If you look at them head on, the difference is obvious – the Z class has a pointy nose, but the A class has a flat one.

But there is also less noticeable difference – A class trams are shorter than a Z, at 15.01 metres vs 16.64 metres.

The reason – the Z class trams were built in the 1970s to be compatible with a network designed for the W class trams.

Weston Langford photo

With a pointy nose was so a longer tram could still negotiate curves built for the W class, without smacking into oncoming trams.

And the flatter fronted A class trams need to be shorter lest their noses come afoul on the same curves.

And the reason for the difference – a state election of all things!

John Dunn details it in his book “A History of Commonwealth Engineering – volume 4, 1977-1985″.

Since it was expected that the M&MTB would very soon need to order more new trams, the Comeng team at Dandenong began looking at a revised version of the Z3 units in the early 1980s – these being dubbed by them as Z4s.

A number of different concepts were considered, all of which were intended to be cheaper to manufacture, lower in mass, and more economical to operate. The structure was value-engineered so as reduce the number of components, the cab was intended to be a self-contained GRP module, and various other fittings and items of equipment reviewed and simplified. It was proposed to adopt the simple PCC bogie design-this being very much cheaper to manufacture compared to the Duewag units. They were also considered to be better riding. The Z4 trams had no conductor’s desks and therefore the seating capacity was potentially 66, and with a standing capacity of 84-an overall increase of 25 passengers compared to the Z3s.

By early 1982 the M&MTB was waiting on authorisation from the Victorian Government to order up to 100 new trams presumably to the Z3 design. But in April 1982 there was an election in Victoria and the Cain Labor Government came into power-the new transport minister being Steve Crabb. New tram orders were therefore put on hold.

And interference from an incoming transport minister, who wanted to put their own stamp on the next order of trams.

It was some time before the new government gave their approval for additional trams to be ordered from Comeng once the tenders were in. It came as a variation to the Z3 contract-an extension that was secured by the company in late 1982. The order was for twenty-eight single-unit trams nominated A-class, and two, prototype, two-unit articulated trams nominated B-class. However, the new A-class trams differed from the previous Z3 type in that they had no conductor’s seats, and the car ends were shorter and wider. They also had resized and relocated doors. The press reported that the A-class units were anticipated to cost approximately $430,000 ($1.3 million) each.

Which caused the engineers at Comeng a whole lot of drama trying to make work.

Comeng engineer David Foulkes recalled:

We used to joke about it, because the new Transport Minister said Melbourne had had ‘pointy’ trams for some time and he wanted ones that were clearly different-ones that were ‘ours’- this is, ‘Labor’ trams. He wanted them to have wider fronts, but did not seem to understand why they had to be narrow at the front to go around curves. If they were to be wider then they had to be shorter with less overhang. He wanted a modern tram with two large doors between the bogies,

The biggest hurdle was trying to house the same Z3 equipment on the underframe. The Z3s only had one set of double-width doors and stepwells each side between the bogies. But the new A-class had to have two sets of doors between the bogies each side their respective stepwells therefore taking up much more underframe space. Foulkes said:

The electrical blokes more or less had to shoe-horn all the existing electrical equipment on a Z3 tram onto the A-class. It was a real nightmare trying to get all the equipment boxes in on the underframe along with the cables.

The A-class trams were essentially the same as the Z3s in that they were equipped with AEG thyristor control equipment. This had independent chopper power systems for each bogie, and electro-dynamic regenerative braking down to 8 km/h. The Siemens electric control system detected and corrected wheel spin and slide, and applied automatic sanding. The Duewag-designed bogies each had a 195 kW monomotor, and Bochum resilient wheels.

The shell construction was of a welded tubular-steel space- frame with outer side and end panels of aluminium and glass-reinforced plastic (GRP). The cabs were bolt-on subassemblies to allow a more accessible unit for faster installation of equipment and wiring. The entire roof was of GRP. Unlike the Z3s the front door was only single- width. The other two doors were both double-width. All doors were of the electrically driven bi-folding type.

The tare mass was 21.54 tonnes, and there were seats for 42 and standing space for around 83. With the elimination of the seated conductor, passengers could enter or alight from any door. This effectively reduced stop dwell times, and the different arrangement was generally well received by the travelling public. The trams were fitted with power collection trolley poles similar to those on the Z3s, though these were later replaced with pantographs.

Footnote – by the numbers

The first 100 Z1 class trams entered service in 1975 – 1978, followed by 15 Z2 class trams in 1978 – 1979, and 115 Z3 class trams in 1979 – 1984.

They were followed by the first 28 A1 class trams entered service in 1984 – 1985, followed by 42 A2 class trams in 1985 – 1986.

The A class tram styling was also used for the two prototype high-floor articulated B1 class trams followed in 1984 – 1985, then 130 B2 class trams in 1988 – 1994.

And Z class trams overseas

Comeng also built a fleet of Z3 class tram derivatives in 1988 for the Kowloon Canton Railway light rail system in the New Territories in Hong Kong.

These light rail vehicles are still in service today, with later vehicles built by a variety of other manufacturers to the same basic dimensions.

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The original

The first locomotive numbered #6029 is a New South Wales AD60 class Beyer-Garratt 4-8-4+4-8-4 heavy goods steam locomotive, which entered service in 1954 and is now preserved by Transport Heritage NSW.

The young one

The next locomotive numbered #6029 is a UGL Rail C44aci diesel electric locomotive, operated by Aurizon on freight services across Australia since delivery in 2012.

And the ring in

And the electric version of #6029 is actually a tram – a Melbourne E-class which entered service in 2015.

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You have Metro Trains Melbourne in blue.

Yarra Trams in green.

V/Line in purple.

And buses in orange.

I cheated on the last one because it’s a van, and it’s operated by outdoor advertising company oOh!Media, who have the contract to maintain the network of around 5,000 bus shelters across Melbourne.

And a few more

Melbourne bus operators also have their own vans so mechanics can attend to broken down buses in the field.

Some of the ones I’ve spotted over the years include Transdev.

Kinetic.

Dysons.

And Sita.

Bus operators in Sydney and Adelaide also have own dedicated tow trucks for recovering broken down buses.

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A few things new on the trams

A decade ago route 57 was my local tram route, and one night I heard something different clattering down the road – a brand new E class tram on test.

So I got in the car and chased it down the line, snaking around the reserved track of Maribyrnong until it reached the route 82 terminus at Footscray.

A decade ago I was also still commuting to the CBD for work, when I found some brand new yellow plastic kerbing in place along the Collins Street tram tracks.

Intended to make life difficult for motorists driving over the tram tracks, they didn’t seem to deter the nuffies who drive taxis in Melbourne.

Continuing to block the tram tracks and make u-turns as they please.

A problem not addressed until 2020 when the yellow plastic strips were replaced with hard concrete ones – and reducing vehicle-to-tram collisions by around 30 per cent.

And on the trains

A decade ago a new style of door handle was first trialled on the aging Comeng trains.

Eventually rolled out to the entire fleet, but in 2024 an even more secure emergency door release system on the cusp of being rolled out – just in time for the Comeng trains to be retired!

More clueless drivers

Occasionally trams need to turn back before their usual terminus, with one of these crossovers being the Maribyrnong River crossover on Maribyrnong Road, Ascot Vale.

Unfortunately this motorist didn’t realise the tram in front wanted to come back the other way – perhaps forgivable, given it’s an infrequent occurrence.

Meanwhile this driver of a Queensland registered car didn’t know what to do on Swanston Street when the road ran out, so decided to drive along the bike lane instead.

But this taxi driver should’ve known better – the tram driver going DING DING DING but the driver still decided to sneak down the tram tracks.

And this even stupider driver deciding to driving advice from a taxi driver, and follow them.

Another ‘professional’ driver was behind the wheel of this delivery van, who also decided to drive down the Swanston Street tram stop.

But unlike all the other clueless drivers this month, they didn’t get away with it – Victoria Police officers pulled them over afterwards.

Over to Moonee Ponds

Here we see the old Moonee Ponds Junction tram stop, with route 82 passengers forced to cross multiple roads to reach the narrow ‘safety zone’ tram stop on the other side of the intersection.

The tram stop was eventually rebuilt in 2016, with route 59 and 82 trams sharing a new accessible platform stop, next to the bus interchange.

Also nearby I found a route bus operated by Moonee Valley Coaches.

They continued operating two bus routes from Moonee Ponds towards Brunswick until March 2024, when the routes were sold to much larger bus operator Dyson Group.

And Southern Cross Station

March 2014 saw some more retail outlets being added to Southern Cross Station – this time on the Bourke Street Bridge.

But the congestion on the streets around the station – zero attention being paid there!

Just Grand Prix merchandise stalls to make matters worse!

But this hoarding on the Collins Street concourse had something different hiding behind it.

A big hole with a massive cage of reinforcing bar at the bottom.

So what was it?

I didn’t find out until a few months later.

Footnote

Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.

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Regional Rail Link

Work on Regional Rail Link was well underway, with the new flyover outside Fotscray taking shape to carry the new tracks over the Werribee line.

And the cutting closer to Footscray was being widened for the extra tracks.

The new suburban platforms were also taking shape at Footscray station.

And the existing footbridge was being extended north over the future tracks.

The bridge over the low level goods lines was also being widened.

With the rail alignment outside Sunshine also ready for the extra tracks.

While at the stalled Caroline Springs station site, work had restarted – but it was only a road deviation due to RRL related road closures.

The final stage of Regional Rail Link opened in June 2016, but Caroline Springs station had to wait – it finally opened to passengers in January 2017.

And off to Ballarat

I went on a trip to Ballarat onboard a 80 year old diesel railcar.

Along the way we had to give way to some far more modern trains.

Before our arrival into Ballarat.

But there is one thing that hasn’t changed in 80 years – the diesel exhaust belching into the air at Southern Cross Station.

Protective Services Officers

Melbourne’s first group of Protective Services Officers were deployed in February 2012 to Flinders Street and Southern Cross stations, with the roll out ramping up soon after.

The limiting factor on their deployment – providing a prison cell at every railway station.

Ding ding!

A decade ago there were no accessible tram stops or low floor trams running along Elizabeth Street in the Melbourne CBD.

But there was some progress being made – the tram tracks along Elizabeth Street were being relaid.

And Yarra Trams was using their new ‘kletterweichen’ (‘climbing turnout’) to allow trams to terminate short of the works, rather than forcing passengers to walk from the nearest permanent crossover.

However the new crossover still had some teething issues, as the first tram to pass over it derailed!

Yarra Trams having to send their heavy recovery vehicle to the site, to pull the tram back onto the rails.

Meanwhile over on Swanston Street, dimwitted motorists were getting confused by the new platform stops – driving through the bike lanes.

While out at Ascot Vale motorists were inflicting more damage, this driver having impaled their ute on five metres of safety zone fence.

So what was the solution that Yarra Trams has been applying across the network?

Closing tram stops.

“A recent review by Yarra Trams and Public Transport Victoria of the environment and layout at these stops has identified an increased safety risk to passengers and pedestrians. A number of improvement strategies have been trialled with minimal success”

And on the tram stops that remain – hiding network maps behind advertising slogans.

Buses

A decade ago City Sightseeing Melbourne was running a hop-on hop-off bus services around Melbourne using a fleet of open top double deck buses.

The service was a victim of the Covid-19 pandemic, and is yet to restart operations

Another competing tourist service was the Melbourne Free Visitor Shuttle.

It was discontinued in 2017 after years of declining patronage.

Meanwhile out in Footscray, I found a colourful arrangement of Westrans, Sita and Melbourne Bus Link buses running route services.

Today they’re operated by CDC Melbourne, Transit Systems Victoria and Kinetic Melbourne, and the orange PTV livery has replaced that of the private operators.

Myki

Myki had taken over as the only ticketing system in Melbourne, with Metcard ticket machines pulled out of trams, and replaced by an extra seat.

But the reliability of the new system was somewhat lacking – I found this stack trace for ‘log4net‘ displayed on this Myki reader.

And the rest

Remember Melbourne Bike Share?

It ceased operations in November 2019.

Meanwhile over at 447 Collins Street, work was underway to reinforce the failing facade.

The marble facade panels being removed from the lower floors to avoid any further pieces falling to earth.

But it was only a temporary fix – the entire tower was demolished in 2015, with the ‘pantscraper’ known as ‘Collins Arch‘ completed on the site in 2020.

Footnote

Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.

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Farewell to Metcard

The Metcard ticketing system in Melbourne was switched off on 29 December 2012.

Myki having taken over.

But the machines still advertised descoped features, like short term tickets.

And printed out credit card receipts that included the full name of the card holder, nine digits of their credit card and the card’s expiry date.

January 2013 saw that vulnerability fixed, but the “print a receipt even if I don’t want one” bug wasn’t addressed until June 2019.

Trams go ding ding

A decade ago passengers at the Toorak Road terminus of route 58 had to play frogger between four lanes of traffic.

It took until 2015 for VicRoads to cave in and allow Yarra Trams to build a safer tram stop, at a cost of $3.8 million.

Meanwhile at Domain Interchange intending tram passengers just had a few shelters in the middle of St Kilda Road.

It was replaced in 2013 by a four track, four platform tram stop, which was itself demolished in 2018 to make way for the new Anzac station as part of the Metro Tunnel project.

Trams heading along Queens Bridge also used to get stuck behind queued cars.

This was eventually fixed in 2015, when the shared bus and tram lane along Queensbridge Street was extended the short distance over the bridge to Flinders Street.

Route 75 trams used to travel from Flinders Street along Spencer Street to the Remand Centre.

A few months later the southbound tram stop at Spencer and Bourke Street was closed due to a “increased safety risk to passengers and pedestrians“, and in 2014 the city terminus for route 75 was moved to Docklands.

W class trams on the free City Circle service used to be painted maroon, to distinguish them from the green W class trams used on regular tram services.

A distinction no longer needed – W class trams were withdrawn from route 30 and 78 in December 2014, and the introduction of the Free Tram Zone in 2015 meant every trams in the CBD was free. The remaining W class trams are now painted green, following the W8 class tram modernisation project.

On my lunch break I often saw the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant making it’s way around the Melbourne CBD.

But they no longer run – withdrawn by Yarra Trams in 2018 due to concerns they didn’t meet modern crash safety standards.

But the one thing that hasn’t changed – trams covered with advertising for the Australian Open.

The 2023 iteration of this tradition is already on the tracks.

Old clunkers on the bus network

A decade ago high floor buses still popped up on bus routes across Melbourne.

Thankfully that is a thing of the past, but on the tram network not so much – we have squandered multiple opportunities to acquire low floor trams, with the 2032 deadline for an accessible network unlikely to be achieved.

Closed for the weekend?

Closing a railway station on the weekend sounds stupid, but we used to do that at Flagstaff station.

A situation not fixed until 2015.

Reworking Footscray for Regional Rail Link

2013 saw work on Regional Rail Link kick off at Footscray station.

Land cleared ready for the extra two platforms to be built at the station.

But they were also demolishing a footbridge only completed two year earlier.

Thanks to the bridge being too short to span the additional tracks.

Fail to plan, plan to fail.

Trucks versus low bridges

In January 2013 an over height truck took out the tramway overhead at the intersection of King and Collins Street, stranding trams throughout the Melbourne CBD.

Mechanics having to push trams by hand.

So they could get their recovery truck into position, and push the trams to a section of track still with power.

The Craigieburn line couldn’t get a break either, with a truck striking the low bridge on Racecourse Road at Newmarket station, and cooking itself on the live tramway overhead.

Some things never change.

Footnote – something a little different

January 2013 was also the tail end of my month long rail trip across Europe.

Where I travelled 8,898 kilometres six countries, ten cities, three rail gauges and 15 rail operators.

Along the way I also transited via Qatar.

And missed my connection back to Australia, giving me an unplanned 24 hour stopover in Doha.

The end result – my spin off blog Euro Gunzel – An Australian railfan in Europe.

Footnote

Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.

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Waiting for a bus

After I arrived at the Commercial Road end of the tram replacement bus service, I had to wait six minutes before the first tram replacement bus towards the city to show up.

Luckily for the big crowd waiting two buses arrived at the same time.

But they filled quickly, with passengers crammed up against the front windscreens of both buses.

But despite two crush loaded buses, there was still a crowd of waiting passengers at Commercial Road

Five minutes after the last two buses left, another one turned up.

I boarded that bus, which was also packed to the gunwales by the time we left.

But we didn’t get far – at the first tram stop down St Kilda Road out path was blocked by some disgruntled passengers, they’d been waiting for the past 20 minutes for a tram replacement bus, but were unable to board any because they were already full.

The bus driver defused the situation with a “sorry mate, not much I can do about it, I just drive the bus – you’ve gotta complain to the Yarra Trams people down there”.

The bus then continued down St Kilda Road, then turned off onto Kings Way to detour around the Anzac Station works site.

Delays at Kings Way and Park Street

We then got stuck at the intersection of Kings Way and Park Street for TEN whole minutes, waiting in a queue of cars trying to make the right hand turn. It was at this point I gave up on the tram replacement bus at the next stop, and walk the rest of the way.

First I wandered back down to Kings Way and Park Street.

Where I spotted two buses stuck in the queue to turn right.

Taking three minutes to crawl a few car lengths through the queue.

Only to be stuck waiting for the next traffic light cycle.

Three more buses joined the queue soon after.

It took these three buses five minutes to turn right at Park Street.

Interestingly the route 58 tram replacement buses were running almost empty.

Presumably passengers were leaving the tram at South Yarra station and catching a train to the city instead.

Empty route 58 buses being a theme throughout the afternoon.

Anyway, I walked back to St Kilda Road, to check out the work on the new tram tracks at Anzac station.

Struggling up St Kilda Road

On St Kilda Road what do I find – another tram replacement bus with passengers pressed up against the front windscreen, this time fleet number #1276.

I kept walking up St Kilda Road, and what do I find stuck in traffic – the same bus #1276 I saw two minutes ago.

Soon enough I caught up on foot.

And then overtook it. (I wonder what the passengers were thinking I was up to?)

Turns out there was a bus lane on St Kilda Road for the tram replacement services, but other vehicles were so banked up that the buses couldn’t actually reach it.

But 10 minutes after I first met bus #1276 on St Kilda Road, it was finally able to overtake me once it reached the bus lane at Southbank Boulevard.

And the crowding never ends

At Southbank Boulevard I found a bus headed back to the suburbs, also with passengers pressed up to the front windscreen.

With articulated buses also unable to cope with the numbers of intending passengers.

Eventually, I reached the Arts Centre.

Where a massive queue of outbound passengers was waiting for a bus back down St Kilda Road.

After waiting 8 minutes, a bus finally showed up.

ONE bus.

Do you think everyone will fit?

Of course not – most of the queue got left behind.

But luckily this time they didn’t have to wait too long – a larger articulated bus showed up a few minutes later, clearing the queue.

At least until next bus also gets stuck in traffic, causing another queue to form.

So what’s the problem?

At first glance the problem is far too few buses were being allocated to the St Kilda Road tram replacement service for the number of intending passengers, but that isn’t the whole story…

Delays due to a lack of bus priority is actually the real issue here – buses are waiting 10 minutes to make a single the right turn off Kings Way, and waiting another 10 minutes behind cars before they reach the bus lane along St Kilda Road – what should be a 10 minute trip up St Kilda Road is blowing out to 30 minute or more!

And there is the crux of the matter – a single bus that could normally move three return loads of passengers per hour, is lucky to make a single return journey instead – giving a third of the possible passenger throughput if buses were not delayed by traffic.

Footnote: a count of the buses I saw

I photographed seven unique buses running the Arts Centre to Commercial Road shuttle along St Kilda Road. Their registration plates were:

• 7696AO
• BS07KJ
• BS02IA
• 7691AO
• BS02MF (articulated)
• 6654AO
• 7479AO

Along with five unique buses on the route 58 service.

• 7626AO
• 6674AO
• 6370AO
• 6651AO
• 6373AO

The cycle time from Arts Centre to Commercial Road and back to the Arts Centre was around 40 minutes: the outbound leg only took 10 minutes because buses could proceeded directly along St Kilda Road past the Anzac station work site, avoiding the 10 minute wait to turn from Kings Way into Park Street, and the second 10 minute wait due to queued traffic trying to access the Melbourne CBD.

Footnote: “Busminder”, a nifty tool

The Ventura buses being used on the St Kilda Road tram replacement service are using a real time tracking system called “Busminder” to report their current location.

On the evening of Saturday 3 December there were only four buses running the tram replacement service along St Kilda Road, and six buses on the route 58 service between South Yarra and the CBD.

However I’m told that the non-Ventura buses also being used on the tram replacement service aren’t capable of showing up on said map, so the actual number of buses may be under-reported by Busminder.

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Trains

A decade ago the Melbourne CBD skyline as viewed from Ascot Vale was much shorter.

As was that of Docklands viewed from North Melbourne station.

A handful of Hitachi trains were still kicking about.

But a new inspection train had just entered service.

Commissioned following a spate of overhead wire failures., from a glass cupola atop the carriage, staff and video cameras onboard the carriage monitor how the pantograph tracks along the overhead wire.

Going bush

I made up trip north to the Murray River at Echuca, and ran into four museum pieces hauling a freight train.

And an equally antiquated signalling system at the junction station of Barnes.

The four diesel locomotives were on hire from railway preservation groups.

I followed the train north, passing local wildlife.

Until we reached the Sunrice mill at Deniliquin, where the wagons were shunted into the plant for loading.

Rebuilding Footscray station

In 2012 work on the ‘Colander Bridge‘ at Footscray station had finally finished.

But it was still surrounded by a sea of car parking.

Stretching all the way to Barkly Street.

But work on Regional Rail Link was about to start.

The shops along Irving Street had been demolished to make way for two new platforms.

As had the service station at Hopkins Street.

The shops along the Nicholson Street bridge.

And even the trees along the rail cutting.

A spot of luck on the trams

In March 2012 the Tramway Museum Society Of Victoria chartered ‘Royal Tram‘ Z3.185 to run a special tour around Melbourne. Along the way we paid a visit to Royal Park.

And posed our tram for a cliché train over tram photo.

And parked at the end of the Footscray Road siding, a location passengers never visit.

In my travels I also paid a visit to Clifton Hill, and happened to catch a route 86 tram passing under a train bound for South Morang.

Back in 2012 this shot at Domain Interchange was nothing special.

But this piece of tram track no longer exists – route 8 is now route 58, and the tram tracks disused – diverted via Toorak Road in 2017 to make way for the construction of Anzac station.

The tram restaurant was another unremarkable sight.

But no longer exists – the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant last ran in 2018 after Yarra Trams grounded their fleet, and there is no sign of a possible solution.

A decade ago City Circle trams were still in the maroon livery, and were running out of North Fitzroy depot on Nicholson Street.

closed in 1993, but reopened in 2008-2012 to stable W class trams used on the City Circle while Southbank depot was undergoing refurbishment.

After months of inaction, work finally starting to happen on platform stops along Swanston Street.

Excavators having moved in to work on the platforms themselves.

On route 86 some new platform stops along High Street, Northcote had been built.

But route 96 services along Nicholson Street would have to wait – fancy yellow low floor ‘Bumblebee’ trams plying their way along the tracks, but with no platform stops to board them.

The trams got a repaint in 2014, but building accessible tram stops had to wait until 2018.

And under “something things never change” we have the route 57 terminus at West Maribyrnong terminus – the same high floor Z3 class trams still run there today, stopping outside the abandoned explosives factory.

Buses

Ventura blue and National Bus yellow were the colours of the buses at North Fitzroy depot.

The operation became Transdev Melbourne in 2013, then refranchised to Kinetic Melbourne in 2022.

In 2012 SkyBus was still boasting “20 minutes to the airport“, with a fleet of articulated buses plying the Tullamarine Freeway.

They acquired their first Bustech “CDi” double deck bus in 2015, which now form the core of their airport fleet.

Out at Highpoint Shopping Centre I found a high floor bus operated by Westrans.

Followed by a Melbourne Bus Link bus.

Melbourne Bus Link was merged into Transdev Melbourne in 2013, with Westrans rebranding as CDC Melbourne in 2014.

Finally, route 509 in Brunswick – a single minibus making the 2 kilometre long journey back and forth along Hope Street all day long.

I paid a visit because it was about to be discontinued, but despite how useless the service looked, locals appealed the decision, with the route eventually reinstated in 2016.

Emporium Melbourne

The big hole at Myer’s former Lonsdale Street store has featured in previous months.

And now it was complete.

The Lonsdale Street facade overlooking an empty hole.

Exposing tunnels to neighbouring buildings.

And the other stuff

March 2012 was the F1 Australian Grand Prix, and the usual merchandise stalls were stinking up access to Southern Cross Station.

Remember Melbourne Bike Share?

Since people can return their bike anywhere, leading to some stations becoming full and others empty, so management needed to drive around Melbourne rebalance bikes between the stations.

After years of lacklustre usage, the system was finally shut down in November 2019.

Out at Airport West I strolled past the Tullamarine Freeway.

Back then six lanes squeezed under the bridge at English Street, but in 2017 the bridge was rebuilt to allow eight to pass under, as part of CityLink Tulla Widening stage 2.

And finally – the Racecourse Hotel all boarded up in Flemington.

Next door to the roundabout with trams passing through the middle.

Abandoned since at least 2009, an arson attack in June 2012 destroyed the hotel, with the 22-storey apartment tower ‘ONLY Flemington’ now occupying the site.

Footnote

Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.

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Checking the speeds of both motor vehicle,s and a a procession of trams on route route 57 and 82.

Tram drivers have been caught speeding before – such as this 2006 article from ‘The Age’.

A Melbourne tram has been clocked speeding by police – the first time a driver has been caught by a radar gun.

A traffic policeman with the laser radar gun clocked the tram at 57kph in a 40kph zone on Malvern Road, Prahran, shortly after 7.30am, a police spokeswoman said.

The officer intercepted the tram and issued the driver with an on-the-spot fine, she said.

“It’s the first time that a member has detected a speeding tram. He said it was quite unusual,” she said.

The officer, from Stonnington traffic management unit, said the tram driver was “co-operative”, the spokeswoman said.

“There was no animosity,” she said.

The driver was fined $215 and will lose three demerit points from his normal driver’s licence.

Yarra Trams spokesman Colin Tyrus said the driver also would be counselled by the company and would be subject to an internal disciplinary process, but would not disclose the process for privacy reasons.

“There’s no exception for tram drivers to the speed limit,” Mr Tyrus said.

“This is something that Yarra Trams regularly refers to in refresher training and initial training, that drivers are required to observe the road laws of the state of Victoria, and that includes speed limits.”

As well as running red lights.

About four trams an hour are running red lights in Melbourne’s CBD, a Herald Sun investigation has revealed.

Pedestrians have had to jump out of the way as trams hurtle through intersections on a red light.

But Victoria Police statistics reveal that since September 2006 only two tram drivers have been booked for running red lights.

A spokesman for the Rail, Tram and Bus Union said: “I don’t think any driver blatantly goes through a red light.”

Yarra Trams spokesman Colin Tyrus said tram drivers were trained to do their best to be on time, but not at the expense of safety.

He said trams were 30m long and unable to accelerate through an intersection like a car.

He added that drivers could cause injuries to passengers if they hit the brakes too suddenly.

Tram drivers are required to hold a normal driver’s licence – but for tram drivers who started the job before the rule was introduced in 1984, they had to be grandfathered in.

Lenny Bates started working at the Kew depot in 1955, forsaking a promising career as a registered plumber. In the ensuing 5½ decades he was a conductor, a driver, a trainer of hundreds of other drivers, and finally a driver again.

He spent his later years on routes 109 from Box Hill to Port Melbourne and 48 from North Balwyn to Docklands, gaining recognition and affection for his colourful and detailed announcements about local landmarks along the route.

As trams evolved, Mr Bates embraced whatever training was required to master the new models. ”Lenny came to the depot when we had 1920s technology, and progressed through that into today’s high-tech trams … He came from pencil and paper up to the touch screen,” Mr Andrews says.

But he never learnt to drive a car, even after a rule was brought in that tram drivers must have a valid driver’s licence. An exception was made for him.

Footnote: how fast can trams go anyway?

The Yarra Trams “Infrastructure – Tram Track Design” standards list the maximum speed for each class of tram.

Under Appendix C “Tram Specifications”.

Z3, A1, A2, B1, B2 classes
65 km/h powers off
75 km/h forced braking
Speed at max current draw: approximately 30 km/h
Acceleration: 1.5 m/s² ± 0.05

Citadis C1 class
77-80 km/h powers off
No forced braking
Speed at max current draw: 29 km/h @ 600V, 21.8 km/h @ 450V
Acceleration: 1-30 km/h ± 1.57 m/s², 1-60 km/h ± 1.57 m/s²

Citadis C2 class
70 km/h powers off
No forced braking
Acceleration: 1.03 m/s² ± 5%

Combino D1 class
70 km/h powers off
No forced braking
Speed at max current draw: 39-55 km/h
Acceleration: ≤1.3m/s² to 39 km/h, ≤0.95m/s² avg. to 70 km/h

Combino D2 class
70 km/h powers off
No forced braking
Speed at max current draw: 30-55 km/h
Acceleration: ≤1.3m/s² to 30 km/h, ≤0.86m/s² avg. to 60 km/h

Flexity E class
Max speed: 80 km/h
60 km/h traction cut
65 km/h brakes apply
Acceleration: 1.3m/s² to 30 km/h (fully loaded)

As well as the standards to which new track is built to.

In table B16 “Minimum Design Speed”.

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The changing railway scene

This month I headed out east to the site of the new Lynbrook station.

Located on the Cranbourne line between Dandenong and Merinda Park, it opened to passengers in April 2012.

I also visited the future site of Williams Landing station.

Back then part of the runway for the former RAAF base was still in place, but housing development was slowly encroaching on it.

Williams Landing station opened in April 2013, while the only sign of the former airfield is the heritage listed aircraft hangars next door.

I also took a look at Middle Footscray before the Regional Rail Link project bulldozed it’s way through the suburb.

The entire north side of Buckley Street was once full of houses.

But it was acquired to make room for the extra tracks.

Once the railway was was complete, the remaining land was sold off, including a section of land that was once a park. Townhouses are currently being built on the site.

Changes were also afoot at Southern Cross Station.

The food court on the mezzanine floor had been boarded up.

And the hoardings advised of ‘Exciting New Retailers’.

As the previously open spaces were replaced by more shops.

My visit to Melbourne Central station wasn’t prompted by pending works, but the scene a decade ago was a little different.

The CRT next train displays were still in place – coloured by line.

As was the ramp between La Trobe Street and the upper level of the underground station concourse.

The CRT screens were eventually replaced by LCD screens in November 2011, while the ramp to La Trobe Street was demolished in 2016 to make way for the Aurora Melbourne Central development.

Ding ding on the trams

September 2011 saw the abolition of ‘secret’ tram route numbers – replaced by the ‘A’ and ‘D’ suffixes for altered routes and depot bound trams.

I also found a broken down D2 class tram at Ascot Vale

The pantograph was damaged, disabling the tram, so mechanics had to cut it off.

Shunt the tram with their heavy recover truck.

Couple up the tram to a working classmate.

Then tow it back to the depot, the combined tram stretching 60 metres.

Something different at Docklands

On 25 September 2011 Searoad Ferries an open day at Waterfront City in Melbourne’s Docklands to show off the newly refurbished Queenscliff-Sorrento car ferry ‘MV Queenscliff’.

They also brought Thomas the Tank Engine along for the ride, on loan from the Bellarine Railway.

While I was in the area, I wandered around heritage listed Shed 20-21 at Victoria Dock.

Constructed in 1926 as a single 396.2 metre long (1300 foot) and 24.5 metre wide (80 foot) cargo shed, it was once a busy wharf, but now lies in the shadows of the Bolte Bridge.

But was now abandoned and neglected, covered in graffiti.

In December 2012 part of the shed roof collapsed, leading to it’s demolition. Ron Barassi Senior Park now occupies the site.

A hole in the Melbourne CBD

A big hole was being created in the middle of Melbourne.

Next door to the Myer store on Bourke Street.

Excavators demolishing the former Lonsdale Street store to make room for the ‘Emporium’ shopping centre.

The complex opened in 2014.

Rubbish in the streets

A decade ago the changeover to digital TV in Australia was well underway, so during hard rubbish season old-fashioned CRT screen TVs lined the streets.

Analog TV in Melbourne held on a little longer, the last transmitter being switched off in December 2013.

Something else that should’ve gone out in hard rubbish was the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel.

Opened in December 2008, two years behind schedule, it closed again 40 days later due to cracks in the wheel. It was decided to tear down the wheel and start over.

The rebuilt wheel reopened in December 2013, providing the finest views of Melbourne’s rail freight terminals, until it’s closure was announced in September 2021, effective immediately.

And everyday things the pandemic took away

Who remembers going to work in an office, and sitting out in the sun for lunch?

Going to live music gigs?

And big theatre crowds?

Thanks to the pandemic we haven’t seen any of that for 18 months, but hopefully things will start getting back to normal soon – so go get vaccinated!

Footnote

Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.

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