Kraków 2025-02-28

Electric tram and electric locomotive.

Trams interest us as much as they have to do with railways. It can be said that the tram is the forerunner of the electric locomotive. However, this development of railway technology was not that simple.

The electric tram is a means of urban transport that revolutionized the transport of people in cities around the world. Its history dates back to the end of the 19th century and is related to the development of electrical technology.

Before electrification, there were horse trams. Attempts were made to build trams with steam engines, which turned out to be the wrong way. Attempts were made to build cable tram systems, also not widespread. However, the real breakthrough came when the electric motor and electric current transmission systems were invented.

The first city tram appeared thanks to engineer John Stephenson in New York in 1832. The cars were pulled by horses on rails built into the roadway. In 1835, the first tram line opened in New Orleans, giving rise to the oldest continuously operating tram network in the world. In 1879, in Nantes, engineer Ludwik Mękarski, an engineer of Polish descent, built a tram system based on a pneumatic drive system. The cars were equipped with compressed air tanks, which were refilled at the terminus stations. This system operated for 34 years. In Poland, the first horse tram line was launched in 1866, in Warsaw.

In 1888, Frank J. Sprague launched a modern electric tram in the USA in Richmond, Virginia, which became a model for other cities. Electric trams soon appeared in London, Paris and Vienna. In Poland, the first electric tram was in Lviv (1894), Kraków (1901) and Warsaw (1908).

In Poland, electric trams first appeared on the streets of Wrocław in 1893, then in 1894, in Lviv (the first in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, launched on the occasion of the General National Exhibition), then in 1895, in Bielsko and Elbląg, in 1896, in Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk and Grudziądz, in 1897, in Szczecin and Zgorzelec, in 1898, in Upper Silesia, in Legnica and Łódź (the first in the Kingdom of Poland), Poznań, Słubice and Wałbrzych, in 1899, in Toruń and Gorzów and in 1901, in Kraków.

At the beginning of the 20th century, electric trams became the basic means of urban transport in many cities. They were cheaper to operate than horse trams, and electricity allowed for an increase in speed and frequency of runs.

In Krakow on March 16, 1901, the then president of Krakow Józef Friedlein invited the entire City Council and many guests to the opening of the first electric tram line. At precisely 9:00 a.m. the first electric tram set off with the guests. The next day, March 17, 1901, from 11:00 a.m. the electric tram began carrying passengers. The interest in the running electric trams was very high.

The principle of operation of an electric tram.

An electric tram moves thanks to electric motors that drive its wheels. The first trams had two motors, and each of them powered one wheel set. Electricity is supplied from the traction network, i.e. a system of wires above the streets, and then transmitted to the engines by a pantograph (or, less frequently, other systems, such as a power rail). The current can have a voltage of 600 V DC to 750 V DC, depending on the system adopted. The tram driver regulates the speed of the tram using a driving controller, i.e. a device controlling the power supplied to the engines. The tram also has electric and mechanical brakes, allowing for precise stopping of the vehicle. The rails are an electric wire that closes the electrical circuit, i.e. the return wire.

The name Tram comes from the English Tramway, meaning a tramway road. In Polish, the word tram appeared with the construction of the first horse-drawn tram lines, as a borrowing from English.

The first trams had a front and rear platform and a passenger compartment. The driver’s position is located on the front platform. The motor vehicle may have trailer cars that do not have engines. The change of direction of travel takes place at the final loop, where the tram, driving around the loop, faces the return route. Depending on the design, the tram can accommodate up to 30 people on seats and additional passengers on standing places.

The tram is a relatively light vehicle, so the voltage of 600 V DC is sufficient. The routes covered do not exceed 20 km. The tram can move both in mixed traffic, on rails built into the roadway, and on dedicated tracks.

The electric locomotives use a tram system of suspending electric motors by the so-called nose. The general idea of ​​electrical systems based on electrical resistances was also used.

Written by Karol Placha Hetman