#cable tram

CLIFTON HILL CABLE TRAM. BOURKE ST MELBOURNE. 1888/90

Having crossed Swanston Street (the Leviathan Clothing Store is on the corner) a Cable Tram heads east on Bourke St, before turning left at Spring St and travelling north east to Clifton Hill.

HISTORIC BACKGROUND…The Clifton Hill line opened in 1887, with the Powerhouse on the cnr of Nicholsen and Gertrude Sts Fitzroy and the Car Shed on Queens Parade, Clifton Hill. From 1890 it connected with the then privately operated Northcote line, although passengers were required to walk a short distance between the two services.

The Melb and Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) took over both lines in 1925 and connected them, establishing a through service from the city to Northcote.The combined service was the last cable line to operate in Melbourne, only withdrawn in October 1940. MMTB Buses ran the route until the introduction of electric trams in the mid 1950s.

This shot looks north through St Kilda Junction toward the City.

A Brighton Road tram line Cable Tram is paused on the northern side of the junction.

HISTORY OF LINE…The Brighton Road line opened in 1888, originally running from Brighton Road at Brunning Street Balaclava, along St Kilda Road to Flinders Street. This was extended to Queensbury Street Carlton, the year after. The Powerhouse and Car Shed were on the s/e corner of St Kilda Road and Bromby Street, near Melbourne Grammar.

Flinders St. Station. Looking down Flinders Street towards Spencer Street. Melbourne  1902

Cable grip car No. 4 and a trailer car at Victoria Bridge terminus (no date).

Introduced from 1885 when the line to Richmond opened on November eleventh, Melbourne's cable tram system became very extensive.Cable trams are pulled along by a cable running underneath the road, with the grip cars being attached to the cable by way of a grip mounted under the car. The cable in turn is pulled along by engines inside a dedicated winding house.

The grip man (who stood in the centre of the car) could make the tram stop or move by using a set of levers to close or release the grip. Cable trams were also trialled in Sydney, though were not widely adopted.

The longest lived cable tram route in Melbourne was the Clifton Hill to Northcote line. This route opened on February eighteenth 1890, and closed on October twenty sixth 1940.After initial conversion to bus operation, this route was converted to electric tram operation in 1955.