''Tramways & Urban Transit'' ''(TAUT'' or ''T&UT)'', also known as ''Modern Tramway'', is a British monthly magazine about

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

ways and light rail transport, published continuously since 1938. Its content is orientated both to tramway

enthusiasts In modern usage, enthusiasm refers to intense enjoyment, interest, or approval expressed by a person. The term is related to playfulness, inventiveness, optimism and high energy. The word was originally used to refer to a person possessed by Go ...

and to persons working in the tram transport field or studying tramways. It has been issued monthly from the beginning.Claydon, Geoffrey (June 1997). "Sixty Years of the LRTA". ''Light Rail & Modern Tramway'', pp. 227–228. Although published in Britain, the magazine's coverage is international, and its regular "World News" column includes detailed news on electric trams (called

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

s or trolleys in

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...

) and light rail worldwide.Saitta, Joseph P. (Ed.) (1981). Review of ''Modern Tramway'' in ''Traction Yearbook '81'', p. 230. Merrick, NY (US): Traction Slides International. Quote: "Necessary reading for those wishing to keep abreast of light rail progress." From 1938 until 2007 the magazine was published by the Light Railway Transport League or, after a change of name in 1979, the

Light Rail Transit Association The Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA), formerly the Light Railway Transport League (LRTL), is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to advocate and encourage research into the retention and development of light rail and tramway/street ...

(LRTA), but starting in 1962 publication was jointly by that body and Ian Allan Limited, which partnership allowed the magazine to be carried at bookshops and other trade outlets. With effect from the July 2007 issue, publication was taken over by a newly formed company, LRTA Publishing Ltd (LRTAP), who also publish a quarterly historical magazine, ''

Tramway Review ''Tramway Review'', initially known as ''The Tramway Review'', is a British quarterly magazine about the history of tramways in Great Britain and, to a lesser extent, neighbouring countries, published since 1950. Its content is intended for tra ...

'', for the LRTA."A new look for T&UT – and a new publisher". ''Tramways & Urban Transit'', July 2007, p. 244. Circulation is around 9,000, worldwide. The editors of the annual reference book, ''Jane’s Urban Transport Systems (JUTS)'', have used ''TAUT'' or its predecessor, ''Modern Tramway'', as the principal data source for keeping up-to-date ''JUTS’'' annotated worldwide list of all "Urban Tram and Light Rail Systems", and have done so for more than 25 years.Bushell, Chris; and Stonham, Peter (Eds.) (1984). ''Jane’s Urban Transport Systems 1984'', p. 223. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd. .Webb, Mary (Ed.) (2009). ''Jane’s Urban Transport Systems 2009-2010'', p. " 0 (in foreword). Coulsdon, Surrey (UK):

Jane's Information Group Jane's Information Group, now styled Janes, is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Informatio ...

. . The magazine has also been an important source of news and information on European tram developments for transport writers in the United States.

Title changes

Originally titled ''The Modern Tramway'', the magazine's first issue was published in January 1938. The title retained the words "Modern Tramway" for the next 60 years, but with variations. From 1962 the word "The" was dropped, and a title extension—in smaller letters and not used in abbreviations of the magazine's name—was added, changing slightly a few times over the next 30 years, as shown below. *''Modern Tramway and Light Railway Review'', January 1962–December 1973 *''Modern Tramway and Rapid Transit Review'', January 1974–December 1976 *''Modern Tramway and Light Rapid Transit'' (), January 1977–March 1980 *''Modern Tramway and Light Rail Transit'' (), April 1980–December 1991 The last variation survived for nearly 12 years, but a more substantial name change was made in January 1992, when ''Modern Tramway and Light Rail Transit'' became ''Light Rail and Modern Tramway'' (''LR&MT'') (). This in turn was replaced by the magazine's current title, ''Tramways & Urban Transit'' (), in January 1998."''Modern Tramway'' changes". December 1991 issue, ''Modern Tramway'', p. 430. This was abbreviated as ''"T&UT"'' until mid-2007 and thereafter as ''"TAUT"''.

Description

While content has varied over the years, each issue typically includes two to four feature articles, describing a particular

or light rail system, manufacturer or related topic; news sections for international, UK and museum or

heritage tram Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles aims to preserve historic rail vehicles. Trains It may concern trains that have been removed from service and later restored to their past condition, or have never been removed from service, like UP ...

news; editorial content, and a letters section. Some issues also include

review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a content rating, ...

s, of books,

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

s, etc. Feature articles usually include maps. Since 1995, each issue has had 40 pages, counting the front and back covers. Although histories of existing tram systems are sometimes included, coverage of long-closed systems was moved out of ''Modern Tramway'' in 1950 with the launch of a second LRTA magazine, ''

'', which continues in publication today and is focused on histories of tram systems in Britain. ''TAUT''’s current

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

is Simon Johnston, who took over the post in January 2011. The previous editor, Howard Johnston, had held the post since April 1995. His immediate predecessor, W. J. Wyse, had been the magazine's editor for 28 years, since June 1967, a longer period than any other ''MT'' or ''TAUT'' editor to date. Apart from W. J. Wyse and Howard Johnston, the only editors-in-chief who held the post for more than five years were K. G. Mansell (July 1952–April 1960) and James Joyce (May 1960–June 1967).

Format changes

The January 1990 issue brought a small increase in ''Modern Tramway’s'' page size, from in x in to

ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...

size A5, and the first regular inclusion of colour photographs—on the front and back covers and a two-page centre spread in each issue."A New Decade … and a New Image".

Ian Allan Ltd Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

advertisement in ''Modern Tramway'', December 1989, unnumbered page inside back cover. Most illustrations remained

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

. With effect from the January 1992 issue, concurrent with the change of name to ''Light Rail & Modern Tramway'', the magazine's page size was doubled, to A4 size. The number of pages per issue was reduced from 40 to 32 at that time, but the two changes in combination yielded a net increase of 60% in page area. The number of pages was restored to 40 from the April 1995 issue (and has remained 40 ever since). The use of colour illustrations was later expanded, as

colour printing Color printing or colour printing is the reproduction of an image or text in color (as opposed to simpler black and white or monochrome printing). Any natural scene or color photograph can be optically and physiologically dissected into three ...

became less expensive, and since May 2002 ''TAUT'' has been fully in colour.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tramways and Urban Transit Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1938 Rail transport magazines published in the United Kingdom Tram transport 1938 establishments in the United Kingdom

Title changes

Description

Format changes

See also

References

External links