Railways and Tramways of Australia

Old becomes new

 

The Julien Patent Accumulator Car made a demonstration journey on the tramway to Henley Beach in Adelaide on 9 January 1889.

 

What was this mysterious vehicle? The Julien system used a battery on board a tram to power an electric motor. A single battery was able to power the tram for around six hours, or 50 to 80 miles (80 to 129 km) of service. While the tram’s battery was in use, another was being charged at the depot.

 

The Julien Patent Accumulator Car was trialled briefly in Sydney and Melbourne in 1888. The Australian Electric Tramway Company was formed to promote the new technology. Although its performance was satisfactory, Sydney already had steam trams and Melbourne had cable trams. There was no further interest in those cities.

 

On the afternoon of the demonstration, 40 invited guests travelled on the Julien Accumulator Car from Thebarton to Henley Beach, where a stop was made for lunch and speeches. Afterwards they returned to Thebarton then continued to King William Street. Efforts were made to promote the Julien Accumulator Car. However, none of the existing horse tramway companies in Adelaide were interested. Soon afterwards the Director and electrical engineer of the Australian Electric Tramway Company were accidently killed, and the dream of a battery-electric tram was gone.

 

But perhaps not. 130 years later, the Newcastle light rail line in New South Wales was opened in 2019. Newcastle light rail vehicles have a super capacitor and batteries on the roof of the vehicle, enabling wire free travel. Charging is completed when the vehicle’s pantograph makes contact with an elevated charge bar at passenger stops. Other light rail lines in Australia now have sections without overhead wiring, using vehicles powered by on-board batteries.

 

New technology, but perhaps not quite so new.

 

Bibliography

I Badger, ‘The Julien system in Adelaide’, Trolley Wire, no. 172, October 1977, pp 12–14.

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

J Larkins & B Howard, Romance of Australian trams, Rigby, Adelaide, 1978.