Melbourne cable tramway system
It was one of the largest cable car systems in the world, comparable with those of San Francisco which had 23 lines, and Chicago which had 66.0 km of double track.
[1] The system was the brainchild of Francis Boardman Clapp, an American emigrant who had arrived during the gold rushes of the 1850s, and established horse omnibus services in Melbourne in the 1870s.
Clapp's efforts led to the passing of the Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company Act 1883, which established the Melbourne Tramway Trust, consisting of representatives of the 12 local councils served by the proposed system, which bought land, laid the tracks, and built the cable winding power-houses.
Clapp's Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company (MTOC) was granted an exclusive 30-year franchise arrangement with the Victorian Government, and operated and managed the services.
[3] On the expiration of the MTOC's franchise in 1916, the cable tram network returned to the Victorian Government, and then passed to the government-owned Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) on 1 November 1919.
The last Melbourne cable tram ran on 26 October 1940, on the Northcote to Bourke Street route.
This conversion enabled Mont Albert and East Kew trams to reach the city directly.
The powerhouse was located on Bridge Road, at Hoddle Street, and has since been demolished to provide for a left-turn lane.
The remains of the Richmond cable tram depot now form part of the Amora Hotel, near Hawthorn Bridge.
The line was closed on 13 July 1929 for conversion to electric traction between Victoria Bridge and Brunswick Street.
This section reopened on 15 September 1929, providing a second route for East Kew and Mont Albert electric trams to reach the city (along with Bridge Road).
The rest of the Collins Street line was converted to electric traction and reopened on 8 December 1929.
A popular horse tram also operated by the MTOC connected the line to the front gates of the Zoo in Royal Park until 1923.
Following this point, Brighton Road trams were through-routed to North Melbourne via Lonsdale Street.
Both the powerhouse and car shed were located on the south-east corner of St Kilda Road and Bromby Street.
However, Toorak trams still used the line between Domain Road and Chapel Street until October 1 later that year.
The powerhouse and the car shed were both located on the north-west corner of Toorak Road and Chapel Street.
Both the powerhouse and the car shed were located at the south-west corner of Rathdowne and Park Streets.
With electrification, the line was truncated back to Lonsdale Street on 11 February 1924 to allow the electric trams from the north to terminate in the city.
Both the car shed and the powerhouse located on the north-west corner of Toorak Road and Chapel Street.
The South Melbourne Line opened on 17 June 1890, and ran from South Melbourne Beach along Victoria Avenue, South Melbourne, then Montague, Park and Clarendon Streets, then along City Road and over the new Queensbridge into the City via Market Street to Collins Street, where it followed the Collingwood Line to terminate at Victoria Parade.
The Clifton Hill - Northcote line was the only fully privately developed cable tram line, built and operated by the Clifton Hill to Northcote & Preston Tramway Company, opening on 18 February 1890.
Passengers had to walk a short distance over the Merri Street bridge to the terminus of the Clifton Hill line for a through service to the City.
Opening just before the 1890s depression and running through sparsely populated districts, the line struggled financially.
Within a few years, it was noticed that the bus route could not cope with the high demand, so conversion of the Northcote line to electric traction was scheduled to take place right after World War II ended.
The powerhouse and the car shed was located on the north-east corner of High and Martin Streets.
