Petrol tramcars.
Page 1
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A few Continental towns have been testing the merits of petrol tramcars recently; particulars of these will occupy our attention hereafter. English enterprise put the internal combustion engine to the test for tramcar propulsion some ten years ago, but the system was given no fair trial. Excessive capitalisation and weak financial control k
the chances of what might have, subject to careful management during the initial stages, rendered unnecessary the 'adoption of electric traction for road passenger transport. Where tramcars are admissible, or where circumstances exist which render the continuance of a railed system desirable, there will be openings for the self-contained and self-propelled vehicle, an example of which is illustrated in this issue. The small propulsive effort which is required where a metal wheel runs upon a metal rail is admitted by all engineers, and it is this feature which will, under favourable circumstances, enable the petrol tramcar to hold its own with the petrol omnibus. In fact, we conceive circumstances under which electrically-propelled tramcars may be held inferior to those which are fitted with an internal combustion engine, and we anticipate that this branch of passenger transport will receive increasing attention from municipalities and companies in different parts of the United Kingdom. The tramcar which is independent of a central generating station provides a guarantee against general suspension of traffic through a mechanical or line failure, but it is still subject to the common disability of running on a fixed track. The petrol tramcar must, therefore, be .inferior to the motor omnibus in traffic capacity.