Someone Somewhere wrote on 18 September 2011 09:16:16 ...
On 18/09/2011 00:41, Charles Ellson wrote:
On Sat, 17 Sep 2011 08:31:22 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

On Sep 17, 8:22 am, Andy wrote:


Often wondered if there is an application for a streetcar/tram or
electric/trolly bus that runs under wires where practical, but
utilizes batteries for stretches where wires are not practical, or
unsightly.

Somewhere in France IIRC where they did not want overhead wires strung
up across a historic square, distinct from systems with no OHLE at
all.

Nice I believe (well they certainly have that system there - just not
sure of the exact reason)

Yes, in 2007 Alstom supplied Citadis trams to Nice which can run on
batteries in streets where overhead wires would spoil the view of
historic buildings or interfere with carnival processions.

Alstom have an alternative technology for 'heritage' streets which they
use in Bordeaux and elsewhere. This is APS ('alimentation par le sol'
or 'ground-supply') which is effectively a third rail set into the road
surface. It is made up of short sections, each of which is only
energised when the tram is over it. This allows longer sections of
route without overhead wires, but is more expensive than the battery
option, which can cope with sections up to 1 km long.

More details at http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/nice-trams/
--
Richard J.
(to email me, swap 'uk' and 'yon' in address)