LRTA Links: Commercial Sites

Any and all possible commercially oriented sites related to urban transit. Includes sites which sell books, videos, and similar materials.

Note that these are supplied purely for information only - no endorsement or connection with LRTA is implied.

• Canada
  • Detour Publications - Based in Toronto, Detour Publications is a unique non-profit enterprise providing over 150 sustainable transportation and urban ecology titles - books, magazines, videos and CDs - which can be ordered online. Includes many hard-to-find titles.
  • MacDonald Video Productions - Featuring over 25 tram and trollybus video productions around the world (with particular emphasis on Canada, the western US, and Europe), currently available in NTSC format with PAL format coming in the future (as of March 2001). They also offer a number of very interesting collectable postcards of trams, trollybusses, and the like as well.
• Italy
  • Mer Mec - Based in Monopoli, Mer Mec supplies a variety of railway maintenance cars (for track and overhead) and measuring systems (for track geometry, overhead line wear, ride quality, etc.) plus related maintenance and software worldwide. The site provides extensive details on the vehicles (plus customization options) and other product services plus a brief history of the company (since its founding in the 1960s as Meridional Meccanica), its R&D activities, as was well as contact and other business related information. In English, French, German, Italian, or Spanish with less extensive versions in Arabic, Chinese, and Russian.
• Netherlands
  • TrafficLinq - Find Pictures - Associated with the Dutch-specific variant of the TrafficLinq International site, this site provides a library of transportation-related pictures covering all modes and organized into categories (with about 120 in the Public Transport category when checked in March 2003) with emphasis on Dutch scenes. Medium-resolution downloads are free (with registration) for limited use, high-resolution photos may be ordered for a fee. In Dutch and English.
    Service Advisory: May not display properly in some browswers.
    Added 08 March 2003
• United Kingdom
  • HoldFast Level Crossings - HoldFast is one of Europe's leading designers and suppliers of road and rail crossing platforms. Certified by Railtrack, their crossing systems are designed for all modes of road and rail transport. The site explains the benefits of rubber crossings along with what makes their designs unique. There are also several illustrated articles on applications of their crossings. In English with summaries in French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Italian, and Polish. (Some features require an audio player.)
  • Mavix Ltd - Communications, security and other electronic equipment. Details available of the company's involvement with the Sydney Light Rail Project.
  • Parry People Movers - Well known to readers of T&UT, Parry People Movers pioneered the development of flywheel propulsion for light tramway systems in smaller towns and on regional railways. Their recently redone (as of January 2003) site provides a corporate overview, different product applications (with more details to come), news (in the form of the latest issue of their Parry News newsletter), plus an archive of press releases, newsletters, and other publications.
  • Stored Energy Technology - Based in Derby, SET in developing high efficiency energy saving designs for light rail and other transit system vehicles. As the website outlines, they are in the process of creating a demonstration tram to show off their radically different concepts such as the wheel motor drive assembly. The site is in its developing stages but contains artist conceptions (and some design details) as well as contact information.
  • Sky Rail UK - Site for the UK company, an outgrowth of the campaign for Monorail Hull and later Sky Rail Hull, to improve transport using the Sky Rail system of suspended light rail technology, initially in Hull and now where ever it might be appropriate worldwide. Several photo mock-ups show how the system differs from other traditional and monorail technologies.
    Service Advisory: Most of the site's original content dedicated to the campaign for the Sky Rail in Hull (and history of public transport in Hull) has been removed.
    Name changed (from Sky Rail UK - Hull), category changed (from System Sites - UK), description updated, and Service Advisory added 10 May 2003
  • Tramscape - Publisher of more then 6500 tramway photographs (and 1500 paddle steamer photographs as well), all available as JPG files (by email) and many available as prints. Coverage is worldwide with heavy emphasis on Europe. Site has completely indexed catalog (with captions and sample photos) and a downloadable version in Excel format. There's also an extensive, well-illustrated "special report" on Frankfurt-am-Main tramways.
  • Transport & Training Services Group - Transport & Training Services offer courses in many areas of the transport industry. They also supply fleet management and tachograph analysis to many large fleet operators. The site gives details on upcoming courses, a library of light rail articles by James Harkins, plus background information on their other services.
    Link and description updated 12 April 2003
• United States
  • Carson Home Video - Publisher of "some of the most interesting video programs featuring electrically powered rail vehicles as seen all over the world" whose site have overviews of more than 25 of their videos covering the US (plus Toronto) and Europe, all in NTSC format, some also in PAL format. No on-line ordering but printed catalog can be requested.
  • HNTB Transit Services - Portion of the HNTB Companies' site which details their broad architectural, planning, engineering, and construction expertise in the field of mass transit. There's an introductory profile (with client list and video) plus other sections with news releases, overviews of their various capabilities, and spotlights on different projects in which they have been involved in different ways (such as team lead on Virginia's Capital Beltway Corridor Study, design and costing consultants for the Metrolink St. Clair County extension in St. Louis, principal design firm for the design-build project to extend BART to San Francisco airport, and many others). (Some features require Quicktime or Flash.)
  • railpub.com - "Your source for back issue rail magazines, rail related books and prototype publications" whose site has their own newsletters plus price/availabilty lists of (primarily US) publications with in-depth stock of more than 30 major magazines plus countless society publications, employee publications, annual reports, books, and more. (Most features require Acrobat.)
    Service Advisory: Site notes that it is under renovation (as of January 2002).
  • Stone Consulting & Design - "Consultants to the Railroad Industry" with expertise in the design, engineering, development, and operation of rail, tram, and industrial development projects and who are dedicated to the promotion of cost effective transportation solutions using heritage trams. Site provides company profile, description of thier areas of expertise, and overviews of their recent consulting projects (including nicely illustrated brochures on the Kenosha Streetcar as well as other historic trolley projects proposed/developing in the US and Canada).
  • trainbooks.com - Extensive range of new and collectable books, collectable magazines, videos, timetables, and models relating to electric traction (including trolley/streetcar and interurban systems) and railroading in the US.