Porto Old Trams, June 2018

Porto’s 3 line heritage tramway is all that remains of a once extensive 30 route system which was replaced by busses in the 1960’s & 70’s. The 6 line Porto Metro is essentially a modern tramway (underground in the centre and with surface and some street running in the suburbs) but this was built from scratch rather than evolving from the old tram system, with the exception of the tracks over the Dom Luis I bridge. The heritage tramway is intended mainly as a tourist attraction and to preserve the atmosphere of old Oporto, rather than being an integral part of the city’s transport system as is the case with Lisbon.
Most of the standard gauge trams are 4-wheel cars imported from J.G. Brill, Philadelphia between 1909 and 1940, initially as complete trams, later just as trucks with the bodies built locally. They are a rare example in Europe of a mass-produced streetcar used in cities across the USA during the early 20th century. With the shrinking of the Porto system, surplus Brill cars were sold to other heritage tramways, notably Yakima, Memphis, and the San Francisco Market Street Line.