Christchurch tramway routes

These routes have been worked by all three main forms of tramway motive power (horse, steam, electric) and have significantly contributed to the development of Christchurch City in New Zealand's South Island.

It became known as the Corporation Line and its purpose was threefold: The Mayor and Mayor-elect, Charles Hulbert and Aaron Ayers, ceremoniously laid the first rail on 26 November 1885 at Latimer Square.

News that the city council was to construct the Corporation Line was greeted favourably by the residents of New Brighton, then a small and isolated seaside town.

The City and Suburban Tramway Company was formed with the intention of constructing two lines, both starting at the intersection of Manchester, High, and Lichfield streets, and terminating at the north end of Springfield Road and at New Brighton.

After the Company's failure in 1895 it was sold to its debenture holder, John Brightling, who continued to operate the line until its sale to the Christchurch Tramway Board in 1906.

When the issue of the renewal of its concessions arose in the mid-1890s the Company sought extensions as not only would they be required to continue to operate but also to provide some certainty in its future for investment decisions to be made.

Trial runs between the Falsgrave Street car shed and Papanui began in late May 1905 including a rehearsal on the evening of 2 June for the opening day procession.

The programme for opening day, 5 June 1905, involved a procession of seven trams running from the car shed to Papanui via Cathedral Square.

Despite an accident en route which required the removal of two of the cars from service, the official party reached their destination where the festivities were concluded as planned.

However, it proved to be the shortest-lived line in the network when, in 1930, the Waimairi County Council decided to rebuild the section of Main North Road in their jurisdiction in concrete.

In light of the economic difficulties faced by the Board at the time, and the steadily declining patronage of the line since they assumed control of it, they questioned in June 1932 whether or not it was worthwhile to continue the service.

On becoming aware that the spur was to be closed, the Railways Department protested, despite having previously shown little interest in it, to the extent that they waived the annual fee for the use of their land.

Such was the concern about the dangers of stopping and starting on a slope that additional training was necessary for the motormen who worked the route and they were required to test their brakes before taking their trams out on duty.

The situation was somewhat improved when, in 1920, a new automatic substation was opened in Cashmere (Barrington Street, next to the river) to provide more power to the network for services on the southern lines.

While construction was in progress the Board continued to run steam-hauled services along the old line using rolling stock it acquired when it purchased the private tramway companies assets.

When big events were held at Lancaster Park a large fleet of trams would be used to transport patrons to the venue on Stevens Street from The Square.

Economic constraints in the 1930s compelled the Tramway Board to institute various economy measures including the cessation of tram services on under-performing lines.

7 route number, originally assigned to this tram line, was retired by a reform of the Metro bus system introduced on 8 December 2014.

The terminus featured several sidings in the racecourse grounds to accommodate a large number of trams for major events, a tramcar shed, and in 1921 a shingle pit was purchased off Main South Road in Sockburn from which it was able to source construction materials.

The remainder of the line was served by horse-drawn coaches, upgraded to a steam-hauled tram service from November as far as the beach, and about a year later to the New Brighton Pier.

The poor state of the track on the St. Martins line forced its closure on 1941-1-5 as wartime restrictions meant that it could not be repaired and a replacement bus service was introduced.

The track was not immediately removed and this proved to be the line's "saviour" when Government wartime regulations required the Board to reduce its use of buses.

Consequently, when the Board's attempt to introduce one-man tram operation to the Fendalton–Opawa route failed due to opposition from the local council and residents in Fendalton, the Opawa line was also denied this change.

A balloon loop was added at the new terminus in 1933 after the introduction of one-man tram operation on 3 April of that year, coinciding with the creation of the St. Albans Park–Spreydon route.

Though the Manchester Street line was part of the route for the opening day procession it was not used for revenue services until 1905-12-15 as the track had to be rehabilitated to make it safe for tram operation.

Services to Christchurch Railway Station were operated as a "linked route" whereby trams ran through Cathedral Square between two suburban termini.

The Government paid for the installation of an electrified loop line on the understanding that the Board would buy back the materials at the conclusion of the exhibition.

[6] By the time economic conditions had improved the cost of building these lines had increased to unjustifiable levels and in some cases buses were found to be a more cost-effective solution.

Construction commenced in 1991, initially with the intention of building a line between Rolleston Avenue and Cathedral Square, but later plans extended this into a loop around the central city.

[14] As with the original electric tramway in Christchurch, its modern counterpart also runs on 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge track using vehicles supplied, via a trolley system, with 600 V DC power from an overhead catenary.