Railways and Tramways of Australia

Goodbye trams

 

Brisbane’s last tram ran on 13 April 1969.

 

Brisbane developed an extensive tram network, with horse trams commencing in 1885 and electric trams in 1897. Other capital cities around Australia saw their tram services downgraded and then abandoned following the Second World War. Brisbane’s tramway system would experience a similar fate.

 

During September 1962, a fire at Paddington tram depot destroyed 65 trams. The remaining tramcar fleet was insufficient to operate a full service, so buses replaced some services during the evening peak. In August 1965 a report recommended trams and trolleybuses be scrapped within three years and replaced by buses.

 

Brisbane’s last weekend of tram services was 12 and 13 April 1969. Transport enthusiasts and the general public gathered for one final tram journey in the city. Additional tramcars were brought into service to cater for the increased demand.

 

Special souvenir tickets, priced at 20 cents, were issued to mark the last day of tram operations. An estimated 73,000 people rode the trams on the final day.

 

Four motor car no. 554 was the last official car to operate in Brisbane when it ran from the Valley to Milton Workshops, where a ceremony was held to mark the end of the Brisbane tramway system. At seven minutes before midnight on 13 April 1969, Lord Mayor Clem Jones moved the tram controller on 554 to the off position to signify the official end of tramway operations. No. 554 was handed to the Brisbane Tramway Museum for preservation, where it remains today.

 

Although no. 554 was officially the last tram, the final tram to operate in Brisbane’s streets was actually four motor car no. 534. It was driven into South Brisbane Depot just before midnight.

 

Goodbye to Brisbane’s trams.

 

View

Short video about the end of Brisbane’s trams:

https://collections.slq.qld.gov.au/viewer/IE5309559

 

Bibliography

S Brimson, The tramways of Australia, Dreamweaver, Sydney, 1983.

‘Brisbane’s tram history’, Brisbane Tramway Museum, www.brisbanetramwaymuseum.org/history.html, accessed datehere.

HR Clark & DR Keenan, Brisbane tramways: the last decade, Transit Press, Sydney, 1977.