The E-class was a group of 10 trams built by

Duncan & Fraser Duncan & Fraser Limited was a vehicle manufacturing company founded in 1865 in Adelaide, South Australia that built horse-drawn carriages and horse trams, and subsequently bodies for trains, electric trams and motor cars, becoming one of the larg ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, for the

Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust The Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust (PMTT) was a former tram operator in Melbourne, Australia. The trust was formed in 1907, with its first line operating in 1910. Its functions were taken over by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board in ...

(P&MTT) in 1914, numbered 36 to 45. Number 36 was converted to a different form by the P&MTT , and was later designated D-class. All retained their fleet numbers when passed to the

Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board The Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) was a government-owned authority that was responsible for the tram network in Melbourne, Australia between 1919 and 1983, when it was merged into the Metropolitan Transit Authority. It had bee ...

(M&MTB) after it took over the P&MTT on 2 February 1920, and they were designated E-class sometime after October 1921. By late 1923, together with other all M&MTB drop-end-and-centre Maximum Traction trams, they were re-classed as C-class trams. The 22E Maximum Traction trucks were of JG Brill design, although manufactured by Brush in England.E Class
Vicsig In 1917 and 1919, all trams had their 2 x 50 hp GE 202 motors replaced by 2 x 65 hp GE 201G, and in late 1920 all had their original track and electrical brakes replaced by air brakes. Standard M&MTB destination boxes were built-in to the roof ends to replace their original "Malvern" boxes from 1925, and all had their centre sections modified to resemble a W2-class tram from 1928 to 1929, being painted green at the same time. In the first half of 1935 all were fitted with route number boxes. Some cars were placed in storage in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and number 43 was scrapped in mid-1942 although its body was not sold until late 1944. All others, with the possible exception of number 40, were overhauled and had their rear doors blanked-off for service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. A few of these trams remained in occasional service until 1951. In the second quarter of 1951, all remaining eight cars were sold to the SEC for use in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

, and

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

. Trams 41 and 42 went to Ballarat as their numbers 38 and 39; 44 and 45 went to Bendigo as their (2nd) numbers 17 and 18; and cars 37, 38, 39, and 40 went to Geelong as their numbers 38, 37, 39, and 40 respectively. In 1953, number 39 at Geelong and number 41 at Ballarat (as No.38) were converted for one-man operation, however they were never used as such. After the closure of the Geelong tramways in 1956, number 37 (Geelong No.38) was scrapped while 38 to 40 were sent to Ballarat for further service as their numbers 42, 41, and 43 respectively.

Preservation

Three have been preserved: *40 by the

Tramway Museum Society of Victoria The Tramway Museum Society of Victoria Incorporated (TMSV) owns a large collection of trams from Melbourne, Ballarat, Geelong, Adelaide, and Sydney as well as preserved buses and other work vehicles. History The TMSV was founded in 1962 with ...

*41 by the

Ballarat Tramway Museum The Ballarat Tramway Museum is an operating tramway museum, located in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The museum is run by volunteers and has a fleet of trams which operate on part of the original horse tramway around Lake Wendouree a ...

as Ballarat number 39 *42 by the Ballarat Tramway Museum as Ballarat number 38 *44 by the Bendigo Trust Tramways *45 by the Bendigo Trust Tramways

References

{{MelbourneTramNavbox, state=collapsed Melbourne tram vehicles