Sunday, November 10, 2013

Tram Spotting...

Hello Dhaaalings...

Recently I took some vistors to our lovely city on a tour of the Talking Trams.



The system is a quaint memory of the bygone era when trams were part of the public transport system of Bendigo and covered quite an extensive area of the city and surrounding suburbs.

Started in the early 1903, this form of transport became very popular with the locals who up until this point had been reliant on horse drawn vehicles or had had to walk everywhere as cars were only available to the very wealthy.

The system survived until the growth of the car during the '60's and finally closed in 1972. A public outcry forced the local council to take on the running of the tramway system and since then reopened and has become a tourist attraction run by a team of volunteers and tram enthusiasts.

As you travel the pre recording tells you about some of the towns history through pointing out sites and buildings of interest and tells anecdotal tales of what travel on the trams was like back in the day.

Most of the trams are restored to their original condition and the tour stops at the tram depot where you can see them being stored and their resotration in progress in the workshop.
An apprenticeship programme has been running for some years now teaching the skills of restoration and maintainance and the workshop has become noted nationaly and internationally.

Lets take a wander shall we?










The main thoroughfare of Bendigo "Charring Cross/ Pall Mall" intersection... does not look too dissimilar even today... though the tramway has been reduced to one line and the line that crosses behind the fountain has been removed completely. The General Post office and "Shamrock" Hotel can be seen in the distance and many of buildings on the right hand side of the street remain today along with the fountain.






Today many of the old routes have been pulled up and paved over to make way for the road system. The remaining tramway is truly a relic of a nostalgic and bygone era and I must say a delightful way to spend an hour or two on a lovely sunny afternoon...

12 comments:

  1. Damn cool ! AND you have cars with upholstered seats. sadly none of the very old cars and other rolling materials survived here. Some late 1940s still exist, more or less.
    Somewhere in America the tramway before WWI was also an overland train, but I forgot where it was. But a similar development can be watched nowadays in parts of Southern Germany: When you bard a train in Stuttgart it goes as tram through the city, as S-Bahn ("S" for "Schnell", fast) through the metro-area towards Heilbronn, and afterwards it goes as train through the country to Würzburg. All in the same car.

    I hope you had a nice day in the sun, dear Princess. Must be spring there ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mr Mags... Melbourne still has a very good tramway system as part of its public transport using mostly modern trams. Some of the older trams have been aquired over the years by Bendigo and get brought out of storage for special occasions and some festivals and parades. They all get restored back to thier original state. Sadly the system here only runs for about 2 km through the city precinct. During both wars females were employed as ticket conductors like in many previouly Male dominated employment as there were a shortage of available men to work the system and like in many other countries, the Women lost their job when the men came back from the war.

      the weather has been quite warm up to this week as it has turned cold again with overcast grey skys. I'm trying to make the most of the sunshine by getting out and about around town when i can...

      Delete
  2. Oh, those old trams are so cool! Thanks for showing us that bit of living history. I did not see those when I passed through the city.

    There are modern trams in Berlin but they are only on the former East Berlin side of the city. Of course they tie in with the city-wide S-Bahn, U-Bahn, and bus system.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mr Lax... I'll pop this on your "To Do" list for your next visit... You may well have seen the tram system in Melbourne in your last travels?
      I love the nostalgia of the old trams and riding them to see them regain some of their former glory is lovely to experience....

      Delete
  3. WOW, wonderful vintage looking trams, Princess! We have the Blue Tram in Barcelona, the only survivor. The rest are modern machines. Enjoy the sun and the coming spring!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Leni... they are all vintage trams here... tho they do not all operate at the one time. They work on a roster system with a different tram from the "stable" each day. It is nice to have something a little different to show and have visitors experience right on my doorstep....

      Delete
  4. Prinny, what a wonderful post! Alas, here too many of the trollies are gone also. In my travels I can only recall seeing them in operation in San Francisio . What a great time it was too ride those up and down the hills. Here in Philly, we still have the tracks, but the trollies are long gone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh how sad Maddie... All that history gone! Sadly our trams only run on a flat surface. that is the only track that is left. The original system covered most of the city and suburbs and much of it is quite hilly. I would have loved to ride the trams up and down some of the original tracks here around town but sadly in the name of progess they have all been removed and turned into roads...

      Delete
  5. Those are cool, but I was in the mood for a surrey with the fringe on the top.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have never been on a tram. I will have to go up north for the experience... Blackpool, probably.
    Why is it that old modes of transport look so damn romantic??
    Sx

    ReplyDelete
  7. Clang,clang, clang went the trolley ding, ding, ding went the bell... I went on a jolly to Blackpool last year and had a ride on a tram, it reminded me of my old gran's parlour inside.

    ReplyDelete
  8. That looks like the more civilised way to travel. I wish Norwich had trams.

    ReplyDelete