The author Richard Buckley cites five particular developments that mark the Hannover tramway out as of particular interest. First is the fact that Hannover was a pioneer in the field of electric tramways and, in particular, in the use of the Siemens bow collector. Second were the Außenlinien, built at the very beginning of the twentieth century, far out into the countryside around the city. Rural and interurban tramways were not uncommon in Germany but were most often constructed and operated at first by separate companies and could usually be defined as either country services or else as high-speed lines. They ranged from the rural Riegelsberger Strassenbahn out of Saarbrücken to the almost mainline tracks of the Köln-Bonner Eisenbahnen. In Hannover's case the city and outer lines were all of a piece, even the interurban to the neighbouring town of Hildesheim. Thirdly, these lines were used for intensive goods services, rivalling and perhaps exceeding in intensity of traffic even those of the Belgian Vicinal. The network was the largest freight tramway concern in Germany. Fourth, and moving towards the modern era, the Hannover undertaking played a key role in the development of the Düwag Großraumwagen, a vehicle which played a crucial part in the retention and modernisation of most of the larger West German systems. Finally, although the city's Stadtbahn is not unique, it is one of the most complete examples of the staged transformation of a street tramway into a high platform urban railway system. As such, it has succeeded in retaining and developing a public transport share which would be the envy of many larger cities, with all the benefits that implies for the environment in both the local and the wider sense.
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A comprehensive history of the development of the Hannover tramway system from the earliest days to 2018; the first to be published in the English language.

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780948106576
Publisert
2020-04-01
Utgiver
Vendor
Light Rail Transit Association
Høyde
297 mm
Bredde
210 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
232

Biographical note

The author Richard Buckley sadly died in March 2017 but he had already given permission to the LRTA to publish the work after his death. This book therefore is a tribute to Richard and his enthusiasm for and love of the tramways of Hannover.