tram vs trolley car

tram

noun
  • A passenger vehicle for public use that runs on tracks in the road (called a streetcar or trolley in North America). 

  • A similar vehicle for carrying materials. 

  • An aerial cable car. 

  • A train with wheels that runs on a road; a trackless train. 

  • A people mover. 

  • A car on a horse railway or tramway (horse trams preceded electric trams). 

  • A silk thread formed of two or more threads twisted together, used especially for the weft, or cross threads, of the best quality of velvets and silk goods. 

verb
  • To weave in this manner. 

  • To transport (material) by tram. 

  • To travel by tram. 

  • To operate, or conduct the business of, a tramway. 

  • To align a component in mechanical engineering or metalworking, particularly the head of a drill press. 

trolley car

noun
  • An electric streetcar or tram with a trolley pole for collecting electric current. 

How often have the words tram and trolley car occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )