Assisting community rail organizations in delivering services

The community rail development concept aims to connect communities with railways.

Our community has a critical role to play in assisting community rail organizations in delivering in the areas outlined in this chapter by offering guidance and training. We would encourage Community Rail Network to continue developing appropriate toolkits and training, such as how to approach groups and sectors that are more difficult to reach, as well as assisting community rail organizations in better assessing, demonstrating, and developing the social value of their activities.

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We should evaluate and develop a strategy to encourage more young people to participate in community rail.

We further urge that Community Rail Network choose a diversity and inclusion advocate to provide leadership to the larger community rail sector, in recognition of the significance we place on assisting the railway to be accessible to a broader part of the community. We also encourage train operating firms to include a diversity and inclusion component in their annual community rail conferences, as well as particular activities to promote integration. This would help to achieve the goals of improving community relations, sharing best practices, developing skills, and, most importantly, promoting and celebrating achievement in this area.

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The key steps that will help you achieve the goals

The Department of Transportation, Community Rail Network, and the rail industry should give proper training and support to community rail partnerships and station adoption groups so they may approach and engage groups that are "rarely heard," as well as facilitate access to professional routes. train operators to include a diversity, inclusion, and equality goal in their annual community rail conference, and to look into how their larger diversity and inclusion initiatives could be better linked to community rail.

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Everyone's access to trains and their faith in them

Community rail organizations can assist train operating companies and Network Rail in better understanding and addressing travel barriers. Lack of mobility or confidence in using public transportation can be a barrier to employment, education, health care, and social life for many people.

  • Transport companies are rapidly recognizing that planning and delivering truly

Tnclusive services is both the right thing to do and a sensible business decision.

for accessibility upgrades at stations and aboard trains

Over 13 million individuals in the UK have a disability, which can range from physical or sensory impairments to less obvious or "hidden" disorders including autism, dementia, learning problems, or anxiety, all of which can be a significant obstacle to travel.

  • Many community rail partnerships and station

Adoption groups have worked with the rail industry and local governments to identify and seek funds for accessibility upgrades at stations and aboard trains.

Community Rail Partnership's 'Smarter Journeys' program

As vital as being able to physically navigate stations and board trains is, social accessibility and confidence in traveling are also important. Is the service given affordable and easy to understand, and does it suit the requirements of the community? This is a critical area where community rail, with the train industry's support and adherence to the Rail Sustainable Development Principles, can help to bring rail closer to more people. Loneliness and social isolation can be addressed by "try the train" activities targeted at increasing confidence among groups with special needs.

  • Most community rail partnerships and station adoption groups strive to build skills,

Understanding, and confidence in rail use in addition to engaging with the rail sector to encourage physical upgrades to help physical rail accessibility. Because transportation hurdles for disadvantaged groups are made up of a variety of social, cultural, and psychological elements, this is crucial.

National Tram Museum
National Tram Museum

The National Tramway Museum is located in the historic village of Crich, Derbyshire. Exhibits move through the ancient streets, making the village a museum. A tavern, café, patisserie, park, and tram depot are all available. The Eagle Press, a tiny printmaking museum featuring a Columbian printing press from 1859, is located in the hamlet.

crich tramway museum 2016

A diverse fleet of trams transports visitors to the National Museum over a single one-mile route out of the hamlet and back. Until the 1960s, the trams on show at Crunch ran on urban circuits in numerous British cities. Some trams have been saved and restored since this means of transportation was abolished (there are even exhibits from other countries & even from east anglian railway museum).

With a few exceptions (e.g., Blackpool), most tram networks were decommissioned by the 1960s. The Glasgow Tramways Corporation (1962), whose tramways are prominently exhibited in the museum, was the last to close. Some tram lines, such as London’s Croydon Tramlink, Sheffield Supertram, Midland Metro, Edinburgh Trams, Manchester Metrolink, and Nottingham Express Transit, have been restored or recreated in recent years.

For a long time, George Stephenson, the renowned innovative engineer and “father” of Britain’s railways, resided in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Stephenson discovered significant coal reserves in the Clay Cross area while building the North Midland Railway from Derby to Rotherham and Leeds, which led to new economic prospects. Stephenson opted to use the local coal and limestone to create quicklime for agricultural uses and then transport the final product via the newly built railway because Creech was already well recognized for its high grade limestone. Stephenson’s business bought Cliff Quarry, which is now the location of Creech’s tram village. The North Midland Railway link also allowed the quarry to be connected to the lime kilns via the Ambergate Junction Railway Station. George Stephenson was born in Wylam, Northumberland, in 1781, but spent the last 10 years of his life in Chesterfield, where he frequently invited people to Creech to see the’mineral’ railway and visit one of the local pubs. He died in 1848 and is buried in Chesterfield’s Holy Trinity Church. After Stephenson’s death, his railway continued to serve the public for many years.

The museum’s origin begins in August 1948, when a group of enthusiasts decided to preserve an open tram from being dismantled by buying it back for £10 during its final farewell journey in Southampton. This tram, number 45, is now on display in Creech as a working exhibit. There were no railway museums at the time, and the idea of a museum village with working trams seemed far-fetched. Despite this, the Tramway Museum Society was established in 1955, and in 1963, it was turned into a charity educational foundation. Over the years, Tramway Museum aficionados of all ages and walks of life collaborated to develop the museum that exists today. The museum is now a self-supporting organisation that relies on grants from individuals and foundations such as the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council’s Designation Challenge Fund, and the DEFRA Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund. The museum now houses around 60 trams from all throughout the country, the majority of which are double-decker trams built between 1900 and 1930. Professional conductor-guides discuss the fascinating history of each tram with guests.

Trams of various types
Trams of various types

Tramway and light railway society have been in use since the 19th century, and there have been many different purposes and designs for trams all across the world since then. This article discusses the various design types of trams, including articulated, double-decker, drop-centre, low-floor, single ended, double-ended, rubber-tired, and tram-train; and the historical and current uses of trams, including cargo trams, a dog car, hearse trams, maintenance trams, a mobile library service, a nursery tram, a restaurant tram, a tourist tram, and as mobile offices.

crich tramway museum 1940's weekend

Tram Design Types

Each pioneering example of twin-section articulated tram vehicle, created and originally utilized by the Boston Elevated Railway in 1912–13 with a total length of about twelve meters (40 feet), has two or more body sections, joined by flexible joints.A Jacobs bogie facilitates the articulation between the two or more carbody parts in the koda ForCity, the world’s first 100 percent low floor tram using pivoting bogies. An articulated tram can have a low-floor or a high-floor (normal) floor. Newer trams can be up to 72 meters (236 feet) long and transport 510 people at a comfortable 4 passengers per square meter. This would be significantly higher with crush loadings.

Double Decker

A tram with two floors is known as a double-decker tram. The tops of certain double-decker trams are open. Horse-drawn trams were the first double-deck trams. The National Tramway Museum has one of the first electric double-deck trams, which was built for the Blackpool Tramway in 1885.Before most tramways were pulled down in the 1950s and 1960s, double decker trams were widespread in the United Kingdom and Dublin, Ireland. In 1912, the New York Railways tried out a Brill double deck Hedley-Doyle stepless centre entrance car, which was dubbed the “Broadway Battleship” and spread to other large streetcars. [4] Double-decker trams were widely used in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. The most unique double-decker tram once ran between Leonora, a remote Western Australian outback town, and Gwalia, a nearby village.Alexandria, Blackpool, Hong Kong, Dubai, and Oranjestad still have double decker trams.

Drop-Centre (center section lowered)

Many trams in the early twentieth century had a lowered middle portion between the bogies (trucks). This simplified passenger access by lowering the number of steps required to enter the vehicle. “Drop-centres” was a common nickname for these vehicles. The design is thought to have begun in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1906, when Boon & Co Ltd. constructed twenty-six trams in three series. Several of these trams have been saved. They were a popular design.

Low ceilings

A “low-floor” tram (left) and a “high-floor” tram (right) (right). Tram producers have been attempting to lower the tram’s floor level since the 1990s.Since the 1990s, light rail cars that aren’t designed for a high platform light rail system have had a partial or full low-floor design, with the floor 300 to 360 mm (11. 8 to 14. 2 in) above the rail, a capacity not present in older vehicles. This permits them to load passengers directly from low-rise platforms that are little more than raised footpaths/sidewalks, including people in wheelchairs or using perambulators. This addresses the criteria to offer impaired travelers with access without the use of costly wheelchair lifts while also making boarding faster and easier for other passengers. Passengers like how easy it is to board and disembark from low-floor trams, as well as how easy it is to move around inside 100% low-floor trams. Low-floor trams have a high level of passenger satisfaction. Since the 1990s, in some jurisdictions, such as, this has been made required.Various companies have developed low-floor designs, ranging from part-low-floor (with internal steps between the low-floor section and the high-floor sections over the bogies) to full-low-floor (with internal steps between the low-floor section and the high-floor sections over the bogies), such as Citytram. Prior to the advent of the koda ForCity, this had the mechanical disadvantage of having bogies to be fixed and unable to swivel (except in some trams for less than 5 degrees), decreasing curve negotiation. This causes the tracks and wheels to wear out prematurely.Many cities throughout the world currently have low-floor trams, including Adelaide, Amsterdam, Bratislava, Dublin, Gold Coast, Helsinki, Hiroshima, Houston, Istanbul, Melbourne, Milan, Prague, Sydney, Lviv, and many more.The Ultra-Low Floor or (ULF) tram is a low-floor tram that has been operating since 1997 in Vienna, Austria, and Oradea, Romania, having the lowest floor-height of any such vehicle. Unlike other low-floor trams, the ULF’s interior floor is at sidewalk height (approximately 18 cm or 7 inches above the road surface), making it easy for passengers in wheelchairs or with baby carriages to board the tram. A new undercarriage was required for this setup. The traction motors’ axles had to be replaced with a sophisticated electronic steering system. Under the car’s top, auxiliary gadgets are fitted.The mechanical disadvantage of most low-floor trams is that bogies must be fixed and unable to pivot. This causes excessive wear on the rails and wheels, as well as a reduction in the speed at which a tram can navigate a curve.

History of tramway
History of tramway

Trams and their history

Trams, streetcars, the old railway line, and trolleys have a long history dating back to the early 1800s. Trams, streetcars, and trolleys have a long history dating back to the early 1800s. It can be separated into numerous distinct periods based on the primary source of motive power.

london transport museum virtual tour

Horse-drawn

In 1807, the Swansea and Mumbles Railway began operating the world’s first passenger tram service. 1870s, Houston, Texas, United States of America Around 1910, employees of the Adelaide South Australia horse tram at the depot (possibly Unley). As of 2017, the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway in Douglas, Isle of Man, was still in operation. The Swansea and Mumbles Railway in Wales, UK, was the world’s first passenger tram. The British Parliament authorized the Mumbles Railway Act in 1804, and the first horse-drawn passenger tramway began running in 1807.It was operated by steam from 1877 to 1961, and then by very large (106-seater) electric tramcars from 1929 until 1961.BirkenheadThe town of Wirral, on the Wirral Peninsula, had become the first in Europe to have a street tramway. When George Francis Train, an American, installed track from Woodside Ferry Birkenhead Park Main Entrance and conducted a horse drawn car service, it was the start of it all. The Corporation of Birkenhead’s Birkenhead Corporation Tramways began operating on February 4, 1901, first to New Ferry and thereafter around the town. It was decommissioned on July 17, 1937.In 1832, the first streetcar in America, designed by John Stephenson, commenced service.This was the Fourth Avenue Line of the New York and Harlem Railroad, which operated along the Bowery in New York City. These trams were a type of animal railway, with horses and mules pulling the cars in pairs. Other animals, including people in emergency situations, were only used on rare occasions. According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, it was followed in 1835 by New Orleans, Louisiana, which has the world’s oldest continually running street railway system.In 1839, the first tram in Continental Europe debuted in France, running between Montbrison and Montrond on city streets and along the roadside outside of town. It had steam traction approval, but it was totally powered by horses. It was shut down in 1848 due to continuous financial failures. The tram system grew in popularity in many European cities (some of the most extensive systems were located in Berlin). Budapest Leningrad, Birmingham London Lisbon Manchester Paris The first tram in South America debuted in Santiago, Chile on June 10, 1858. In 1860, Sydney became the first city in Australia to use trams. On January 8, 1863, the first tram service in Africa began in Alexandria. In Batavia (now Jakarta), Netherlands East Indies, the first trams were introduced in 1869. (now Indonesia) Horsecars had a number of drawbacks, including the fact that each animal could only work for a certain number of hours per day, had to be housed, groomed, fed, and cared for on a daily basis, and produced copious amounts of manure, which the streetcar company was responsible for storing and then disposing of. Many systems need ten or more horses in stable for each horsecar because a typical horse drew a streetcar for around a dozen miles per day and worked for four or five hours.

Steam

Around 1900, a German steam tram engine from the Cologne-Bonn railway pulls a train through the Brühl marketplace. Steam was used to power the earliest mechanical trams. There were two types of steam trams in general. The first and most common had a tiny steam locomotive tram engine (akin to a small train) at the head of a line of one or more cars. Christchurch, New Zealand, had a system using steam trams.South Australia is an Australian state.; Sydney, Australia, and other New South Wales city systems Munich, Germany (since August 1883), British India (Pakistan) (from 1885), and Ireland’s Dublin & Blessington Steam Tramway (since 1888). In the suburbs of Milan and Padua, steam tramways were also utilized; the last Gamba de Legn (“Peg-Leg”) tramway ran on the Milan-Magenta-Castano Primo route in late 1958. [needs citation] The other type of steam tram, known as a tram engine steam dummy, had the steam engine built into the tram’s body (US). The most well-known system to use trams was Paris. Between 1909 and 1939, steam trams designed by the French ran in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia.Between 1887 to 1901, the island of Södermalm in Stockholm, Sweden, had a steam tram line.Tram engines were frequently modified to make them suitable for use on city streets in residential areas. For safety and to make the engines quieter, the wheels and other moving portions of the machinery were frequently encased. It was common practice to take precautions to keep the engines from releasing visible smoke or steam. To prevent producing smoke, the engines usually ran on coke rather of coal.To avoid visible steam, superheated condensers were utilized. The limited room for the engine was a key disadvantage of this tram type, which meant that these trams were frequently underpowered. From the 1890s through the 1900s, steam tram engines were phased out and replaced by electric trams.

Cable-hauled

Trams powered by gas, namely naphtha coal gas, were used in a variety of systems around the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Gas trams are reported to have operated between Alphington Clifton Hill in Melbourne’s northern suburbs (1886–1888); Berlin and Dresden, Germany; Jelenia Góra Cieplice Sobieszów, Poland (from 1897); and Lytham St Annes Neath Trafford Park, Manchester (1897–1908).Mr Noble had exhibited a new’motor car’ for tramways’successfully,’ according to a report from the San Francisco Bulletin. The tramcar, which was “absolutely equivalent in size, shape, and capacity to a cable grip car,” used gas as its “motive power,” with the reservoir being “charged once a day at power stations via a rubber hose.” The automobile also had an electrical generator for ‘lighting up the tram as well as driving the engine on steep gradients and starting the motor’.Gas trams have received relatively little attention. However, for an article in the October 2011 edition of “The Times,” the historical journal of the Australian Association of Timetable Collectors, now the Australian Timetable Association, study on the subject was conducted. In Malaysia, a tram system powered by compressed natural gas was set to open, but the project’s progress appears to have stalled..

Ways and opportunities

Kent Community Rail Partnership's exciting schools program, 'Smarter Travels,' aims to enable and encourage young people to take more journeys by walking, cycling, and public transportation. As they prepare for the transition to secondary school, the program aids Year 5 and 6 students by equipping them with skills that will enable them to make active and sustainable travel excursions. Pupils participate in a variety of activities throughout the year, the majority of which take place before or after school or during assembly time in order to minimize the impact on Year 6 curriculum time. A free train ride and station tour, a visit to the school by a local bike mechanic, rail safety training, and travel planning are among the activities.

For the past three years, Kent Community Rail Partnership has been working with students from Aylesford Primary School to assist them gain confidence in their ability to travel independently and safely to secondary school. Bikeability cycle training was completed by students, and approximately 90% of them passed. They also got a visit from Cycles UK Maidstone's 'Dr Bike,' who assisted them in repairing their own bikes in preparation for their training.

Pupils participated in Sustrans' Big Pedal Competition, a five-day cycle-to-school competition that saw approximately a third of students cycling to school, up from 4% on a typical day. Pupils also took part in the Big Street Survey, in which they surveyed their daily commute to school and provided comments to the principal on how they could enhance it, resulting in the installation of a new bike shelter.

Innovating together with the rail industry

Many community rail partnerships have been creative in raising awareness of their local railways and collaborating with local planners to secure planning obligations (such as Section 106 agreements [footnote 3] and community infrastructure levies) to secure the funding needed to improve their railways.Museum Society (Heaton Park Tramway).

The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service is given to the Manchester Transport Museum Society (Heaton Park Tramway).

The Manchester Transport Museum Society, a group of volunteers located in Heaton Park, Manchester, has been awarded The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, the highest honor bestowed to a voluntary organization in the United Kingdom. This year, the Manchester Transport Museum Society is one of 241 charities, social enterprises, and volunteer organizations to receive the prestigious honor. Year after year, the number of submissions continues to rise, demonstrating that the voluntary sector is prospering and full of new ideas to improve the lives of those around them. The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service honors volunteer groups who go above and beyond to help their communities. It was built to commemorate the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002.