Railways and Tramways of Australia

Adelaide is electric

 

Adelaide’s first electric tram commenced running on 9 March 1909.

 

Various horse tramways were opened in Adelaide from 1878, with several companies providing services. The Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT) was established in 1906 by the state government and took control of almost all private tramways in the city. Part of its charter was to electrify all the tramways within 10 kilometres of the city centre.

 

The first electric tram services ran between the central business district and Kensington. All the MTT lines had been electrified by the end of July 1914, and the last horse tram ran between Goodwood and Clarence Park on 25 June 1914. Further electric tram lines continued to be built over coming years. The electric tram network in Adelaide reached its peak in 1931. On 30 June that year a total of 82.8 route miles (133.3 km) was open for traffic.

 

Tram lines in Adelaide extended from the CBD to various suburbs. A smaller, separate network operated in Port Adelaide, with horse trams from 1882 until 1917, and then electric trams until the final closure of its lines in 1935.

 

Minimal maintenance during the Second World War resulted in the tramway tracks in Adelaide becoming worn and the system rundown. In 1953 a plan was implemented to replace trams with buses. The transition moved quickly. Most of Adelaide’s tramway network was closed within five years, and on the night of 22 November 1958 tram No. 269 made the last run between Victoria Square and Cheltenham. However, the Glenelg line remained in use. It has since been extended through the central business district and remains operational.

 

Since going electric in 1909, trams still provide good service for passengers in Adelaide.

 

Bibliography

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

‘Curious Adelaide: Why was Adelaide’s tram network ripped up in the 1950s?’ ABC, 1 December 2017, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-

     01/why-was-adelaides-tram-network-ripped-up-in-the-1950s/9205768, accessed datehere.

ET McPhee, Official year book of the Commonwealth of Australia, No. 25–1931–32, Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, Canberra,

     1933.

RT Wheaton, Destination Paradise, 2nd edn, Australian Electric Traction Association, Sydney, 1975.