Melbourne Tram History - Animated Map

The first tram launched in Melbourne was  a horse carriage tramway built in 1884. It was built in the township of Fairfield and  it was called the Fairfield horse tramway and it went down from Fairfield station  to a housing development in Thornbury, which ends at the bend at Albert street. In 1885, a cable tram line was built from the city centre from Spencer street to Hawthorn  bridge. This would soon become part of a wider range of tram lines and the oldest  tram line in Melbourne still in operation. In 1886, the same cable tram line  extended east along Collins street and went to Fitzroy north and  to Victoria Bridge in Kew. In 1887, the same cable tram line extended east along Bourke street and went to  Carlton north and Clifton hill. Another line was built down Elizabeth  street, going to Moreland and a seperate tram line was built from Swanston  street to Johnston street bridge, via Russel and Lygon street called  the Collingwood cable tramway. A horse carriage tramway was built from Victoria  bridge up to Kew to Booroondara Cemetery, it wouldn’t become integrated with  the cable tramway until later. In 1888, another horse tramway was built  from Sandringham station to Cheltenham station, going down Beach Road and  passing Beumaris and Black Rock. Another cable tram line was built from flinders  street down Swanston street and St Kilda road, going to Balaclava and winding over to  Carlisle street, down Chapel street. In 1889, a horse tramway was built  on Sydney road going from Moreland to Coburg north. Another horse tramway  was built from Elsternwick station going to both Caulfield and Glenhuntly stations,  the track to Caulfield closed months later. The cable tram line in Swanston street was  extended up north to Queensberry street, another line extended further along  Toorak road and another line was built down Rathdowne street until  it reached the inner circle line. The Box Hill and Doncaster Tramway Company  opened an electric tramway Between Box Hill and Doncaster, the first electric tram in  Melbourne. It would soon to be short lived as there was conflict from land owners and  the engineers had no idea how trams worked. And then the 1890s depression happened,  which also included a banking crisis in 1893, this slowed down progress in  building the tram network. In 1890, the Fairfield horse tramway  closed leaving absolutely nothing in the street as of 2022. Another horse  tramway opened from Hawthorn bridge, going down Riversdale road to  Auburn road in Hawthorn east. The cable tram line was also extended  from Clifton Hill to the Dundas street intersection in Thornbury and another line was  built along Victoria street to Flemington bridge. A horse tramway spurred out from Royal  parade to Royal Park Zoo and the cable tram was extended along Latrobe street to  Queensberry street, via Spencer street. The cable tram was extended  down south to South Melbourne beach and Port Melbourne along Clarendon street. In 1891, the cable tram was extended to St  Kilda beach, terminating at Acland street. In 1893, the cable tramway on high street from Northcote closed following the banking  crisis, but reopened a year later. In 1894, the horse tramway to  Glenhuntly station closed and the box hill electric tramway closed in 1896. in 1897, the tramway to Northcote closed again to cut down operating costs, but  reopened once again in 1901. At the same time, the tramway to Glenhuntly  reopened, but closed once again a year later. In 1906, the North Melbourne Electric Tramway  and Lighting Company built Melbournes first electric trams. A tramway was built  from St Kilda Station to Brighton. The section on Barkley and Grey streets would  soon to become known as the “Balloon loop”. Multiple lines extended from Flemington bridge,  going to Ascot Vale, Moonee ponds and Essendon. In 1910, another electric tramway  was built along High street, from Prahran to Glen Iris and Wattletree  road. There was a proposal for one of the lines to go around Waverley Oval near East  Mavlern station, but it never happened. In 1911, the same electric  tramway was extended west to Punt road and another line was built  along Dandenong road to Malvern station. In 1912, it was then extended  to St Kilda road and parts of the horse tramway was closed  between Cheltenham and Beumaris. In 1913, the electric tramway took  over one part of the horse tramway to Glenhuntly and a diverging route was  also built along Hawthorn road to Malvern. The electric tramway also built a line from  St Kilda to East Malvern and another line extended further along Glenferrie road  to Kew, where tram lines split out in both directions along Cotham road, meeting with  the horse tramway and going out to Burke road. And then world war 1 happened, but that barely  stopped the growth of Melbourne's tram network. In 1914, the electric tramway  extended further along High street closer to Glen Iris train station. In 1915, electric tramway took over the horse tramway in Kew and extended  further along high street. The tramway also extended along Malvern road to Gardiner station and a spur was built  along Glenhuntly road to Point Ormond. Apparently the horse tramway from  Sandringham to Cheltenham fully closed. Now here comes an electrical surge. (bzzz)(Bzzz)(BZZZ)(BZZZ)(BZZZ)(BZZZZZZZZ) In 1916, the electric tramway built another  line along Batman avenue down Swan street to Hawthorn and another electric tramway  took over the horse tramway at Moreland, with an extension to North Coburg  and a spur to Brunswick Depot. The electric tramway at Swan  street also took over the horse tramway at Hawthorn and extended  further to Camberwell Junction, going seperate routes along Riversdale  road and Camberwell road to Warrigal road. The electric tramway at Coburg also  extended along Moreland road before going up Nicholson street to Bell Street  and going down Lygon street to Carlton, meeting with the cable  tramway at Queensberry street. The Mont Albert line extended further  along Whitehorse road to Union road. In 1917, the Malvern road line was extended  along Burke road to Camberwell station and a year later it was extended to Cotham  road operating as a shuttle service for a couple of months as a bridge had not  been built across the train tracks yet. In 1919, Victorian Railways built  their own electric tramway from Sandringham station to Black rock,  seperate from the horse tramway. In 1920, another electric tramway  was built along Saint Georges road, splitting up and going to West Preston  and along Plenty road to Tyler street. In 1921, another independent electric  tramway was built from Footscray station, winding around the streets  of Seddon to Kingsville, going along Barkly street and going  along Ballarat road to Rosamound road. In 1923, the Essendon line extended to Keilor road and the tramway at Kew extended further  along High street to Hawthorn Bridge. And then the Victorian Police Strike happened, as a result the Royal Park horse tramway  was unfortunately destroyed in a fire and it closed a day later, marking the  end of horse drawn trams in Melbourne. In 1924, the spur to Moonee Ponds station closed  as it was not used as often by passengers. The cable tramway was also extended  along Lonsdale street from Elizabeth to Swanston streets and one section  of Swanston street was electrified. The electric tramway was also  extended further up Chapel street, terminating at Victoria street, North Richmond. In 1925, the tramway at Kew extended  further along High street to Burke road and another extension went from  Glenhuntly road to North road. Another tramway was built along Holden street  from Nicholson street to St Georges road. A seperate electric tramway was built from  Collins street, going along Flemington road, winding around Royal Park and  continuing to West Brunswick Another electric tramway was built  from Southbank along Sturt street, going to Domain interchange and going  along Clarendon street to Fitzroy street. A tramway opened between kings way and St Kilda  road along domain road and tramways along the St Kilda beach corridor was electrified,  creating the St Kilda beach “Balloon loop”. In 1926, parts of Swanston  street was electrified and St Kilda road line was electrified  between city road and Elsternwick. The tramway from Victorian  Railways extended down to Beumaris, the Chapel street tramway was electrified  and extended down to Brighton road and the Glenhuntly tram line extended further to Carnegie. In 1927, the Toorak road tramway was electrified, along with the line extended to  Glenferrie road and St Kilda road. The cable tramway at Flemington  road was also electrified, enabling trams from Essendon  to run into the city centre. The Royal Park tramway was extended  to Bell street and another track was built between Bourke street and  Latrobe street along Spencer street. The Swanston street tramway also got  fully electrified and the tramway from Lonsdale street to Hawthorn  bridge was also electrified. In 1928, the tramway at Wattletree road  extended along to Dandenong road and the Riversdale road tramway extended to wattle park. Another line was built along Victoria street  in Flemington bridge, but closed shortly after. The line on Victoria street and collins street was also electrified and the Brunswick  street line was electrified in 1930. And then the great depression  happened, which caused progress of electrifying and expanding the  tram network to slow down once again. In 1931, Victorian railways closed their  tramway between Black Rock and Beumaris. In 1935, the Victoria street tramway in  North Melbourne got electrified and the Elizabeth street tramway got electrified  from Flinders street to Haymarket. In 1936, the Sydney road tramway  corridor was electrified and the cable tramway on Spencer street closed. In 1937, the Essendon tramway  was extended to Gilles street and the East Kew line extended to Bulleen road. The cable tramway in Port Melbourne  closed, to be replaced by bus services. Another electric tramway was built  down Clarendon street and annexed the former cable tramway to south Melbourne beach. The Hawthorn road tramway also extended  further down south to Nepean highway. In 1938, the East Kew tramway extended to North  Balwyn and the Collingwood cable tramway closed in 1939, being replaced by bus services, marking  the end of Cable hauled tramways in Melbourne. At the same time, trams along Holden street  begin to cease operations with the southern track being removed and the northern  track remaining for depot transfers. Then world war 2 started. The Rathdowne street tramway closed down  in 1940, being replaced by buses and the tramway at Ascot Vale extends itself  over to West Maribyrnong Defence Site. In 1941, a branch was built from Raleigh  street to a Defence Explosive factory in Maribyrnong and another branch was built from  Ballarat road to another Ammunition factory. Trams services along Holden street began  operation again for the duration of the war. In 1942, a tramway was built between Ascot  Vale and Moonee Ponds Junction and the Essendon tramway was extended up Matthews  avenue to Essendon Fields Airport in 1943. In 1944, the Kings way tramway extended  from Sturt street to Collins street, going along Queens Bridge street, however  Williams street and Queens Bridge street don’t match up which is why there are  two curves built on Flinders lane. After the second world war, in 1950,  tram services on Holden street dissolved, with the track only being used  for trams going to some depot. In 1951, an electric tramway was built on Latrobe street going from Spencer  street to Brunswick street. In 1954, the tramways terminating  at the ammunition factory and the Defence Explosive factory in Maribyrnong  was extended to connect to each other, connecting Footscray trams  to the rest of Melbourne. In 1955, the electric tramways rebuilt the  now former cable tramway to Northcote along Bourke street and High street, finally  connecting high street with Plenty road. In 1956, the same tramways rebuilt the  Nicholson street tramway out to East Brunswick. Eventually, Victorian railways closes  the Sandringham tramway and also closed down the Brighton line between 1957 and 1959. In 1960, the tramway to Point Ormond closed  and the tramways in Barkley street, Seddon and Ballarat road closed in 1961, leaving only the  branch from West Maribyrnong to serve Footscray. The tramway on beach road and the St  Kilda beach balloon loop is also removed. In 1967, a project was put forward  to upgrade St Kilda Junction. As a result a tramway was built  along wellington street in 1968, as a detour for trams and closed in 1970,  the same time St Kilda Junction was upgraded. In 1976, the Holden street tramway closes and  the tramway to Essendon Fields Airport closed. In 1978, the Burwood line extended  further to Middlebourough road. Eventually in 1983 after 63 long years, the plenty road tramway extended  further to Boldrewood parade. In 1985, the same line was extended again  to Latrobe university and 2 years later, was extended once again to  Bundoora Square Shopping Centre. Eventually the Port Melbourne and St Kilda railway  lines get annexed by the tram network in 1987. In 1992, the Essendon tramway extends  itself further to Airport west. In 1993, the Burwood tramway further  FURTHER extends itself to Blackburn road and the section of the Spring street line  between Bourke and Flinders streets opens In 1995, the East Preston tramway  extends further to Bundoora RMIT. In 1997, one section of the  Swan street tramway closes in Batman avenue, with an alternative route, going through the former Jolimont Rail Yards  now Melbourne park and over the train tracks. In 2000, the Latrobe street tramway was extended  west over the train tracks to Ethiad stadium, which is now Marvel stadium and  the Collins street tramway was also extended west over the train  tracks to Harbour Esplanade in 2002. In 2003, the Flinders street tramway was extended  west under the train tracks to Harbour Esplanade and finally after 87 long years, the Mont  Albert tramway was extended to Box Hill. In 2005, a new tramway was built  along Harbour Esplanade to Waterfront City Docklands and the Burwood  tramway extends to Vermont South, the most recent tram extension  in the outer suburbs as of 2022. The collins street tramway extended over  to Victoria Harbour Docklands in 2009, the most recently built tram Extension as of 2022. And that is how the Melbourne tram  network came about to how it is today.

Channel: MasinaT

Views: 5,762

Keywords: #masinat, #masinatyoutube, trams, trams in melbourne, streetcar, streetcar history, biggest tram network in the world, light rail map, tram animation, melbourne tram history, melbourne tram, animated map, melbourne tram map, light rail, melbourne tram system

Id: C4NSa_IEg3w

Length: 14min 41sec (881 seconds)

Published: Fri May 19 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/romahunter]

Very interesting video. Pity about the Footscray tram network.

[u/stoobie3]

Enjoyed the video. If OP is the author please check for the typos. It’s Beaumaris (not Beumaris), St Kilda (not St Kida), Esplanade (not Esplande).

[u/SlySnakeTheDog]

Shame on the Johnson street tram, should've been extended to doncaster.