Congratulations Richard and Barry on your stint with the Tramways. It was good to get a chance to work with you both during my time as a Conductor. Best regards from Michael😅
Once upon a time, yes. But in later years there was quite a few who were lazy. They gave up collecting fares in the peak hours when more than just a few people were standing in the aisle. Also they did not bother if tickets were expired etc. Their time was over. Keeping some on the 15/16to St Kilda Beach daytime would have been OK for the diligent ones, but otherwise their days were gone.
@@tressteleg1 Guess I'm looking back with rose colored glasses, had three mates James, Russell and Amanda that where conductors, I'd ride with them at evening sometimes late into the night, nice people and funny as hell bit sad when they left.
Certainly not all were lazy. I once got a letter from senior management thanking me for my conducting diligence. But unfortunately when more than one or two in the depot are obviously not doing their job, or even spending more time on PR than actually collecting fares, the concept of conductors was past its prime. My first overseas trip was 1975 and even then I don’t think there was such a thing as a tram conductor in Germany. So one manning had to come to Melbourne. But it’s implementation was done very, very, poorly and nowhere near enough of the old conductors became ticket Inspectors.
@@tressteleg1 Can remember returning to Melbourne around the mid 80s to the ticket vending machine being in the tram complete with security guard. it was all a bit strange. Thanks for the video classic stuff!
I didn’t think the machines were even under test in the 1980s. In fact with the strike not until 1990, I can’t imagine anything like a ticket machine being on a tram before that. I certainly saw no machines anywhere when I finished in 1994.
Firstly, thank you for documenting your time as a tram driver and secondly, thank you for sharing it with us. What a fascinating look back in time. Fantastic video!
Many thanks. 😊👍 It certainly was a unique time in Melbourne’s Tramway history which unfortunately is unlikely to ever be repeated, at least with the vintage trams.
thankyou so much for having had the foresight to video this from back then, its so good! favourite part is your own scale working 72volt tram and clever efficiency resulting in the signed name becoming official! oh and i really admired the clever simple design of the consoles having a roll-away cover, do the modern ones have that feature? looks like a kind of job i would have loved to have done. now that I've seen RRVT and your work, I wonder if there's any 2 footer stuff up here in Brisbane... very best regards and thanks
Well at the time those video clips were made, there was no such thing as UA-cam so they were simply my record, not that I would have ever ever bothered looking at them. Yes I’m proud of my tram. It turned out quite effective and never failed in service. The Port Junction sign was partly for fun, and partly for practical purposes as its official adoption shows. When the Z class were built, anybody could get into the back cab as there was only a waist height door without a key. So the controls had to be protected against misuse of equipment and vandalism. Newer trams have a thoroughly locked cab so there is no protective panel. I never heard of any private 2 foot gauge lines in Brisbane except mine when I live there. There was somebody I visited once somewhere in the Sunnybank - Coopers Plains area who had a much smaller narrow gauge in his backyard. As well there is the Woodford rail Museum which has been unable to get any steam engines running for well over 10 years. Just diesel engines.
Thanks for recommending this video. Although I moved to Queensland in 83, these trams still bring back memories. I have ridden on single bogie trams at the Bendigo Tram Museum....they were really " bone jolting", but quite a thrill. My next trip to Melbourne really must include the tram museum down there !
Unfortunately neither the tram museum based at the old Hawthorne depot, or the one at rural Bylands will give you a ride these days. The oldest you can ride in Melbourne is the city circle, but they have been very heavily rebuilt from what they were.
@@tressteleg1 yes I have been on the City Circle. I was ( thanks to a cousin) able to enjoy the restaurant tram about 5 Christmases ago. Sadly it ain't even running anymore 😥
Completely fascinating, and almost dramatic at times with the strike and whatnot! Even though I've never been to Melbourne, all of these clips do give an interesting insight into the city and its tram operations.
Another excellent production which took me ages to watch as I had to stop and go back a few times. I remember catching the train to St Kilda on one visit to Melbourne then the next visit it was a tram along the rail corridor. I lived in Brunswick for a short while back in the '80s (Brunswick Rd), I just loved Melbourne always something to do. Thanks for the splendid upload.
Many thanks. I know some of the caption reading time was a bit short but I didn’t want the thing to be too long. Sometimes it is best to download a video as the result is much easier to pause and backtrack than directly on UA-cam.
Absolutely brilliant video! I really must thank you for having the foresight to record so much video back then - it is truly amazing to watch all of this - I remember some bits and pieces from back then and remember the Tram Strike clearly and all the trams parked up in the streets for ages. A real pity they don’t run some of the Vintage units any more for special occasions and such. Again - thanks so much for posting this! 👍
This was great to watch here, so many memories and the late 80's Bourke Street Mall!!! I totally forgot how you could hear shop radio announcers promoting their goods, guess it just added the overall effect on why it was so great back then unlike now. So much soul. The tram driving documentary was interesting to watch with the sorely missed tram conductors as well, alot of them were characters as well. In the early days of the Port Junction I remember most of the B-classes wouldn't stop at the intersection until they made it compulsory even if there weren't any trams around at all?! I guess driving a tram becomes instinct over time but would say that each no matter it's class has it's own odd perks here or there or no?! Did you ever get to drive B-class 2001/2002 or no?! Looks like a neat time. These days I usually bus drivers drive with a aid, rarely tram drivers in 2021 and considering how empty everything is now?! Maybe what a better time to learn?! Cheers...Pre 1988 what a time it was...
You certainly absorbed a lot from that! While tram conductors were a bit of a Melbourne icon, by the time they were phased out unfortunately too many were not very interested in collecting fares. And as had been shown overseas for decades, passengers could largely be trusted to validate their own tickets. I did drive 2001 or 2002 a couple of times. They were much the same as the later Bs but had no air con and the brakes were released by compressed air instead of hydraulic oil. So you had to wait for the air to pump up before leaving the depot. The Z1 and Z2 were by far the most fun to drive, although being able to drive the Ws and vintage trams was something special as well. A long time friend who was on the job at the same time and I both agree that it was probably the most unique time of all to be a driver in Melbourne. Whether public transport usage everywhere ever gets back up to pre-Covid levels is still a big guess.
Wow what a video. I left Melbourne in 1989 and your video is just how I remember it. I lived near the No 3 terminus in East Malvern and caught it many times into the city. I was always fascinated by the wheel marks that extended beyond where the tracks finished, how did they get there? It's funny to think in today's safety conscious age that you could sit/stand by the door opening and there was nothing to stop you falling out. Thank you for the foresight to make these films, the things we take for granted everyday can just disappear without us noticing until they are gone.
Thanks. Especially in transport, things that seem to have been around forever suddenly disappear and if we don’t record every day events today, soon they will be changed. If you have not already seen it, you may enjoy this ride: Driver's View Tram 3a East Malvern to St Kilda Junction Melbourne ua-cam.com/video/NLqSApfbBfs/v-deo.html
I would like to thank you for the work you put into making this film, very good job and thoroughly enjoyed watching, a lot of memories there and also interesting on how nearly all the 60s, 70s & 80s cars are nearly all gone! yes what a real shame that we cant see and hear all those magnificent early trams being used for all to see now and again, but l suppose we never again will as they would need a pantograph etc now, thanks again for a top video!
I’m pleased you liked it. Took about three weeks to put together including working out dates etc. As for the vintage trams running again, there’s no will to do this, especially by foreign operators who have no interest in Melbourne‘s history.
You are so right about the golden time. Whilst never a driver, I was an avid passenger. I wondered what happened to all the vintage trams. I caught one to the Zoo during the short time they ran them and it was great. I believe that all the overhead has been changed now so they wouldn't be able to run them unless they were fitted with pantographs (GASP!) They have been kept out of the public view for so long now that most people have forgotten they existed and probably don't care about the history. Great video. Thanks again for the memories. Batman Ave :-)
The Zoo service ran quite a few years but eventually drivers found all sorts of excuses to run a Z instead. Eventually it was over. Yarra simply wants nothing to do with anything oldish or any service not in the timetable. And yes, much of the overhead has been changed but places like Brussels keep some stretches available for poles as well as Pantos. Where there is a will, there is a way but there is none in Melbourne.
Yes, I suppose it's all too hard for Yarra. They seem to have no imagination or sense of art or history, much like a lot of things, sadly. At least we have videos :-)
Frank Kopke Yes it certainly ran at that museum and also at various model rail exhibitions around Sydney at that time, it now resides at a rural property in the Bendigo region.
It certainly was wonderful meeting so many guys who appreciate my work. I will now almost certainly publish my scenes from yesterday on next Friday. I will start it off with a few scenes of hopefully 01. Certainly 04 can be identified. from 1979. If you have not seen it before, you will probably like watching “Brisbane Rail Electrification 1979 Opening Day” Great to hear from you 😊
Love the vintage and the 1/2 scale stuff! Does the Tramways in Melbourne still have the toast-rack 214? I think I saw a similar 1/2 scale Birney car in the late 1970's at the Illawarra Light Railway in Albion Park NSW I think a guy called Peter had this and at least one, possibly two more 1/2 scale .2 foot gauge tramcars.
It is the same half scale tram you saw at Albion Park. There was my green one and my friend’s brown open toast rack. Your name is very familiar. Were you an ILRMS member around the 1970s? 214 and a number of other vintage trams are currently located in the old depot at Hawthorne. Yarra trams will not let them run on the system.
Can I ask when the St. Kilda & Port Melbourne lines were converted to light rail other than switching the overhead from 1500VDC to 600VDC was there any other works done to the overhead system. And when did the link to from Swanston to Batman Ave taken out..
St K converted late 1987, PM early 1988. Wikipedia can tell you more, same with Batman Ave closure. As far as I know, no changes were made to Light Rail overhead except for connections at each end.
very nice video - through pure luck at the time, (on a holiday in Melb in 1993) I jumped on Y1 613 (I think) to East Coburg. At the terminus, I had a friendly chat with the crew (female driver) . On the way back into the City in Lygon St, she slammed the brakes on hard due an idiot driver. At the Uni, we picked up a crush load that dissapated down Swanston St. I was not sure where the tram was going, but i stayed on because of its uniqueness.(had an all day ticket). Anyway, the tram pulled into the old South Melbourne depot and the crew said hurrooo .....:)
You were lucky. There was a time when we had those trams in the depot for the Sunday service as you will have seen in the video. When there were not enough W class trams for the peak hour, most of us gladly took one of the vintage trams out instead. A treat for us, and probably passengers too.
Enjoying your videos very interesting and information. If I may ask have you got any tips or advice on becoming a train driver or trams driver in Melbourne. Cheers :)
You would have to check with Yarra trams. You may also like to chat with some drivers out at a terminus here and there. They may tell you what the job is like.
Great video again mate, very much like the early 80's on the Sydney suburbans, sly drives round the banko circle on the "A stopper" (stop on request) at midnight before putting it to bed at Tempe, quite often driver or guard had a couple of cold ones to help pass the wee hours of nothingness, never hurt because we were responsible for our actions & knew to not go overboard.. Did you have to learn the roads before you were let loose..
A video of my sly drives here and there around the world, at least the ones captured on photo or video. Burkey obviously kept watch on me, but I did drive on some lines ‘cold’. Same with early sly drives on the trams. BB was always sober, as I was too. But my times wee before midnight, except for the last Sydney to Port K. on occasional Friday nights. Somebody else had that run. I never drove unescorted.
did you record the trams in Melbourne 1988? also i want to know how do you set the services (reminder i want to be a tram driver IM 9 years old born in 2010)
I took video in a number of years around then. Try looking for Melbourne Trams 1991 and also in 1992 for a start. In a few days from now I will try to create a Playlist for all Melbourne trackside videos I have taken. As for getting a job driving the trams, what will help most is to do well at school. Dunces don’t get tram driver jobs, or any good jobs at all these days.
Largely I was sick of the vandalism Kennett was doing to the trams. Anything to save money. In fact his ratty ideas demanding one man trams nights and weekends provided a far more terrible service with no savings. I never intended staying there forever. He hastened my departure. Nevertheless I’m totally pleased I went on the trams, especially at that time.
@@tressteleg1 - Thanks for that. What I see, the tram network seems to operating ok now. It is common overseas for 1 man tram crewing since the 'tap n travel' is now the norm for the traveling public. I don't regret my time on the trams. It was an interesting experience. I will be back in Melbourne end of next month to retracing my old stomping grounds.
If you are complaining about Covid - free states locking their borders against infected states, us people in Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia, NT, and Western Australia are more than happy that our premiers have this power. Biggest scourge in Melbourne these days is the ‘professional protesters’ who choose to disrupt Melbourne city centre, especially when tired workers just want to go home.
No. I was getting older so gave it to a much younger friend in Central Victoria who I knew was capable of keeping it running without my help. He has built a good line for it and other 2’ gauge trams on his property of several acres.
At the moment I only go to Victoria in the warmer months when the farmland grass is long and dry so running the trams at that time of the year is a real fire hazard. Hopefully I can get there one day when operation is possible and a video can be made.
Don’t hold your breath, but I would really like to see them and drive them again for myself. But I hate the freezing weather they get down there and even in summer often manage to find a cold spell in the middle of heat waves. That’s Melbourne!
They all had only the one central headlight until late 1960s. Then there were a lot of head-on crashes with cars at night. So the extra 4 headlights were added. That helped but did not stop the spiced crashes. But the vintage trams were returned to original. They did not run at night anyway.
Man... i miss those B1's with that epic gas sound from the air brakes and stuff. I used to call them gassies. They ran on my route 86 for a bit and enjoyed their sound. Then them useless E Class came around and killed them off.
We had them at South Melbourne in the early days of the light rail. Until the B2class came along, they were the only big trams to help the A class. I drove them occasionally, but besides the sounds they were not much different to the B2 class except they were not air-conditioned which suddenly made them unpopular with the crews.
this is the best video you have ever done. and i've already let you know how much i've liked some of the others. incredibly interesting. 12:43, foxes in the old railway yards. i lived near there and i would have heard about foxes that far from fishermans bend. i moved to perth in 87 so it may have started only after the trains stopped. we knew where the foxes lived in fishermans bend. under the concrete counter-weights used in the building of the west gate bridge and in the short street pile depot (harbour trust area). so how did foxes get to tassy and why weren't the foxes exterminated long ago? because melbourne university was 'studying foxes in an urban environment'. they were studying them for bloody years. so what did they learn after years of studying foxes in fishermans bend? bloody nothing. what did i learn? people with tertiary qualifications may not be as smart as foxes. these people are to blame for fox sightings in tassy. foxes are curious animals. some have strayed on to the roll-on roll-off ships and been unable to get off. 38:29, does melbourne have a long history of using temporary tracks like that?
There was nothing in Port Melbourne at the time. Sometimes a brave fox came onto the terminus platform looking for food at night. Once or twice I turned off all the tram lights. We could see them outside the tram in the former rail yards. I did not know any emigrated to Tassie. Originally Melbourne dragged the old track to the side of the road and used it as temporary track while the new rails were installed. You will see that in my video ‘Melbourne Trams 1965...’ Later the portable track was used instead.
@@tressteleg1 ta for reply. foxes were seen in tassy and there were reputable reports of people seeing them running away from the ro-ro ships. and roadkill carcasses were found. some people claimed the carcasses were taken over and planted, then found. when it all started (about 10 years ago), the government got some bureaucrats to start a department to eliminate the scourge. it took 6 months before any professional fox hunters were imported from the mainland. this seems to be about a good time to establish a colony to breed up and ensure your new department is always needed. it should have been done straight away. in case i haven't made it clear enough, this delay was intentional and inexcusable. they have phones that connect to the mainland. they could have got every fox hunter (and their dogs) in victoria over there within 24 hours of something being sighted and was still near the port. there was a good item on landline about it. nowadays, some tasmanians are in denial that there ever were foxes there. perhaps they never established and died out.
UA-cam has screwed up again. I saw your two later comments about the foxes in emails but could not find them on UA-cam to reply. I had wondered where the foxes had gone with the spread of suburbia. It’s no surprise they have not been seen for eight years.
@@tressteleg1 ,it seems that youtube has desks and benches against walls for things to fall down behind (personal experience- i worked in an office). as for foxes in port melbourne and fishermans bend, there were only 2 places for them to hide. eradication would have been easy. a while ago, i closely examined a satellite photo of the concrete blocks near the base of the westgate bridge and it seemed overgrown and no longer in use by the foxes. as for foxes in tassy, who knows. the website mentions that foxes may be a threat to, among other things, the devils. i doubt this. a fox would have to handle a devil, even a younger one very carefully because of the tremendous strength of a devil's jaws. a small devil could break a fox's leg very easily. oh, by the way, scientists think devils went extinct on the mainland hundreds of years ago. we saw one run across the road in front of our car south of yarra junction in about 1977.
Congratulations Richard and Barry on your stint with the Tramways. It was good to get a chance to work with you both during my time as a Conductor. Best regards from Michael😅
Thanks Michael. I trust that you found another good vocation afterwards.
Melbourne tram conductors provided a great service to the passages , With helpful information and keeping us safe, they're very much missed. Thanks!
Once upon a time, yes. But in later years there was quite a few who were lazy. They gave up collecting fares in the peak hours when more than just a few people were standing in the aisle. Also they did not bother if tickets were expired etc. Their time was over. Keeping some on the 15/16to St Kilda Beach daytime would have been OK for the diligent ones, but otherwise their days were gone.
@@tressteleg1 Guess I'm looking back with rose colored glasses, had three mates James, Russell and Amanda that where conductors, I'd ride with them at evening sometimes late into the night, nice people and funny as hell bit sad when they left.
Certainly not all were lazy. I once got a letter from senior management thanking me for my conducting diligence. But unfortunately when more than one or two in the depot are obviously not doing their job, or even spending more time on PR than actually collecting fares, the concept of conductors was past its prime. My first overseas trip was 1975 and even then I don’t think there was such a thing as a tram conductor in Germany. So one manning had to come to Melbourne. But it’s implementation was done very, very, poorly and nowhere near enough of the old conductors became ticket Inspectors.
@@tressteleg1 Can remember returning to Melbourne around the mid 80s to the ticket vending machine being in the tram complete with security guard. it was all a bit strange. Thanks for the video classic stuff!
I didn’t think the machines were even under test in the 1980s. In fact with the strike not until 1990, I can’t imagine anything like a ticket machine being on a tram before that. I certainly saw no machines anywhere when I finished in 1994.
Firstly, thank you for documenting your time as a tram driver and secondly, thank you for sharing it with us. What a fascinating look back in time. Fantastic video!
Many thanks. 😊👍 It certainly was a unique time in Melbourne’s Tramway history which unfortunately is unlikely to ever be repeated, at least with the vintage trams.
This is bringing back so many childhood memories!!! Thanks so much for posting!
You were a childhood tram driver?? 😄
@@tressteleg1 haha no but I was a daily passenger... that old "special" tram drove by my high school on racecourse road! @ 2:56
That explains it! I thought you might of been up to some mischief 😈
thankyou so much for having had the foresight to video this from back then, its so good!
favourite part is your own scale working 72volt tram and clever efficiency resulting in the signed name becoming official!
oh and i really admired the clever simple design of the consoles having a roll-away cover, do the modern ones have that feature?
looks like a kind of job i would have loved to have done.
now that I've seen RRVT and your work, I wonder if there's any 2 footer stuff up here in Brisbane...
very best regards and thanks
Well at the time those video clips were made, there was no such thing as UA-cam so they were simply my record, not that I would have ever ever bothered looking at them.
Yes I’m proud of my tram. It turned out quite effective and never failed in service.
The Port Junction sign was partly for fun, and partly for practical purposes as its official adoption shows.
When the Z class were built, anybody could get into the back cab as there was only a waist height door without a key. So the controls had to be protected against misuse of equipment and vandalism. Newer trams have a thoroughly locked cab so there is no protective panel.
I never heard of any private 2 foot gauge lines in Brisbane except mine when I live there. There was somebody I visited once somewhere in the Sunnybank - Coopers Plains area who had a much smaller narrow gauge in his backyard. As well there is the Woodford rail Museum which has been unable to get any steam engines running for well over 10 years. Just diesel engines.
Thanks for recommending this video.
Although I moved to Queensland in 83, these trams still bring back memories.
I have ridden on single bogie trams at the Bendigo Tram Museum....they were really " bone jolting", but quite a thrill.
My next trip to Melbourne really must include the tram museum down there !
Unfortunately neither the tram museum based at the old Hawthorne depot, or the one at rural Bylands will give you a ride these days. The oldest you can ride in Melbourne is the city circle, but they have been very heavily rebuilt from what they were.
@@tressteleg1 yes I have been on the City Circle. I was ( thanks to a cousin) able to enjoy the restaurant tram about 5 Christmases ago. Sadly it ain't even running anymore 😥
Yarra suddenly decided that the Restaurants were ‘unsafe’. In fact they probably just wanted to be rid of them.
Completely fascinating, and almost dramatic at times with the strike and whatnot! Even though I've never been to Melbourne, all of these clips do give an interesting insight into the city and its tram operations.
😊😁
Another excellent production which took me ages to watch as I had to stop and go back a few times. I remember catching the train to St Kilda on one visit to Melbourne then the next visit it was a tram along the rail corridor. I lived in Brunswick for a short while back in the '80s (Brunswick Rd), I just loved Melbourne always something to do. Thanks for the splendid upload.
Many thanks. I know some of the caption reading time was a bit short but I didn’t want the thing to be too long. Sometimes it is best to download a video as the result is much easier to pause and backtrack than directly on UA-cam.
@@tressteleg1 Sorry mate , that wasn't a complaint it was just me wanting to watch it over a couple of times, I just loved it...Ding Ding
Don’t worry! I never thought of it as a complaint. 😊
Absolutely brilliant video! I really must thank you for having the foresight to record so much video back then - it is truly amazing to watch all of this - I remember some bits and pieces from back then and remember the Tram Strike clearly and all the trams parked up in the streets for ages. A real pity they don’t run some of the Vintage units any more for special occasions and such. Again - thanks so much for posting this! 👍
Many Thanks. I thought it would be an easy video to make but it took about 3 weeks. But was worth it.
This was great to watch here, so many memories and the late 80's Bourke Street Mall!!! I totally forgot how you could hear shop radio announcers promoting their goods, guess it just added the overall effect on why it was so great back then unlike now. So much soul. The tram driving documentary was interesting to watch with the sorely missed tram conductors as well, alot of them were characters as well. In the early days of the Port Junction I remember most of the B-classes wouldn't stop at the intersection until they made it compulsory even if there weren't any trams around at all?! I guess driving a tram becomes instinct over time but would say that each no matter it's class has it's own odd perks here or there or no?! Did you ever get to drive B-class 2001/2002 or no?! Looks like a neat time. These days I usually bus drivers drive with a aid, rarely tram drivers in 2021 and considering how empty everything is now?! Maybe what a better time to learn?! Cheers...Pre 1988 what a time it was...
You certainly absorbed a lot from that! While tram conductors were a bit of a Melbourne icon, by the time they were phased out unfortunately too many were not very interested in collecting fares. And as had been shown overseas for decades, passengers could largely be trusted to validate their own tickets. I did drive 2001 or 2002 a couple of times. They were much the same as the later Bs but had no air con and the brakes were released by compressed air instead of hydraulic oil. So you had to wait for the air to pump up before leaving the depot. The Z1 and Z2 were by far the most fun to drive, although being able to drive the Ws and vintage trams was something special as well. A long time friend who was on the job at the same time and I both agree that it was probably the most unique time of all to be a driver in Melbourne. Whether public transport usage everywhere ever gets back up to pre-Covid levels is still a big guess.
Wow what a video. I left Melbourne in 1989 and your video is just how I remember it. I lived near the No 3 terminus in East Malvern and caught it many times into the city. I was always fascinated by the wheel marks that extended beyond where the tracks finished, how did they get there? It's funny to think in today's safety conscious age that you could sit/stand by the door opening and there was nothing to stop you falling out. Thank you for the foresight to make these films, the things we take for granted everyday can just disappear without us noticing until they are gone.
Thanks. Especially in transport, things that seem to have been around forever suddenly disappear and if we don’t record every day events today, soon they will be changed. If you have not already seen it, you may enjoy this ride: Driver's View Tram 3a East Malvern to St Kilda Junction Melbourne
ua-cam.com/video/NLqSApfbBfs/v-deo.html
It’s a shame you don’t see classic equipment like this running around anymore. Not even for special events.
I would like to thank you for the work you put into making this film, very good job and thoroughly enjoyed watching, a lot of memories there and also interesting on how nearly all the 60s, 70s & 80s cars are nearly all gone! yes what a real shame that we cant see and hear all those magnificent early trams being used for all to see now and again, but l suppose we never again will as they would need a pantograph etc now, thanks again for a top video!
I’m pleased you liked it. Took about three weeks to put together including working out dates etc.
As for the vintage trams running again, there’s no will to do this, especially by foreign operators who have no interest in Melbourne‘s history.
You are so right about the golden time. Whilst never a driver, I was an avid passenger. I wondered what happened to all the vintage trams. I caught one to the Zoo during the short time they ran them and it was great. I believe that all the overhead has been changed now so they wouldn't be able to run them unless they were fitted with pantographs (GASP!) They have been kept out of the public view for so long now that most people have forgotten they existed and probably don't care about the history. Great video. Thanks again for the memories. Batman Ave :-)
The Zoo service ran quite a few years but eventually drivers found all sorts of excuses to run a Z instead. Eventually it was over. Yarra simply wants nothing to do with anything oldish or any service not in the timetable. And yes, much of the overhead has been changed but places like Brussels keep some stretches available for poles as well as Pantos. Where there is a will, there is a way but there is none in Melbourne.
A good W Class must have a trolly pole!!
Peter Leidgen 👍
Yes, I suppose it's all too hard for Yarra. They seem to have no imagination or sense of art or history, much like a lot of things, sadly. At least we have videos :-)
Whatever happened to half scale Birney No#2? I think I might have seen it at the Illawarra Light Railway in the late 70's, early 80's...
Frank Kopke Yes it certainly ran at that museum and also at various model rail exhibitions around Sydney at that time, it now resides at a rural property in the Bendigo region.
Was a real treat meeting you yesterday
It certainly was wonderful meeting so many guys who appreciate my work. I will now almost certainly publish my scenes from yesterday on next Friday. I will start it off with a few scenes of hopefully 01. Certainly 04 can be identified. from 1979. If you have not seen it before, you will probably like watching “Brisbane Rail Electrification 1979 Opening Day”
Great to hear from you 😊
Fantastic video and memories of the good old days!
👍
Love the vintage and the 1/2 scale stuff!
Does the Tramways in Melbourne still have the toast-rack 214?
I think I saw a similar 1/2 scale Birney car in the late 1970's at the Illawarra Light Railway in Albion Park NSW
I think a guy called Peter had this and at least one, possibly two more 1/2 scale .2 foot gauge tramcars.
It is the same half scale tram you saw at Albion Park. There was my green one and my friend’s brown open toast rack. Your name is very familiar. Were you an ILRMS member around the 1970s?
214 and a number of other vintage trams are currently located in the old depot at Hawthorne. Yarra trams will not let them run on the system.
Super tressteleg👍
The good old days of Melbourne with the W and Z Class
Thanks Peter. Did you see my request last time to contact me on
tressteleg(at)icloud.com
Use the normal symbol instead of (at)
@@tressteleg1 Yes i did.
Can I ask when the St. Kilda & Port Melbourne lines were converted to light rail other than switching the overhead from 1500VDC to 600VDC was there any other works done to the overhead system. And when did the link to from Swanston to Batman Ave taken out..
St K converted late 1987, PM early 1988. Wikipedia can tell you more, same with Batman Ave closure. As far as I know, no changes were made to Light Rail overhead except for connections at each end.
just a question the pic of the rail bridge over clareden south melb is that near crown casino
See my videos of routes 12, 96, and 109. I don’t think I have anything line side of that location.
When I saw the damaged pan I,could hear someone say That BLOODY Malcolm, I thought we sacked him.
very nice video - through pure luck at the time, (on a holiday in Melb in 1993) I jumped on Y1 613 (I think) to East Coburg. At the terminus, I had a friendly chat with the crew (female driver) . On the way back into the City in Lygon St, she slammed the brakes on hard due an idiot driver. At the Uni, we picked up a crush load that dissapated down Swanston St. I was not sure where the tram was going, but i stayed on because of its uniqueness.(had an all day ticket). Anyway, the tram pulled into the old South Melbourne depot and the crew said hurrooo .....:)
You were lucky. There was a time when we had those trams in the depot for the Sunday service as you will have seen in the video. When there were not enough W class trams for the peak hour, most of us gladly took one of the vintage trams out instead. A treat for us, and probably passengers too.
Pity the scrubber trams are no longer in operation
Agreed, but for reasons I don’t understand, Melbourne is essentially free of audible corrugations.
Great video mate 😉
Rustyhands Thanks. I’m actually in Melbourne now taking video out the front of more and more trams. 😊
Enjoying your videos very interesting and information. If I may ask have you got any tips or advice on becoming a train driver or trams driver in Melbourne. Cheers :)
You would have to check with Yarra trams. You may also like to chat with some drivers out at a terminus here and there. They may tell you what the job is like.
@@tressteleg1 thanks you for the reply.
South melbourne depot was in the film MALCOM. love the vid
Sure was, but years before I was there. You may like my video ‘South Melbourne Depot. The final days. Inside shots included.
Great video again mate, very much like the early 80's on the Sydney suburbans, sly drives round the banko circle on the "A stopper" (stop on request) at midnight before putting it to bed at Tempe, quite often driver or guard had a couple of cold ones to help pass the wee hours of nothingness, never hurt because we were responsible for our actions & knew to not go overboard.. Did you have to learn the roads before you were let loose..
A video of my sly drives here and there around the world, at least the ones captured on photo or video. Burkey obviously kept watch on me, but I did drive on some lines ‘cold’. Same with early sly drives on the trams. BB was always sober, as I was too. But my times wee before midnight, except for the last Sydney to Port K. on occasional Friday nights. Somebody else had that run. I never drove unescorted.
Is there a link for part 2?
Try this: Becoming a Tram Driver Berlin 1992 + Freight Locos ua-cam.com/video/P_TqzVzpnfA/v-deo.html
did you record the trams in Melbourne 1988?
also i want to know how do you set the services (reminder i want to be a tram driver IM 9 years old born in 2010)
I took video in a number of years around then. Try looking for Melbourne Trams 1991 and also in 1992 for a start. In a few days from now I will try to create a Playlist for all Melbourne trackside videos I have taken. As for getting a job driving the trams, what will help most is to do well at school. Dunces don’t get tram driver jobs, or any good jobs at all these days.
Your comments about the routes were about right. I use to do some of those routes list as a connie. Why did you give driving trams?
Largely I was sick of the vandalism Kennett was doing to the trams. Anything to save money. In fact his ratty ideas demanding one man trams nights and weekends provided a far more terrible service with no savings. I never intended staying there forever. He hastened my departure. Nevertheless I’m totally pleased I went on the trams, especially at that time.
@@tressteleg1 - Thanks for that. What I see, the tram network seems to operating ok now. It is common overseas for 1 man tram crewing since the 'tap n travel' is now the norm for the traveling public. I don't regret my time on the trams. It was an interesting experience. I will be back in Melbourne end of next month to retracing my old stomping grounds.
Have fun there. I always go for the supposed summer months although usually strike a cold spell for a week or so of my time there 😡
just to think in 33years from this the city has literally gone to hell
(sorry but every state have become their own country)
If you are complaining about Covid - free states locking their borders against infected states, us people in Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia, NT, and Western Australia are more than happy that our premiers have this power.
Biggest scourge in Melbourne these days is the ‘professional protesters’ who choose to disrupt Melbourne city centre, especially when tired workers just want to go home.
do u still have the tram that u built?
No. I was getting older so gave it to a much younger friend in Central Victoria who I knew was capable of keeping it running without my help. He has built a good line for it and other 2’ gauge trams on his property of several acres.
@@tressteleg1 I c it looked alright
At the moment I only go to Victoria in the warmer months when the farmland grass is long and dry so running the trams at that time of the year is a real fire hazard. Hopefully I can get there one day when operation is possible and a video can be made.
@@tressteleg1 plz do I Regan it will be awesome
Don’t hold your breath, but I would really like to see them and drive them again for myself. But I hate the freezing weather they get down there and even in summer often manage to find a cold spell in the middle of heat waves. That’s Melbourne!
awesome video tressteleg1 :)
👍
Hi , Greta stuff , when were conductors stopped ?
I did a google search. May 1998.
Wasn't it around the same time the Metcards were first introduced?
planetX15 Metcards were ‘invented’ to enable the removal of conductors, something which had happened in most of Europe decades earlier.
I didn't know there was a W class tram without a headlight back then.
They all had only the one central headlight until late 1960s. Then there were a lot of head-on crashes with cars at night. So the extra 4 headlights were added. That helped but did not stop the spiced crashes. But the vintage trams were returned to original. They did not run at night anyway.
@@tressteleg1 I see.
Man... i miss those B1's with that epic gas sound from the air brakes and stuff. I used to call them gassies. They ran on my route 86 for a bit and enjoyed their sound. Then them useless E Class came around and killed them off.
We had them at South Melbourne in the early days of the light rail. Until the B2class came along, they were the only big trams to help the A class. I drove them occasionally, but besides the sounds they were not much different to the B2 class except they were not air-conditioned which suddenly made them unpopular with the crews.
Amazing times! Great video!
😊👍
There were good years not like the years now.
Yes, very mundane now.
“Ok. Who washed 217 in hot water again”
this is the best video you have ever done. and i've already let you know how much i've liked some of the others. incredibly interesting. 12:43, foxes in the old railway yards. i lived near there and i would have heard about foxes that far from fishermans bend. i moved to perth in 87 so it may have started only after the trains stopped. we knew where the foxes lived in fishermans bend. under the concrete counter-weights used in the building of the west gate bridge and in the short street pile depot (harbour trust area). so how did foxes get to tassy and why weren't the foxes exterminated long ago? because melbourne university was 'studying foxes in an urban environment'. they were studying them for bloody years. so what did they learn after years of studying foxes in fishermans bend? bloody nothing. what did i learn? people with tertiary qualifications may not be as smart as foxes. these people are to blame for fox sightings in tassy. foxes are curious animals. some have strayed on to the roll-on roll-off ships and been unable to get off. 38:29, does melbourne have a long history of using temporary tracks like that?
There was nothing in Port Melbourne at the time. Sometimes a brave fox came onto the terminus platform looking for food at night. Once or twice I turned off all the tram lights. We could see them outside the tram in the former rail yards. I did not know any emigrated to Tassie.
Originally Melbourne dragged the old track to the side of the road and used it as temporary track while the new rails were installed. You will see that in my video ‘Melbourne Trams 1965...’ Later the portable track was used instead.
@@tressteleg1 ta for reply. foxes were seen in tassy and there were reputable reports of people seeing them running away from the ro-ro ships. and roadkill carcasses were found. some people claimed the carcasses were taken over and planted, then found. when it all started (about 10 years ago), the government got some bureaucrats to start a department to eliminate the scourge. it took 6 months before any professional fox hunters were imported from the mainland. this seems to be about a good time to establish a colony to breed up and ensure your new department is always needed. it should have been done straight away. in case i haven't made it clear enough, this delay was intentional and inexcusable. they have phones that connect to the mainland. they could have got every fox hunter (and their dogs) in victoria over there within 24 hours of something being sighted and was still near the port. there was a good item on landline about it. nowadays, some tasmanians are in denial that there ever were foxes there. perhaps they never established and died out.
there has been no evidence of foxes since 2011, according to a tassy parks and wildlife page.
UA-cam has screwed up again. I saw your two later comments about the foxes in emails but could not find them on UA-cam to reply. I had wondered where the foxes had gone with the spread of suburbia. It’s no surprise they have not been seen for eight years.
@@tressteleg1 ,it seems that youtube has desks and benches against walls for things to fall down behind (personal experience- i worked in an office). as for foxes in port melbourne and fishermans bend, there were only 2 places for them to hide. eradication would have been easy. a while ago, i closely examined a satellite photo of the concrete blocks near the base of the westgate bridge and it seemed overgrown and no longer in use by the foxes. as for foxes in tassy, who knows. the website mentions that foxes may be a threat to, among other things, the devils. i doubt this. a fox would have to handle a devil, even a younger one very carefully because of the tremendous strength of a devil's jaws. a small devil could break a fox's leg very easily. oh, by the way, scientists think devils went extinct on the mainland hundreds of years ago. we saw one run across the road in front of our car south of yarra junction in about 1977.