The Kalgoorlie tramway network served the
Western Australian city of
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 ...
from 1902 until 1952.
History
In 1899 English company Kalgoorlie Electric Tramway Limited was granted a concession to build a tramway in
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 ...
. It shared common ownership with
Perth Electric Tramways Limited. Construction commenced in February 1902 with the first section between Kalgoorle and
Boulder
In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive.
In c ...
opening on 20 May 1902.
[Kalgoorlie Tramways]
Perth Electric Tramway Society
The network was progressively expanded to operate the following routes by 1905:
[
*between ]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 ...
and Boulder
In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive.
In c ...
via
**Salisbury Road
**Federal Road
**Boulder Road
*within Kalgoorlie to
**Outridge Terrace
**Lamington Heights via Maritana Street
**Collins Street
** Kalgoorlie railway station
**Hannan Street
**Kalgoorlie Racecourse
**South Kalgoorlie
*within Boulder to
**Kamballie
**Fimiston
**Hopkins Street
**Boulder Racecourse
With the goldfields in decline, some lines closed in the 1920s. After a gold-led revival in the 1930s, the network further contracted in the 1940s. On 31 March 1947 the remainder of the network was taken over by the Eastern Goldfields Transport Board. Tram operations ceased on 10 March 1952.[
]
Rolling stock
The initial rolling stock consisted of fifteen single-truck and ten bogie cars manufactured by J. G. Brill Company of Philadelphia. The single truck cars were equipped with two 35 hp General Electric motors, and the double-truck cars with four motors of the same capacity. Five of the bogie cars were transferred to Perth in 1903, with five replacements delivered to Kalgoorlie in 1904. Seven trailer cars were purchased at the same time. In the 1930s an additional eight trams were bodied locally by the Kalgoorlie Electric Tramway.[
Two of the trams from the network have been preserved by the Perth Electric Tramway Society, at its heritage tramway in Whiteman Park, Perth.Tram & Trolleybus Fleet]
Perth Electric Tramway Society A third has been preserved by the Sydney Tramway Museum.
References
External links
{{TramsAustralia, state=collapsed
City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder
Public transport in regional Western Australia
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 ...
3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Australia
1902 establishments in Australia
1952 disestablishments in Australia
History of rail transport in Western Australia