AP PHOTOS: 125 vintage trams evoke bygone era in Milan

Powered by electric lines overhead and following metallic rails, the welded carriages first call attention with their rattling sound, then with the screech of the breaks.

Inside, passengers sit on slatted wooden benches against panoramic windows, jostling along the city's tramways at a maximum speed of 38 kph (23 mph), while the driver works brass levers from a glass-enclosed cabin.