Trams in Perth

Perth tramway network
Perth tram no 38, circa 1905–1910.
Operation
Locale	Perth, WA, Australia
Open	28 September 1899 (1899-09-28)
Close	15 July 1958 (1958-07-15)
Status	Closed
Owner(s)	Perth Electric Tramways Limited (1899–1913) Western Australian Government (1913–1958)
Operator(s)	Perth Electric Tramways Limited (1899–1913) Western Australian Government Railways (1913–1949) Western Australian Government Tramways and Ferries (1949–1957) Metropolitan Transport Trust (1957–1958)
Infrastructure
Track gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Propulsion system(s)	Electricity
Electrification	Overhead catenary
Depot(s)	East Perth
Statistics
Route length	Over 50 km (31 mi) (max)

The Perth tramway network served Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, from the end of the nineteenth century until 1958. A modern light rail line was announced in 2012 for completion in 2018.

History

Horse Tram

According to one source,^[1] the central city terminus of the short lived horse tramway was the General Post Office, which was then located within the Treasury Building, at the corner of St Georges Terrace and Barrack Street. The outlying terminus was said by the same source to be in East Perth. However, it now seems that, in fact, there was never a horse tram provided for the carriage of passengers in Perth.^[2]

Rather, there was – it is believed – a horse tramway which ran from quarries just north of the city to the construction site of Government House situated in St Georges Terrace. For how long the horse tramway survived is not known, nor its exact route, as information has not yet been found, although research continues. It is known, however, that a horse omnibus system did exist.^[2]

Electric Trams

The Treasury Building circa 1900–1910.

Opening of the William and Wellington Streets line, 1902.

Perth tram at East Perth car barn, 1929.

Perth tram on the network, 1929.

Perth's first electric tram network was inaugurated in 1899. It linked Perth's central business district with many of its inner suburbs, especially on the north side of the Swan River, but was wound down from 1949, and closed in 1958. It had a maximum street mileage of over 50 km (30 mi), in the 1930s.

The network operated under 35 route numbers, on various lines extending from Osborne Park in the north to Como and Welshpool in the south, and from Claremont in the west to Welshpool in the east.^[3]

Some of the trams from the first Perth network are now preserved by the Perth Electric Tramway Society, at its heritage tramway in Whiteman Park, in the outer Perth suburb of Caversham.

See also

• History of Perth, Western Australia
• Tram controls
• Trams in Fremantle
• Trolleybuses in Perth
• Trams in Australia

Notes

Cited works

• Brimson, Samuel (1983). The Tramways of Australia. Dreamweaver Books. ISBN 0-949825-01-8. 
• Campbell, Bob (1999). "Perth Electric Tramway System Track Map drawn by A Gunzburg 8/81". Getting There by Tram in Western Australia. Mt Lawley, WA: Perth Electric Tramway Society Inc. ISBN 0646-38447-3. 
• Culpeffer-Cooke, Tony; Gunzburg, Adrian; Pleydell, Ian (2010). Tracks by the Swan: The Electric Tram and Trolleybus Era of Perth, Western Australia. Mt Lawley, WA: Perth Electric Tramway Society Inc. ISBN 978-0-9807577-0-5. 
• "Perth Electric Tramway Society – Perth Trams". Retrieved 2010-06-09. 

Further reading

• Campbell, Bob (1999). Getting there by Tram in Western Australia. Mt Lawley, WA: Perth Electric Tramway Society Inc. ISBN 0646-38447-3. 
• Jones, Colin (1993). Watch for Trams. Kenthurst, N.S.W: Kangaroo Press. ISBN 0-86417-544-2. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Trams in Perth, Western Australia.

• MAX – official site
• Perth Electric Tramway Society
• Perth Light Rail – a coalition lobbying for the introduction of light rail to Perth