Municipal Tramways Trust
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The Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT) was established in 1907 to operate Adelaide's street tram network.
The MTT was created as a tax exempt body with 8 members, mostly appointed by local councils and a small number of state government appointees.[1] They established a 9 acre (3.6 ha) tram depot site near the corner of Hackney and Botanic Roads Adelaide, this included a depot building, 24 incoming tracks and a large administration office[2]. William George Toop Goodman was appointed as its first engineer.
The MTT installed the first electric tramway in Adelaide in 1907 and Port Adelaide in 1917. The Adelaide-Glenelg railway was taken over by the MTT and in 1929 was turned into an electric tramway. The MTT throughout this period introduced a variety of bus services. In 1938 the Port Adelaide tram service was replaced by double-decker trolley buses. Goodman served the MTT for 42 years and was knighted in 1932, eventually retiring as general manager in 1950.[3][4]
Throughout the 1950s various tramways were replaced by diesel bus services. By 1958 Adelaide's Glenelg Tram was the last remaining service. The MTT continued to operate most of the local bus routes in the inner metropolitan area, often following former tram lines. By the 1970s the MTT had bought out many of the private bus operators then operating in the Adelaide suburbs.
In 1975 the services of the MTT became the Bus and Tram division of the State Transport Authority (STA). The STA was renamed TransAdelaide as part of the state government's privatisation programme of the 1990s and is now limited to operating Adelaide's tram and train services.
[edit] Tram Depots
- City
- Hackney
- Maylands
- Prospect
- Port Adelaide
[edit] Notes
- ^ The Critic (1909), pp.15,17-18
- ^ The Critic (1909), p.27
- ^ McCarthy, G.J (22 June 2005). Goodman, William George Toop (1872 - 1961). Bright Sparcs. Retrieved on January 30, 2007.
- ^ Adelaide's tramways. tramaus. Retrieved on January 30, 2007.
[edit] References
- The Critic (1909). The Tramways of Adelaide, past, present, and future : a complete illustrated and historical souvenir of the Adelaide tramways from the inception of the horse trams to the inauguration of the present magnificent electric trolley car system. Adelaide: The Critic.
