Editing Tram (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of trams}}{{Duplication|date=July 2024|dupe=History of trams|discuss=Talk:Tram#Article_Division?|section}}

===Creation===
The history of passenger trams, streetcars and trolley systems, began in the early nineteenth century. It can be divided into several distinct periods defined by the principal means of power used. Precursors to the tramway included the wooden or stone [[wagonway]]s that were used in central Europe to transport [[mine cart]]s with unflanged wheels since the 1500s, and the paved limestone trackways designed by the Romans for heavy horse and ox-drawn transportation. By the 1700s, paved [[plateway]]s with [[cast iron]] rails were introduced in England for transporting coal, stone or iron ore from the mines to the urban factories and docks.

===Horse-drawn===
{{Main|Horsecar}}
[[File:Horsetrain 1870.jpg|thumb|A horse-drawn tram operated by [[Swansea and Mumbles Railway]], 1870. Established in 1804, the railway service was the world's first.]]
[[File:Milano inauguraz tram Monza.jpg|thumb|Inauguration of the [[Milan]]–[[Monza]] tramway, 1876.]]
The world's first passenger train or tram was the [[Swansea and Mumbles Railway]], in [[Wales]], UK. The British Parliament passed the Mumbles Railway Act in 1804, and horse-drawn service started in 1807.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.welshwales.co.uk/mumbles_railway_swansea.htm |title=The Swansea and Mumbles Railway – the world's first railway service |publisher=Welshwales.co.uk |access-date=8 March 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626140319/http://www.welshwales.co.uk/mumbles_railway_swansea.htm |archive-date=26 June 2007}}</ref> The service closed in 1827, but was restarted in 1860, again using horses.{{sfn|Dunbar|1967|p=15}} It was worked by steam from 1877, and then, from 1929, by very large (106-seat) electric tramcars, until closure in 1960.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Turner |first=Robin |date=26 March 2015 |title=Could the Mumbles Railway make a come back? |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/could-mumbles-train-make-come-8929957 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813192046/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/could-mumbles-train-make-come-8929957 |archive-date=13 August 2022 |access-date=13 August 2022 |website=[[Media Wales#WalesOnline|WalesOnline]] |language=en}}</ref> The Swansea and Mumbles Railway was something of a one-off however, and no street tramway appeared in Britain until 1860 when one was built in [[Birkenhead Corporation Tramways|Birkenhead]] by the American [[George Francis Train]].{{sfn|Dunbar|1967|p=23}}

Street railways developed in America before Europe, due to the poor [[Road surface|paving]] of the streets in American cities which made them unsuitable for [[horsebus]]es, which were then common on the well-paved streets of European cities. Running the horsecars on rails allowed for a much smoother ride. There are records of a street railway running in [[Baltimore]] as early as 1828, however the first authenticated streetcar in America, was the [[New York and Harlem Railroad]] developed by the Irish coach builder [[John Stephenson (coachbuilder)|John Stephenson]], in New York City which began service in the year 1832.{{sfn|Dunbar|1967|pp=16–17}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/builders/stephenson1.htm |title=The John Stephenson Car Co |access-date=25 February 2009 |publisher=[[Mid-Continent Railway Museum]] }}</ref> The New York and Harlem Railroad's [[Fourth Avenue Line (Manhattan surface)|Fourth Avenue Line]] ran along the [[Bowery]] and [[Fourth Avenue (Manhattan)|Fourth Avenue]] in New York City. It was followed in 1835 by the [[New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad]] in [[New Orleans, Louisiana]],{{sfn|Dunbar|1967|p=18}} which still operates as the [[St. Charles Streetcar Line]]. Other American cities did not follow until the 1850s, after which the "animal railway" became an increasingly common feature in the larger towns.{{sfn|Dunbar|1967|p=18}}

<!-- The first tram in Continental Europe opened in France in 1839 between [[Montbrison, Loire|Montbrison]] and [[Montrond-les-Bains|Montrond]], on the streets inside the towns, and on the roadside outside town. It had permission for steam traction, but was entirely run with horse traction. In 1848, it was closed down after repeated economic failure..........No reference given for this claim, and it is contradicted by many sources but please unhide this if a suitable reference is found --> 
The first permanent tram line in continental Europe was opened in Paris in 1855 by [[Alphonse Loubat]] who had previously worked on American streetcar lines.{{sfn|Dunbar|1967|p=21}} The tram was developed in numerous cities of Europe (some of the most extensive systems were found in Berlin, [[Budapest]], [[Birmingham Corporation Tramways|Birmingham]], [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Lisbon]], [[London County Council Tramways|London]], [[Manchester Corporation Tramways|Manchester]], [[Tramways in Paris#History|Paris]], [[Trams in Kyiv|Kyiv]]).
The first tram in South America opened in 1858 in [[List of town tramway systems in Chile|Santiago, Chile]]. The first trams in Australia opened in 1860 in [[Trams in Sydney|Sydney]]. Africa's first tram service started in [[Trams in Alexandria|Alexandria]] on 8 January 1863. The first trams in Asia opened in 1869 in [[Trams in Asia|Batavia (Jakarta), Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia)]].

Limitations of horsecars included the fact that any given animal could only work so many hours on a given day, had to be housed, groomed, fed and cared for day in and day out, and produced prodigious amounts of manure, which the streetcar company was charged with storing and then disposing. Since a typical horse pulled a streetcar for about a dozen miles a day and worked for four or five hours, many systems needed ten or more horses in stable for each horsecar. In 1905 the British newspaper ''Newcastle Daily Chronicle'' reported that, "A large number of London's discarded horse tramcars have been sent to [[Lincolnshire]] where they are used as sleeping rooms for [[Farmworker|potato pickers]]".<ref>{{cite news |title=Near and far |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001634/19050823/112/0006 |access-date=11 November 2021 |work=Newcastle Daily Chronicle |agency=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=23 August 1905 |page=6 col.5}}</ref>
[[File:The last of the Horse Drawn Carriages.JPG|thumb|Horse-drawn trams continued to be used in [[New York City]] until 1917.]]
Horses continued to be used for light shunting well into the 20th century, and many large metropolitan lines lasted into the early 20th century. New York City had a regular horsecar service on the [[Bleecker Street Line]] until its closure in 1917.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cable-car-guy.com/html/ccmiscnpart.html#nylasthc|title=The Cable Car Home Page – Miscellaneous Newspaper Articles|website=www.cable-car-guy.com}}</ref> [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]], had its Sarah Street line drawn by horses until 1923. The last regular mule-drawn cars in the US ran in [[Sulphur Rock, Arkansas]], until 1926 and were commemorated by a [[U.S. postage stamp]] issued in 1983.<ref name="encyclopediaofarkansas">{{cite web |url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=3727 |title=Sulphur Rock Street Car |website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture |access-date=23 December 2008}}</ref> The last mule tram service in [[Mexico City]] ended in 1932, and a mule tram in [[Celaya, Mexico]], survived until 1954.<ref name="morrison_celaya">{{cite web |url=http://www.tramz.com/mx/ce/ce.html |title=The Indomitable Tramways of Celaya |first=Allen |last=Morrison |access-date=22 December 2008}}</ref> The last horse-drawn tram to be withdrawn from public service in the UK took passengers from [[Fintona]] railway station to Fintona Junction one mile away on the main Omagh to Enniskillen railway in Northern Ireland. The tram made its last journey on 30 September 1957 when the Omagh to Enniskillen line closed. The "van" is preserved at the [[Ulster Transport Museum]].

Horse-drawn trams still operate on the 1876-built [[Douglas Bay Horse Tramway]] on the [[Isle of Man]], and at the 1894-built [[Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tram|horse tram]] at [[Victor Harbor, South Australia|Victor Harbor]] in [[South Australia]]. New horse-drawn systems have been established at the [[Hokkaido]] Museum in Japan and also in [[Disneyland]]. A horse-tram route in [[Poland|Polish]] [[gmina Mrozy]], first built in 1902, was reopened in 2012.

===Steam===
{{Main|Tram engine|Steam dummy}}
[[File:Bruehl Feuriger Elias.jpg|thumb|left|A steam [[tram engine]] from the [[Cologne Stadtbahn|Cologne-Bonn Railway]], pulling a train through [[Brühl (Rhineland)|Brühl]] marketplace, c. 1900]]
The first mechanical trams were powered by [[steam engine|steam]].<ref>{{cite web |title=History of trams, light rail |url=https://bathtrams.uk/history-of-trams/ |website=Bath & Bristol Trams |date=19 February 2017 |access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref> Generally, there were two types of steam tram. The first and most common had a small [[steam locomotive]] (called a [[tram engine]] in the UK) at the head of a line of one or more carriages, similar to a small train. Systems with such steam trams included [[Christchurch]], New Zealand; Sydney, Australia; other city systems in [[New South Wales]]; [[Munich]], Germany (from August 1883 on),<ref name="Muenchen1964">{{cite news| url = http://www.tram-muenchen.de/geschichte/chronik-vor1964.html| title = 1876 – 1964 (Überblick)| archive-url = https://archive.today/20110224053241/http://www.tram-muenchen.de/geschichte/chronik-vor1964.html| archive-date = 24 February 2011| access-date = 8 March 2015| url-status = dead}}</ref> [[Mohamedali Tramways Company|British India]] (from 1885) and the Dublin & Blessington Steam Tramway (from 1888) in Ireland. Steam tramways also were used on the suburban tramway lines around [[Milan]] and [[Padua]]; the last ''Gamba de Legn'' ("Peg-Leg") tramway ran on the Milan-[[Magenta, Lombardy|Magenta]]-Castano Primo route in late 1957.<ref name="Milan1957">{{cite news| url = http://www.ilgiornale.it/news/cinquant-anni-fa-milano-diceva-addio-gamba-de-legn.html| title = Cinquant'anni fa Milano diceva addio al "Gamba de legn"| access-date = 10 February 2019}}</ref>

The other style of steam tram had the steam engine in the body of the tram, referred to as a [[tram engine]] (UK) or [[steam dummy]] (US). The most notable system to adopt such trams was in Paris. French-designed steam trams also operated in [[Trams in Rockhampton|Rockhampton]], in the Australian state of [[Queensland]] between 1909 and 1939. [[Stockholm]], Sweden, had a steam tram line at the island of [[Södermalm]] between 1887 and 1901.

Tram engines usually had modifications to make them suitable for street running in residential areas. The wheels, and other moving parts of the machinery, were usually enclosed for safety reasons and to make the engines quieter. Measures were often taken to prevent the engines from emitting visible smoke or steam. Usually the engines used [[coke (fuel)|coke]] rather than coal as fuel to avoid emitting smoke; [[Condensing steam locomotive|condensers]] or [[Superheater|superheating]] were used to avoid emitting visible steam. A major drawback of this style of tram was the limited space for the engine, so that these trams were usually underpowered. Steam trams faded out around the 1890s to 1900s, being replaced by electric trams.

===Cable-hauled===
{{Main|Cable car (railway)}}
[[File:Minories stationLBR.jpg|thumb|Winding drums of the [[London and Blackwall Railway|London and Blackwall]] cable-operated railway]]
Another motive system for trams was the cable car, which was pulled along a [[rail track|fixed track]] by a moving steel cable, the cable usually running in a slot below the street level. The power to move the cable was normally provided at a "powerhouse" site a distance away from the actual vehicle. The [[London and Blackwall Railway]], which opened for passengers in east London, England, in 1840 used such a system.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Robertson|first=Andrew|date=March 1848|title=Blackwall Railway Machinery|journal=The Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal|publisher=Wiley & Putnam|location=New York|volume=11}}</ref>

The first practical cable car line was tested in [[San Francisco cable car system|San Francisco]], in 1873. Part of its success is attributed to the development of an effective and reliable [[cable grip]] mechanism, to grab and release the moving cable without damage. The second city to operate cable trams was [[Dunedin cable tramway system|Dunedin]], from 1881 to 1957.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dunedin Cable Car |url=http://www.dunedincablecars.co.nz/history.html |website=www.dunedincablecars.co.nz |publisher=Dunedin Cable Car |access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref>

The most extensive cable system in the US was built in [[Cable cars in Chicago|Chicago]] in stages between 1859 and 1892. New York City developed multiple cable car lines, that operated from 1883 to 1909.<ref>{{harvnb|Young|Meyers|2016|page=179}}</ref> Los Angeles also had several cable car lines, including the Second Street Cable Railroad, which operated from 1885 to 1889,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Second Street Cable Railroad (1885) |url=https://www.erha.org/sscr.htm |access-date=December 19, 2024 |website=erha.org}}</ref> and the Temple Street Cable Railway, which operated from 1886 to 1898.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Temple Street Cable Railway (1886) |url=https://www.erha.org/tscr.htm |access-date=December 19, 2024 |website=erha.org}}</ref>
[[File:Melbourne’s first cable tram.jpg|thumb|The first [[Melbourne cable tramway system|cable car service in Melbourne]], 1885. Melbourne operated one of the largest cable car networks in the world.]]
From 1885 to 1940, the city of [[Melbourne cable tramway system|Melbourne]], Victoria, Australia operated one of the largest cable systems in the world, at its peak running 592 trams on {{convert|75|km|mi}} of track. There were also two isolated cable lines in [[Sydney]], New South Wales, Australia; the North Sydney line from 1886 to 1900, and the King Street line from 1892 to 1905.{{citation needed|date = August 2024}}

In [[Dresden]], Germany, in 1901 an elevated [[suspension railway|suspended]] cable car following the ''Eugen Langen one-railed floating tram system'' started operating. [[Highgate Hill Cable Tramway|Cable cars]] operated on Highgate Hill in North London and [[Kennington]] to [[Brixton]] Hill in South London.{{when|date=March 2013}} They also worked around "Upper Douglas" in the [[Isle of Man]] from 1897 to 1929 (cable car 72/73 is the sole survivor of the fleet).{{citation needed|date = August 2024}}

In Italy, in [[Trieste]], the [[Trieste–Opicina tramway]] was opened in 1902, with the steepest section of the route being negotiated with the help of a [[funicular]] and its cables.{{citation needed|date = August 2024}}

Cable cars suffered from high [[infrastructure]] costs, since an expensive system of [[Wire rope|cables]], [[pulley]]s, [[stationary engine]]s and lengthy underground vault structures beneath the rails had to be provided. They also required physical strength and skill to operate, and alert operators to avoid obstructions and other cable cars. The cable had to be disconnected ("dropped") at designated locations to allow the cars to coast by inertia, for example when crossing another cable line. The cable then had to be "picked up" to resume progress, the whole operation requiring precise timing to avoid damage to the cable and the grip mechanism. Breaks and frays in the cable, which occurred frequently, required the complete cessation of services over a cable route while the cable was repaired. Due to overall wear, the entire length of cable (typically several kilometres) had to be replaced on a regular schedule. After the development of reliable electrically powered trams, the costly high-maintenance cable car systems were rapidly replaced in most locations.{{citation needed|date = August 2024}}
[[File:San Francisco Cable Car MC.jpg|thumb|The [[San Francisco cable car system|San Francisco cable car]]'s effectiveness on hills partially explains its continued use.]]
Cable cars remained especially effective in hilly cities, since their nondriven wheels did not [[rail adhesion|lose traction]] as they climbed or descended a steep hill. The moving cable pulled the car up the hill at a steady pace, unlike a low-powered steam or horse-drawn car. Cable cars do have wheel brakes and [[track brake]]s, but the cable also helps restrain the car to going downhill at a constant speed. Performance in steep terrain partially explains the survival of cable cars in San Francisco.{{citation needed|date = August 2024}}

The [[San Francisco cable car system|San Francisco cable cars]], though significantly reduced in number, continue to provide regular transportation service, in addition to being a well-known [[tourist attraction]]. A single cable line also survives in [[Wellington]] (rebuilt in 1979 as a [[funicular]] but still called the "[[Wellington Cable Car]]"). Another system, with two separate cable lines and a shared power station in the middle, operates from the Welsh town of [[Llandudno]] up to the top of the [[Great Orme]] hill in [[North Wales]], UK.{{citation needed|date = August 2024}}

===Internal combustion===
[[File:Bensinmotorvagn. Trafikerade linjen 19, Karlaplan - Frihamnen 1924 - 1929.JPG|thumb|The only petrol-driven tram of [[Stockholms Spårvägar (1915)|Stockholms Spårvägar]], on line 19, in the 1920s]]
[[Hastings]] and some other tramways, for example [[Stockholms Spårvägar (1915)|Stockholms Spårvägar]] in Sweden and some lines in [[Karachi]], used [[Petrol engine|petrol]] trams. [[Galveston Island Trolley]] in Texas operated [[Galveston Island Trolley|diesel trams]] due to the city's hurricane-prone location, which would have resulted in frequent damage to an electrical supply system. Although [[Portland, Victoria]] promotes its [[Portland Cable Tram|tourist tram]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://portlandcabletrams.com.au/ |title=Portland Cable Tram website|website=portlandcabletrams.com.au|access-date=17 March 2021}}</ref> as being a cable car it actually operates using a diesel motor. The tram, which runs on a circular route around the town of Portland, uses dummies and salons formerly used on the [[Melbourne cable tramway system]] and since restored.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries a number of systems in various parts of the world employed trams powered by gas, [[naphtha]] gas or [[coal gas]] in particular. Gas trams are known to have operated between [[Alphington, Victoria|Alphington]] and [[Clifton Hill, Victoria|Clifton Hill]] in the northern suburbs of [[Melbourne]], Australia (1886–1888); in Berlin and [[Dresden]], Germany; in [[Estonia]] (1921–1951); between [[Jelenia Góra]], [[Jelenia Góra|Cieplice]], and [[Sobieszów]] in Poland (from 1897); and in the UK at [[Lytham St Annes]], [[Trafford Park]], Manchester (1897–1908) and [[Neath Corporation Tramways|Neath]], Wales (1896–1920).

Comparatively little has been published about gas trams. However, research on the subject was carried out for an article in the October 2011 edition of "The Times", the historical journal of the Australian Association of Timetable Collectors, later renamed the Australian Timetable Association.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timetable.org.au/|title=Australian Timetable Association |publisher=austta.org.au |date=10 August 2012 |access-date=8 December 2012}}</ref><ref name="Ceti">{{cite news |url=http://www.ceti.pl/js29a/ciepl/en,ecal.html |title=Cieplice lšskie Zdrój is one of the best known Silesian towns |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060929211328/http://www.ceti.pl/js29a/ciepl/en%2Cecal.html |archive-date=29 September 2006 |access-date=8 March 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:First electric tram- Siemens 1881 in Lichterfelde.jpg|thumb|[[Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway|Gross-Lichterfelde Tram]] in [[Berlin]] in 1882. First lacking [[overhead wire]]s, it became the first tram with those in 1883.]]

===Electric===
{{main|List of tram systems by gauge and electrification}}
The world's first electric tram line operated in [[Sestroretsk]] near [[Saint Petersburg]] invented and tested by inventor [[Fyodor Pirotsky]] in 1875.<ref>{{harvnb|Pyrgidis|2016|p=156}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Petrova|2003|p=12}}</ref> Later, using a similar technology, Pirotsky put into service the first public electric tramway in St. Petersburg, which operated only during September 1880.<ref name="guarnieri 1">{{Cite journal|last=Guarnieri|first=M.|year=2020|title=Electric tramways of the 19th century|journal=IEEE Industrial Electronics Magazine|volume=14|issue=1|pages=71–77|doi=10.1109/MIE.2020.2966810|hdl=11577/3340486 |s2cid=214624057|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
The [[Siemens locomotive of 1879|second demonstration tramway]] was presented by Siemens & Halske at the 1879 Berlin Industrial Exposition.
The first public electric tramway used for permanent service was the [[Gross-Lichterfelde tramway]] in [[Lichterfelde (Berlin)|Lichterfelde]] near Berlin in Germany, which opened in 1881. It was built by [[Werner von Siemens]] who contacted Pirotsky. This was the world's first commercially successful electric tram. It drew current from the rails at first, with [[Overhead line|overhead wire]] being installed in 1883.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Popular Mechanics|author=Hearst Magazines|title=Popular Mechanics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wN4DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA750|date=May 1929|publisher=Hearst Magazines|page=750}}</ref>

[[File:Blackpool + zoo 1979 to 1980 (32963118752).jpg|thumb|Between 1962 and 1992 [[Blackpool]] had the only urban tramway in the UK.]]
In Britain, [[Volk's Electric Railway]] was opened in 1883 in Brighton. This two kilometer line along the seafront, [[Track gauge conversion|re-gauged]] to {{Track gauge|2ft8.5in|lk=on}} in 1884, remains in service as the oldest operating electric tramway in the world. Also in 1883, [[Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram]] was opened near [[Vienna]] in Austria. It was the first tram in the world in regular service that was run with electricity served by an overhead line with [[Pantograph (transport)|pantograph]] [[current collector]]s. The [[Blackpool Tramway]] was opened in Blackpool, UK on 29 September 1885 using conduit collection along Blackpool Promenade. This system is still in operation in modernised form.<ref>{{cite web | title = Blackpool Trams | publisher = Fylde Tramway Society | date = 3 September 2004 | url = http://www.tramway.com/fts/fts_bct.html | access-date = 19 November 2010 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110717090431/http://www.tramway.com/fts/fts_bct.html | archive-date = 17 July 2011}}</ref>

The earliest tram system in Canada was built by [[John Joseph Wright (engineer)|John Joseph Wright]], brother of the famous mining entrepreneur [[Whitaker Wright]], in [[Toronto]] in 1883, introducing electric trams in 1892. In the US, multiple experimental [[#Electric|electric trams]] were exhibited at the 1884 [[World Cotton Centennial]] World's Fair in [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], but they were not deemed good enough to replace the [[Emile Lamm|Lamm]] fireless engines then propelling the [[St. Charles Streetcar Line]] in that city. The first commercial installation of an electric streetcar in the United States was built in 1884 in [[Cleveland, Ohio]], and operated for a period of one year by the East Cleveland Street Railway Company.<ref name="mileston">{{cite web|last=American Public Transportation Association |title=Milestones in U.S. Public Transportation History |url=http://apta.com/research/stats/history/mileston.cfm |access-date=20 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303212350/http://apta.com/research/stats/history/mileston.cfm |archive-date=3 March 2009 }}</ref> The first city-wide electric streetcar system was implemented in 1886 in [[Montgomery, Alabama]], by the [[Capital City Street Railway]] Company, and ran for 50 years.<<ref name="mileston"/>

[[File:Zuerich-vbz-tram-2-swpsigbbc-880755.jpg|thumb|[[Trams in Zürich|Zürich tram]] [[multiple-unit train]]]]
In 1888, the [[Richmond Union Passenger Railway]] began to operate trams in [[Richmond, Virginia]], that [[Frank J. Sprague]] had built. Sprague later developed [[multiple unit]] control, first demonstrated in Chicago in 1897, allowing multiple cars to be coupled together and operated by a single motorman. This gave rise to the modern [[rapid transit|subway]] train. Following the improvement of an overhead "trolley" system on streetcars for collecting electricity from [[overhead wire]]s by Sprague, electric tram systems were rapidly adopted across the world.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Robbins |first=Michael |date=2000 |title=The Early Years of Electric Traction: Invention, Development, Exploitation |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.7227/TJTH.21.1.6 |journal=The Journal of Transport History |language=en |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=92–101 |doi=10.7227/TJTH.21.1.6 |s2cid=109210400 |issn=0022-5266|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Earlier electric trains proved difficult or unreliable and experienced limited success until the second half of the 1880s, when new types of current collectors were developed.<ref name="guarnieri 1"/> Siemens' line, for example, provided power through a live rail and a return rail, like a [[model train]], limiting the [[voltage]] that could be used, and delivering [[electric shock]]s to people and animals crossing the tracks.<ref>{{cite web|last = Wood|first = E. Thomas|title = Nashville now and then: From here to there|url = http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2007/4/27/nashville_now_and_then_from_here_to_there|access-date = 7 August 2007|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928011259/http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2007/4/27/nashville_now_and_then_from_here_to_there|archive-date = 28 September 2007}}</ref> Siemens later designed his own version of overhead current collection, called the [[bow collector]]. One of the first systems to use it was in [[Thorold, Ontario]], opened in 1887, and it was considered quite successful. While this line proved quite versatile as one of the earliest fully functional electric streetcar installations, it required horse-drawn support while climbing the [[Niagara Escarpment]] and for two months of the winter when [[hydroelectricity]] was not available. It continued in service in its original form into the 1950s.{{citation needed|date = February 2018}}

[[Sidney Howe Short]] designed and produced the first [[electric motor]] that operated a streetcar without gears. The motor had its [[armature (electrical engineering)|armature]] direct-connected to the [[streetcar]]'s [[axle]] for the driving force.{{sfn|Martin|1924|pages=122–123}}{{sfn|Hammond|2011|p=142}}<ref name="FtWorth1894">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= Professor Sidney Howe Short experiments with motors |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9450242// | work=Fort Worth Daily Gazette |location=Fort Worth, Texas |date= 11 November 1894 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}} }}</ref><ref name="Grace">{{cite web |url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Sidney_Howe_Short |title=Sidney Howe Short |work=Grace's Guide to British Industrial History |publisher=Grace's Guide Ltd. |access-date=10 March 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312062123/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Sidney_Howe_Short |archive-date=12 March 2017}}</ref><ref name="Topeka1894">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= Street Railways his hobby |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9450668// | work=[[Topeka Daily Capital]] |location=Topeka, Kansas |date=14 November 1894 |via=[[newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref> Short pioneered "use of a conduit system of concealed feed" thereby eliminating the necessity of [[Overhead line|overhead wire]] and a [[trolley pole]] for street cars and railways.{{sfn|Malone|1928|p=128}}{{sfn|Martin|1924|pages=122–123}}{{sfn|Hammond|2011|p=142}} While at the University of Denver he conducted experiments which established that [[multiple unit]] powered cars were a better way to operate trains and trolleys.{{sfn|Martin|1924|pages=122–123}}{{sfn|Hammond|2011|p=142}}
[[File:09870-Budapest-1908-Kettenbrücke mit Straßenbahn-Brück & Sohn Kunstverlag.jpg|thumb|A [[Trams in Budapest|tram in Budapest]] in 1908. The city established a network of electric trams in 1894.]]
Electric tramways spread to many European cities in the 1890s, such as:
* Prague, Bohemia (then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire), in 1891;
*[[Trams in Kyiv|Kyiv, Ukraine]], in 1892;
* Dresden, Germany; Lyon, France; and Milan and Genoa, Italy, [[Manx Electric Railway|Douglas, Isle of Man]] in 1893;
* Rome, Italy: Plauen, Germany; Bucharest, Romania;<ref>{{Cite web |title=STB SA {{!}} Societatea de Transport Bucuresti STB SA |url=https://www.stbsa.ro/eng/istoric_eng |access-date=20 March 2024 |website=www.stbsa.ro}}</ref> [[Trams in Lviv|Lviv, Ukraine]]; Belgrade, Serbia in 1894;
* Bristol, United Kingdom; and Munich, Germany in 1895;
* Bilbao, Spain, in 1896;
* Copenhagen, Denmark; and Vienna, Austria, in 1897;
* Florence and Turin, Italy, in 1898;
* Helsinki, Finland; and Madrid and Barcelona, Spain, in 1899.<ref name="guarnieri 1"/>

[[Sarajevo]] built a citywide system of electric trams in 1895.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sarajevo.ba/en/stream.php?kat=79 |title=Sarajevo Official Web Site : Sarajevo through history |publisher=Sarajevo.ba |date=29 June 1914 |access-date=8 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023042858/http://www.sarajevo.ba/en/stream.php?kat=79 |archive-date=23 October 2014}}</ref> [[Budapesti Közlekedési Zrt.|Budapest]] established [[Trams in Budapest|its tramway system]] in 1887, and its ring line has grown to be the busiest tram line in Europe, with a tram running once per minute at rush hour. [[Bucharest]] and [[Belgrade]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.beograd.org.rs/cms/view.php?id=201239 |title=City of Belgrade – Important Years in City History |publisher=Beograd.org.rs |date=5 October 2000 |access-date=8 March 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111233244/http://www.beograd.org.rs/cms/view.php?id=201239 |archive-date=11 January 2015}}</ref> ran a regular service from 1894.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hampage.hu/trams/e_index.html |title=Trams of Hungary and much more |publisher=Hampage.hu |access-date=8 March 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302131306/http://hampage.hu/trams/e_index.html |archive-date=2 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ratb.ro/index.php?page=meniu&id_rubrica_meniu=13 |title=RATB – Regia Autonoma de Transport Bucureşti |publisher=Ratb.ro |access-date=8 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318064322/http://www.ratb.ro/index.php?page=meniu&id_rubrica_meniu=13 |archive-date=18 March 2015}}</ref> [[Ljubljana]] introduced [[Ljubljana tram system|its tram system]] in 1901&nbsp;– it closed in 1958.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jhl.si/en/lpp/?m=51&k=1605 |title=Historical Highlights |publisher=Ljubljanski potniški promet [Ljubljana Passenger Transport] |access-date=25 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304092909/http://www.jhl.si/en/lpp/?m=51&k=1605 |archive-date=4 March 2012 }}</ref> [[Oslo]] had the first tramway in [[Scandinavia]], starting operation on 2 March 1894.<ref>Fasting, Kåre: ''Sporveier i Oslo gjennom 100 år''. AS Oslo Sporveier, Oslo 1975, pp. 49–50.</ref>

The first electric tramway in Australia was a Sprague system demonstrated at the 1888 [[Melbourne Centennial Exhibition]] in [[Trams in Melbourne|Melbourne]]; afterwards, this was installed as a commercial venture operating between the outer Melbourne suburb of [[Box Hill, Victoria|Box Hill]] and the then tourist-oriented country town [[Doncaster, Victoria|Doncaster]] from 1889 to 1896.<ref>{{harvnb|Green|1989}}{{page needed|date=June 2024}}</ref> Electric systems were also built in [[Trams in Adelaide|Adelaide]], [[Trams in Ballarat|Ballarat]], [[Trams in Bendigo|Bendigo]], [[Trams in Brisbane|Brisbane]], [[Trams in Fremantle|Fremantle]], [[Trams in Geelong|Geelong]], [[Trams in Hobart|Hobart]], [[Trams in Kalgoorlie|Kalgoorlie]], [[Trams in Launceston|Launceston]], [[Leonora, Western Australia|Leonora]], [[Trams in Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]], [[Trams in Perth|Perth]], and [[Trams in Sydney|Sydney]].

[[File:Art work of Toledo, Ohio - DPLA - 0a107364e8d8eb430ebc183d28c46463 (page 31) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Streetcar in [[Toledo, Ohio]], 1895]]
By the 1970s, the only full tramway system remaining in Australia was the Melbourne tram system. However, there were also a few single lines remaining elsewhere: the [[Glenelg tram line]], connecting Adelaide to the beachside suburb of [[Glenelg, South Australia|Glenelg]], and tourist trams in the Victorian [[Goldfields region of Victoria|Goldfields]] cities of Bendigo and Ballarat. In recent years the Melbourne system, generally recognised as the largest urban tram network in the world, has been considerably modernised and expanded.<ref>[https://www.railexpress.com.au/innovation-in-the-worlds-largest-tram-network/ Innovation in the world's largest tram network] ''Rail Express'' 5 May 2020</ref> The Adelaide line has been extended to the Entertainment Centre, and work is progressing on further extensions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dpti.sa.gov.au/infrastructure/public_transport_projects/city_tram_extension|title=City Tram Extension|first=Infrastructure|last=Division|website=dpti.sa.gov.au|access-date=22 July 2019}}</ref> [[Light rail in Sydney|Sydney]] re-introduced trams (or light rail) on 31 August 1997. A completely new system, known as [[G:link]], was introduced on the [[Gold Coast, Queensland]], on 20 July 2014. The [[Newcastle Light Rail]] opened in February 2019, while the [[Light rail in Canberra|Canberra light rail]] opened on 20 April 2019.<ref>[https://transportnsw.info/news/2019/light-rail-in-newcastle-opening-from-monday-18-february Light rail in Newcastle opening from Monday 18 February] Transport for NSW 3 February 2019</ref> This is the first time that there have been trams in Canberra, even though [[Walter Burley Griffin]]'s 1914–1920 plans for the capital then in the planning stage did propose a Canberra tram system.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.actlightrail.info/p/routes-for-light-rail.html|title=Routes for Light Rail|access-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402162522/https://www.actlightrail.info/p/routes-for-light-rail.html|archive-date=2 April 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Ventura County Railway Locomotive No. 2 and Pacific Electric No. 498 at the Orange Empire Railway Museum.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Southern California Railway Museum]] in [[Perris, California|Perris]] has the largest collection of [[Pacific Electric Railway]] streetcars (known as the Red Cars).]]

In Japan, the Kyoto Electric railroad was the first tram system, starting operation in 1895.<ref>[http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/historical/first/04.html Kyoto Tram from Kyoto City Web]. Retrieved 12 February 2009.</ref> By 1932, the network had grown to 82 railway companies in 65 cities, with a total network length of {{convert|1479|km|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite newsletter |url=http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/027840.html |title=The Rebirth of Trams |magazine=JFS Newsletter |date=December 2007 |access-date=12 February 2009}}</ref> By the 1960s the tram had generally died out in Japan.<ref>{{harvnb|Freedman|2011|p=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.japanfs.org/en/news/archives/news_id027840.html|title=The Rebirth of Trams: The Promise of Light Railway Transit (LRT)|access-date=19 April 2020}}</ref>

Two rare but significant alternatives were [[conduit current collection]], which was widely used in London, Washington, D.C., and New York City, and the [[Stud contact system|surface contact collection]] method, used in [[Wolverhampton]] (the Lorain system), [[Torquay Tramways|Torquay]] and [[Hastings]] in the UK (the Dolter stud system), and in [[Tramway de Bordeaux|Bordeaux]], France (the [[ground-level power supply]] system). {{citation needed|date = February 2018}}

The convenience and economy of electricity resulted in its rapid adoption once the technical problems of production and transmission of electricity were solved. Electric trams largely replaced animal power and other forms of motive power including cable and steam, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.{{citation needed|date = February 2018}}

[[File:SOCIMI Colosseo.jpg|thumb|right|Tram line 3 [[Socimi]] in front of [[Colosseum]] in [[Rome]].]]
There was one particular hazard associated with trams powered from a trolley pole off an overhead line on the early electrified systems. Since the tram relies on contact with the rails for the current return path, a problem arises if the tram is derailed or (more usually) if it halts on a section of track that has been heavily sanded by a previous tram, and the tram loses electrical contact with the rails. In this event, the underframe of the tram, by virtue of a circuit path through ancillary loads (such as interior lighting), is live at the full supply voltage, typically 600 volts DC. In British terminology, such a tram was said to be 'grounded'—not to be confused with the US English use of the term, which means the exact opposite. Any person stepping off the tram and completing the earth return circuit with their body could receive a serious electric shock. If "grounded", the driver was required to jump off the tram (avoiding simultaneous contact with the tram and the ground) and pull down the trolley pole, before allowing passengers off the tram. Unless derailed, the tram could usually be recovered by running water down the running rails from a point higher than the tram, the water providing a conducting bridge between the tram and the rails.{{citation needed|date = February 2018}} With improved technology, this ceased to be a problem.

In the 2000s, several companies introduced catenary-free designs: Alstom's Citadis line uses a third rail, Bombardier's PRIMOVE LRV is charged by contactless induction plates embedded in the trackway and CAF URBOS tram uses ultracaps technology<ref>[http://www.thetransportpolitic.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/bombardier-presents-new-catenary-free-streetcar/ Wordpress.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129082418/http://thetransportpolitic.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/bombardier-presents-new-catenary-free-streetcar/ |date=29 January 2009 }}, "The transport politic"</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spanishrailwaysnews.com/noticias.asp?not=30|title = Caf's ACR for catenary-free trams}}</ref>

===Battery===
[[File:Recharge d'un tram à accumulateur TPDS à Pont de Puteaux.jpg|thumb|Recharging battery-powered trams of {{ill|Paris and Seine Tramway Company|fr|Compagnie des tramways de Paris et du département de la Seine|vertical-align=sup}}, Paris, late 1890s.]]
As early as 1834, [[Thomas Davenport (inventor)|Thomas Davenport]], a Vermont blacksmith, had invented a battery-powered electric motor which he later patented. The following year he used it to operate a small model electric car on a short section of track four feet in diameter.<ref>{{harvnb|Nye|1992|p=86}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/history/davenport.html |title=Thomas Davenport |publisher=the Hebrew University of Jerusalem |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016141835/http://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/history/davenport.html |archive-date=16 October 2008|access-date=14 February 2009}}</ref>

Attempts to use [[Lead-acid battery|batteries]] as a source of electricity were made from the 1880s and 1890s, with unsuccessful trials conducted in among other places [[Trams in Bendigo|Bendigo]] and [[Trams in Adelaide|Adelaide]] in Australia, and for about 14 years as [[The Hague]] ''accutram'' of [[HTM Personenvervoer|HTM]] in the Netherlands. The first trams in Bendigo, Australia, in 1892, were battery-powered, but within as little as three months they were replaced with horse-drawn trams. In [[New York City]] some minor lines also used storage batteries. Then, more recently during the 1950s, a longer battery-operated tramway line ran from [[Milan]] to [[Bergamo]]. In China there is a [[Trams in Nanjing|Nanjing battery Tram line]] and has been running since 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/urban/single-view/view/battery-trams-running-in-nanjing.html?sword_list%255B%255D=nanjing&sword_list%255B%255D=tram&no_cache=1|title=Battery trams running in Nanjing|last=UK|first=DVV Media|website=Railway Gazette|access-date=2 June 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114232814/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/urban/single-view/view/battery-trams-running-in-nanjing.html?sword_list%255B%255D=nanjing&sword_list%255B%255D=tram&no_cache=1|archive-date=14 January 2018}}</ref> In 2019, the [[West Midlands Metro]] in [[Birmingham]], England adopted battery-powered trams on sections through the city centre close to [[Listed building|Grade I listed]] [[Birmingham Town Hall]].

===Compressed air===
Paris and Berne (Switzerland) operated trams that were powered by [[Pneumatics|compressed air]] using the [[Mekarski system]].<ref>{{cite news |title=The Mekarski Compressed Air Tramway at Berne, Switzerland |work=Engineering News & American Railway Journal|date=20 April 1893 |volume=34|page=380|location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Compressed Air as a Street Car Motor |work=[[Scientific American]] |date=5 August 1876 |page=82}}</ref>
Trials on street tramways in Britain, including by the [[London County Council Tramways#Acquisition of tramways|North Metropolitan Tramway Company]] between Kings Cross and Holloway, London (1883), achieved acceptable results but were found not to be economic because of the combined coal consumption of the stationary compressor and the onboard steam boiler.<ref>{{cite news |title=Compressed Air on Tramways |work=[[The Star (1788)|The Star (London)]] |date=7 July 1883 |page=3}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Compressed Air for Street Car Motors |work=The Street Railway Journal |issue=10 |volume=2|date=August 1886 |location=Chicago |page=384}}</ref>

===Hybrid system===
The [[Trieste–Opicina tramway]] in [[Trieste]] operates a hybrid funicular tramway system. Conventional electric trams are operated in [[street running]] and on [[reserved track]] for most of their route. However, on one steep segment of track, they are assisted by cable tractors, which push the trams uphill and act as brakes for the downhill run. For safety, the cable tractors are always deployed on the downhill side of the tram vehicle.

Similar systems were used elsewhere in the past, notably on the [[Queen Anne Counterbalance]] in Seattle and the [[Darling Street]] wharf line in Sydney.

===Modern development===
In the mid-20th century many tram systems were disbanded, replaced by buses, [[trolleybus]]es, automobiles or [[rapid transit]]. The [[General Motors streetcar conspiracy]] was a case study of the decline of trams in the United States. In the 21st century, trams have been re-introduced in cities where they had been closed down for decades (such as [[Tramlink]] in London), or kept in heritage use (such as [[Spårväg City]] in Stockholm). Most trams made since the 1990s (such as the [[Bombardier Flexity]] series and [[Alstom Citadis]]) are articulated [[low-floor tram]]s with features such as [[regenerative braking]].

In March 2015, [[CSR Corporation Limited|China South Rail Corporation]] (CSR) demonstrated the world's first hydrogen [[fuel cell vehicle]] tramcar at an assembly facility in [[Qingdao]]. The chief engineer of the CSR subsidiary [[CSR Sifang Co Ltd.]], Liang Jianying, said that the company is studying how to reduce the running costs of the tram.<ref>{{cite web |date=21 March 2015 |title=China Presents the World's First Hydrogen-Fueled Tram |work=Yibada News |url=http://en.yibada.com/articles/21142/20150321/china-worlds-first-hydrogen-fueled-tram.htm# |last1=Salvacion |first1=Manny }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=24 March 2015 |title=China Develops World's First Hydrogen-Powered Tram |url=http://www.iflscience.com/technology/china-develops-worlds-first-hydrogen-powered-tram |work=IFLScience}}</ref>