elektr. betriebenes Personennahverkehrsmittel, dessen Gleise meist in die Straßendecke verlegt sind. Erste Pferde-S. 1832 in New York, 1854 Paris, 1865 Berlin; erste elektr. S. 1881 in Berlin.
1. A four-wheeled truck running on rails, and used in a mine, as for carrying coal or ore.
2. The shaft of a cart.
3. One of the rails of a tramway.
A system for transporting passengers or freight in carriers suspended from cables and supported by a series of towers; SYN. tram, aerial tramway, cable tramway, ropeway.
Transport system for use in cities, where wheeled vehicles run along parallel rails. Streetcars are powered either by electric conductor rails below ground or by conductor arms connected to overhead wires. Greater maneuverability is achieved with the trolley bus, similarly powered by conductor arms overhead but without tracks.
Streetcars originated in collieries in the 18th century, and the earliest passenger system was in use in New York 1832. Tramways were widespread in the us and Europe from the late 19th to the mid-20th century, after which they were phased out, especially in the us and the uk, under pressure from the motor-transport lobby. During the 1990s both trams and trolley buses were being revived in some areas and are found in some European cities. Both vehicles have the advantage of being nonpolluting to the local environment, though they require electricity generation, which is polluting at source.