Railways and Tramways of Australia

Tramway swansong

 

Perth’s tramway system closed on 19 July 1958.

 

Public trams commenced running in Perth in September 1899. Services were operated by Perth Electric Tramways, Limited. The first line ran along Hay Street between East Perth and Thomas Street in West Perth. Trams were serviced in a car barn at the end of Hay Street. As the network expanded, trams operated along various routes in the central business district and nearby suburbs. The tramway system was transferred to the Western Australian Government in July 1913. More lines were opened until 1943.

 

Moves were made to close the tramway system in Perth following the end of the Second World War. Although there was resistance from the tramway union, various lines were closed in the late 1940s, and older trams were withdrawn from service.

 

The Newcastle Street and William Street sections closed in 1953, leaving the Subiaco, Inglewood and North Perth lines as the only lines remaining open. The Metropolitan (Perth) Passenger Transport Trust was formed in November 1957 with its primary responsibility being the coordination of bus services, but also the closure of the remaining tram lines.

 

When the system closed, E Class tram no. 66 operated the last service from Barrack Street Jetty to Inglewood and return. A crowd of around 2000 people gathered at Inglewood to farewell the tram. A short ceremony was held upon arrival back at Barrack Street, where the Minister for Transport paid tribute to the service that trams had provided. A final ceremonial trip was made up Barrack Street and along Hay Street to the car barn. Invited guests included William Taylor, the first General Manager of the Government Tramways, retired tramway employees and government officials.

 

Perth was Australia’s first state capital city to close its tramway system.

 

Read more

https://www.railtram.com.au/perth-tramways

 

Bibliography

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

T Culpeffer-Cooke, A Gunzburg & I Pleydell, Tracks by the Swan: the electric tram and trolley bus era of Perth, Western Australia, Perth Electric Tramway Society, 2010.

‘Perth trams bow out’, Electric Traction, vol. 13, no. 9, September 1958, pp 9–11.

I Pleydell, The history of the Perth electric tramways, 1885 to 1969, Mooroopna, 2001.