Our city had the largest cable tram system in the world operated as a single integrated entity between 1885 and. May 17, 2012 the melbourne cable tramway system by neville govett between 1933 and 1939 provided by heritage victoria. This map from the melbourne and metropolitan tramways board, report and statement of accounts for the year ended 30th june 1950, shows how extensive melbourne s tram network was in the immediate postwar era. Cable tramways in australia and new zealand the cable car. Cable tram track uncovered in melbourne page 1 trams and. Cable trams replaced horsedrawn carriages on routes from melbourne s cbd to neighbouring suburbs in 1885. The history of melbournes tramways has been in print since 1993 and is in its third edition.
They were much smaller in width than rails needed for electric trams. We have a small selection of books, magazines, dvds and general merchandise currently only available for purchase from the tramway heritage centre in our visitors centre. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books. Buy the melbourne tram book 2nd edition by dale budd, randall wilson isbn.
Melbournes electric trams norman cross, dale budd, randall wilson on. A wellillustrated, nostalgic history of the cable trams of melbourne and sydney. Apr 23, 2020 melbourne trams today are a farcry from the old cable car you grew up riding. Great account to the sydney and melbourne cable cars ata reasonable price. Books about melbourne is for dan, who once asked if there were any books on melbourne out there written by the collector.
South melbourne cable tram car shed and office, 176178 victoria avenue, albert. We take a look at the evolution of our states iconic mode of transport and the unique ways we got around in the 1800s. The melbourne system blanketed the inner city and radiated out in every direction, growing to become the fourth. Indeed, the speedy oxford street route through paddington was so popular that a colloquial term was coined.
Media in category cable trams in melbourne the following 6 files are in this category, out of 6 total. North fitzroy line 18861930 edit victoria bridge line 18861929 edit clifton hill line 18871940 edit. Book search engine can find the melbourne cable trams by cranston, jack. Im still collecting information about dunedin cable trams, so i thought i would throw in a couple of pictures to tide me over. It can be divided up into several discrete periods defined by the principal means of motive power used. Richmond line 18851927 edit the richmond line opened on 11 november 1885, and ran between hawthorn bridge and city spencer street. Each of melbournes cable trams was painted in a distinct colour scheme to.
The melbourne cable tramway system was a cable car public transport system, which operated between 1885 and 1940 in melbourne, victoria, australia the first line, from spencer street to the end of bridge road richmond via flinders street, was opened on 11 november 1885, and all planned lines were built by 1891, the last being the short windsorst kilda esplanade line, opened 17 october 1891. A very deep study of the fleet of the worlds largest tramway system. Aug 29, 2016 hundreds of books are travelling independently on melbournes trams, trains and buses in search of a reader. A guide to melbourne s trams focussing on tram types. The melbourne cable tramway system was a cable car public transport system, which operated. Its longetivity was remarkable because most lines did not have heavy. It is by no means a difinitive list of books as there are new books realeased all the time but in 2018, these were the books worth looking at. By 1891 melbourne had 44 miles 71 km of double track cable tramway, powered by 11 engine houses. However, clapp and the melbourne tramway and omnibus company wasnt the only company constructing melbournes mechanized tramways. It was a fast and wellpatronised public transport service. Transit australia publishing publishes books on contemporary and historical aspects of railways, tramways and light rail, and the urban transit scene.
When the cable tram lines in melbourne were converted to electric trams the rails had to be replaced. Commonly known as toastracks, juggernauts, dreadnoughts and rattletraps, trams were a central part of sydney life for close to 100 years. More than 200 photographs and illustrations show trams in the streetscapes of today and yesterday, with detailed commentary from tram experts randall wilson and dale budd. As of may 2017, the melbourne tramway network consists of 250 kilometres 160 miles of double track, 493 trams, 24 routes, and 1,763 tram stops. Two years ago, melbourne was celebrating the th anniversary of its first cable trams, established in 1885. Melbourne s first electric tram began operation on 14 october 1889 between box hill and doncaster. Melbourne embraced cable trams rather than more horse trams in the late. Thus this lovely city of botanics, is also known as city of trams. The melbourne cable trams by cranston, jack find or buy. Melbourne trams today are a farcry from the old cable car you grew up riding. Francis boardman clapp of the melbourne omnibus co.
Melbournes trams are more than a mode of transport. The book is clear and concise on the history and contemporary operation of the tram network in melbourne giving just enough history of the cable driven units before focusing on the current fleet with a well presented summary of the operating trams and their provenance, complete with an identification drawing of each design, some such as the w6 class need to introduction due to the history and. Focusing on scotland, this book provides an overview of the history of tramways north of the border from the 1940s, when the first horsedrawn service linking inchture village to inchture station opened, through to the closure of the last traditional tramway glasgow in 1962. The history of trams, streetcars or trolleys began in early nineteenth century. Books about melbourne is for dan, who once asked if there were any books on melbourne. More than 200 photographs and illustrations show trams in the streetscapes of today and yesterday, with detailed commentary from tram experts. The melbourne tram museum will be closed until further notice. Cable trams cars were only about 2 tonnes and the dummies about 2. The melbourne tram fleet a simple guide as of july 2015 duration.
Apr 30, 2009 as i said in a previous post and from the photos fron 574m above the cable trams were very small vehicles which could fit in a shed about ten feet high, and as they only had to house the vehicles working on one line, it would have probably been impossible to fit an electric tram inside, particularly one of the bumblebees. Cable trams entry the encyclopedia of melbourne online. It was a momentous development and melburnians marvelled, no horse, no engine, no nothing and the car runs up hill. The service was abandoned less than seven years later and it took until october 1906 for another electric service to begin, this time operated by the private north melbourne electric tramway and lighting company. In its heyday, melbourne s system was the fourth biggest in the world with 46 miles of double track and 1,200 cable cars and trailers. While several books about the cable and electric tram networks have included published track maps, these were in turn generated from the old. The melbourne tramways, was first published in 1888 as a chapter within a book. Nov 16, 2010 cable trams while sydney was building its network of stateowned speedy steam trams, melbourne was developing a private network of sedate cable tramways, regarding adelaides horse trams as old fashioned and sydneys steam trams as too dirty. Melbourne and metropolitan tramways board wikipedia. Melbourne had an extensive network of cable trams, which was remarkably long lived. Moving image from the film the melbourne cable tramway system, shot by neville govett between 193339 and made available by heritage victoria.
Electric trams, when they started in melbourne, were for the most part acting as feeders to the cable system. The closed trailer or saloon car is believed to have been displayed at the 1880 melbourne international exhibition as an. Books ordered may be returned for a full refund if they are not as described. Melbournes first electric tram began operation on 14 october 1889 between box hill and doncaster. Nov 10, 2011 in melbourne, the most remarkable of transportation options, is the colourful and swift cable tram. A short history of melbourne architecture depicts the. A history of trams edinburgh took delivery of its first tram this year and work on constructing its new tramway system is under way at a pace after delays and cost overruns. The operator yarra trams claims the system is the largest operational urban tram network. The committee of management has decided that due to the coronavirus covid19 pandemic, it is. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
A history of the cable trams in melbourne john keating 2001 at the best online prices at ebay. Our books aim to be of interest to transport professionals, public transport support groups, transport commentators, historians and enthusiasts. Cable trams depended for their motive power on a cable in a slot between the rails, kept moving by an engine house along the route. This article by professor william charles kernot, appearing as the melbourne tramways, was first published in 1888 as a chapter within a book entitled victoria and its metropolis past and present and reprinted in cranston 1988 the melbourne cable trams 18851940. Trams aka cable trams end in melbourne 1941 youtube. The free range books have been set loose on the citys public transport by book ninjas. Our city had the largest cable tram system in the world operated as a single integrated entity between 1885 and 1940, dwarfing the survivng cable tram lines in san francisco. Model of a cable tram grip car or dummy and trailer or saloon car similar in design to. At the peak of its operations the melbourne cable tram system had been almost as large as the famed trolley bus networks of san francisco and chicago. It depicts melbournes horse, cable and electric tramways since 1884 until the present. These three trams were built in 1904 from three single deck horse trams, similar to the newbuilt california combination trams but with 6 saloon windows as opposed to 4 on the new trams, and a single fixed crossbench seat on each end platform instead of 2 tipover seats each end.
Reminiscences of cable trams in melbourne culture victoria. The last cable tram of melbourne royal historical society of. Books on the rail sets books free on melbournes trams. This fully updated new edition of the melbourne tram book is a colourful and compact tribute to melbournes famous trams, one of the citys most enduring symbols. Reminiscences of cable trams in melbourne daphne rooms still images from museum victoria and the public record office victoria. A short history of cable trams in australia tramscrolls. Operating from 1885 until 1940, melbourne s cable tram system was the fourth biggest in the world, with about 75 km of double track, 17 innersuburban routes, and 600 cable car and trailer sets. Melbournes first cable tramway, the spencer streetrichmond line, ran from the corner of bourke and spencer streets to flinders street, wellington parade and. This is the first of a new series of books that will cover the history of tramway operation in the british isles. Ms as the last one takes a ferry ride across the harbour. Dunedin is important because it had both the first and the last hallidietype cable trams outside of san francisco. The discourse of the time was one of excitement, but within the c. Trams are a major form of public transport in melbourne, the capital city of the state of victoria, australia.
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