Trams in Australasia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Trams in Australasia are used extensively only in Melbourne, and to a lesser extent, Adelaide, all other major cities having largely dismantled their networks by the 1970s.
A distinctive feature of many Australasian trams was the early use of a lowered central section between bogies (wheel-sets). This was intended to make passenger access easier, by reducing the number of steps required to reach the inside of the vehicle. It is believed that the design first originated in Christchurch, as early as the first decade of the 20th century. Cars with this design feature were frequently referred to as "drop-centres".
Contents |
[edit] History
In the 19th century numerous horse drawn systems were established, with Adelaide and Brisbane establishing reasonably large systems (for their day) and retaining their horse drawn trams when other systems had adopted steam or cable traction. Victor Harbor and Gawler in South Australia are examples of small, single-line horse-drawn systems which survived until 1953 and 1931 respectively.
Following a short lived experiment with a privately run horse tram line in Pitt Street in the 1860s, Sydney adopted steam trams, which were operated by the state government. By comparison, Melbourne adopted cable trams, which were owned and operated by the local government. Melbourne's cable tram network became the largest in the world in the late 19th century, with some cable lines retained until 1940. Sydney operated only two cable tram lines (in North Sydney and along South Head Road) and eschewed the high capital outlay required for cable traction, preferring instead to retain their steam trams, until most of the system was converted to electric operation between 1898 and 1910.
Smaller provincial towns in New South Wales, such as Maitland, Broken Hill and Newcastle had steam tram systems operated by the New South Wales Government. Rockhampton, Queensland, also had a steam tram system, which was operated by the Rockhampton City Council. With the exception of Newcastle, these systems had closed by the 1930s.
Gold mining towns, with their rapid growth and wealth soon adopted trams, with Bendigo and Ballarat in Victoria and Kalgoorlie and Leonora in Western Australia all adopting electric tram systems. Bendigo held trials of a battery-operated tram, but this was unsuccessful. The Victorian systems survived until 1972 following their takeover by the state government, whereas the West Australian examples ceased operations in the 1930s as a result of the economic decline of those towns at the time.
Electrification was quickly adopted in Australian systems, with Hobart and Brisbane the first systems to be electrified in 1893 and 1897 respectively. Hobart thus was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to operate a successful electric tramway system. It was also the only Australian city to use the European-style 'bow collector', instead of Frank Sprague's trolley pole system. Hobart was also the first city outside Europe to employ electric double-decker trams. The Hobart system retained a distinctly "English" appearance throughout its existence.
Perth had an electric tram system in operation between 1898 and 1958.
Adelaide was the last major city to convert its trams to electric operation, in 1908, with the system closing (except for the Glenelg line) in 1958.
[edit] Australian Tram Network
[edit] Victoria
[edit] Melbourne
Melbourne has the third largest tram system in the world and its trams have become part of the city's culture and identity due to their long history. In Melbourne, in addition to newer types of trams in use such as the Citadis, the Combino and the middle-aged A, B and Z class trams, older W-class trams (of the dropcentre design referred to above) remain in service as a major form of public transport as well as a popular tourist attraction. W-class trams are used on the free City Circle tram route in addition to several other routes and also operate as the world's first restaurant tram. A total of 53 W-class trams remain in regular service, with the oldest in-service tram dating from 1939.
[edit] Bendigo and Ballarat
In provincial Victoria, Australia, the cities of Bendigo and Ballarat have retained sections of their once extensive networks. In Bendigo, the famous heritage "talking tram" and "cafe tram" run as tourist attractions in conjunction with a tramway museum. The Ballarat tram, which runs part way around Lake Wendouree, also remains in operation. There have been recent proposals by the respective local councils to extend the Bendigo tram around Lake Weeroona and the Ballarat tram to Ballarat Railway Station, however both these plans have been put indefinitely on hold.
[edit] Geelong
Geelong maintained an electric tram service from 1912 until 1956.
[edit] Queensland
[edit] Brisbane
The Brisbane Tram System was operational from 1885 and 1969.
Brisbane's tram system ran on standard gauge track. The electric system was originally energised to 500 volts, this was subsequently increased to 600 volts.
Most trams operated with a two person crew - a driver (or motorman) and a conductor, who moved about the tram collecting fares and issuing tickets. The exceptions to this arrangement were on the Gardens line (Lower Edward Street) where the short duration of the trip meant it was more effective for passengers to simply drop their fare into a fare box as the entered the tram; and the "one man cars" which operated in the early 1930s (see below).
The system route kilometrage reached its maximum extent of 109 kilometres in 1952. The total track kilometrage was 199 kilometres, owing to many routes ending in single, rather than double, track. Single track segments of the track were protected by signalling which operated off the trolley wire. By 1959 more than 140 kilometres of track were laid in concrete, a method of track construction pioneered in Brisbane.
The last track opened was in O'Keefe Street Woolloongabba, in May 1961. However, this track was not used in normal passenger service and was merely used to reduce dead running from Logan Road back to Ipswich Road Depot.
The peak year for patronage was in 1944-45 when almost 160 million passengers were carried.
[edit] New South Wales
[edit] Sydney
Sydney, the largest city in Australia, once had the largest tram system in Australia, the second largest in the Commonwealth (after London), and one of the largest in the world. It was also extremely intensively worked, with about 1,600 cars in service at any one time at its peak during the 1930s (cf. about 500 trams in Melbourne today). Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, there was an average of more than one tram journey per day made by every man and woman, infant and child in the city. Patronage peaked in 1945 at the extraordinary level of 405 million passenger journeys. The system was in place from 1861, until its winding down in the 1950s and eventual closure in 1961. It had a maximum street mileage of 181 miles (291 km) in 1923.
In 1997, more than 30 years after trams disappeared from Sydney streets, the Metro Light Rail, a privately owned single line system opened. There have been various proposals to extend this system into the CBD and inner suburbs but none has come to fruition.
[edit] South Australia
[edit] Adelaide
Trams in Adelaide are represented by a single tram line connecting the central business district of Adelaide to the seaside suburb of Glenelg, and two classes of electric trams built in 1929 and 2006. Until 1958 this line was part of a large network spanning most of suburban Adelaide, with origins dating back to 1878. Adelaide operated with a horse tram network from 1878 to 1909, an electric tram network till 1958 and has primarily relied on buses for public transport since. Electric trams and trolleybuses were the main public transport from the opening of the electric tram network to its closing[1] and are enjoying a resurgence with the expansion of the remaining line and the first new tram purchases for over 50 years.
[edit] Victor Harbor
The horse tram line at Victor Harbor in South Australia has been re-opened using replicas of the original cars as a tourist attraction.
[edit] Western Australia
Tram lines and companies were started in Western Australia in 1899 and the last system was closed on 1958. Tram were in the cities and towns of Perth, Fremantle, Kalgoorlie and Leonoraformed. The biggest of these was Perth which had its last tram built in 1934 numbered 130.
[edit] Tasmania
Launceston in Tasmania operates a lesser known tramway museum and a small section of track which has been continuously used at the Penny Royal Mill complex as a tourist attraction. There have been plans to extend the reach of this line.
[edit] Tramway Museums
Tram museums also operated in many cities following the closure of their networks. Major museums include the Brisbane Tramway Museum and the Sydney Tramway Museum.
[edit] Light Rail proposals
Brisbane
In recent times Brisbane has had several proposals for light rail in the CBDs but each time they have been pushed back. Most of the effort in Brisbane is currently on busways which have been designed to accommodate future light rail routes.
Gold Coast
Plans are in place for the Gold Coast, just south of Brisbane, to solve its major traffic problems with construction of the Gold Coast Rapid Transit System which will be light rail or a busway system. Construction is expected to start in 2008.
Sydney and Adelaide
Proposals also exist to extend the Sydney and Adelaide systems beyond one line each.
[edit] New Zealand Tram Systems
Major New Zealand Tram Systems include
- Wellington tramway system (closed)
- Dunedin cable tramway system (closed)
In New Zealand, Christchurch has recently constructed a new city-centre heritage line, using restored historic cars from New Zealand and Australia. Auckland also has one tramline in existence, linking MOTAT with the Auckland Zoo.
[edit] History
One of the first tramway vehicles in New Zealand was constructed in Christchurch in November 1880. The tram, a double-decker horsecar was built by William Moor & Son for the Canterbury Tramway Company. The car was a facsimile of the imported carriages; with ash framing, panelling of American whitewood, and roofs and window frames of oak and hickory. All the brass fittings were supplied by Scott Brothers of Christchurch, the only imported parts being the chilled cast-iron wheels. A contemporary report described the car as a most creditable specimen of local industry.
The coachwork was equal to that of the American vehicles, and a much needed improvement had been made on the roof 'by the addition of a board running along the outside, for the special benefit of the female patronisers of the tramway'.
Christchurch was renowned for its double-decker trailers, which snaked through Cathedral Square like a brood of ducklings following their mother. The largest of all 'decker trailers' was launched during the early years of the electric tramways in Christchurch as an experiment, being two open top trailers joined together. This jumbo-sized vehicle seated 92 passengers, and on race day it was not uncommon for it to carry 200 on both decks.
Unofficially this trailer was known as Rotomahana after the well-known express steamer of the day. Officially it was known as a Class 60 Circular Fronted Brougham. One of William Moor's trams is preserved at the Ferrymead Heritage Park.
Reference
- "Official Record" Melbourne International Exhibition. Published 1882
[edit] References
- ^ Australian Electric Transport Museum (Undated), Visit the Tramway Museum, St Kilda S.A., promotional brochure
