The Perth Electric Tramway Society (PETS) is a

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

preservation society in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. It operates a heritage tramway in

Whiteman Park Whiteman Park is a bushland area located north of Perth, Western Australia. The park is in the suburb of Whiteman, in the Swan Valley in the upper reaches of the Swan River. It encompasses the source of Bennett Brook - an important place o ...

History

Following the closure of the Perth trolleybus system in August 1969, the Western Australian Transport Museum was formed. However, in 1981 this organisation split into two societies, the Perth Electric Tramway Society, and what would become the

Bus Preservation Society of Western Australia The Bus Preservation Society of Western Australia (BPSWA) is a bus preservation society in Western Australia. It operates a museum in Whiteman Park. History Following the closure of the Perth trolleybus system in August 1969, the Western Austra ...

. In 1982, PETS found a permanent home in Whiteman Park, with public services commencing over their entire network in 1986. While initially operating former Melbourne trams, the society has gradually restored Western Australian trams to service.

Fleet

PETS owns a fleet of 29 trams and 3

trolleybuses A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...

, mainly former

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

trams. Examples of former

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

and

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

trams also form part of the fleet. Notably, the society's tramway is

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

, requiring West Australian trams to be regauged from their original

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

when restored for operation.

Operations

The PETS tramway operates regular services within Whiteman Park along a 2.5km route between Village Junction and Mussell Pool. Trams connect to the

Bennett Brook Railway The Bennett Brook Railway is a narrow gauge tourist oriented railway operated by the West Australian Light Railway Preservation Association and is located within the boundaries of Whiteman Park, from Perth. History The Western Australian Ligh ...

at both ends of the line. While trams used to also operate to the Dumpellier Drive entrance to Whiteman Park, this section of the tramway has been disused for a number of years. As part of the development of Whiteman Park railway station,

Metronet Metronet may refer to: *Metronet (British infrastructure company), who maintained London Underground infrastructure between 2003 and 2008. *Metronet (Western Australia), government agency formed in 2017, responsible for managing extensions to Perth ...

has planned for the reactivation and partial realignment of this section to connect to the Morley-Ellenbrook line at the station.

References

External links

Perth Electric Tramway Society
{{TramsAustralia, state=collapsed Public transport in Perth, Western Australia Tram transport in Australia History of rail transport in Western Australia 1981 establishments in Australia Whiteman Park