Wonderful wooden trams, dating from 1929, operate the standard gauge Adelaide to Glenelg tramway, linking the city centre capital of South Australia to its beach-side suburb. All photos taken in autumn 1996 and early March 2005.

The standard gauge tramway in this historic canal-laced city of the Netherlands has 138km of routes. Photos taken on 14th & 15th October 2006 - the latter being the day of the Amsterdam Marathon resulting in several route changes and diversions for the city trams.

The standard gauge, single route tramway in the Chinese city of Anshan is operated jointly by a fleet of wooden bodied cars and a more modern fleet. The city is heavily polluted by a massive steelworks that dominates the skyline. All pictures taken on 18th October 1999.

Metre-gauge trams in the Romanian city of Arad on 31st August 1998. Photos by David Dixon.

Trams in the German city of Augsburg on 21st April 2008. This 35.5km metre-gauge system with 4 routes employed 5 different types of tram during my visit, including the Adtranz GT6M (1995-96); Siemens Combino (1999-2003); Bombardier Flexity Outlook; and the iconic GT4's.

Metre gauge trams in the Swiss city of Basle, on the border of France and Germany, in Summer 1996, on 19th June 2006 and on 22nd April 2008. The city transport undertaking run green liveried trams on the urban routes, while BLT run the yellow trams on the long distance suburban routes, one of which even runs a short way into France. It all makes for a colourful city centre!

Bright-yellow standard-gauge trams in the new unified capital of Germany. Pictures taken on 19th March 2006.

Metre gauge trams in the capital city of Switzerland in Summer 1996 (green livery), June 2004 and on 18th June 2006 (red livery). The system is 17.2km long and some track is shared with the inter-urban RBS light railway to Worb.

Metre gauge trams on the Bochum system - operated by Bogestra as a joint system with Gelsenkirchen. Photos taken on 15th March 2006.

The former West German federal capital of Bonn has two urban standard-gauge tram routes. A fleet of 24, partly low floor, Duewag AM6 trams of 1994 vintage provide the service. The city is also served by inter-urban, high-platform Stadtbahn lines to Koln, Siegburg, Bad Honnef and Bad Godesberg using a mixed fleet of light rail vehicles. All pictures taken on 14th March 2006.

Pictures of the metre-gauge trams in Bratislava, capital of Slovakia, by me in Summer 1996 and by David Dixon in summer 2008.

Two images of the standard-gauge trams in the north German city of Bremen in summer 1989. Today, the system totals 63.2km of route.

The standard-gauge tram network in Brussels, the bilingual capital of Belgium, has a length of 130km (81 miles) and is served by a fleet of 325 trams, including several PCC cars. Pictures from 1985, 1999 and June 2004.

The standard gauge trams of the Hungarian Capital of Budapest caught on camera in summer 1996.

The standard gauge heritage tramway in the capital of the south island of New Zealand runs in a long loop around the city centre. All photos taken in April 1997.

A metre-gauge, interurban 57.5km tramway runs the whole length of the Belgian coast, from Adinkerke/De Panne in the west to Knokke in the east, centred on the port resort of Ostend. The single-ended, articulated trams were built in 1982. Photos taken in Ostende on 14th January 1999.

A picture of a tram in Coimbra, Portugal on 31st May 1968. Photo by David Dixon.

The small town of Darmstadt, south of Frankfurt, is served by a 36.2km metre-gauge tram network. Photos on 13th & 14th March 2006.

The Dutch administrative capital has a 131.4km long standard-gauge tramway using a fleet of articulated trams. All photos taken between 13th and 16th October 2006.

Broad-gauge (1524mm) trams in the Ukranian city of Dniepropetrovsk in September 2001. Photos by David Dixon.

The colourful black and yellow standard-gauge trams of the German city of Dresden caught on camera on 3rd & 4th October 1998.

Trams returned to the Irish city of Dublin in 2004. There are currently two standard-gauge lines operating under the name Luas (Irish for 'speed'). Red Line: Connolly Station to Tallaght (9miles) and Green Line: St. Stephen's Green to Sandyford (6 miles). The Citadis trams are 40m long. Photos by David Dixon on 20th May 2008.

A 14th April 1962 view of a tram in Dubrovnik, Croatia (but then Yugoslavia). This 760mm gauge system closed in the 1970s. Picture by David Dixon.

The German city of Duisburg, at the western end of the Ruhr conurbation, is served by a standard-gauge tram network totalling 58km. In the city centre, trams run underground and only appear outdoors in the suburbs. A standard fleet of stadtbahn trams are used. Pictures taken on 15th March 2006.

Standard-gauge trams in the German city of Dusseldorf alongside the Rhein. First-generation Duewag trams still operate on the city streets and Inter-urban routes connect to Krefeld and Duisburg. There are 145km of route. All photos taken on 15th March 2006.

Photos from some East German systems in 1989 - before the end of communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Metre-gauge trams in the German city of Freiburg in Briesgau on a very wet 22nd April 2008, unless marked. This small network employs a varied fleet of trams which, in the city centre, can be seen squeezing through the arches of the old city gates.

Metre gauge trams on the Gelsenkirchen system - operated by Bogestra as a joint system with Bochum. There is connection with the standard-gauge Essen Stadtbahn. Photos taken on 15th March 2006.

Metre gauge trams in the French speaking, Swiss lakeside city of Geneve in July 2002, on 15th June 2006 and 17th April 2008. The city tramway is rapidly expanding with new routes and new trams.

The beautiful city of Gent in Belgium is served by a metre gauge tramway of 32.5km, using a standard fleet of double ended PCCs. All photos taken on 14th January 1999.

A couple of shots of the Gmunden tramway, in Upper Austria, in July 1995. Photos by David Dixon.

Metre gauge trams in the former East German city of Halberstadt on 17th March 2006. This small, 3 route system - just 9km in length - is threatened with closure. The GT4 trams, which work all regular services, are second hand from Stuttgart and Freiburg - built from 1962 onwards.

This historic city on the River Neckar is served by a 20.7km metre-gauge tramway, operated as part of the Rhein-Neckar network that also serves neighbouring Mannheim and Ludwigshafen. As well as the city trams, a 61km interurban light railway, the OEG, links the centre of Heidelberg with Mannheim by two routes, a direct line via Seckenheim and a longer route via Weinheim. Pictures taken on 13th March 2006.

Standard-gauge trams in the German city of Heilbronn, part of the extensive Karlsruhe S-Bahn network. Includes pictures at Bretten - en-route from Heilbronn to Karlsruhe. All pictures on 21st April 2008.

The amazing city of Hong Kong has a traditional 1067mm gauge tramway on Hong Kong Island employing wooden, double-decker trams and also a modern, standard gauge light rail network in the New Territories suburb of Tuen Mun. There is a also a funicular railway climbing from Downtown to The Peak. All photos taken in February 2004 unless marked.

Spectacularly surrounded by mountains, the Austrian city of Innsbruck has metre gauge city tram routes and a 13.3km long country tramway - the Stubaitalbahn - running from Bergisel to Fulpmes, in the Stubai Valley. Photos taken in Summer 1996 and on 29th & 30th June 2001. Trams in Innsbruck are second hand - from Bielefeld in Germany.

Modern trams on the standard-gauge Kabatas - Zeytinburnu route 38. Photos taken on 13th December 2008 by Burcin Sen.

Vintage trams on the metre-gauge Kadikoy - Moda route 20. Photos taken on 6th & 17th December 2008 by Burcin Sen.

Vintage trams on the metre-gauge Taksim - Tunel route. Photos taken on 9th December 2008 by Burcin Sen.

The south-west German city of Karlsruhe has a standard gauge tram system around the city streets but also a pioneering inter-urban network, where trams from the city streets travel along the main line railways in the area, sharing tracks with InterCity and Regional trains operated by DB German Railways. All pictures taken in early October 2000 and on 21st & 22nd April 2008.

Standard-gauge trams in the German city of Kassel, seen on 16th March 2006. The city's tramway remains characterised by the reservation in the long and broad Wilhelmshoher Allee, dominated at its end by a steep wooded hillside and the Wilhelmshohe Castle, topped by the Herkules monument. This was the route followed by the first tramway in Kassel - a steam tramway opened in 1877.

The standard-gauge tram and light rail network in the German city of Koln (Cologne) is 190.3km in length and features traditional street tramways, Stadtbahn light-rail routes with high platforms and high-speed, inter-urban services to the former federal capital of Bonn. A huge variety of tram and light rail stadtbahn vehicles can be seen. Photos taken on 14th & 16th March 2006.

Krefeld, a modern industrial town north-west of Dusseldorf, is served a 37.3km metre-gauge tram system, but is also linked to the regional city by the Rheinbahn standard-gauge light rail line resulting in some dual gauge track in the central area. A fleet of Duewag articulated trams provide the metre gauge service and mix with standard-gauge Dussledorf stadtbahn cars. All photos taken on 15th March 2006.

Images from 17th April 2008 of the TSOL (Tramway du Sud-Ouest Lausannois) Flon to Renens light rail line in the French speaking capital of the Swiss canton of Vaud on the shores of Lake Geneva. Connecting Lausanne's city centre at Flon to Renens in the west via Chavannes and Ecublens, the standard-gauge line opened in May 1991, is 7.8km long, has 15 stations (average station distance is 557m!) and is almost entirely single track (with passing loops at most stations).

Narrow gauge (900mm) trams in the Austrian city of Linz in Summer 1996. The main city tram system is 18.9km long. At Urfahr tram terminus is the base station of the Postlingbergbahn, an adhesion mountain railway with 10.6% gradients.

Lisbon, the hilly capital city of Portugal, has a small metre gauge tram network primarily worked by a fleet of four-wheeled, wooden-bodied trams. All photos taken in late January 2001

Metre-gauge trams in the industrial German city of Ludwigshafen and the inter-urban Rhein-Haardt Bahn (RHB) light rail line, both part of the extensive Rhein-Neckar network of tramways that also serve the neighbouring cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg. All photos taken on 13th March 2006.

Modern (1995 onwards), standard gauge trams in the industrial German city of Magdeburg during a very brief visit on 18th March 2006. The system has 59km of route.

Metre gauge Adtranz low-floor trams in the German city of Mainz, capital of Rhineland-Pfalz, on 14th March 2006. There are three routes - 50, 51 & 52 - totalling 19.3km served by a standard fleet of 16 Adtranz AM6 trams built in 1996.

The German city of Mannheim is served by a 59.2km metre-gauge tram system, part of the Rhein-Neckar network. Some routes, including the inter-urban Rhein-Haardt Bahn, cross the River Rhein to neighbouring Ludwigshafen, and trams of the 61km interurban OEG light railway also visit the city streets and link the centre of Mannheim with Heidelberg by two routes, a direct line via Seckenheim and a longer route via Weinheim. All photos taken on 13th March 2006.

The wonderful standard gauge tram network in Melbourne is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and the third largest in the World with 238km of route. All photos were taken between October 1996 and March 1997, when I was living and working in this wonderful city.

The Australian city of Melbourne has a 250km, 31 route standard-gauge network with a 500 strong fleet of trams based at 8 depots. All photos in this collection were taken during the Australian Grand Prix week in March 2005.

Milan in northern Italy and capital of the Lombardy region is served by a 1445mm gauge, 208.8km long tramway. The bright orange trams, including Peter Witt vehicles dating from 1928, were caught on camera on 7th & 8th July 2001, unless stated otherwise.

Metre-gauge trams in the modern Ruhr conurbation town of Mulheim on 15th March 2006. Routes also extend to Oberhausen and Essen. There are also standard-gauge Stadtbahn routes, not pictured, to neighbouring Essen and Dusiburg.

The bright-yellow, standard-gauge trams of the French city of Mulhouse, introduced on 20th May 2006, captured on camera on 22nd April 2008. Two routes, totalling 12km (7 miles), have 24 stops and are served by a fleet of 27 trams. Photos by David Dixon.

Trams in the German city of Munich in December 2006. The capital of Bavaria is served by a 71.2km standard-gauge network. Photos by David Dixon.

The 7.6km, metre-gauge light rail line in the Swiss lakeside, French speaking city of Neuchatel, is seen on Saturday 17th June 2006. The line is single track with passing loops and links Place Pury in the city centre with the villages of Areuse and Boudry to the west.

Standard-gauge, bi-directional Alstom Citadis trams in the French city of Nice. The 8.7km long route opened in November 2007, traverses two attractive squares where the 750V DC overhead power supply wasn't allowed, so two short sections have been built without wires. Each tram carries a pack of 12V batteries on the roof allowing it to run at 30 km/h and keep the air-conditioning operational. Drivers switch between wire and battery while at stops. Recharging takes place under the wires. Photos by David Dixon on 6th March 2008.

Metre gauge trams in the former East German town of Nordhausen. This small town of 45,000 inhabitants is pioneering the concept of dual power trams - using diesel-electric Siemens Combino's - whilst also using second-hand trams from Freiburg. When running in diesel mode, the Combino's share the tracks of the Harzer Schmalspurbahn (HSB) steam trains and diesel railcars. Photos from March 2006.

Oberhausen closed its tram system in 1965, but opened a new 8.7km, metre-gauge route in 1996 to link a new retail complex to the main railway station and the neigbouring city of Mulheim, where the trams are maintained. All pictures taken on 15th March 2006.

Modern standard-gauge trams in the French Capital. Photos by David Dixon in late December 2006.

In 1964, EHS ran the Greek electric railway Piraeus-Athens-Kifissia, and the standard-gauge tram line Piraeus-Perama. Photo by David Dixon.

A 28th May 1968 view of a tram in Porto, Portugal. Photo by David Dixon.

The colourful and varied trams in the Polish city of Poznan, between Berlin and Warsaw, seen on 22nd & 23rd March 2006. This 85km long standard-gauge system uses a varied mix of tramcars, mainly second-hand from Western Europe, including Amsterdam. The system includes a staggering FIVE 'Grand Union' junctions!

Images of the standard-gauge tramway in Prague - capital city of the Czech Republic in March 1993. Photos by David Dixon.

The steam tram on the Chiemsee Bahn at Prien in south eastern Germany, caught on camera in summer 1996. The Chiemsee Bahn is a metre gauge, 1.7km single track line that joins the DB station at Prien am Chiemsee (on the Munich - Salzburg line) to the harbour station at Prien Stock. Motive power is an 0-4-0 steam tram engine built in 1887 by Krauss Locomotive Works, hauling original 4-wheel wooden passenger cars.

In the far north-eastern corner of Italy, running across a scenic mountain plateau above Bozen / Bolzano and overlooked by the spectacular Dolomites, is the 6.8km metre-gauge Rittnerbahn, operated regularly with century-old electric railcars. All photos taken by David Dixon on 26th December 2006.

Rome, the Eternal City and capital of Italy, has a small, six-route, standard-gauge tramway and a 950mm gauge light rail line to Pantano. All photos taken on 3rd & 4th January 2006.

The major port and commercial centre of Rotterdam on the river Maas, is served by an extensive (127.9km) standard-gauge tramway, seen here on 16th October 2006.

The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last manually-operated cable car network, and is an icon of this Californian city. There are 3 routes - Powell-Hyde, Powell-Mason & California Street. The 3 terminals served by the Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason lines have turntables as these lines are served by a fleet of single-ended cable cars. The California Street line is served by a fleet of double-ended cars and its 2 terminals are simple single-track stubs. Photos from mid-August 2007 (by Stuart Jenkins) and early March 2008 (by Michelle Lewis).

The threatened Schoneiche tramway in the Berlin suburbs on 19th March 2006. This primarily single track, 15.2km metre gauge interurban tramway runs from Friedrichshagen S-Bahn station to two small towns - Schoneiche and Rudersdorf. Trams are second-hand from Heidelberg (1966 built) and Cottbus (1981 built).

Four amazing pictures of the metre-gauge trams of Sofia, capital of Bulgaria, on 25th May 1964. At the time, there were 9 tram routes - routes 1 & 9 were worked by blue & cream articulated trams, routes 2, 4, 7, 10 & 12 were worked by red & cream trams and single trailer, route 3 was worked by red & cream trams with 2 trailers and route 5 was worked by red & cream bogie trams with trailers. All photos taken by David Dixon.

Trams in the Russian city of St. Petersburg in January 1995. Photos by David Dixon.

Some wonderful scenes from the St. Poltener Stassenbahn in lower Austria on 20th August 1963. The system closed for good on 5th May 1976. Photos by David Dixon.

The standard gauge tramway in this french city boasts some of the most futuristic looking trams in the World! All photos in Summer 1996, just two years after the first route had opened.

The 6.2km, single track, standard gauge tramway in the Berlin suburb of Strausberg links the railway station with the town centre. Tatra KT8 cars (built in 1989) from the Slovak town of Kosice are used. Photos taken on 19th March 2006 when a single tram (no.22), 40 minute frequency service was in operation.

Sydney has a 6.7km, standard gauge light rail route linking Central Station with the suburb of Lilyfield. It has a fleet of just seven Variotrams, built by Adtranz. It was caught on camera in February 2005.

1495mm gauge trams in the Canadian city of Toronto in April 1999 unless marked. Trams in this city use trolley poles. All photos by David Dixon.

The 6km long, 760mm gauge electric tramway between Trencianska Tepla and Trencianske Teplice was opened in 1909. Now operated by Zeleznice Slovenskej Republiky (ZSR - Slovak Railways), the line is worked by class 411 trams originally built in 1955. The journey takes 18 minutes with 4 intermediate stops. Photos by David Dixon on 18th August 2008.

Images of the single, metre-gauge tram line in the Italian city of Trieste in July 1997. Photos by David Dixon.

A couple of shots of trams of 1445mm gauge in the Italian city of Turin on 29th December 2006. The extensive network stretches to 125.8km. Photos by David Dixon.

Trams in the German city of Ulm in April 2008

The commercial and industrial city of Utrecht in the centre of the Netherlands opened a 21.5km, standard-gauge light rail line in 1983. The line employs high-floor light rail vehicles and stations have high platforms. It is seen here on 14th October 2006.

A November 1995 picture of a tram in the secretive Russian city of Vladivostock. Photo taken by Nigel Malpass.

A single image of a standard-gauge tram in Warsaw in March 1993. Photo by David Dixon.

The Austrian capital of Wien (Vienna) is served by a standard-gauge tram network 183.1km in length - the largest European tramway system outside Russia. Images from Summer 1996, 30th/31st July 2008 and 14th August 2008.

The charming independent standard gauge Woltersdorf tramway in the Berlin suburbs is caught on camera on 19th March 2006. This is a 5.6km long single track tramway with passing loops linking Rahnsdorf S-Bahn station with Woltersdorf village and the nearby canal. Two-axle trams from Dessau, Dresden and Schwerin dating from 1959 provide the service.

Standard-gauge, blue & cream trams in the Polish city of Wroclaw, captured on camera on 26th March 2006.

Is it a tram? Is it a train? Or is it a plane? A selection of photos from July 2004 of the unique and bizarre suspension monorail in the German city of Wuppertal. Opened in 1901, the single line runs between the districts of Oberbarmen and Vohwinkel - a distance of 13.3 km. The 'trams' hang down about 12m above the bed of the river Wupper and approximately 8m above the city streets. At one point the line even crosses the A46 motorway! Top speed is 60km/h.

The extensive metre gauge tram network of Zurich is served by a fleet of blue and white liveried trams, seen here in January 1999, June 2004, 18th June 2006, 1st & 2nd February 2007, 19th & 20th April 2008 and February 2009.