Wellington Tramway Museum

Wellington Tramway Museum
Established 1965
Location Queen Elizabeth Park
Coordinates 40°58′09″S 174°58′50″E / 40.969194°S 174.980659°E
Type Railway museum
Website http://wellingtontrams.org.nz/

The Wellington Tramway Museum is located at Queen Elizabeth Park in New Zealand, near the overbridge at McKay's Crossing between Paekakariki and Paraparaumu. Trams have been in operation on a line through the park since 1965. The museum is 45 km from Wellington.

The museum maintains nearly 2 km of 4-foot (1219mm) gauge track in Queen Elizabeth Park, as well a fleet of trams from the closed Wellington system, several of which are currently operational with further examples in storage or undergoing restoration. The Museum also owns two ex-Brisbane trams, one of which is on long-term loan to the Tramway Historical Society, a cable car grip tram and trailer from the original Wellington cable car, and a small collection of diesel buses and trolley buses from Wellington and New Plymouth.

Opening hours

The museum is open every Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 4.30pm, and on public holidays except for Christmas Day. After Christmas the museum opens daily from Boxing Day (26 December) to Wellington Anniversary Day in late January. The museum also opens with restricted hours throughout some school holidays, these dates being advertised on the Museum's website.

Wellington trams

Key: In Service Under Overhaul/Restoration Stored Static Display Scrapped
Fleet Number Type Builder Year Built Notes
2 Cable car grip tram Mark Sinclair, Dunedin 1901 Cable car No 2 was used from 1902 until 1978 on the Wellington cable car. Donated to the WTM in 1978, it runs on 3' 6" (1067mm) gauge track and so cannot run at the museum. On static display in the tram barn.
5 Cable car trailer Unknown c.1880s Cable car trailer No 5 was converted from a Palace-type horse tram to become a cable car trailer. Retired in 1974 due to safety concerns, it was placed on a playground at Kelburn Park next to the modernised cable car. Trailer No 5 moved to the WTM in September 2011 and is currently stored.
6 Cable car trailer Unknown c.1880s Cable car trailer No 6 was converted from a Palace-type horse tram to become a cable car trailer. Retired in 1974 due to safety concerns, trailer No 6 was donated to the WTM in 1978. It runs on 3' 6" (1067mm) gauge track and so cannot run at the museum. On static display in the tram barn.
17 Combination British Electric Car Company 1903/4, rebuilt 1911 No 17 is the oldest extant Wellington tram, arriving at McKay's Crossing in 1986 after being used as a bach at Raumati South since the late 1940s. The body is currently (January 2015) undergoing restoration at "The Wheelwright Shop" in the Wairarapa, following a successful fund raising campaign.
82 Palace Rouse and Hurrell, Wellington 1911, rebuilt 1913 No 82 was the last surviving Palace-type tram in New Zealand. Rebuilt as a double saloon tram in 1913, it survived into the 1950s as an illuminated advertising tram although such duties ended in the late 1940s. The body of No 82 is now believed to have been scrapped.
151 Double saloon (Mark I) Wellington City Council Tramways Department 1923 No 151 was donated to the Tramway Preservation Association, the forerunner of the Wellington Tramway Museum, in 1961 by the Wellington City Council. Used in regular service.
159 Double saloon (Mark I) Wellington City Council Tramways Department 1925 No 159 donated by Wellington City Council to the Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society, U.S.A., in about 1961 and from the time of the Wellington tramway system's closure in 1964 was held on the Oregon Museum's behalf by the Wellington Tramway Museum. In the 1970's the Oregon Museum determined not to proceed with the development of their narrow gauge operation and donated the tram to the Wellington Tramway Museum. Used in regular service.
185 Double saloon (Mark II) Wellington City Council Tramways Department 1925 No 185 is the only surviving Mark II Double Saloon tram to have been fitted with heavier electrical wiring for use on the hilly Brooklyn (Route 7) and Wadestown (Route 1) lines. Stored awaiting restoration (body only). No. 185 was obtained by the Museum from a farm in Martinborough (Wairarapa) in 1976 where it had been used for storage.
207 Double saloon (Mark II) Wellington City Council Tramways Department 1929 No 207 was formerly the only Mark II Double Saloon tram to have survived. Stored awaiting restoration. It was purchased from Wellington City Council by the Museum on closure of the system in 1964 with funds donated by the Vintage Car Club of Wellington.
235 "Fiducia" single saloon Wellington City Council Tramways Department 1937 Oldest surviving "Fiducia" tram. No 235 is stored awaiting restoration. All five "Fiducia" class trams (235, 238, 239, 250, 260) were purchased by the Wellington Tramway Museum from the Wellington City Council in early 1964 on closure of the system at the then scrap price of twenty-two pounds ten shillings (forty-five dollars) each.
238 "Fiducia" single saloon Wellington City Council Tramways Department 1937 No 238 is not in service. It is on display in the tramway museum's display area.
239 "Fiducia" single saloon Wellington City Council Tramways Department 1937/8 No 239 is currently operational and used in regular service.
250 "Fiducia" single saloon Wellington City Council Tramways Department 1939/40 No 250 was purchased for spare parts. Body broken up for spares, underframe used for a time as a flat wagon for track work. The two trucks (bogies) and motors are now held as spares.
260 "Fiducia" single saloon Wellington City Council Tramways Department 1952 No 260 was the last "Fiducia" built with some minor detail differences to the earlier cars of this type, and entered service on 19 December 1952. Full restoration has been ongoing since the 1980's and is (January 2015) well advanced. Notably No. 260 was the last tram to be built and enter service in a traditional street tramway system in New Zealand.

External links