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Newsletter of the Ferrymead Tramway Historical Society Inc P. O. Box 1126 Christchurch TTTramramram TTT ractsractsracts July 2008 Annual General Meeting Notice is hereby given that the 46th Annual General Meeting of the Tramway Historical Society Inc will be held on Wednesday 20 August 2008 commencing at 7:45pm in the Youth Heritage Trust Building (aka the Ferrymead Lions Meeting rooms), Ferrymead Heritage Park. (Entry from Gate A, Truscotts Road, Ferrymead.) The purpose of the AGM is is to review the affairs of the Society since the previous AGM; to approve the annual accounts for the preceding financial year; to elect the Management Committee for the ensuing year; to consider and deal with any notices of motion; and to transact any other general business of the Society. At this time, we also call for any notices of motion for consideration by the AGM. These need to be in the hands of the Secretary no later than 21 days before the date of the meeting. These may be posted to the Secretary, Tramway Historical Society Inc, Box 1126, Christchurch 8140; or e-mailed to [email protected] The annual general meeting is expected to be followed by a showing of the annual video produced by the Society that will be shown at the 2008 COTMA meeting, which will be in Launceston, Tasmania later in August. This will be followed by supper. At least 14 days prior to the AGM, a prepared agenda, minutes of the 2007 AGM and copies of any notices of motion will be sent to all members. City tramway extension progress Developments in the DAVE HINMAN keeps us up to date with developments steam department THE CHRISTCHURCH City Council Square, ALEX HUNTER has his nose to at its Annual Plan meeting on 25 June (e) did NOT agree to the the grindstone took several more steps towards “Manchester Street loop” at this stage HI FOLKS, The Kitson doesn’t say very approving the extension of the city but requested further work on options much at the moment. However there is tramway after considering a detailed taking the tram further along High plenty of work going on behind the scenes staff report. Consultation had taken Street, potentially as far as the Music going towards the old gem, such as the place from late March to mid April, Centre and Catholic Cathedral in spare boiler has been dug out and is away when 144 submissions were received, Barbadoes Street, including testing the at the sandblasters at the moment, and 120 of which were in favour (an 83% feasibility of using the existing tracks overhaul of the spare throttle regulator, support rate!) and 16 submitters had laid in concrete in 1931 and still in situ which is being done by Mike Lawson of presented in person at hearings in May. in the three blocks between Cashel the Rural History Society, and his The Council’s decision was: Street and St Asaph Street. expertise is very much appreciated (see (a) to confirm the special order It is anticipated that if no appeals photo next page). to allow trams in the Mall (subject to are received rail (new RI 60 grooved Mike also has shown great interest an appeal period of one month) rail sourced from Yarra Trams in in crewing on the gem so that is a great (b) to provide funding for rails in Melbourne) will be on site for laying step. Cheers, Mike, keep up the good work! the Cashel Street section of City Mall by the beginning of August. Final The water tank and stand which was and to purchase and install rails confirmation of the extension and retrieved from a property in Fendalton is (c) to negotiate the removal of the funding for the balance of the route will also making good progress, with the stand Cashel Air bridge (this will allow a be determined through the 2009-19 returning a few weeks ago from the straight through tram track with no Long Term Council Community Plan, sandblasters. However the tank itself is height restrictions) to be consulted on March- April 2009. still at the sandblasters and will return (d) Confirmed, subject to future In the meantime work has shortly. The tank will be placed beside the funding, the track alignments in Oxford commenced in Cashel Mall with some tram Square shelter in the future to enable easy Terrace and Colombo Street-Cathedral concrete base work already completed. watering up of the Kitson. Next work party The next work party is scheduled for Saturday 16 August 2008. Formal work parties are held every third Saturday of the month but there are also activities every Saturday and on Monday evenings. Editorial address: Joe Pickering, P. O. Box 17, Woodend, North Canterbury 7641. Phone 03 312 2578. Email [email protected] 2 Ferrymead Tram Tracts, June 2008 Wouldn’t it be great if it was always this busy! Wedding special: the bride and groom farewell their guests who are crammed aboard 22 and two double deck trailers on 31 May. Photo: Colin Loach Things turn up in strange places STUART HOBBS recalls making a valuable find in an unlikely place orry, but this one gets a bit involved! disappeared and a pile of rubbish was parishioners; these loads representing the Between high school and marriage awaiting the attention of a trailer. Did those Archdeacon’s imagined value of the seats. Smy mother had been a member of the scrappy bits of metal look like a tram seat? If only he knew! How many of us remember Avonside Church’s Tennis Club. The No, it looked more like three of them. Even when Ferrymead’s ‘300’ pattern key fitted Church, cemetery and tennis courts the odd suggestion of elderly green paint! the Truscotts Road gate to the Heathcote combined to form an ‘L’ shape. Knowing In fact they looked a bit like the seats which Dump? “Yeah; right!” my interest in trams, Mum told me that she are in a certain Duckhouse trailer. During the second decade of the last remembered seeing what might have been Curiously, the seats were wide century some high ranking employee or ‘old tram seats’ placed along the side enough for only one person. As I sauntered Board Member, may have been either sheltered by the building. Then again, she off to the vicarage, pondering over how I parishioner or tennis player who grasped was not sure because it had been a long time should approach the acquisition of these the opportunity to recycle the un-needed ago and they did not look quite like the tram treasures, the significance of their narrow seats. It is unlikely that even in his wildest seats we sat on in the 1950’s. width dawned on me. imagination he foresaw their return to the The tale moves now to the 1970’s and of Recognisable initially as upper deck of perhaps the exact tram from necessity I have to do some name-dropping! ‘Duckhouse’ seats these obviously had whence they came! Through my work at the museum, I never been fitted in one! The furniture in Now I’m off to make a cup of tea. came to know Archdeacon Davies who was question originally came from a member of that organisation’s ‘Friends’ the upper decks of trams 24-25- A man at work group. We’ll shelve him just a moment 26 having been removed during while I mention that on the way home from their conversion to single decker work one day; I called in at the Avonside cars. Knock Knock! The door Cemetery to see the grave of Julius von was opened by none other than Haast, the museum’s first director. His Mrs. Davies. She fetched the headstone is unusual in that in it is made Archdeacon to whom my odd from a rather large boulder recovered from quest was explained. Luckily the Upper Waimakariri, the customary this worthy gentleman viewed it marble panel being ‘let’ into it. This grave as a way of unloading some of easily is distinguished and stands out from ‘his’ junk. Now I said at the the other quite regular looking plots. It was beginning that this got a little at the time of this visit to Julius that ‘Church involved. Both of you who are Property Trustees’ were clearing up the still reading now learn that I tennis court area in readiness to build either offered or was coerced Mike Lawson hard at work machining the new pensioner accommodation. The netting into removing a couple of (pup) regulator slide valve for the Kitson. fence from around the courts had all but trailer loads of rubbish for the Photo: Alex Hunter Ferrymead Tram Tracts, June 2008 3 Melbourne’s City Circle ALLEN HARBROW continues his travels in Australia he City Circle line (Route 35) which has been operating since 1994, Ttravels round the outskirts of the CBD and is a free service. That is La Trobe, Flinders and Spring Streets and Harbour Esplanade. The historic W Class trams used on this route were the mainstay of Melbourne trams at one time and many are preserved at Tram Museums around the country. The ten trams in Burgundy City Circle livery reserved for this route were built between 1936 and 1955 at the Preston Workshops. On the day I saw them, I recorded cars 728, 866, 961 and 925 in City Circle colours and also 932, 884, 921 and 946 in the Green livery. In the middle of that day, these eight cars were handling the route with the scheduled 12 minutes between each tram, but at peak time more cars have to be put on because of traffic delays.

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