Tram 22, Port de Sóller, a photo from Mallorca, Balearics

Photographer's Note

We're just back today from a relaxing week in Mallorca where one of the highlights was a drive through the mountainous west part of the island to the pretty little town of Sóller. And the highlight of that day was a trip on one of the vintage wooden bodied trams, clunking along slowly through lemon and orange groves, from Soller down to Port de Sóller on the coast. €5 each way and well worth every penny (or cent).

Mallorca’s first electric tram line was inaugurated, running between Sóller and the Port of Sóller on 4th October of 1913. Construction of the Sóller tram began after the building of the Palma to Sóller railway line. The project for the tram line was designed and directed by Pedro Garau, and 4868 metres of track were laid. One outstanding feature of it is the iron bridge over the Torrent Major which was constructed by Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima. Initially the tram had an electric power station located in the Sóller station. The station was fed by a 65 horsepower "explosion" engine which worked a Siemens-Schuckert dynamo, providing a continuous 600 volt current.

Although the Sóller tram was designed for the transport of passengers, it was also used to transport merchandise down to the port. Fresh fish was carried from the Port to Sóller in a small isothermal car and coal was taken to the former military submarine base in the Port of Sóller and the “El Gas” factory on trailers; mines and torpedoes were also transported from the Caubet magazine.

The three motor trams, numbered 1 to 3, and their trailers 5 and 6 are the originals, dating from 1912, ordered from Carde & Escoriaza in Zaragoza. The open ‘jardinera’ trailers were acquired from Palma trams in 1954. The Sóller tramway also has five motor trams from Lisbon, numbered 20 to 24 and re-gauged to fit the 914 mm track gauge.

You can see more pictures of this tramway which I took here five years ago here and here.

bayno, holmertz, macjake, timecapturer, annjackman, delpeoples, ktanska has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

MJR (3214) 2012-09-08 15:33

John,

Gorgeous !

The lovely combination of colours on the tram, combined with the sunlight, but topped with the brooding sky, all make your excellent POV and lighting control into one complete and enjoyable photograph.

There ! All done in one sentence ! I think I might copy that and recycle it from time to time; save me thinking all the time !

Joking apart, a fine snap, no less than we would expect from you, and of a favourite subject too. All too much for nigh on Midnight on a w/e !!

kind regards
Martin

PS. was the fishvan really isothermal, or was it of an age when it was merely refridgerated ?!

PPS. I like the number of the tram. My old Mum always felt 22 had some significance to her, lucky or no I never found out ..

PPS see http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/photo1373368.htm for comparison !

bayno (16423) 2012-09-08 22:46

Caro John That's where you were... ;)
exceptional quality, you set your Camera perfectly with the 320 ISO, and there is a excellent definition and depth, even in the cut you've been very good. The tram is fascinating, the light was very nice and the colors really special, contrast well with the gray and threatening skies...super nice shot...
regards,
Valter

emka (59010) 2012-09-08 22:55

Hi John, I was wondering why you were absent. Again in Mallorka. beautiful tram and a gorgeous presentation of it. Superb composition. Must be great fun to go by it. And not so expensive :).
Warm regrads, have a sunny Sunday

MAlgo

holmertz (27216) 2012-09-09 2:37

Hello John,
This is a perfectly composed picture. The tram fills the photo very nicely along the bend and its red front provides a striking foreground. The passengers add life. And I always love the combination of warm sunlight and dark clouds.
Kind regards,
Gert

timecapturer (31278) 2012-09-09 3:42

Hi John
been to Mallorca a few times and cannot recollect a tram system, but then it was a few years ago and always "lads" holidays. This is a beautifully executed and detailed shot with wonderful colours and superb DOF. Composed and presented gloriously. Welcome back!

Enjoy your Sunday - regards Brian.

macjake (39998) 2012-09-09 3:48

Hi John
great to have you back again on TE after a week away.
reading the note, i couldn't help but wonder what that Iron bridge looks like, you know i'm a sucker for that style of charming architecture.
by the sounds of it you visit here now and then, so perhaps on your next journey here in the future you could snap off a photo or two of that bridge just for me! :)

I'm also a big fan of the grey darkened sky, which you have here providing a sweet contrast to the warm light.

There are also 2 other things i really like.
1 - I'd be that guy with my head out the window like a dog in a car!
2- the #22 is my favorite #. Being Canadian, we all learn how to play ice hockey at a very young age. When i was about 4, learning how to skate, I always wore a boston bruins hockey jersey with the #22.
It has always stuck with me since :)
My parents called me 'little two two'

thanks for this fine post
cheers
craig

dta (52250) 2012-09-09 5:15

Hello John ,
An effective close framing , in this well chosen square format . But what I like most here , are the strong warm colors of the old tramway , The light management is excellent , considering the shady parts in the FG .
I've spent a few days in Soller , some years ago . What I remember , was the noise of the mopeds and scooters all night long .
Regards

mesutilgim (68620) 2012-09-09 10:58

Hello John,
Nice capture of this orange tram in Baercelone. Good pov and perfect chosen landscape format. Nice framing and many interesting notes.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

williewhistler (7595) 2012-09-09 12:40

Hello John,now that`s the way to get around,much more environmentally friendly than all those smelly old steam engines belching smoke and steam into the atmosphere that we indulge ourselves in here in the UK...
A fine shot that has real charm and much appeal.
Best regards Les.

annjackman (13463) 2012-09-09 13:17

Hello John,
Welcome back! I like the tight framing of this tram as it moves into the picture. The orange and brown colours are very nicely lit. You have made a tidy composition of a scene with many elements - not always easy to achieve.
Best wishes, Ann

Silvio1953 (99199) 2012-09-11 1:18

Ciao John, great perspective on lovely tram, good composition, excellent clarity, splendid light and colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

delpeoples (45717) 2012-09-12 23:06

Ciao caro Giovanni

I can imagine that this place is right up your alley, vehicularly-speaking and it's good to see from your previous shots that not much has changed. Except of course the quality of your photography (which has very noticeably improved). The square framing and the angles you create here are quite mesmerising and I love that rich warm light and colours. The sharpness is superb and the reason I know this is that even magnifying this photo at 125% and 150%, it's still pinsharp and the colour is still impressive. Lovely work, have a lovely morning.

Cheers
Lisa

mjw364 (4038) 2012-09-13 11:25

Hello John

What a beautifully sharp, crisp, clear image. Lovely colour palette too. I like the way the curved leading line sweeps in from botton left but is also mirrored by the line from the upper left corner adding a sense of dynamism and compositional balance.

Great shot - I like it very much.

Regards

Mike

ktanska (21637) 2012-10-03 5:02

Hi John,
This tram could be a major reason, if I ever decide to visit Mallorca. It is beautiful with shiny paint and wooden details. Wark tones fit well with a feeling of a holiday destination. Good close perspective showing the front as big as possible and following wagons curving nicely. It's good to see also a few passengers clearly, a bit pity the driver is behind the window frame.
Kari