Trams in Brisbane

The Brisbane tramway network served the city of Brisbane, Australia, between 1885 and 1969. It ran on standard gauge track. The electric system was originally energised to 500 volts, and subsequently increased to 600 volts. All tramcars built in Brisbane up to 1938 had an open design. This proved so popular, especially on hot summer nights, that the trams were used as fundraisers and often chartered right up until the last service by social groups.

Most trams operated with a two-person crew – a driver (or motorman) and a conductor, who moved about the tram collecting fares and issuing tickets. The exceptions to this arrangement were on the Gardens line (Lower Edward Street) where the short duration of the trip meant it was more effective for passengers to simply drop their fare into a fare box as they entered the tram; and the "one man cars" which operated in the early 1930s (see below).

The peak year for patronage was in 1944–45 when almost 160 million passengers were carried. The system route length reached its maximum extent of in 1952. The total track length was , owing to many routes ending in single, rather than double, track. Single track segments of the track were protected by signalling which operated off the trolley wire. By 1959 more than of track were laid in concrete, a method of track construction pioneered in Brisbane.

The last track opened was in O'Keefe Street Woolloongabba, in May 1961. However, this track was not used in normal passenger service and was merely used to reduce dead running from Logan Road back to Ipswich Road Depot.

Of the Australian capital cities which closed their networks between the 1950s and 1970s (only Melbourne and Adelaide retained trams, although Adelaide only had one line in operation), Brisbane was the last capital city to close its tram network. Despite the decision to shut down the network, Brisbane's trams were held with great affection by locals, and one commentator described their removal "one of the most appalling urban planning mistakes in the city’s history". There have been ongoing proposals since the early 1990s to reinstate a functional tram network.

History

Brisbane expanded to become one of the most dispersed cities in the world by the 1870s. In the early years of Brisbane's settlement walking was the most convenient way to get around as most people choose to live close to their workplace. In 1875, the railway line to Ipswich opened up some areas in western and southern districts, however fares were expensive, as was owning a horse.

By 1885 an omnibus service reached almost every part of Brisbane. Omnibuses consisted of a strongly constructed wooden wagon with seating for males on the roof and a back-door entrance to the interior.

Metropolitan Tramway and Investment Company (1885–1896)

On 10 August 1885 the Metropolitan Tramway and Investment Company began official horse-drawn tramway services for the public. The 18 tramcars were built from highly polished cedar and mahogany in the United States by JG Brill Company and John Stephenson Company. Fares were expensive, with the typical patron belonging to the middle class. Some even used the services to go home for lunch. Depression struck in 1893 and combined with 1893 Brisbane floods the horse-drawn tramway services saw large drops in patronage.

Brisbane Tramways Company Limited (1896–1922)

The first electric tramway ran along Stanley Street, in South Brisbane on 16 June 1897. Horse-drawn carriages were still being used in 1899.

In 1900 local residents were agitating to have the Kelvin Grove tramway extended along Enoggera Road to the Newmarket Hotel in Newmarket. However, a new bridge over Enoggera Creek would be required. Also there were concerns that the close proximity of the proposed tramway would take revenue away from the railway line. However these concerns were resolved and the tramway extension to the Newmarket Hotel was opened on Monday 27 July 1903.

Up until the end of World War I, Brisbane's trams were the primary method used for travelling within the city.

Brisbane Tramways Trust (1922–1925)

Between 1923 and 1934 tram services in Brisbane were greatly expanded.

City of Brisbane (1925–1969)

Brisbane's tramway system came under the control of the newly merged Brisbane City Council (BCC) in 1925.

After seven years of agitation, Brisbane's tram service was extended to Grange in July 1928. The opening ceremony was attended by the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, William Jolly, and two Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, James Stevingstone Kerr and Charles Taylor. The mayor had threatened not to attend any ceremony for the opening of the tram service because two rival groups were organising separate celebrations; he would only attend if there was a single ceremony.

Until 1934, the trams carried mail between the Brisbane General Post Office and suburban post office branches, and also acted as mobile postboxes

Through the 1940s and 1950s the tram system enjoyed strong political support within the council, which continued to expand the tram network and upgrade its fleet with some of the most advanced trams in Australia. Trolleybuses were introduced in 1951. The last tramway to open was in March 1961. Clem Jones became Lord Mayor of Brisbane the same year, and all new route construction was cancelled.

Decline of the electric street transport systems

By 1948 Brisbane's trams failed to return a profit as they could not compete with the more efficient bus services. Urban development, often well away from public transport, the rise of suburban shopping centres and the relative decline in the cost of motorcars meant that as elsewhere, Brisbane's public street transport system increasingly had to compete with the private motor car and patronage slowly declined from a post war peak of 148 million passenger journeys in 1946, to approximately 64 million passenger journeys in 1968.

Political support for the tram system waned in the 1960s, particularly so after the Paddington tram depot fire