Jack May
January 18, 2013
World traveler and renowned photographer Jack May (ERA #2275) will present our January slideshow.
There are 14 cities in Poland with operating streetcar systems. Jack will present a review of developments in each of these metropolitan areas based on three visits to that Eastern European country, the most recent being last May 2012.
Jack’s program will measure the changes starting with his 1998 trip, when the legacy of central planning by a Communist regime resulted in the bulk of electric traction in the country being provided by standard PCC cars built by a single supplier (Konstal). His show will then illustrate the gradual introduction of used tramcars from properties in Western Europe (2005 trip), and finally cover the current situation, which will show how each city has instituted the modernization of its operations with new infrastructure and low-floor cars.
There will be plenty of variety, with cars in many color schemes pictured on center reservation, side-of-the-road and cross-country trackage, as well as street running. Jack’s program will cover cities of every size, running the gamut from small towns having just one or two lines, to the huge rural interurban system in Upper Silesia (Katowice), as well as large cities with networks whose extent rivals those found in Western Europe.
Please join us as we usher in 2013, and return to our usual meeting location. Given the high quality of Jack’s photography and the depth and breadth of his subject matter, there is no excuse not to be there.