Blog Rogera Farnwortha

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Genova's Metro

The Metropolitana di Genova is, in 2024, a single-line, double-track light rapid transit system that connects the centre of Genova, Italy with the suburb of Rivarolo Ligure, to the north-west of the city centre. It runs through to Brignole Railway Station in the East of the city. In 2024/5, the service is managed by Azienda Mobilità e Trasporti (AMT), which provides public transport for the city of Genova.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/11/26/genoas-metro/

 

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Genoa's Early Tram Network – Part 1 – General Introduction, Tunnels, The Years before World War One, and the Early Western Network.

Introduction and Early History

We begin this article with a look at maps of the Piazza Raffeale de Ferrari and its immediate environs over the years around the turn of the 20th century. The Piazza became one of two focal points for tramways in the city (the other was Caricamento).

I found the series of maps interesting and they provoked a desire to find out more about the network of horse-drawn and later electric trams and tramways of Genoa. ….

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/12/0...-world-war-one-and-the-early-western-network/

 

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Genova’s Early Tram Network – Part 2

In this article we look at the service provided on another large portion of the remainder of the network in Genova the period up to the First World War.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/12/0...rt-2-the-western-half-of-the-eastern-network/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway: ‘The Second Public Railway Opened in England’?? – The Railway Magazine, October 1907

C.R. Henry of the South-Eastern & Chatham Railway wrote about this line being the second public railway opened in England in an article in the October 1907 edition of The Railway Magazine. Reading that article prompted this look at the line which was referred to locally as the ‘Crab and Winkle Line‘.

There are a number of claimants to the title ‘first railway in Britain’, including the Middleton Railway, the Swansea and Mumbles Railway and the Surrey Iron Railway amongst others. Samuel Lewis in his ‘A Topographical Dictionary of England’ in 1848, called the Canterbury & Whitstable Railway the first railway in the South of England.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/12/3...-the-second-public-railway-opened-in-england/

The Crab and Winkle Line Trust says that in 1830, the “Canterbury and Whitstable Railway was at the cutting edge of technology. Known affectionately as the ‘Crab and Winkle Line’ from the seafood for which Whitstable was famous, it was the third railway line ever to be built. However, it was the first in the world to take passengers regularly and the first railway to issue season tickets. The first railway season tickets were issued at Canterbury in 1834 to take people to the beach at Whitstable over the summer season. This fact is now recorded on a plaque at Canterbury West railway station. Whitstable was also home to the world’s oldest passenger railway bridge.”

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Genoa's Early Tram Network - Part 3

The Rest of the Eastern Network

The line running from Piazza Corvetto to Prato will be covered in this article, along with those which ran out of Piazza Raffeale de Ferrari along Via XX Settembre.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/12/1...e-eastern-network-before-the-first-world-war/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Australia - Two Experimental New South Wales Railmotors in the Early 20th Century

In April 1920, a couple of paragraphs in The Railway Magazine focussed on a new experimental Railmotor constructed by New South Wales Railways.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/12/2...h-wales-railmotors-in-the-early-20th-century/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Australia - Two Experimental New South Wales Railmotors in the Early 20th Century

In April 1920, a couple of paragraphs in The Railway Magazine focussed on a new experimental Railmotor constructed by New South Wales Railways.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/12/2...h-wales-railmotors-in-the-early-20th-century/

If you are interested in reading more about the New South Wales Railmotors, an online acquaintance has shared the informative site below, with me.

https://trms.org.au/class-index/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

The Railway Centenary in 1925. .......

1825-1925: The Railway Centenary Celebrations at Darlington, 1st to 3rd July 1925 – The Railway Magazine, August 1925

In the year that we mark the bicentenary of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. I have found a copy of the August 1925 edition of the Railway Magazine which marked the centenary of the opening of that line. .....

A significant proportion of the August 1925 edition of The Railway Magazine was dedicated to coverage of the Centenary celebrations at Darlington. Given the short timescale between the event and the publication date of the August issue of the magazine (?late July?), and given that modern digital techniques were in no way available, the achievement of publication in such a short time is to be admired.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/12/3...lebrations-at-darlington-1st-to-3rd-july-1925

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Genova's (Genoa's) Early Tram Network – Part 4 – World War 1 to World War 2

The first three articles in this series about Genova's Early Tram Network covered the network as it was established by the beginning of the First World War.

We have already noted that there were changes to the network which occurred before WW1, particularly the second line to Piazza Sturla in the East, the additional line to Sampierdarena in the West and the Municipal line to Quezzi in the Northeast.

In this article we look at the network from World War 1 to the beginning of World War 2.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/12/18/genoas-early-tram-network-part-4-world-war-1-to-world-war-2/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Historic Trams - Shaker Heights, Cleveland, Ohio

Shaker Heights Rapid Transit Lines – Modern Tramway Journal Vol. 12 No. 137, May 1949

Modern Tramway talks, in 1949, of the Shaker Heights Rapid Transit (SHRT) Lines as “ A high speed electric light railway entirely on reserved track, connecting a beautiful high class residential district with the center of a large city. affording such speedy and efficient service that the car-owning suburban residents prefer to use it and park their cars on land provided by the line; a system which makes a handsome profit and has recently taken delivery of 25 of the most modern type of electric rail units in the world [which] are only some of the outstanding facts about Shaker Heights Rapid Transit ."

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/01/0...-lines-modern-tramway-vol-12-no-137-may-1949/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

A Lickey Light Railway – Modern Tramway Vol. 13 No. 146

The mention of 'Lickey' in the railway press usually conjures up thoughts of the Lickey Incline and the bankers needed to enable steam-powered trains to make the climb.

In an article written in 1949 (Modern Tramway's Prize Article of 1949) and published in February 1950, BJ Pridmore prophetically proposed a Light Rail solution to anticipated traffic issues on the transport corridor centered on the Bristol Road.

Would cities in the UK which already had some reserved tram tracks have benefited from forward thinking that sustained the use of trams through the latter years of the 20th century on tracks and routes which would be suitable for the current wave of Light Rapid Transit/Modern Tramway provision?

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/01/10/a-lickey-light-railway-modern-tramway-vol-13-no-146

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Part 5

World War Two and The Decline of the Network

During the war period, new work was suspended and maintenance was reduced to a minimum; tunnels were used as air raid shelters, and the service schedules were redistributed to avoid the tunnels. Suburban lines acquired considerable importance for the transport of evacuees, especially in the morning and evening. The transport of goods also became important and some older trams were adapted to accommodate the service. Fruit and vegetables were transported to the central market and to the local markets. Building materials for urgent works were carried, as we're a variety of other goods. Examples of these adapted vehicles can be found close to the end of this article.

After WW2 and the Decline of the Network

The modernization of the tram network, covered in the fourth article in this series, was abruptly interrupted by the Second World War which saw significant damage to the network and rolling stock. After the War the Littorio depot-workshop was renamed for 'Romeo Guglielmetti', a tram driver and martyr of the partisan resistance.

The poor condition of much of the network resulted in trams being restricted to main arteries and the introduction of trolleybuses on the rest of the network. Trolleybuses were trailed in 1938 but it was 1949 before planned introduction occurred. obsolescence and degradation of large parts of the network were the reasons that led to the choice of maintaining the tram only on the 'main lines', introducing tolleybuses as replacements for the tram on the secondary lines. In reality the project had already begun before the conflict (the first trolleybuses had been activated in 1938), but only in 1949 was the decision planned in detail.

Trams were removed from the central area of the city where trolleybuses were perceived, not being tied to tracks, to be more flexible and better able to negotiate heavy traffic. The lines in the hills were also converted to a trolleybus service (the rubber-wheeled vehicles, having greater grip, guaranteed quicker restarts and with less energy expenditure.

The result of these changes was effectively to create two different networks (East and West), linked only by a line along the coast as shown on the map below which shows the tram network as it existed in 1956.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/12/2...0s-and-the-rolling-stock-used-on-the-network/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Genova's Tramways - Part 5

World War Two and The Decline of the Network

During the war period, new work was suspended and maintenance was reduced to a minimum; tunnels were used as air raid shelters, and the service schedules were redistributed to avoid the tunnels. Suburban lines acquired considerable importance for the transport of evacuees, especially in the morning and evening. The transport of goods also became important and some older trams were adapted to accommodate the service. Fruit and vegetables were transported to the central market and to the local markets. Building materials for urgent works were carried, as we're a variety of other goods. Examples of these adapted vehicles can be found close to the end of this article.

After WW2 and the Decline of the Network

The modernization of the tram network, covered in the fourth article in this series, was abruptly interrupted by the Second World War which saw significant damage to the network and rolling stock. After the War the Littorio depot-workshop was renamed for 'Romeo Guglielmetti', a tram driver and martyr of the partisan resistance.

The poor condition of much of the network resulted in trams being restricted to main arteries and the introduction of trolleybuses on the rest of the network. Trolleybuses were trailed in 1938 but it was 1949 before planned introduction occurred. obsolescence and degradation of large parts of the network were the reasons that led to the choice of maintaining the tram only on the 'main lines', introducing tolleybuses as replacements for the tram on the secondary lines. In reality the project had already begun before the conflict (the first trolleybuses had been activated in 1938), but only in 1949 was the decision planned in detail.

Trams were removed from the central area of the city where trolleybuses were perceived, not being tied to tracks, to be more flexible and better able to negotiate heavy traffic. The lines in the hills were also converted to a trolleybus service (the rubber-wheeled vehicles, having greater grip, guaranteed quicker restarts and with less energy expenditure.

The result of these changes was effectively to create two different networks (East and West), linked only by a line along the coast as shown on the map below which shows the tram network as it existed in 1956.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/12/2...0s-and-the-rolling-stock-used-on-the-network/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Marseilles Tramways

The Tramways of Marseilles – The Modern Tramway, Vol. 13, No. 150, June 1950

The June 1950 issue of The Modern Tramway carried a report by AA Jackson on the tramways in the French port of Marseilles.

Marseilles sits in a natural basin facing West into the Mediterranean and surrounded by hills on three sides. Jackson's article was based on personal observations in 1945 and later information provided by DL Sawyer and NN Forbes. He writes:

The suburbs extend to the lower slopes of these surrounding hills and they are connected to the center of the city by a tramway system that is now the largest in France. The original operator was the Compagnie Genérale Française des Tramways (Réseaux de Marseille) but the tramways have been under sequester since 1946. The route mileage at the present time is kilometers and the gauge is standard (ie 1.44 meters).

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/01/1...s-the-modern-tramway-vol-13-no-150-june-1950/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Khartoum Trams

Khartoum, Sudan Again – The Modern Tramway, Vol. 13 No. 156 – December 1950.

The Modern Tramway reported in December 1950 on the purchase by the Sudan Light & Power Company of the new 4-motor bogie tramcars. The bogies and equipment were being "supplied by the English Electric Company and the underframes and bodies by Charles Roberts and Company Ltd., under sub-contract to the English Electric Company. All motor tramcars and trailers [were to] be fitted with air brakes. As will be seen from the drawing reproduced, the body design [was] a pleasing example of modern British practice. The trailer cars [were] of similar outline." [1270]

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/01/1...he-modern-tramway-vol-13-no-156-december-1950

 

[rogerfarnworth]

The Giants’ Causeway and Portrush Tramway – The Modern Tramway, Vol. 13 No. 153

In the Summer of 2024, my wife and I visited Giants’ Causeway as part of a few days meandering along the North coast of Ireland. When reading a series of older copies of the Modern Tramway, I came across an article written in 1950. … The Modern Tramway of September 1950 featured an article by D. G. Evans about one of the very early electric tramways – The Giants’ Causeway and Portrush Tramway. His article is quoted in full in this article.

Wikipedia tells us that The Giants’ Causeway, Portrush, & Bush Valley Railway & Tramway was a “pioneering 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge electric railway operating between Portrush and the Giant’s Causeway on the coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The line, 9 1⁄4 miles (14.9 km) long, was hailed at its opening as ‘the first long electric tramway in the world’. [2] The Giant’s Causeway and Bushmills Railway today operates diesel and steam tourist trains over part of the Tramway’s former course.” [3]

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/01/1...rush-tramway-the-modern-tramway-vol-13-no-153

 

[rogerfarnworth]

A Short-lived Horse-powered 'Railway' in Hungary

The first Hungarian 'railway line' was completed nearly 20 years before the first steam-powered railway in Hungary (which was opened in 1846) on 15th August 1827, and ran from Pest to Kőbánya.

It was one of the early horse-drawn 'railways' but was definitely atypical in form!!

That railway “ ran on a wooden structure running at an average height of one and a half to two meters above the ground, where the wooden beams were held by densely placed wooden posts. The wheels ran on very closely spaced rails on top of the beams, and the carriages hung down on either side of the entire structure, therefore floating, ie the design was very similar to a monorail .”

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/02/07/a-first-short-lived-horse-powered-railway-in-hungary/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Stockport Corporation Tramways again – Part 2 (Modern Tramway Vol. 12 No. 138, June 1949)

This is a second article looking at Stockport Corporations Tramways.

Mersey Square was the main hub of Stockport’s tramway network and appeared as a schematic plan in Gentry’s article in The Modern Tramway. …

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/02/1...art-2-modern-tramway-vol-12-no-138-june-1949/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Early Monorail Proposals in Russia

I came across this when looking into early railways. ...

Ivan Kirillovich Elmanov (Russian: Иван Кириллович Эльманов) was a Russian inventor. During 1820, in Myachkovo, near Moscow, he built a type of monorail described as a road on pillars. [3] The single rail was made of timber baulks resting above the pillars. The wheels were set on this wooden rail, while the horse-drawn carriage had a sled on its top. [3] This construction is considered to be the first known monorail in the world. [5][6] The horse-drawn carriages travelled on an elevated track. One project envisaged using them to transport salt on Crimea. [9]

Russia was a pioneer in the design and construction of monorails, from early horse-drawn models to later electrical and magnetic levitation systems. [2] Sadly, Elmanov could not find investors to fund for his project and stopped working on the monorail. In 1821, Henry Palmer patented his own (similar) monorail design in the UK. [2][3]

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/02/19/early-monorail-proposals-in-russia/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Henry Robinson Palmer and Early British Monorails

Henry Robinson Palmer (1793-1844) was a British engineer who designed the first monorail system and also invented corrugated iron!

Born in 1793 in Hackney, he was the son of the Revd Samuel Palmer, a nonconformist minister, and his wife, Elizabeth, née Walker. [1] He was baptised in Tooting [2] and was educated at the academy run by his father and between 1811 and 1816 was an apprentice at 1811-16 Apprenticed to Bryan Donkin and Co.

When he finished his apprenticeship, Palmer was taken on by Thomas Telford, working for him for 10 years and involved with a variety of road/canal surveys and associated designs. In 1818, Palmer was one of three young engineers key to the founding of the Institution of Civil Engineers and on 23rd May 1820, he formally became a member of the Institution. [3]

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/02/19/hugh-robinson-palmer-and-early-british-monorails