Portland Cable Tram

[1] The funding of such a large project initially presented a problem, as tracks would have to be laid, rolling stock acquired, and a storage shed built.

The Portland Cable Tram Museum and Depot is home to an 1880 horse-drawn carriage owned by Edward Henty, the first permanent European settler in the Port Phillip District (later Victoria), as well as model railway exhibits, classic cars and the largest private gemstone collection in the southern hemisphere.

[2] The line is 3.7 kilometres long[1] and journeys depart from and return to the Portland Cable Tram Museum and Depot.

Passing through Henty Park, the next stop is the Botanic Gardens after which the line turns north and runs close to the Portland harbour along the Foreshore.

After passing several homes, the line turns east to terminate at the World War II Memorial Lookout, which also served as a water tower.

They were built from scratch under the auspices of Keith McMillan, and are exact replicas, apart from the diesel engines that they use in place of the cable system.

[1] The Portland Cable Tram organisation salvaged that car from Newton Williams in Swan Hill and restored it to service in February 2002.

[2] Since its repair in 1985, the saloon car has operated at Lake Goldsmith, Bendigo, Melbourne and Kilmore in Victoria, as well as Wollongong and Loftus in New South Wales.