Nice mood On Mon, Mar 1, 2010 at 4:48 PM, paul stenquist <pnstenqu...@comcast.net> wrote: > > On Mar 1, 2010, at 6:45 PM, frank theriault wrote: > >> On Mon, Mar 1, 2010 at 11:04 AM, P N Stenquist <pnstenqu...@comcast.net> >> wrote: >> >>> When I was a wee one, there was a street car line down the median strip of >>> the South Side's Stony Island Avenue . The cars were electric and were >>> charged by overhead wires. They had open doors at either end, and you could >>> hop on the moving car if you were a bit late. We used to ride a street car >>> up to Jackson Park for picnics. The last street car line I remember on the >>> South Side was on Cottage Grove. By 1960 or so, they had all been replaced >>> with buses. I think they lasted a bit longer on the North Side of town. >>> Paul >> >> I have a ~very~ vague memory of riding on Montreal's trams (as they >> called them there) when I was a kid. A quick google indicates they >> were removed in 1959 when I was three years old, which explains the >> shadowy memory. >> >> Toronto was one of the few cities who didn't rip up their street level >> light rail tracks (here we call them streetcars) in the 50s and 60s. >> I remember Toronto being derided somewhat for keeping these >> "anachronisms" while other major cities converted to a "modern" >> all-diesel bus surface transit system. >> >> Torontonians have always loved their streetcars, however, >> affectionately dubbing them "Red Rockets". Rights of way have been >> upgraded over the years, so in some areas they share the streets with >> other traffic, and in others (like Spadina Avenue that you see in this >> PESO) they have a dedicated right of way. >> >> With our fossil fuel woes, Toronto looks pretty good in that it's >> already got a fleet of electric vehicles and infrastructure in place. >> >> Our current rolling stock is old (1970s vintage) and getting difficult >> to repair; in 2011 or 2012 we'll start taking delivery of brand new >> Bombardier 'cars. I know they'll be fast, comfortable and roomy (with >> a very low floor for better accessibility), but I'll miss the ones we >> have now just a bit. They've never been sold to any other city (that >> I know of) so they're unique to Toronto - and pretty handsome in my >> eyes! >> >> Thanks for all the nice comments. >> >> cheers, >> frank >> > > I remember the Toronto streetcars from the summer I spent working there off > and on. Heck, I should remember them, I almost smacked one the first day i > was driving around town. But they really add a nice ambience to the city. > Energy concerns aside, they're a plus. Given the need to reduce fossil fuel > use, they're a huge asset.. > Paul >> -- >> "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> PDML@pdml.net >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >> follow the directions. > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. >
-- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
