Three Gaziantep Tram Routes (B)

Routes One And Two

The first two sections of Gaziantep's three route tram system both started from Adliye and fbb would love to show you ytrama ready for the off at this terminus. But he cannot! For those that understand Google Streetview, the recorded trajectory of the noddy cars is registered as a blue line on Google Maps.

At Gaziantep, these blue lines run out just short of the terminus which is one junction to the tight of the orange "knife and fork" icon in the centre of the above graphic. Mo blue lines, no Streetview!

Here is a Google Maps aerial close-up of that missing link.

You can see a couple of fuzzy trams there at the fuzzy terminus. 

But we pick the route up at the orange icon.

The line swings right and sets off to pass the Kolej Vakfi stop. 

(Kolej - college, another Turkish word for fbb's rapidly (?) expanding word list).

This section of route has a little more of interest that mile after mile of grass-lined reserved track. There is a flyover to fly under ....

... and most of the track is not physically "reserved" ...

... although a car would not want to bump over the kerb in between the two lines. There is an intriguing cutting ...

... used by road and tram but with no bridges over the top. Was it built like that the avoid the gradients? Dunno.

Soon we are turning left ...

... and joining he standard track layout familiar elsewhere. The line ploughs straight across pre-existing  roundabouts ...

...and past assorted sizes of apartment blocks as we have seen before.

One little snippet of street furniture intrigues fbb. Here is the warning sign for an unprotected piece of tramway crossed by a road.

Steam hauled, anyone? Presumably it is the official Turkish toad sign for an ungated level crossing as it is in the UK, despite the fact that you will never (have never in Gaziantep!) seen a steam loco pass by!

Another wiggle or two and we are back at the triangular junction with line three.

Here line one (RED) turns right and joins line 3 as far as the University and line two (BLUE) goes left and joins the line through to the station terminus

For completeness we should nip along to the Gaziantep Univeritesi stop and "do" the bit of Lime 1 to Burc Kavsagi.

The arrangement of stops at the Uni caused fbb some grief until he realised that they are staggered. The "to city centre" stop is on the city side ...

... of the junction ...

... whilst the two outbound stops are beyond the convergence one on each line. Below on Line 1 ...

... and here on line 3.

Line 1 continues to a simple terminus on the edge of a bit of country.

fbb has failed completely to find any timetables for the system and equally helplessly has not discovered the main depot.

If time and eyeballs allow, he will keep looking and report back in one of the weekend variety blogs.

Because tomorrow we say farewell to a formerly successful ()?) bus route that expires completely this coming weekend.

Thanks for asking - the eyes seem to be recovering from the attack of the stabbing syringe on Monday last. The treatment for "Macular" is both expensive and spectacular. Three cheers for the NHS! AGAIN!

Lighten Up fbb!!

Yesterday saw the first phase of poster paint application to make fbb's grass a little greener. Here is BEFORE ...

... and AFTER.

And that ballast is reminiscent of a heavy industry yard, e.g. steelworks not a set of country branch preservation society sidings. More lightening up needed, but so much easier to do if you don't have to worry about the rain!

 Next Zap Leaves A Gap blog : Friday 18th Nov