The Hawthorn Tramways Trust was a tram operator in Melbourne, Australia. Its assets and liabilities were transferred to the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board on 2 February 1920.
The Hawthorn Tramways Trust (HTT) was formed pursuant to the Melbourne to Burwood Tramways Act, 1914, to construct and manage electric tramways within the cities of Melbourne, Richmond, Hawthorn, and Camberwell, and to acquire a horse tramway from the Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company (MTOC). The Trust operated the Hawthorn tram depot and was also responsible for the acquisition of Wattle Park in the suburb of Burwood in 1916. [1] [2]
The HTT was the only early electric tram operator to open a route into the central business district (CBD), although it and the inner suburbs were well served at that time by the extensive Melbourne cable tramway system. [3] The main route was from Princes Bridge to Burwood, with a branch line to Wattle Park. The Trust also took over the MTOC's Hawthorn horse tram, and the electric tramway that replaced it operated as a shuttle service between the Richmond cable tram terminus and Hawthorn Depot. [2]
On 6 April 1916, the first section of the Trust's tramways to open was that from the HTT Depot, at the corner of Riversdale Road and Power Street in Hawthorn, to the city terminus in Batman Avenue at Princes Bridge. The section to Auburn Road was brought into operation on 7 May, with the line to Bowen Street, Camberwell, just past the Junction, commencing services at the end of that month. The final section, to Boundary (now Warrigal) Road in Burwood, was opened on 10 June. With the opening of the Power Street and Burwood Road tramway to Hawthorn Bridge on 21 June 1916, the HTT reached its maximum mileage. [2]
Passenger services were initially provided by ten small four-wheel M-class trams, and ten larger Maximum Traction N-class bogie cars, all built by Duncan & Fraser of Adelaide. It was soon realised that they were totally inadequate for the traffic offering, and four O-class Maximum Traction bogie trams were purchased from the neighbouring Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust in August 1916. Although they had also been built by Duncan & Fraser only four years previously, they were of a different design to the Trust's other tramcars and proved to be not as good.
A repeat order of 15 car was placed with the builders, to the original designs, except that each was one foot (300 mm) longer, to provide more leg room in the open sections. Eight were P-class Maximum Traction bogie cars, and the remaining seven were M-class four-wheel trams. Due to a combination of circumstances, the smaller trams were never used, and the bodies were sold to the Footscray Tramway Trust. Unusually, the Trust's trams were painted in predominantly French Grey — at a time when nearly all other trams in Melbourne were painted in variations of brown liveries. [2]
The Trust was dissolved on 20 February 1920, and control passed to the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board. [1] [2] [4]
All but five of the trams built for the HTT saw further service after their time in Melbourne, being sold to other operators. [2] A number of those tramcars have been preserved, including Tram 8 at the Melbourne Tram Museum. [5] Of the 24 surviving tramcars, 21 are operating (or operable) at various tram museums across Australia, as well as overseas.
Trams are a major form of public transport in Melbourne, the capital city of the state of Victoria, Australia. As of May 2017, the Melbourne tramway network consists of 250 kilometres of double track, 493 trams, 24 routes, and 1,763 tram stops. The system is the largest operational urban tram network in the world. Trams are the second most used form of public transport in overall boardings in Melbourne after the commuter railway network, with a total of 206 million passenger trips in 2017–18.
Melbourne tram route 72 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Melbourne University to Camberwell. The 16.8 kilometre route is operated out of Malvern depot with Z and D class trams.
Melbourne tram route 75 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Vermont South to Central Pier. The 22.8 kilometre route is operated out of Camberwell depot with A and B class trams. It is the longest route on the network.
Melbourne tram route 70 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Waterfront City to Wattle Park. The 16.5 kilometre route is operated out of Camberwell depot with A and B class trams.
Wattle Park is a public park in Melbourne, Australia, located in the suburb of Burwood. It is known for its plantation of 12,000 wattle trees. It is currently maintained by Parks Victoria. The park provides public open space for recreation, as well as sporting facilities and a wedding and function venue.
The Melbourne cable tramway system was a cable car public transport system, which operated between 1885 and 1940 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) was a government-owned authority that was responsible for the tram network in Melbourne, Australia between 1919 and 1983, when it was merged into the Metropolitan Transit Authority. It had been formed by the merger of a number of smaller tramway trusts and companies that operated throughout the city.
The Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust (PMTT) was a former tram operator in Melbourne, Australia. The trust was formed in 1907, with its first line operating in 1910. Its functions were taken over by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board in 1920.
Camberwell tram depot is located on Council Street, Hawthorn East, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Opened in December 1929, it is operated by Yarra Trams. It is one of eight tram depots on the Melbourne tram network.
The Ballarat Tramway Museum is an operating tramway museum, located in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The museum is run by volunteers and has a fleet of trams which operate on part of the original horse tramway around Lake Wendouree and the Botanical Gardens. It has a large research collection, archive of information and more than 3,500 items about the Ballarat tramways. The trams in Ballarat operated on a large network through the city from 1887 until 1971.
Alexander Cameron was a lawyer, local councillor, and tramways administrator. Following university education he established a legal practice, and later ran for, and won, election on Town of Malvern council. In this position he advocated for the establishment of a local tramway system, and became the inaugural chairman of the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust. In 1919 he was appointed as the inaugural chairman of the newly established Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board and presided in that capacity until 1935, creating a unified tram network from the disparate systems that were hitherto operating in Melbourne. He was recognised as a transport expert from his years of experience managing and expanding tramways of Melbourne.
The C-class was a group of 11 trams built by Duncan & Fraser, Adelaide for the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust (P&MTT) in 1913, numbered 25 to 35. All retained their fleet numbers when passed to the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (M&MTB) on 2 February 1920, after it took over the P&MTT. They were designated C-class sometime after October 1921, and by late 1923, all M&MTB drop-end-and-centre Maximum Traction trams were grouped together as C-class trams. The 22E Maximum Traction trucks were of JG Brill design, although manufactured by Brush in England.
Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust (P&MTT) tram No.36 was one of a batch of ten Maximum Traction bogie cars built in 1914 by Duncan & Fraser, Adelaide. Although the lowest numbered of this group, it was the last to enter service, and was the first P&MTT tram to be equipped with 2 x 65 hp GE 201G motors. Subsequently, all other P&MTT Maximum Traction bogie cars were later retro-fitted with the same type of motors. The 22E Maximum Traction trucks were of JG Brill design, although manufactured by Brush in England.
The M-class was a class of 17 trams built by Duncan & Fraser, Adelaide for the Hawthorn Tramways Trust (HTT) as numbers 1 to 10, and 33 to 39. All passed to the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board on 2 February 1920 when it took over the Municipal Tramway Trusts, becoming the M-class and being renumbered 107 to 116, and 183 to 189.
The N-class was a class of 10 trams built by Duncan & Fraser, Adelaide for the Hawthorn Tramways Trust (HTT) as numbers 11 to 20, all passed to the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (M&MTB) on 2 February 1920 when it took over the HTT, becoming the N-class and being renumbered 117 to 126.
The O-class Melbourne tram were a group of four trams built in 1912 by Duncan & Fraser (Adelaide) for the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust (P&MTT) upon the recommendation of W. G. T. Goodman, Chief Engineer and General manager of the Adelaide tramways. They were allocated P&MTT fleet numbers 21 to 24. At the time of their introduction, they were by far the largest street-vehicles in Melbourne, and earned the nicknames Zeppelins and Dreadnoughts. Proving to be less than satisfactory in service, they were later sold to the Hawthorn Tramways Trust (HTT) in August 1916 as "surplus to requirements", however P&MTT soon ordered replacement tramcars. Coincidentally they retained their fleet numbers whilst at Hawthorn.
The P-class was a class of eight trams built by Duncan & Fraser, Adelaide for the Hawthorn Tramway Trust (HTT) as numbers 25 to 32. All passed to the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board on 2 February 1920 when it took over the HTT becoming the P-class and being renumbered 131 to 138.
The Y1-class was a class of four trams built by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board built as a modified version of the Y-class to trial one man operation. Initially used on East and West Preston routes from Collins Street, from 1934 they were transferred to the Toorak line. From 1936 they were used on Burwood services from Camberwell depot. In 1933, 613 was used on Victorian Railways' Sandringham railway station to Black Rock line.
The Adelaide D type tram was a class of trams operated by the Municipal Tramways Trust on the Adelaide tram network from 1910 until 1958.
The Melbourne tram network began in 1884 with the construction of the Fairfield Horse Tramway. However, the purpose of the line was to increase land prices in the area, and it soon closed during the depression in 1890. The first genuine attempt to construct a tramway network was the construction of the Richmond cable tram line by the Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company in 1885. Over the next few years, 16 more cable tram lines were constructed, as well as numerous other horse tramways. The depression of the early 1890s slowed further expansion of the cable network. The first electric tram line was the Box Hill and Doncaster tramway which opened in 1889. This was a pioneering line in what was then the countryside and thus didn't receive much patronage. It closed in 1896. The next attempt at an electric tramway was Victorian Railways' St Kilda to Brighton line, which opened in 1906. Later that year, the North Melbourne Electric Tramway & Lighting Company opened lines to Essendon and Maribyrnong. Many local councils formed their own tramway trusts and built tramways within their own constituency. The most successful of these was the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust.