Railways and Tramways of Australia

Melbourne misses out

 

PCC tramcar no. 980 entered service in Melbourne on 13 July 1950.

 

The President’s Conference Committee (PCCP) was established by the presidents of the major transit operations in the United States in 1929 to oversee development of a new tram design. The first entered service in 1936 and over 5000 were eventually produced in the United States and more than 16,000 overseas, particularly in Europe. PCC trams were more comfortable and incorporated better acceleration and braking than other contemporary trams in operation.

 

The Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) obtained a licence to obtain a PCC tram in 1938. However, the Second World War and foreign exchange controls prevented the importation of a tram from the United States. Instead, a set of electrical equipment and a pair of trucks were imported and fitted to a modified SW6 tramcar body.

 

Although no. 980 was considered successful, it saw intermittent use after commencing service. It had been intended that PCC trams would replace buses on Bourke Street routes. However, the design of PCC tramcars was somewhat different to others electric trams then in service in Melbourne. Construction of a fleet of PCC trams would have required considerable investment in new manufacturing and maintenance equipment.

 

Other concerns expressed by MMTB employees about the PCC tram included that circuits were too complicated, it was difficult for drivers to handle, its acceleration was unsafe on the road, and that motors could not be manufactured locally.

 

PCC tram no. 980 was withdrawn from service in May 1971. The trucks and control equipment were used on tram no. 1041, which was also classified as PCC. No. 980 is preserved by the Tramway Museum Society of Victoria at Bylands.

 

Melbourne missed out on the widespread rollout of PCC trams.

 

Bibliography

R Jones, ‘The remarkable PCC tramcar: why Melbourne missed out’, Melbourne Tram Museum, 2010, www.hawthorntramdepot.org.au/papers/pcc.htm, accessed 5 July 2026.

‘PCC.980’, Vicsig.net, www.vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&number=980&class=PCC, accessed 5 July 2026.

‘What of the P.C.C.? Disappointment for Melbourne’, Electric Traction, vol. 6, no. 9, September 1951, pp 1–2.

R Wilson & D Budd, Destination Waterfront City: a guide to Melbourne’s trams, Transit Australia Publishing, Sydney, 2015.