Having been brought up in Melbourne, I can remember when the driver had to get out and manually change the points!

One of the best things about living in Melbourne is its convenient and reliable Tram service 👌

I have lived in Sydney all my life and as a child I remember riding across the Harbour Bridge with my grandmother on a tram. I was nine years old when the last tram ran in Sydney and I remember crying because I wanted to be a tram driver. This video was educational for me and I love to ride the trams when visiting Melbourne. Thanks for the memories.

In my city of Augsburg (Germany), trams send a signal with their route number and destination, and the points switch automatically. The driver rarely has to press anything

Excellent, I have always wondered about this.

I live all the way here in the US, and wondered how our trams do this too. Looks like it’s answered by our friends from down under. Thanks.

Excellent video! Being a former train driver, I know how the railways work, but always wondered about trams!

Finally, life's mystery answered! Thank you so much. Now I want to know about the Sydney train system - how they set the points for each train.

I've just returned from Vienna where they have an extensive tram system. I rode several lines while I was there and saw many sets of points along the way. I often wondered how they they changed tracks. I could see points on the ground and lamps up on poles but didn't know the exact kind of mechanism which made it happen. Obviously they don't use metal poles when all is running smoothly. I looked for some explanation while I was away (via Google) but nothing came up. Your video came up at random in my feed tonight. Thanks for doing your video which has explained the process very well.

Thank you for this Brenden, always wondered how this worked!

So interesting! Thanks for sharing mate :)

This video explained a lot, thank you! The only remaining question is why they go on the wrong side of the street- (lol). I wish that we had extensive tram systems like that here in the US. You folks have made smart choices!

Thanks for all the instructions on Melbourne tram technology. I loved the trams in Melbourne as a young teen visiting my sister at times who lived in Hawthorne then Carlton later. I was 10 when trams ceased in Sydney and so glad to see them back again up here.

Tram system in Zagreb still uses far simpler, much older system that works even with the museum pieces of rolling stock: A short section of catenary wire (a meter or so) is insulated from the rest and is connected so that the tram, through pantograph and motor, closes the circuit if change of the switch position is desired. So, the driver coasts over that section with the controller in neutral (keeping the circuit open) if the switch is positioned as needed, or with the motor engaged if change of position is desired. On old trams the control was actually done via motor controller lever, while newer ones have a switch that engages or disengages appropriate circuitry.

Thank you Schony. A very good description of how it works.

Choo choo! I'm a train and I approve this video and would like to wish you a happy new year choo choo!

Love this. I understand so much more now!

I'd just like to add to the many comments saying how interesting this was. As somebody with an interest in railways, I had always wondered how the points worked for trams, because the mechanisms are not obvious and clearly don't work the same way, especially when compared to traditionally operated points that have a physical rod alongside the tracks to connect the point to a signal box lever frame.

Ah very interesting!! Great video 👍

Thankyou for this. Now I know.

Ah I've always wondered. Thank you for this!

Thanks for this very informative video on tram infrastructure. Keep 'em coming! Cheers from Wisconsin.

Great stuff 👍 Awesome view Very nice information

Awesome. Thank you.

Wow, thanks for the information. 😁

Another quality video Brendan.

Great video. Thanks for posting this. Have a nice day.

Now I know. Very informative. Many thanks.

Thank you very much for information

Great info

Thank you!!! I have been always curious about this as a transit lover

Very informative. Nice 👍.

Thx. Excellent.

ahhh I always wondered how this was done.... thanks!!!!

Thank u for the information

I sort of had a basic idea of how they worked, from watching all these videos! This was good as it filled in some of the blanks! Thanks! Great video!

Very interesting. Taught this old Train Driver a few things I did not know!

Very informative video... Thanks. It explained a lot. I live in Düsseldorf, Germany, where we have the extensive Rheinbahn tram network, and I've always wondered how they change the points. One difference between your tram system and ours is that cars would never have priority over trams because the trams approaching traffic lights make the lights change in their favour.

Thanks for the answer to a question I’d never asked- until I saw a clip on Polish trams going in all different directions and it looked like mobile chaos. I’ve also used trams to get around Melbourne when I’ve visited: but never wondered how they actually got around. Thanks.

Thanks for the video. It’s really interesting and I learnt something new today!

Very educational.

Super video new friend. Thank you for sharing! Greeting from Vietnam.

Wow I was always wondering how they change the direction during riding the tram! Thank you for solving my curiosity

Very informative for those of us living in parts of the world where there are no grand! Thanks....

Tram driving for Dummies! 😁 Thx 👍🏾😎 Greetings from Berlin 🇩🇪

We live in Blackpool England and I have wondered about this, thanks for the informative video.

Fascinating stuff. Lots of things I’d wondered about. Thank you! 🙏 I wondered whether using a combination of the route number and GPS this could be automated in the future? 🤔 Also, with trailing points, are these just changed by the force of the wheels, or are they electronically controlled too?

Back when I was a boy it was so simple that no one needed to explain it...The operator of the streetcar had to get out with a big iron bar and manually switch the points and only then could he drive on...

Great vedio with explaining. Loved it. Brgds from mumbai india

I like to learn new things

I allways wondered how trams change routes in a switch. Simple radio technology and a few buttons. Nearly the same as regular trains, except in trains, someone else switches for the driver, somewhere else. :D Thanks for this informative video revealing the mystery! :D

"How can a tram switch to the direction intended at an intersection?" It has been kept to be a question in my mind for quite a period of time until I watch your video. During the tour in Melbourne, I noticed that there seems neither signal boxes nor staff for controlling the switch at the intersection as performed in the field of railroad for a train. Thank you very much.

I too was a kid riding streetcars (trams) in Chicago since 1945, and wondering about switching directions. Your slick video really doesn't do much to explain it back in those days. Moving on, the term "tram" has been updated to include watercraft. In 2001, in Brisbane, OZ, we travelled across town on a catamaran, following the B. River thru town. JL

Excellent video, thank you for the information. We used to have very good tram networks here in NZ but they were all scrapped by 1956. Now, various councils are looking at reintroducting 'light rail' in some cities including Auckland.

Thanks! Now I can sleep tight

In the old days the W Class trams used a power cut off to change the points. At a intersection there was a point and wenn the driver used power the tram would got on and if he cut the power the points changed and the tram turned. The first Z1 und Z2 trams had the same system.

It is useful

Awesome video, I’m assuming this is also how it works in San Francisco Muni streetcar as well. Nice to see the red “T” and white lines indicating direction of travel on the signals. They are used in San Francisco too!

Pls make a detail video on how actually tram is given acceleration , brakes , emergency especially in modern trams where we see lot of buttons all around. Loving all your videos, keep up the great work. Thanks!

Seems a bit antiquated if the driver has to select/change the points at every junction. On most modern UK (and European) systems the tram gets an automatic 'next trip' download to its computer at every terminus. Then, when the tram passes over the 'approach' induction loop, the onboard computer sends a signal to the point control box and the points change automatically before the tram reaches them. If for some reason the point fails to change to the correct direction, the driver brings his tram to a halt over the 'stop' induction loop and presses the 'RTS' (ready to start) button. (No need for him to select the direction as the system already knows this.) If that fails he contacts control and a demand is put in from the control room. As a last result the driver uses the bar to manually change the points. The onboard computer also puts in demands for a 'proceed' where tram and road traffic signals work in conjunction and, once the tram has its 'proceed', the road signals remain at red until the tram has cleared the junction. At tram stops which are immediately followed by a tram/road junction, the driver waits till everyone has alighted/boarded and the doors are closed, then presses the RTS to change the points and change the road signal to red. (Note: This is why drivers are under instructions that once the doors are closed and the RTS button has been pressed, even though the tram hasn't left the stop, he's not allowed to open the doors again. If he were to do so, and then someone deliberately obstructs the doors, it can cause major delays to both the tram and other road users.) The control room can also put in a demand to change the tram/road signals remotely if the driver's RTS doesn't have the desired response. Where a tram always traverses the points in the same direction (i.e. a single bi directional line into double track [one track in each direction]) the points are usually held in the correct direction by a spring. A PPI (points position indicator) shows the approaching driver that the points are correctly set. A tram entering the single line pushes through against the spring, which then returns to the correct setting. If they don't reset properly (a 'fault') an alarm is triggered in the control room and the next tram is warned by radio (in addition to the PPI indication). Edited to add: "(and European)"

The switch for trams look so much more subtle than trains.

"How do you steer a tram" Skip to 4:00

Wow... Schony747, thank you so much. There are 11 idiots who did not understood anything and hence disliked the video.

Interesting:) BTW, what is the failure rate for the electrically opoerated points? Also, when an operator has to manually throw a switch, does s/he have to reset tje switch once the car has passed?

Some early 20th century streetcars (trams) in North America actually had a trap door near the motorman, which could be opened. The mororman used a long-handled tool to turn a device in the roadway to set the switch (points).

tram driving is a lot more complex than i used to think

Brendon. What does the 50/50 mean at the facing points at Melbourne Museum mean?

Thanks a lot, this has bothered me for many years, finally get it. And another question, what if it was jammed by stones, seems can be easily jammed.

How to confuse a tram driver ? Put a steering wheel on the control panel .

Wow

Hmm, it is either a coincidence or KZfaq can read minds and suggested me this video xD

I miss Melbourne trams.... the route to the zoo is lovely.

I drove Melbourne trams for 6 years. So I can tell you, if you want a tram to turn left, just lean to the left, and ask the passengers to do the same. The same applies for turning right. To stop, just pull the cord. It’s like magic, the tram will stop. And it doesn’t matter what tram you get on, you just have to assume it’s going where you want to go. Even if it’s a cattle truck, if it’s the right colour, just jump on. And you don’t even need a ticket. No one has any right to expect you to pay your way in this world. In fact, trams are so amazing, if you’re a feral piece of shit, or just had a bad day, you can even go and spit on the driver or punch him/her in the face. And no one will hold you accountable. It’s all the tram drivers fault. Isn’t that amazing? Yes, trams are just wonderful❤️

Got a feeling this system was first introduced by the MMTB in 1948. Many times when I walking to the corner of Carlisle Street and Brighton/St. Kilda Rd. I notice sometimes a No. 3 tram turning right into St. Kilda Rd, the driver had to change the points manually using that steel rod. Most times the driver can change the points inside the tram. You can hear the "click" When the points change.

Question, what happened to the times when the driver would walk out and change the points with a stick? Was that only when the button didn’t work? Or we’re older trams not fitted with the technology? Cuz I remember this only happening on Z’s, A’s and B’s.

At one stage, they used to have actual Singleman at some of the major inner-city intersections. Before my time.

Is the Balaclava Grand Union (intersection where any tram can go in any direction) controlled in a similar manner or is it controlled by a local operator. Auckland in NZ had two grand unions when there were trams (phased out by 1956) and were controlled by a guy in a 'control tower'. The seat could be lifted so the guy could attend to his personal needs without leaving the tower (presumably it was serviced by a night cart).

Thanks for explaining this! I always wanted to know this. I wonder if it is similar here in the Netherlands or Belgium and Germany. The system could even be fully automated. If the tram transmits a line number to the switch controlling system, only a database of line numbers and corresponding point setting is required and the point can be set automatically by the system. However if a road is closed and a tram needs to take a different route temporarily, the system needs to know this. And at 10:21 you can just see that the point there is standing in the wrong position for this tram, but coming from the other side of the point the tram can simply move the point in the correct position. Thanks for sharing!

That's cool because I always wondered that. I never see them change the points at Bourke and Spencer, but I do at Collins and Spring. Don't all trams have the auto point system?

I don't know if this is still the case but a decade (or two) ago in Budapest they used to work like this: before the intersection, along a short section of the line, a "sled" is placed under the wire. If the driver "blips the throttle" when the pantograph is under this section, the strong current is picked up by the sled and this is the signal to the point for the change. If the tram just rolls through that section, nothing chages.

That’s very cool. It explains modern trams with electronics but I’m curious about where that doesn’t apply. How did it work in the 1960s or when the tramway is all cobblestone?

nice. i've got 4 questions. 4:40, is that underground, in a box by thr side of the road or somewhere in the tram? 8:28, can us members of the public press these buttons just because we want to? 9:20, what does the white diamond signify? why is it on when the white arrowhead/chevron is on.

Idk but is there tram bell moments with not a lot of noise?

Are spring loaded points used at each terminus at the end of the line?

I noticed at the end it looked like the points going into that last station were set for the wrong direction (you have to slow the video down and pause at just the right moment around 10:21). Do the trams just knock the points into alignment when the tracks are merging?

In other cities the current is collected by an arm that wraps around the overhead wire, like a trolleybus. How do they switch that? Has a tram ever gone wrong way and gotten into trouble? Can he reverse to get back on the route?

In Belgrade, Serbia, If power is off, turounts stay as they are. If power is on, they switch.

Is this now old technology as the rubber tired trackless tram has arrived? They are much more economical to install as no track installation required. Will we see more of them in the future?

How does the track switch, you can't like get out and turn the lever like they do in the 1880s?

In Cleveland Ohio (Shaker Heights), they have a simpler system - the driver sticks their hand out the window and flips a switch on a pole. That was a long time ago however. They might have replaced it with a billion dollar central control center to be more efficient.

Brendan, I remember that back in the '70s trams were using power on/off to switch points. Can you tell me when the system change was made?

Question: How do you change points with a W class? I asked a MMTB inspector (remember them?) He said to turn you proceed in notch 1 around the curve. Otherwise you go straight through without power. You sometimes feel the tram cut off power as it goes ahead. In the depot where there are multiple points they are manually operated.

What would happen if a driver forgot to change the points and headed in the wrong direction? Just reverse back? Do you know of any instances where this has happened?

I live in Quebec City, Canada, where we get lots of snow in winter -- not unheard of to get 30-45+ cm in a single storm. The city got rid of trams in the 1950s. And now, in their infinite wisdom, the city is in the final stages of route-planning to bring them back. However, I wonder how do you keep the points and the mechanisms that operate them free of ice and snow. Would they be kept heated by some fashion ? Would you have any idea how snowy cities deal with ice and snow on tram tracks and points ?

I remember in the old days the driver had an iron bar, they had to get out of the tram, put in a slot in the middle of the road and push sideways like a lever..

In Melbourne tram system only*. Don't forget that trams doesn't work the same everywhere on the globe, people ;)

Exactly Howe it works here in gothenburg sweden to butt Why are the trams in this video sowe short here they are longer

Meanwhile in Lodz, Poland, Tram drivers have to exit the vehicle use a lever to shift direction

I didn't know that. I thought somebody watching the front sign of trams at intersections changing it.

I think the trams in Zürich have stirring wheels right?