Horse Trams

[monasqueen]

You can hear them coming a long way off if you do have some sort of OCD that compels you to walk between the tram lines.

The sort of idiot that walks along tram lines is also the sort of idiot who has a hi-fi system blasting into their ears whilst concentrating on their texting.

[monasqueen]

 

I'm fairly sure someone got killed by a horse tram in the 70s. The problem with the walkway is no run off areas. If you're in a car you have protection, whereas pedestrians do not. I agree the chances are low, but incidents have happened over the years.

 

Horses aren't particularly clever, especially when spooked.

 

for H&S reasons it might to prudent to fit the horse trams with 'skirts', the solid type that were common on 'tramway' locomotives around the world in years gone by, think 'mavis' from Thomas the tank stories.. this doesn't stop you getting clobbered, but it greatly reduces the chances of ending up under the wheels if there is very little clearance between ground and skirt.

 

 

maybe large rubber bumpers like a dodgem too??

 

The trammers would look quite fancy in skirts.

[Albert Tatlock]

 

You can hear them coming a long way off if you do have some sort of OCD that compels you to walk between the tram lines.

 

The sort of idiot that walks along tram lines is also the sort of idiot who has a hi-fi system blasting into their ears whilst concentrating on their texting.

History demonstrates it has been more likely to be very young children.

[Kopek]

It's a pavement, why shouldn't you be able to walk anywhere on it?

[guzzi]

Of course, parents will need to keep an eye on very young children. Shared use with cyclists, and the previous cycle path, need that too. The trams don't just roll on like an unstoppable behemoth , either. They have brakes and can stop pretty sharply.

 

I'm sure there are plenty of resorts with those mock trains that are pulled along promenades by tractors, and the risk is clearly deemed acceptable for those. I don't see a huge difference between them and our horse trams, quite honestly.

[guzzi]

It's a pavement, why shouldn't you be able to walk anywhere on it?

 

 

You would be able to walk anywhere, as I understand it. You would need to stay out of the way of other users, just as you do now for cyclists, Corporation vehicles, kids on scooters etc.

[GD4ELI]

'm sure there are plenty of resorts with those mock trains that are pulled along promenades by tractors, and the risk is clearly deemed acceptable for those. I don't see a huge difference between them and our horse trams, quite honestly.

 

Mooragh Park used to have such a thing, not a tractor though

[notwell]

Is there anything majorly wrong with the trams where they are?

 

I can see the merits of a single track with passing places.

[guzzi]

Yes, the tea

 

Is there anything majorly wrong with the trams where they are?

I can see the merits of a single track with passing places.

 

Yes, they hold the traffic up. According to the Corporation, a single track in the middle of the road is a problem as oncoming traffic would freak the horses out, passing much closer than would be the case with double track. That does seem to be based on the premise that no-one drives on the tram tracks, though!

[notwell]

Very little freaks out those horses from what I can see.

[sarahc]

Yes, the tea

 

 

Is there anything majorly wrong with the trams where they are?

I can see the merits of a single track with passing places.

 

Yes, they hold the traffic up. According to the Corporation, a single track in the middle of the road is a problem as oncoming traffic would freak the horses out, passing much closer than would be the case with double track. That does seem to be based on the premise that no-one drives on the tram tracks, though!

I don't know why they can't have a little pavement on each side to act as a barrier, a bit like at the Broadway traffic lights.

[monasqueen]

According to the Corporation, a single track in the middle of the road is a problem as oncoming traffic would freak the horses out, passing much closer than would be the case with double track.

 

Cobblers.

 

They're used to traffic overtaking double parked vehicles on the other side, and they're not spooked by bikes and cars passing them on the wrong side.

 

Anyway, the easy answer to that is - keep it as double track.

[FACT]

Just get rid of them, they are an anachronism and totally unnecessary in this day and age. They lose money every year, hold up traffic and are a traffic hazard in themselves. The horses are unlikely to enjoy the job and we can then get rid of the chains under the fire engines that ruin the road surface.

[guzzi]

Just get rid of them, they are an anachronism and totally unnecessary in this day and age. They lose money every year, hold up traffic and are a traffic hazard in themselves. The horses are unlikely to enjoy the job and we can then get rid of the chains under the fire engines that ruin the road surface.

 

Of course they are an anachronism, that's what's so good about them! They are part of our heritage railways, which are a large part of attracting visitors here when motorcycling events aren't on. A bit like the TT, they should be seen in the round, in the context of the visits and spending they attract. Lose them, and a big part of the Island's charm is gone.

[commish]

I support keeping the horse trams (although I think there's a strong argument to say that they should be funded by the taxpayer, not the ratepayer) and I think moving them to the side of the walkway is a good idea. In terms of risks to pedestrians, I think you have to remember that pedestrians will only encounter a tram twice every twenty minutes, between the hours of 9.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m., between May and September. There will be long periods of time when the pedestrians (and cyclists) will have the space to themselves.