amsterdam to return to the states. I had always assumed that our (U.S.) lack of interest in maintaining infrastructure was why many U.S. cities are crippled by just a little snow – I quickly discovered that wasn’t just a U.S. problem. The trolleys here were backed up, apparently because the operators were having to get out and manually operate the switches.

Rotterdam historic tram (#0274)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 05:22:23 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

In the mix of stalled trams on a snow day, the historic tram.

Rotterdam closing (# 0860)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 05:21:54 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

This snow storm on my last day in Rotterdam was a visually good cap to my days there. The city was far more interesting than I expected – it was an interesting mix of historic and modern architecture providing some very pleasant sight-lines, and the people were courteous/helpful just about everywhere that I visited.

I was, though, in for a surprise the next day. As I noted in an earlier picture, I had expected that northern Europeans would be prepared for snow – they weren’t. The next day I found that all train service on the line between Rotterdam and the Amsterdam airport (Schipol) was canceled and that I would have to make a trip west, and then change trains (twice) to get back to the airport. Everyone was anxious about their flights so the trains were packed to the point where they couldn’t close the doors (I waited instead), so the 30 minute trip took 90 minutes. Fortunately, both the rail folk and fellow train passengers were helpful in figuring out how to handle the detour and I got to the airport in time for my flight.

Rotterdam historic tram (#0274)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 09:03:16 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Historic tram, mentioned earlier in the Rotterdam photos, that I saw around town multiple times. Here in Mathenesserplein.

San Jose light rail (#0100)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Tue, 07 Nov 2017 08:59:33 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Light rail on a dedicated track in the median of First Avenue, just north of downtown San Jose.

San Jose light rail (#0099)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Tue, 07 Nov 2017 08:58:51 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

For many of my years living in the San Francisco area, San Jose was considered to be sort of a stepchild of the ‘urbane’ San Francisco, and few people that I knew ever visited it. For some reason, though, I invariably ended up knowing people who lived down there and ended up spending quite a bit of time around San Jose and the Santa Clara valley. The Santa Clara valley that I knew was much more car-oriented than the San Francisco/Oakland area, so it was a surprise to me when they began installing a light-rail system in the late 1980’s.

The light-rail train seen here is at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) station for the San Jose airport. There’s a free shuttle bus from the airport to this VTA station and there is a VTA train that goes from here to just outside the San Jose Amtrak/Caltrain Diridon depot (not the train shown), so the connection between the two worked quite well.

Birmingham (#0126)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 07:05:40 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Birmingham trolley....

Wuppertal Schwebebahn (#0395)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 06:34:26 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

There are quite a few videos of the Schwebebahn on Youtube. The most comprehensive one that I saw includes historic cars, videos of switching and turning around, a glimpse of the rail yard, and some aerial views (it's in German): www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeLfS7zzRGI

Wuppertal Schwebebahn (#0393)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 06:34:19 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The line retains much of its original appearance, but many parts of it have been reconstructed. It was heavily damaged in WWII and has been modernized since. The Wikipedia page on it has a good combination of history and pictures: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuppertal_Suspension_Railway

Wuppertal Schwebebahn (#0390)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 06:34:13 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Much of the line is over the Wuppertal river which forms a fairly narrow valley through the area. Besides being ridden by tourists, it's a key part of the transit system for the area. Midday on a Tuesday the cars were fairly full, and it looked like I was the only tourist.

Wuppertal Schwebebahn (#0383)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 06:34:08 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Construction on the Schwebebahn began in 1898 and a portion of the railway opened in 1901, with the whole 13km stretch opened by 1903. The various websites I've seen describe it as a suspension railway, though apparently 'schwebe' means 'hover'. I think of it more along the lines of what "Schwebebahn" sounds like in my very poor effort to pronounce German and thus sounds close to "swaying bahn" (the cars do sway).

Wuppertal Schwebebahn (#0382)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 06:34:01 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The Wuppertal Schwebebahn. I went out to Wuppertal specifically to see and ride this. More detail with subsequent pictures.

Dusseldorf (#0381)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sat, 04 Feb 2017 07:25:10 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

A couple of blocks from MedienHafen, a very conventional neighborhood.

Astoria wharf/trolley (#1303)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 18 Sep 2016 04:55:11 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Trolley at the Astoria-Megler bridge.

Astoria wharf/trolley (#1302)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 18 Sep 2016 04:55:06 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

On the trolley headed east, passing a relatively new condominium project on the left.

Astoria wharf/trolley (#1298)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 18 Sep 2016 04:54:57 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The trolley used along the waterfront is based on an electric trolley, but the power is supplied by a diesel motor.

Astoria wharf/trolley (#1292)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 18 Sep 2016 04:54:42 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Astoria trolley, built in 1913 and primarily served on a trolley line in San Antonio, TX. The trolley has been restored multiple times and used in various tourist services; volunteer restoration brought it into service in Astoria in 1999. The trolley is run by volunteers on tracks that once served the waterfront. I don't normally ride tourist attractions, but my feet were tired and the price was right ($2 for an all day pass). It turned out to be well worth it -- the narrative was interesting with 'color' that would be expected about life in a port.

LA Transit Lines insignia (#0038)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 08:20:26 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Insignia for the Los Angeles Transit Lines yellow cars, which was the local line for city of LA.

Seen at Orange Empire Railway Museum.

Los Angeles Railway (#0033)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 04:35:30 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Former Los Angeles Railway trolley, apparently under restoration. The destination sign is for Slauson and Santa Fe. The intersection is in the city of Huntington Park which, in 1906, was considered to be a streetcar suburb of Los Angeles (see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntington_Park,_California ).

Seen at the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, see Zach's photos of the museum for great detail on the various cars and signals: www.ipernity.com/doc/eight_perf/album/805772.