Following the introduction of trolleybuses in 1935, the growth of car ownership after the Second World War, and the state takeover of municipal transport networks in 1955, the system closed in 1960.

In an area approximately the size of a square mile, Hobart had no public transport service and relied on horse-drawn cabs and omnibuses to access out-lying towns and regions.

Hobart had begun to grow and develop, and was slowly constructing the features and resources expected of a modern European city.

By the late nineteenth century most major cities in Europe were developing public transport systems such as underground railways or tram networks, and the citizens of Hobart were calling for something similar for their town.

Despite the government's insistence, the project's backers would not be swayed, and with the legislative approval having already passed, the British entrepreneurs registered the Hobart Electric Tramway Company in 1886.

The same year they built and displayed a model tramway in the Hobart Town Hall in order to raise support for their electrified system.

The tramways expanded rapidly, and suburban growth followed the lines, spurred on by the availability of a cheap and efficient commuter service.

By the mid-1920s tramlines ran from the city depot to North Hobart, Lenah Valley, Springfield, Glenorchy, Cascade Brewery, Proctor's Road, and Sandy Bay.

[1] The Hobart Metropolitan Tramways reached a peak in popularity in the 1930s and 40s, with a busy profitable network covering over 32 km of track, operating along eight lines.

HMT had commenced trolley bus services in 1935 with the Huon Road route, which followed Macquarie Street up the Cascades route as far as Darcy Street, and then continued to a terminus where the main road to the Huon Valley left the built up area, and began the long climb over the side of Mount Wellington.

1942 had seen the Macquarie Street Line to Cascades final replacement of trams with double-decker trolley buses which had a greater passenger capacity.

Hobart City Council decided that in conjunction with the major roadworks required to improve Sandy Bay Road, it would replace the tram lines with trolley buses along that route as well.

[1] The State government of Premier Robert Cosgrove had grown tired of the council's increasingly poor management of the public transport system and a local controversy over fare levels.

By the mid-1920s tramlines ran from the city depot to North Hobart, Lenah Valley, Springfield, Glenorchy, Cascade Brewery, Proctor's Road, and Sandy Bay.

[4] The Macquarie St tram routes to Cascades, Proctor's Road (Dynnyrne) and Sandy Bay had been replaced by trolley buses between 1942 and 1952.

The second of the original lines, the Elizabeth Street line also commenced operation on 23 September 1893, and originally began at Hobart General Post Office (GPO), and travelled north long the incline of Elizabeth Street, through North Hobart, New Town and onto Moonah as far as Albert Road.

An elderly farmer, Thomas Anderson, was returning home to Bismarck (now Collinsvale), when his horse became spooked by the 2pm New Town tram operated by Driver Rosendale.

They met near the city boundary at Federal Street and Anderson's horse hit the side of the tram, throwing him into its path where he was run over.

An inquiry cleared Driver Rosendale of any wrongdoing and the death was ruled as accidental, but it created further public debate around how trams and horses shared roadways.

[4] The worst accident on the Hobart tramways came on 29 April 1960 when tram 131 was struck by a lorry near the intersection of Elizabeth and Warwick Streets.

The brakes failed as a result of the collision and the tram began to roll backwards down the steep gradient of Elizabeth Street during evening peak hour traffic.

[8] Despite being dazed by the collision, and rather than secure his own safety by jumping clear, tram conductor Raymond Donoghue guided the remaining passengers to the front of the vehicle (as it was rolling backwards), and warned motorists by continuing to ring the tram's bells and desperately trying to operate the emergency hand brakes to no avail.

The tracks that run along the Hobart waterfront and docks area are sections of the rail system which service the docks but were not connected to the tram system The only remaining part of the rollingstock in original condition is one single-deck double bogie tram Number 141, displayed at the Tasmanian Transport Museum at Glenorchy.

[7] In the early years of the 21st century, Hobart City Council managed to obtain and restore single deck number 39 tram to its 1917 condition, which it had intended for its Heritage Tramway.

[9] Another tram, 118, which was a single-deck bogie saloon car built by Hobart Municipal Tramways in 1941, was recovered from a farm in Sorell, where it had lain abandoned since being withdrawn from service in 1960.

As of 2008, Tony Colman was continuing its restoration including refitting replica original upholstery and operation metal frame windows.

Tram number 120 was recovered from private ownership in Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory in June 2005, where it had been for twenty years.

[13] A 2009 proposal to loan the restored trams to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery for permanent display caused further internal disputes within Hobart City Council.

Their carbon neutral proposal suggested battery powered carriages which recharge while passengers board and alight at each station.

[18] In December 2009 the Johnstons presented their proposal at Moorilla Estate to an audience that included several prominent and prospective local politicians.