RE: [TramsDownUnder] Hobart Double-deck Tram No 21

Thankyou David for posting other images of No 21. The one you attribute to 1920 attracts controversy because the location has never been positively identified. The tram seems to be on level roadway but few sections of the line out to Moonah and beyond could be described a "level".

From the GPO to Rupert Avenue (the beginning of New Town) its an ascending gradient.

From Rupert Ave to The Maypole its a descending gradient.

From The Maypole to St John's Ave its an ascending gradient.

From then on, its relatively flat, say slightly undulating, to the terminus at Glenorchy.

 

The streetscape is 'built up' all the way from the GPO to the Glenorchy terminus, except adjacent to Creek Road where there are some sports grounds and the Buckingham Bowls Club. Perhaps these were established on what was formerly "the bush" so could be the location of the photograph as the road is quite level at that location.

Roger Greenwood

From: 'David Critchley' via TramsDownUnder <tramsdownunder@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 2, 2025 6:34 PM
To: tramsdownunder@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [TramsDownUnder] Hobart Double-deck Tram No 21

 

It seems that No. 21 liked the limelight.  I have two postcard images of this car (attached below) .  The earlier on I have dated as c1920, so when fairly new at an unidentified location.  Note that the car has no top mounted destination box and lights.  The second image I have dated around 1925 (based on passenger fashions)  and shows the tram at Lenah Valley.  

 

David Critchley

 

 

On Sunday 2 February 2025 at 02:50:28 pm AEDT, 'Roger Greenwood' via TramsDownUnder <tramsdownunder@googlegroups.com> wrote:

 

 

This photograph of Hobart double-decker tram No 21 is interesting on a number of counts.

• As far as I know it has never been published, making it a 'first time view' for all.
• The location is Elizabeth St in the North Hobart shopping strip (not in Newtown Rd)
• The photo was taken from the upper deck of another double decker as evidenced by its foreground shadow. (No 21 is inbound for the Hobart GPO. The other tram is outbound for Moonah, Glenorchy, or Lenah Valley).
• There looks to be four people on No 21's upper deck: 2 seated passengers, one passenger emerging from the spiral staircase having just boarded at the Burnett St stop, and the conductor. (The spiral staircase is visible in the driver's vestibule).
• No 21 has just departed from the Burnett St stop (Identified by the white strip on the adjacent pole) and is now in Elizabeth St crossing over Burnett St.
• Visible evidence suggests late 1920s/early 1930s, details separately documented.
• The small building to the left of No 21 is the Rose Hotel (later Rose & Crown Hotel), licensed in 1831 and demolished in 1938, replaced by a much larger structure, the Empire Hotel, now trading as the Republic Bar & Cafe.

 

Evidence of the photograph being taken during late1920s/early 1930s:

 

Apart from the Rose Hotel, the streetscape offers little from which the photograph can be dated. The most reliable evidence is the tram itself. Using (the late) David Kirby's book "Hobart's Tram Trilogy" as a guide, No21 was built in 1917 and scrapped in 1940.

 

Visible are several modifications that provide evidence of when the scene was photographed. The most helpful is the destination box mounted on the upper deck fascia and which spells out the tram's destination. For night-time operation, the route is identified by coloured glass discs. This type of destination box was progressively fitted throughout the fleet from the late 1920s. Another pointer is the type of sliding bow collector fitted to No 21. Beginning from the early 1930s these were replaced by Fischer bow collectors, a special version having been developed to fit within the limited gap above the double deck trams between the canopy and the running wire.

Another modification is also visible, however not by its presence but rather its absence. Just when this modification was applied across certain classes of Hobart trams is not apparent but is mentioned here because its purpose is also not apparent. The modification applies to the two outer windows of the driver's vestibule. As depicted in the photograph, both panes are in 'as built' condition but when modified, both were divided by a horizontal glazing bead to create two uneven panes of about 5:1 ratio, the smaller pane being uppermost. Readers having a copy of "Hobart's Tram Trilogy" will find numerous depictions of both "modified" and "unmodified" vestibules. Some good examples are at P180 which include front views of the Moonah tram depot showing numerous double-deck trams having both full and split panes. It might be supposed that the smaller upper panes were to be glazed with red glass, which together with the rear vestibule light being left 'ON' would provide a night-time warning light for motorists and following tram drivers. I perused "Hobart's Tram Trilogy" for any mention of this modification but not surprisingly didn't find any reference. David Kirby's book is essentially about the sociological aspect of the Hobart tramways rather than a technical description.

Roger Greenwood

 

 

 

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