What is the sharpest bend in a tram track?
I recently received an email about track maintenance to the tram network. It included the following sentence:
Track at the corner of Fletcher Gate and Victoria Street – believed to be one of the sharpest bends on a UK tram system - will be replaced to ensure tram services can continue to be provided safely and reliably.
Here is the location of said curve: (52.9532937, -1.1453881). I’d estimate it to be around a 20m radius.
I am now, of course, interested in what the sharpest (smallest radius) bend is in a tram track.
I’d be interested in tram tracks from around the world, although it would be nice to know if the Fletcher Gate / Victoria Street bend is the sharpest in the U.K.
Best Answer
Maybe the Green Line in Boston? According to Wikipedia it has a minimum radius of 10m. That must either be the Boylston Street turn or the entrance to North Station. There is an actual STOP sign at the tunnel entrance and then the speed limit in the tunnel is posted at 3 miles/hour. The ride at this spot is accompanied by a good awful squeal that takes your eardrums out.
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Can trams turn corners?
Trains and trams can turn corners without wheel-slip because the outer horizontal part of the wheels has a slightly tapered rim. The guide flange (ridge) is on the inside to prevent the vehicle from slipping sideways off the rails.What are tram lines made of?
Like standard rail tracks, tram tracks consist of two parallel steel rails. Tram rails can be placed on several surfaces, such as with standard rails on sleepers like railway tracks, or with grooved rails on concrete sleepers into street surfaces (pavement) for street running.How do trams change tracks?
Next time you hop on a tram, check to see that the driver flicks a knob on the dash. That would be the mechanism for changing the points. When the switch is activated a small electrical circuit in the track picks up the change and resets the points accordingly.How Tram Works
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