Re: [TramsDownUnder] Essendon Depot Question

On 27/08/2025 17:54, timmy1041 wrote:
> Mal,brand new toilets were installed in April/June 2024 which I am
> sure also included a short extension to the track to enable 1  x G  &
> 1 x Z Class or even possibly 2 x G's to sit in the shunt at once.
>
Hi Tim,

That was certainly the plan, but apparently a decision to install two
toilet cubicles rather than one resulted in a siding that now only fits
one tram.

See attached pic with inset showing the detail of the sign at top left.

The solution could be to put back the crossover that used to be there so
that trams to and from West Maribyrnong can shunt independently of the
rout 82 terminus.

Mal Rowe

Re: [TramsDownUnder] Essendon Depot Question

From:	Mal Rowe <mal.rowe@gmail.com>

On 26/08/2025 20:00, Semi-Retired Foamer wrote:

  Amongst other ideas, I've been thinking of heading to the Essendon Depot on the Friday afternoon, thinking that there may be a good amount of movements in the lead up to peak hour.
  Would this be the case and, if so, what times would you suggest would be best? 

Hi Brad,

I'm not sure about run out - run in times at Essendon, but perhaps others might have better info.

Two recommendations I would make:

1. Go to Maribyrnong Rd between Union Rd and Wests Rd where the 57 and 82 routes both run.  It's a long fairly straight road and you should easily get tow and perhaps 4 trams in the same shot - all Z3s
2. Try a few shots around Moonee Ponds junction where you will get Z3s on Footscray mixed up with B2s and the Z3s in the shunt in Pascoe Vale Rd.  There are occasionally Z3s on 59, but rare these days.

Unfortunately you won't be able to get a shot like my (attached) image from 2019.  When staff toilets were installed at the shunt it became too short to have two Z3s in at once.

You should however easily get three trams in the shot.

Mal Rowe - local lad

Maidstone - ready to go

Miadstone depot is almost ready to go.

Final work now includes a bit of landscaping and final adjustments to
the overhead.

First pic shows the workshops section - on the south side of the site.

Second pic shows the car storage area to the north and includes the wash
dock and sanding shed.  Car sidings are mostly behind and north of these
buildings.

A test track runs beside the northern boundary fence visible at right
with the high posts.  The fence is glass in the top section to provide
noise abatement for neighbours.

The roadway (not the tramway) from the entrance at Hampstead Rd is a
public road as far as the gatehouse near the north boundary near
Williamsons Rd and is where I stood to make the photographs.

Initial use of the  depot will be for maintenance including wheel lathe
work for the existing fleet.  I don't have any date for arrival of G
class trams.

Mal Rowe - made to feel welcome today.

Re: [TramsDownUnder] Trams 9, seagulls 6

On 23/08/2025 17:49, Peter Bruce wrote:
> Seagulls Down Under.
>
5 trams, no seagulls.

Lots of passengers.

Mal Rowe - back on topic

Trams 9, seagulls 6

Last night's view of Melbourne's busiest tram street at dusk in the
evening peak.

Mal Rowe, who counts 9 trams in view and only 6 seagulls.

Fwd: [TramsDownUnder] Sunny Melbourne

From:	Andrew Cook <d3619@hotmail.com.au>

The Victorian Academy of Teaching in Queensberry Street, North Melbourne, was also the site of the Melbourne College of Printing and Graphic Arts until 1994.

A Soviet style building (now demolished) was out the back, where printing trade apprentices learnt their trade. See attached snap of the building in 1971.

Cheers,

Andrew Cook, who once attended here for training in a trade that is now virtually dead.

---

From: tramsdownunder@googlegroups.com <tramsdownunder@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Mal Rowe <mal.rowe@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, 22 August 2025 12:03 PM
To: TramsDownUnder <tramsdownunder@googlegroups.com>; Blogspot <mal.rowe.pcc980@blogger.com>
Subject: [TramsDownUnder] Sunny Melbourne

 

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny Autumn day in the GTCOTS, so I decided
to add to my collection of images of Z3s in service while they are still
around.

These pics are in Queensberry St North Melbourne with some fine heritage
buildings as backdrop.

The red brick building now houses the Victorian Academy of Teaching and
Leadership. It was originally a primary school and was designed by Henry
Bastow a prominent architect of public buildings in the 1880s

The grey building is the former North Melbourne Town Hall, and before
that Hotham Town Hall.  It was designed by George Raymond Johnson, built
in 1876  and now houses a library and art space.

Mal Rowe on set for the filming location of "Fisk"

Sunny Melbourne

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny Autumn day in the GTCOTS, so I decided
to add to my collection of images of Z3s in service while they are still
around.

These pics are in Queensberry St North Melbourne with some fine heritage
buildings as backdrop.

The red brick building now houses the Victorian Academy of Teaching and
Leadership. It was originally a primary school and was designed by Henry
Bastow a prominent architect of public buildings in the 1880s

The grey building is the former North Melbourne Town Hall, and before
that Hotham Town Hall.  It was designed by George Raymond Johnson, built
in 1876  and now houses a library and art space.

Ma Rowe on set for the filming location of "Fisk"

Fwd: [TramsDownUnder] Gold Coast Light Rail

From:	'TP' via TramsDownUnder <tramsdownunder@googlegroups.com>

100 million trips in 11 years.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=24388498027459070

Tony P

--

Fwd: [TramsDownUnder] Re: Gold Coast tram - almost 14 million riders 2024-25

From:	'Richard Youl' via TramsDownUnder <tramsdownunder@googlegroups.com>

 You may find the charts below of interest, taken from the Queensland Transport annual reports. 

Patronage certainly did drop to the low 6 millions during Covid but as you can see it was just short of pre-Covid figures soon afterwards, and I believe was the first public transport in Australia to exceed pre-Covid ridership. It has only leapt ahead year by year since then. The 50 Cent fares started August last year so that was not initially a factor in the increases.

The image below was taken inside tram 6 near the hospital around 9 am this morning. Similar loads are carried approximately 7am when I normally travel and no doubt on many trips in the intervening two hours. Note the wheelchair. These can board and alight from trams without driver assistance at any stop.

There were at least 20 people at Parkwood waiting for this trip, and that is basically the story with every tram arriving, 8 per hour.  It is cheaper for hospital workers and university students to leave their cars at the free car park adjacent to Parkwood tram stop and travel to the university or hospital by tram as there is no free parking within walking  distance of either,  and paid parking in the area is exorbitant.

Nevertheless healthy numbers of people continue riding past the hospital with people getting on and off at many stops along the route.

What gives healthy ridership numbers is that there are many important focal points along the route, unlike most public transport which mainly consists of suburban riders travelling to or from the city.

Cavill Avenue (Surfers Paradise Beach) nevertheless is the busiest stop even with no bus interchanges at all.

Richard

On 19 Aug 2025, at 3:10 pm, 'TP' via TramsDownUnder <tramsdownunder@googlegroups.com> wrote:



6 million sounds like the patronage during covid. Earlier this year, it was reported that patronage had risen 27.5% since the 50 cent fares were introduced, so I believe the 14 million figure. That's encouraging.

Tony P

On Tuesday, 19 August 2025 at 07:42:42 UTC+10 Richard Youl wrote:

I don't know how somebody recently stated here that there were only 6 million passengers riding this tramway per annum. In 2014 or so, yes, but not since. Personal observations from riding early morning and around lunchtime twice weekly since 2018 indicate obvious passenger growth for quite some time and continuing. The 50 Cent fares no doubt are a factor in this. 

Also on the local radio station, there is a program in which an experienced used car salesman gives valuations of cars owned by people who phone in.

What caught my ear last week was his observation that residents living along the tram line are often reducing their two cars to just one, or one to none because the tram suits their needs. That is what reliable public transport is all about. And they don't have to stand crammed in like cattle although some trips have standees at any time of day. 

Gold Coast light rail: Tram patronage figures reveal how popular it is with passengers ahead of Stage 3 opening

Gold Coast trams have transported more passengers than the city's entire population 170 times over, yet plans for expansion remain in limbo. FIND OUT MORE

--

Fwd: [TramsDownUnder] Gold Coast tram - almost 14 million riders 2024-25

Gold Coast Light rail stage 3 flythrough

Updated Gold Coast Light rail stage 3 flythrough... more

Mr Mumford said construction of the $1.5bn Stage 3, between Broadbeach and Burleigh Heads, was on track for completion in mid-2026.

"More than 45.5km worth of utilities have been upgraded and relocated from Broadbeach to Burleigh and more than 4km of rail or 60 per cent of the total has been installed," he said.

"Right now, there are 1,200 workers on site delivering this $1.5B project, with 80 active work fronts and 75 crews in place."

"We look forward to Stage 3 opening for passengers by the middle of next year."

From:	'Richard Youl' via TramsDownUnder <tramsdownunder@googlegroups.com>

I don't know how somebody recently stated here that there were only 6 million passengers riding this tramway per annum. In 2014 or so, yes, but not since. Personal observations from riding early morning and around lunchtime twice weekly since 2018 indicate obvious passenger growth for quite some time and continuing. The 50 Cent fares no doubt are a factor in this. 

Also on the local radio station, there is a program in which an experienced used car salesman gives valuations of cars owned by people who phone in.

What caught my ear last week was his observation that residents living along the tram line are often reducing their two cars to just one, or one to none because the tram suits their needs. That is what reliable public transport is all about. And they don't have to stand crammed in like cattle although some trips have standees at any time of day. 

Gold Coast light rail: Tram patronage figures reveal how popular it is with passengers ahead of Stage 3 opening

Gold Coast trams have transported more passengers than the city's entire population 170 times over, yet plans for expansion remain in limbo. FIND OUT MORE

--

Fwd: [TramsDownUnder] Re: Brisbane tram, 1968, trolleybus

From:	'Roderick Smith' via TramsDownUnder <tramsdownunder@googlegroups.com>

681202M-04W - Milton Rd, Milton (Brisbane, Qld) - trolleybus 16 (or 6?).  Roderick Smith.
This is immediately outside the trolleybus depot.  The trolleybus is leaving to enter traffic on the Carina route.
Immediately ahead is the junction where trams entering the depot cross those leaving, and hence can run by gravity through the unwired yard.
Further ahead is the tram junction with the Bardon line.
Between the fence and the houses is a cutting holding four railway tracks.
The two tram tracks in the foreground still led into the workshops (just right of frame), and once continued to Rainworth and Toowong.
With the hectic day chasing last trams now over, I had a week to explore the remaining tram lines and all trolleybus routes, as I would not be back again before the closure of them all.

Roderick

Pigeon theft and the tramways

I have just been given a significant number of books of Melbourne
tramway press clippings that cover the period from around 1910 to around
1987.

This one caught my eye.

Read to the end to find why it is 'on topic'.

Mal Rowe - with a large reading schedule in front of him.

Re: [TramsDownUnder] An oldy with some new info

Hi Hal,

I think that 214 was probably propelling the ballast wagons.

Looking at the pic (and guessing wildly) the rails appear to be 'missing' beyond the tram.  Perhaps the workers had just spread the ballast, or paved a crossing in that section and paused for the Argus photographer.

Ignore my original 'smart comment' there is actually now a platform stop and a footpath crossing at that location!

Mal Rowe prone to wild guesses and not so smart comments

On 12/08/2025 21:01, Hal Cain wrote:

On Tue, 12 Aug 2025 at 15:49, Mal Rowe <mal.rowe@gmail.com> wrote:

The attached pic of Melbourne 214 (formerly NMET&L Co 13) will be
familiar to those with early editions of Destination City.

It came from The Argus of 10 May 1925 and the caption refers to the tram
with ballast wagons and the platform stop in the foreground.

To my eye, it appears 214 is running with the pole spearing.

An oldy with some new info

The attached pic of Melbourne 214 (formerly NMET&L Co 13) will be
familiar to those with early editions of Destination City.

It came from The Argus of 10 May 1925 and the caption refers to the tram
with ballast wagons and the platform stop in the foreground.

Mal Rowe - still waiting for more platform stops a century later

Fwd: [TramsDownUnder] Near misses and lucky saves: The view from Sydney’s tram drivers’ cabins,Kathryn Wicks,By Kathryn Wicks

From:	David McLoughlin <mcloughlin.dj@gmail.com>

Matthew Geier wrote:

>  I gather Parramatta LR has had more altercations with motorists since  opening than the L1/L2 has had since opening. And the Parramatta line  has racked that up up in less than 12 months. 

Judith and I visited Parramatta last month specifically to ride the trams there, end to end.  My first time back in Sydney since that line opened. The Westmead segment had an impressive amount of street track, a real tram line. My photo attached.

David McL

--

Fwd: [TramsDownUnder] Near misses and lucky saves: The view from Sydney’s tram drivers’ cabins,Kathryn Wicks,By Kathryn Wicks

From:	'Greg Sutherland' via TramsDownUnder <tramsdownunder@googlegroups.com>

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/near-misses-and-lucky-saves-the-view-from-sydney-s-tram-drivers-cabins-20250810-p5mlpb.html

They're the split seconds between a nasty accident and just evading one. CCTV from NSW's light rail driver cabins shows dozens of near misses as delivery riders, pedestrians and motorists take on 85-tonne carriages cruising along our cities' streets.

Motorists in the Parramatta district – where the light rail connecting Westmead to Carlingford opened last December – have had more near misses with trams in the past year than those in the Sydney CBD and Newcastle.

Current Time 1:32

/

Duration 1:32

 

Replay

Near misses on Sydney's light rail

Footage released by Transport Minister John Graham shows absent-minded or distracted pedestrians oblivious to the dangers.

0:18

Fwd: [TramsDownUnder] Re: Brisbane tram, 1968, route numbers

From:	'Roderick Smith' via TramsDownUnder <tramsdownunder@googlegroups.com>

681202M-route.numbers-RoderickSmith.

Roderick

Tram priority

On 06/08/2025 10:34, 'TP' via TramsDownUnder wrote:
> C'mon, it's not perfect, but it's still priority. Melbourne tram users
> would beg for the priority that Sydney trams have.


Melbourne trams don't have absolute priority, but there are plenty of
places where they get special consideration, including lane separation,
inserted T light cycles when a tram is waiting and of course the
(in)famous hook turn as shown in the attached pic.

Mal Rowe in a city that you really should visit.

Milsons Point in the 1920s

The facebook algorithm keeps feeding me pictures of trams for some
reason ...

Here are a couple showing the diversion of the Milsons Point tram
terminus which was needed due to the Harbour Bridge construction from
the mid 1920s.

I'm sure locals will be able to tell us more ...

Mal Rowe always impressed by the views that Sydney geography allows

Fwd: [TramsDownUnder] Re: Brisbane tram, 1968, 370 at Bardon

From:	'Roderick Smith' via TramsDownUnder <tramsdownunder@googlegroups.com>

681201Su - Bardon (Brisbane, Qld) - the last tram, dropcentre 370.  Roderick Smith.

Departure was delayed awaiting the return of a purloined controller.
Hence, this was the last of the four to enter Light St Depot.  We were able to ride in.
There was no ceremony, no speech.  Instead, police were on hand to bundle us out fast, with no time for a photo.


Roderick